Atlantic INSTITUTE FOR MARKET STUDIES Missing IN ACTION: sCHool storm days, student absenteeism AND the workplace Atlantic INSTITUTE FOR MARKET STUDIES AIMS POLICY PAPER PAUL W. BENNETT May 2019

A HARDY Perennial Storm Day Cancellations Mount, public Concerns surface, School Authorities React, REPORTS ARE ISSUED, SCHOOL DAYS LOST ARE WRITTEN-OFF, AND NOTHING MUCH CHANGES. ‘

A RECURRENT DEBATE FIERCE PUBLIC DEBATE FLARES UP EACH WINTER SEASON, ALMOST LIKE CLOCKWORK, EVERY TIME THE MARITIME REGION EXPERIENCES A RUN OF SCHOOL DAY CLOSURES. THE “ACCUMULATIVE EFFECT” INTERRUPTS STUDENT LEARNING, DISRUPTS THE LIVES OF FAMILIES, and AFFECTS LABOUR PRODUCTIVITY IN THE WORKPLACE.

A FLASHBACK ALMOST A DECADE AGO, our AIMS COMMENTARY, SCHOOL’S OUT, AGAIN (APRIL 2010), DOCUMENTED THE PROBLEM OF EXCESSIVE SNOW DAYS AND DEMONSTRATED THAT NOVA SCOTIA AND THE MARITIMES WERE ‘OUT-Of-LINE’ COMPARED TO OTHER CANADIAN REGIONS when it CAME TO CANCELLING SCHOOL FOR ALL KINDS OF REASONS, MAINLY BUT NOT EXCLUSIVELY FOR ADVERSE WINTER CONDITIONS.

FLASH FORWARD – TO TODAY . FLASH FORWARD – TO TODAY INSTRUCTIONAL TIME LOST THROUGH STORM DAY CANCELLATIONS REMAIMS A SERIOUS PROBLEM ADVERSELY AFFECTING STUDENT LEARNING WHEN OVER TWO WEEKS OF SCHOOL ARE LOST TO CLOSURES. WHILE THE NUMBERS OF LOST DAYS VARIES FROM SCHOOL DISTRICT TO DISTRICT, NOVA SCOTIA AND NEW BRUNSWICK CANCEL SCHOOL AN AVERAGE OF 10 DAYS A YEAR, DOUBLE THAT OF A DECADE AGO.

CLIMATE CHANGE AND SNOWFALL, HALIFAX 1960-2019 CLIMATE CHANGE IS A FACTOR, BUT SNOWFALL AMOUNTS CANNOT ACCOUNT FOR THE HIGHER INCIDENCE OF FULL DAY SCHOOL CLOSURES ( PATRICK DUPLESSIS, AIMS RESEARCH, 2019)

SNOWFALL AND SCHOOL CLOSURES COMPARING TWO EDUCATIONAL JURISDICTIONS: Nova Scotia and MASSACHUSETTS School closings Are SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER IN NOVA SCOTIA THAN IN MASSACHUSETTS, WHERE COMPARABLE STUDIES WERE CONDUCTED FOR 2003-2010. SNOWFALL PATTERNS WERE SIMILAR, BUT SCHOOLS CLOSED TWICE AS OFTEN IN NOVA SCOTIA STATE LAW LIMITS SCHOOL STORM DAYS TO FIVE PER YEAR.

CANCELLING SCHOOL DAYS AND STUDENT ABSENTEEISM CANCELLING SCHOOL DAYS COMPOUNDS THE PROBLEM OF STUDENT ABSENTEEISM ONE IN FOUR STUDENTS IN NOVA SCOTIA AND NEW BRUNSWICK ARE REPORTED TO BE AFFECTED BY CHRONIC ABSENTEEISM ( MISSING 16 OR MORE DAYS A YEAR) SOME 37 % oF N.S. MIDDLE SCHOOL AND 32% OF HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS MISS 16 OR MORE DAYS BECAUSE OF ABSENTEEISM (BEING THERE, 2016)

SCHOOL DAY CLOSURES AND FAMILY LIFE: IMPACT OF DISRUPTIONS ON FAMILY AND THE WORKPLACE “Working parents employed on contract or in the hourly wage service sector can suffer lost pay by missing work and cannot stay home repeatedly, particularly in small enterprises or non-union workplaces.” “I THINK WE NEED TO LOOK AT THE SITUATION BECAUSE IT IS CLEAR WE ARE LOSING A LOT OF INSTRUCTIONAL HOURS BECAUSE OF THE STORMS…(MANY PARENTS) STILL NEED TO GO TO WORK BECAUSE THE REST OF THE ECONOMY DOES NOT STOP ON DAYS WHEN THE SCHOOLS ARE CLOSED.” (HON. DOMINIC CARDY, RADIO CANADA, December 21, 2018). “Unplanned school closures announced in the early morning can and do have unintended consequences. Families are left scrambling to rearrange their lives and, where both parents work outside the home, to find safe and reliable day care for younger children. “

MOVING FROM TALK TO ACTION: SCHOOL CLOSURE POLICIES HAVE A RIPPLE EFFECT AND IT’S TIME TO ADOPT A REMEDIAL PLAN WITH FIVE KEY ELEMENTS: a provincial guarantee to students and parents of a minimum number of instructional days (i.e., 180 days of actual instruction) each school year; the establishment of a flexible school year calendar with provision for make-up instructional days, including the substitution for PD Days and the option of adding days at the end of the year; complete the Rural Broadband expansion and introduce e-learning days during periods of severe weather and dangerous roads; a clear policy requiring the provision of student ‘homework bags’ when storms are forecast to bridge the gaps and ensure continuity in learning; and a more comprehensive, detailed study of the disruptive effects of school day interruptions, planned and unplanned, on productivity in the workplace.