It has been an unusual winter in myriad ways, including the number of school days lost to inclement weather.

Wyoming County students had lost 13 days to the weather by Wednesday, with more anticipated. Additionally, students have begun five of their days this year on a two-hour delay.

On average, students have about six “snow days” a year, according to Frank Blackwell, county schools superintendent.

“If global warming has set in, then we need to send some ‘snow packets’ home with the students,” Blackwell joked.

“All joking aside, if we can get our students back in the classroom for a day or so, then we’ll be developing packets that students can use to work at home,” he explained.

Those packets may contain spelling words, reading, math, and other core subject areas that students can use during extended periods away from the classroom.

“This has been an unusual winter,” Blackwell said. “I would think, a record-breaking winter in terms of snow, maybe even temperatures.

“It’s been hard on everybody, school employees, the parents, and the students,” he said.

Four of this year’s snow days will be made up with OSE (out-of-school environment) days, scheduled March 12, March 19, May 28, and June 7. Students and staff will not lose their spring break, however, scheduled April 5-9. Those days are not considered part of the school calendar because personnel are not paid for those days, Blackwell said.

Additionally, the county has extra time built into each day.

Elementary schools in West Virginia are required to have 315 minutes of instructional time each day. Middle schools must have 330 minutes and high schools must provide 345 minutes.

“We have at least 15 to 30 minutes extra each day in the elementary and middle schools,” Blackwell said. “Our high schools have 360 minutes each day.”

“Once we get past this winter and get things back to normal, we’ll concentrate on essential concepts and skills. We have essential concepts and skills, important skills, and not-so-important skills to cover each year,” the superintendent explained.

Those concepts are determined by state-mandated content standards and objectives.

“So, we’ll concentrate on the essential concepts and skills and the important skills.

“We’ll also focus on the core subjects — reading and language arts, math, science, and social studies,” he said.

While the annual WESTEST is scheduled for May, students have been taking online benchmark tests throughout the year.

“We get a report on each student, so we know each student’s strengths and where they may need extra instruction,” Blackwell said.

“We’ll use all these tools, take into account all this data we have, spend a little more time where we need to, and, just maybe, there might be some extra homework.

“We’ll be able to accomplish what we need to accomplish,” Blackwell emphasized.

“We’ll maximize our time and do what we can to counteract the time we’ve lost.”