ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, January 16, 1996 TAG: 9601160054
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
It's time to hit the books again.
After sleeping late, watching television and playing in the snow for 10 days, most schoolchildren in Western Virginia will return to class today.
Most schools in the Roanoke and New River valleys will be in session for the first time since the Jan. 6-7 storm that dumped more than two feet of snow in most localities in the region.
Children in Roanoke and the counties of Bedford, Botetourt, Floyd, Franklin, Montgomery and Roanoke will be back in class, joining those in Radford, Salem and Craig County who returned Monday.
Schools in Giles and Pulaski counties will remain closed today because some roads are still not clear.
Schools will open late this morning in several localities because the weather forecast called for freezing temperatures Monday night.
"We want to wait until it warms up and melts some of the ice," said Richard Kelley, assistant superintendent for operations for Roanoke schools.
Buses will run two hours late in Roanoke and in Bedford, Floyd and Franklin counties. Buses in Bedford and Franklin counties will run on snow routes.
Schools will open one hour late in Salem and the counties of Botetourt and Roanoke.
Some Salem children had to walk one or two blocks to catch the bus Monday because there were large piles of snow at the end of a few side streets. But Superintendent Wayne Tripp said the opening was generally smooth.
"We didn't have any major problems. We found one gutter that had pulled away from a school, but no other damage," Tripp said.
In Roanoke, bus drivers made test runs Monday to see if they would encounter any problems today. They found a few streets where snow and ice needed to be cleared, Kelley said.
School officials gave a list of the streets to city crews to clear by this morning.
First-semester exams have been canceled in Salem, Botetourt County and Roanoke County because of the missed days. Roanoke will keep exams, but they have been postponed until Jan. 23.
School officials in some localities said it would be better to spend the time learning new material instead of reviewing and taking the exams. Most children have been in class only four days since the winter break began in December.
"We felt it would put students at a disadvantage to try to rush through material and take exams quickly," Botetourt Superintendent Clarence McClure said. It would take more than a week out of instruction time for students to prepare for exams and take them, McClure said.
Salem and Roanoke County school officials have taken a similar position, saying they want to use instruction time for new material. Tripp said Salem will have six-week tests instead of exams. The semester grade will be computed on the three six-week grades, he said.
In Roanoke County, there will be tests on material that has been covered during the latest grading period, but no semester exams, said Marty Robison, executive assistant for schools.
The schools have already begun scheduling make-up days. This week, Botetourt schools will be open Thursday and Friday, which had been scheduled as days off.
Salem and Roanoke County schools will be open Monday, which had been slated as a teacher workday. Roanoke children will go to school Jan. 26, when they had been scheduled to be off. Salem schools will be open Feb. 2.
If Roanoke Valley schools don't miss more days this winter, officials hope to preserve most of spring break. But, the officials note, the winter is not even half over.
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