School in the Snow

On snow days Fair Grove High School has AMI days. AMI stands for Alternative Method of Instruction because students learn online from the comfort of their own homes. 

There are only so many of these AMI days put into place. The first five days declared as snow days are AMI days. After this they have a rotation that every other snow day is an AMI day. Some students on the other hand feel that these days can sometimes be easier than normal school days. 

Emma Schlak (12) commented, “I personally don’t find AMI days harder at an academic level. They are relatively the same level as our normal work done when we are in person, just online and more readily accessible in a central area; I do however find the AMI work more difficult from an accountability standpoint. The work isn’t easier, it just feels like it has less time constraint because it wasn’t assigned, quote unquote, in school. This makes it feel like as long as we do it in a reasonable amount of time it will be fine.”

Some teachers fear AMI days might disrupt students’ learning by making it harder for them. This definitely affects certain courses more than others.

Mr. VanCleave, a current math teacher at Fair Grove, stated, “I do fear that many students struggle to learn lessons from AMI days for many reasons.  Some don’t engage themselves the way they would during a normal school day, some struggle with internet connectivity issues, some get distracted, etc.”

Mr. VanCleave also believes that there could be some other factors, “If there is one thing we learned for sure during the pandemic, it is that virtual learning just doesn’t work as well as in-person learning.”

This was harder for the school to put into place due to the fact that we are a more rural school district and some students don’t have internet access at home. To solve this problem the school sent out a server to figure out who didn’t have internet access. Once they found out who needed it they got small range hotspots to send home with those students. 

Van Cleave also said, “That being said, I think AMI days work out fine, especially if we only have one here and there.  Luckily our school day has built-in intervention time during 8th hour where students can get extra help if they need it, and I think it helps school morale if we don’t have to come in on a Monday to make those days up.”

Some students on the other hand feel that these days can sometimes be easier than normal school days. 

Olivia Brumfield (12) stated, “It isn’t hard to come back after the AMI day because we never do anything too confusing and it always works out well, whether that be giving us an extra study day or whatever. I think they’re a very positive thing to have. It keeps us from being out on the dangerous roads while allowing us to be in attendance and not make up snow days.”

Schlak also stated that, “I do find it a bit difficult to come back from an AMI day but it would be the same as coming back from a snow day. After we are given a break it’s hard for most of us to get back into the rhythm.”

These AMI days are a great way to keep students safe and learning at the same time.