Wallingford-Swarthmore School District welcomed superintendent Dr. Russell D. Johnston to the office on May 1, along with a warm breeze and the promise of summer break. But as Haven pushes further into the winter months, most students have something quite the opposite on their minds.
Johnston is no stranger to snow. Born in Montana and growing up in Colorado, the well-seasoned superintendent also has experience making the snow day call for West Springfield Public Schools in Massachusetts.
“Every day of learning really matters to me,” Johnston said. “So I just want to make sure that we maintain a safe learning environment that allows students to do their best at Strath Haven and all across the district.”
Although Johnston is new to the district, he has already acquainted himself with Wallingford-Swarthmore’s policies.
“I feel very comfortable with the protocol that’s in place,” Johnston said.
While he plans to stay in touch with other districts in the area, Johnston remains adamant that the best decisions are those that are personalized for Wallingford-Swarthmore and its students. The district maintains a close relationship with Nether Providence and Swarthmore Police Departments, ensuring that calls are unique and appropriate for the roads that students utilize.
“I’ll work closely with area superintendents, because we want to sort of see what else is happening across the county and what decisions we are collectively making,” Johnston said. “But we’ll make the decision that’s right for Wallingford-Swarthmore. It will ultimately come down to what we believe is the safest for our students to get to school every day.”
Johnston understands the need to get an announcement out early, to allow the district’s families, students, and teachers to make alternate plans or decisions for the day ahead. However, he hopes Wallingford-Swarthmore’s families will understand that sometimes the most accurate call cannot be made until the day of.
“You don’t want to make the decision and then be surprised that we don’t get a storm,” Johnston said. “But you might hear from me at night if there’s a decision that we can make. I think that helps families with planning the best, especially with young kids. To know where they can go the next day is really important.”
For families who worry about the “maximum allowed snow days per year,” Johnston maintains that he does not start with a quota of days-off in mind.
“I don’t start with sort of a goal in mind. I just know that we’ve certainly seen some challenging weather patterns, particularly a combination of both ice and wind at times, maybe snow,” Johnston said.
Ultimately, Johnston knows what’s on every kid’s mind: in a post-Covid world, do they have to worry about getting stuck on their computers with Zoom instead of sledding down hills?
“Pennsylvania does allow for what’s called a FID day, flexible instruction day,” Johnston said. “A school district has to apply for that, and we have not previously applied to allow for a flexible online learning day, as opposed to being in school. So our snow days will be snow days. No Zoom this year.”
Flexible-instruction days, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, allow school districts to provide alternative digital instruction in times of pandemics or hazardous weather conditions that still counts towards a district’s 180 required days of instruction.
Johnston looks to a future where kids can enjoy the winter season safely, happily, and in a way that benefits Wallingford Swarthmore—from the students to the community as a whole.
“It’s about day to day decisions, about making sure our students can get to school safely,” Johnston said.
