For any kid who has experienced the pure joy of waking up on a school day only to discover that it’s been canceled due to inclement weather, we hope you enjoy those memories. Because traditional snow days full of sleeping in, sledding, movie marathons and hot chocolate are over. This winter has been one of the snowiest and coldest on record for many parts of the country, forcing schools to shut their doors for days at a time. In the past, teachers would try to make up for lost time by squeezing multiple lesson plans into one day. But now teachers can connect with their students online by uploading digital lessons, holding classroom discussions and even allowing students to turn in homework assignments via email. In other words, much to students’ dismay, snow days are no excuse for a break anymore.
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In Chicago, which was slammed by the polar vortex earlier this year, “tele-schooling” is gaining popularity among teachers who say that missed class time can be a big problem in an era of high-stakes testing. As some of the more affluent school districts issue students laptops or tablets, weather is no longer a barrier for learning. “I told my kids, ‘If we’re not here, we can’t fall behind,'” Steve Kurfess, a math teacher at Conant High School in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, told the Chicago Tribune. “Especially with math, every day is taken into account.” Kurfess has embraced online learning to bridge the gap between school attendance and required coursework. He’s uploaded all of his lessons — about 600 or 700 videos — so students can access them at any time. Save for tests and quizzes, his entire class is paperless. After the school was closed for two days earlier this month, Kurfess said that 98 percent of his students completed the required coursework. “I didn’t miss a day,” he said.
MORE: The Next Frontier in Online Education Isn’t What You’d Expect
As the idea of virtual classrooms continues to expand, Ohio has put a law on the books that allows schools to make up as many as three snow days a year online. This way, schools don’t have to extend the school year into summer to make up for lost time. While the plan was piloted a few years back in the Mississinawa Valley School District, a small, rural community near the Indiana border, it wasn’t until last month that teachers used their “e-days” as they call them. So far, the feedback has been positive, with more than 150 districts in the state having submitted “Blizzard Bags” plans, according to the Ohio Department of Education.
Of course, there are still some technological issues to mitigate before virtual learning becomes the new normal. Most importantly, officials are looking for ways to provide equal access to computers, tablets and Internet for students in less affluent school districts. Some are even partnering with organizations to provide free Internet access in areas where students live. Wifi-enabled school buses might soon become a reality, as well. But as access to technology and Internet grows more and more abundant, snow days as we know (and love) them may become a relic of days past.
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A 130-Year-Old Hospital Has a Bold Idea—And It’s Making Children Better
Hamilton County, Ohio, is home to Cincinnati and 413 sprawling square miles of diversity and disparity. The county hosts mansions as well as median incomes below the poverty line. But it’s not just about paychecks. The county has a health disparity problem and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital is dedicated to solving it. Hospital leaders have made it their mission to look beyond children’s medical care to improve children’s overall health. Asthma is a key issue: kids in poorer areas are 88 times more likely to be admitted for emergency treatment. After investing some time in home visits to investigate the causes, hospital staff found that poor housing quality, cockroach infestation, and water damage were behind many of these health emergencies. And because many families in the county are living without Medicaid, Dr. Mona Mansour, along with other physicians, built a new system of care to help all area kids. They’ve partnered with the Cincinnati Health Department to organize home inspections and build connections to legal aid so families get support in dealing with their landlords. The 130-year-old hospital is proving to be an incredible modern leader in health innovation.
Why Learning a New Language Isn’t Enough Anymore
It’s not news that learning world languages benefits students both while they’re in school and after. But as globalization continues, it’s not enough for students to gain minimal proficiency in a language without understanding other cultures. In northeast Ohio, teachers help students understand the cultures of countries where the languages they’re studying are spoken. They’re also expanding their offerings by partnering with local community colleges, and helping students to take classes abroad. Additionally, schools are encouraging students to think critically and globally through project-based classes in international business and human geography, and by setting up communications with students and teachers in other countries. It’s less about grammar and more about communication proficiency.
The Checklist That Can Reform Healthcare
Behind the scenes, hospitals are transforming the way that doctors and nurses care for patients under the Affordable Care Act. The experiments that hospitals are trying out and small changes they’re making are less prominent parts the ACA, but Summa Akron City Hospital is showing off as an example of innovative implementation. Starting Jan. 1, the hospital will embrace a new business model. Medicare will pay the hospital one lump sum, upfront, for surgical procedures and any complications that surgery patients experience within 30 days of discharge. Currently, payments come based on procedures, not patients, so if a patient had complications and returned for another procedure, revenue grew. Under the new system, based on quality instead of quantity, the hospital could lose money if the patient needs to return, but would profit more from a successful procedure. As cardiologist Dr. Ken Berkovitz, explains it, “Everybody in the health care system gets rewarded for doing more, rather than rewarded for doing the right thing.” Meanwhile, some of the other seemingly simple changes are already making a difference; for example, did you ever think that a using checklist could be so innovative?