The District may declare a Bears Virtual Learning Day when school is closed because of the weather. The District will communicate that a Bears Virtual Learning Day has been activated by sending a text message and email and posting an announcement to our website and social media pages. In the event of an extreme weather event, the District may choose not to activate a Bears Virtual Learning Day so the community can focus on cleanup and family welfare. 

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT BEARS VIRTUAL LEARNING DAYS

• A Bears Virtual Learning Day is in place of the traditional school closing. As such, there will be no need to make the day up as school is in session in a virtual format.
• Students will have asynchronous work (completed on the student's own schedule but no later than five school days from the Bears Virtual Day) educational experiences.
• Communication regarding virtual activities for the day will come from either your child’s building principal or teacher as soon as possible, but no later than the morning of the weather event.
• All professional and instructional-based support staff will be available to support students through their school-issued email and Schoology accounts under a normal two-hour delay schedule.
• The District will track attendance based on student work completion. Per PDE guidelines, students have up to five school days to complete their assignments to receive attendance credit. 
• Students will be marked with an unexcused absence if they do not complete the work unless the student is reported off for illness. Students who are ill will need to make up the work upon returning to school.
• If your child is ill, please follow our regular absenteeism reporting procedure.
• Households without access to technology (device, internet, or both) should contact their child’s teacher/ principal for assistance and may be given a reasonable extension to complete the assigned work.
• Bears Virtual Learning Days do not impact students enrolled in Etown Cyber (Independent) as they are on an independent schedule.
• Full-time Lancaster County Career and Technology Center (LCCTC) students would be off from school.
• Morning and afternoon LCCTC students would attend their virtual classes with EASD but not their LCCTC classes.

Please get in touch with your child's building principal if you have questions about Bears Virtual Learning Days.

The District is excited to take advantage of this flexibility. As we all know, sometimes the weather is unpredictable, which may make an early decision not possible. When circumstances permit, we will make every effort to make the school closing and Bears Virtual Learning Day decisions and announcements before a weather event, as we understand the impact on families and staff.