Guthrie to add distance learning days to school calendar

Due to the ice storm and power outages in October, Guthrie Public Schools will add two distant learning days to the Thanksgiving week schedule.

Instead of a five day Thanksgiving break, the school district will now have a three day holiday break.

The Guthrie Board of Education voted to approve (5-0) to add distance learning days on Monday, Nov. 23 and Tuesday, Nov. 24 to allow the district to make up two days missed to the ice storm.

Classroom instruction was canceled Oct. 27-30 and Nov. 2. Of those missed days, one day was used as a distance learning day. However, with power outages to students and staff members, the other days of instruction came to a halt.

“We have determined that an option we probably need to exercise is to reclaim two of those days as distance learning days,” Supt. Dr. Mike Simpson told school board members.

Simpson added teachers will have flexibility when it comes to assigning assignments for students for those two days.

The school district must obtained 1080 hours of instruction for the school year, which calculates the number of days required by the Oklahoma State Department of Education.