Flexible instruction days will look different in Lehighton Area School District next year, if they are utilized at all.

During last week’s school board workshop, Lehighton administrators pitched a plan to put students back on live conferences with their teachers through Google Meet until noon on flexible instruction days.

The plan, which is a diversion from the asynchronous 2022-23 method of students getting assignments for flexible instruction days and completing them on their own schedule, will be up for a vote on June 26.

“We wanted something a little more consistent for all students,” Superintendent Christina Fish said. “What we were hearing from parents with multiple children is that one was working an hour or two on flexible instruction day assignments, while another was done in 20 minutes. We also looked at what neighboring districts are doing when considering our plan.”

Districts, if they submit a plan to the Pennsylvania Department of Education and obtain approval, can use up to five flexible instruction days per school year that count toward the 180 required days for students.

The state initially started allowing flexible instruction days around a decade ago if school could not be in regular session due to weather or another unforeseen issue.

Melissa Volcskai, LASD director of instructional technology integration and curricular innovation, said under the new plan, students would be live with their teachers from 8:30 a.m.-noon, break for lunch from noon to 12:30 p.m. and have asynchronous work to do until the end of the school day.

“All family needs will be assessed at the start of the school year,” Volcskai said. “We want to make sure students have access to the content should we have a flexible instruction day.”

Attendance will be taken each day and students must be on camera to receive credit for a flexible instruction day. Absences will be marked excused or unexcused much like if school was in regular session.

“While I think this plan tries to make these days as valuable as a regular school day, I have heard from parents who are super concerned about if they are going to be able to get their kids in front of the computer to take advantage of the presenting teacher,” Board President Joy Beers said. “I think in the past these flexible instruction days have not been very valuable. There was a lot of confusion about the assignments. If we want to give value to the students, I think we should go back to what we did before in building that snow back into the calendar somewhere.”

Fish, who wrote her doctoral thesis on the use of flexible instruction days, said opting to add on days at the end of school year can be “much less effective.”

Lehighton could receive approval from the state for flexible instruction days and opt not to use them.

“I think it’s a good idea to have a plan,” director Barbara Bowes said. “This plan would make these days far more valuable than what was in place. I still remember having to go to school longer because we had snow days. But those days at the end, they weren’t really significant learning days anyway. I think these flexible instruction days would be much more effective.”