Oak Grove explains AMI days as option to avoid snow-day makeups

Oak Grove R-VI administrators told the board they have implemented an Alternative Methods of Instruction (AMI) plan to reduce the number of calendar make-up days required after snow closures.

Officials said Missouri legislation requires 169 instructional days and that the district may count 30 hours of AMI instead of calling in-person snow days, which the district interprets as up to six AMI days. AMI is designed for review, remediation and tasks aligned with grade-level standards rather than new lessons; staff emphasized equity and access by preloading materials on Chromebooks and providing paper packets for K–5 students without reliable home internet. Attendance for AMI days is tracked via completion of work when students return and via Google Classroom for secondary students; the district also provides one hour of office hours for teacher-student contacts and expects staff to be available during the school day if permitted.

Administrators said special education requirements must be honored and that staff developed handbooks and fidelity checks during the pilot. Board members who had seen the pilot days described them as useful and asked for continued monitoring; staff said they will continue refining the process.