There was not a white Christmas in Durham, but for thousands of area school children, it was probably the next best thing.
A vicious winter storm that dumped several inches of snow along the East Coast gave Durham County public school children an extra week's vacation, causing havoc for both the county's parents and teachers.
Faculty and staff at many area schools worked overtime to try to adjust their pre-planned schedules in light of the inclement weather. The unexpected storm put the school year on pause at a time when it should have been gearing up for the spring semester, as it arrived following a two-week winter break.
"We were scheduled to have exams [the week of Jan. 8]. We had to reschedule our exams for the next week," said Della Robinson, principal of Jordan High School in Durham. "We pretty much lost that week. Second semester didn't start until Jan. 22."
But dealing with unexpected delays, Robinson said, is simply a part of her job. "When you work with the school system and students, you learn to be flexible," she said.
Local elementary school principals said that they too faced administrative difficulties due to the storm. Sarah Spivey, principal of Durham's Hillandale Elementary School Principal, said that the challenges faced by her staff, students and their parents were many. "Our teachers work hard on their calendars preparing for the kids. So yes, it caused us to have to rearrange some activities," she said. "We've had to be creative."
Elementary school parent Elizabeth Webster agreed that teachers and parents were forced to be resourceful. For example, Webster said that she and several other parents from around the city scrambled to find someone to care for their children during the day because although schools were closed, most of the businesses for whom the parents work remained open.
"That week was real tough with both of us (parents) working. It was either take off from work or find somewhere else for them to go," Webster said. "And it's not really something you can plan for or anything. It just kind of happens and you go with it."
Now, however, all schools are back on schedule. And although school administrators said that it will not be necessary to extend the school year or abbreviate the spring break to make up for missed days, students will have to attend school on days that were formerly designated as teacher work days to make up for the lost time.
"All five optional teacher work days have now been used. We build those into the calendar [for that purpose]," said Crystal Suthers, communications director for the Superintendent of Durham County public schools. "We'll just have to hope for good weather from now until June."
Despite this season's especially harsh weather, public school officials said that they will not add extra snow days to the year-long academic calendar for next year.
"Central Services (a school administrative group) plans the calendar. The calendar for next year is already done," Suthers said. "But there probably won't be any big changes. We believe this storm is the exception."
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