Parent tells Russell County School Board virtual snow days do not equal in-person instruction, urges limits

Reese Henry, a parent of three children in Russell County Schools and a former school counselor with the district, told the Russell County School Board that virtual learning days used during snow events place disproportionate burdens on families and do not equal in-person instruction.

Henry said many families lack reliable internet access where children stay during snow days and that parents who work full time are left to do school work with their children during limited evening hours. “It does not and never will equal in person instruction,” Henry said. “The planning was rushed. Teachers were scrambling to use all these different methods and modalities ... when your kids are pre-K to fourth grade, they can't really explain what's expected.”

Henry said the virtual days shift workload to teachers, parents and young students for little educational gain. He asked the board to consider limiting how many virtual-learning days the district uses each year, and said he believed state law placed a limit but did not specify the number.

The board did not take action on Henry’s request during the meeting. The public-comment exchange occurred during the meeting’s public-comment period; no formal staff report, study, or motion on virtual-learning-day policy was recorded in the transcript.

Clarifying details from Henry’s remarks include that some students go to grandparents’ homes without internet access during snow events, teachers described planning for virtual days as rushed and inconsistent across classrooms, and Henry suggested virtual options resemble review activities more than genuine instruction for early elementary students. He identified himself as a parent and former school counselor with Russell County Schools but did not propose specific wording for a limit or cite a specific statute number.