At its Nov. 10 meeting, the Garrett County Board of Education approved Garrett County Public Schools’ virtual learning plan for the 2026-27 school year, which lets the superintendent call virtual learning days during severe winter weather once the calendar’s built-in snow days have been used.
The plan keeps the three inclement weather make-up days built into the 2026-27 calendar as traditional snow days. Only after those three days are used can Superintendent Dr. Nicole Miller move schools to virtual learning. Each virtual day will include four hours of live, synchronous instruction. The plan has no fully asynchronous days and no pre-planned virtual days, and the school system will still use two-hour delays, three-hour delays, three-hour early dismissals and regular closings when the weather calls for them.
Chief Academic Officer Dawna Ashby told the board the plan was posted for public comment between the October and November meetings and drew 17 responses. Opinions were split. Some parents asked the school system to use virtual days so make-up days don’t stretch into June, while others raised concerns about child care for working parents, unreliable internet in rural parts of the county, and screen time for young children. Ashby said she read every response and that the feedback pulled in both directions, pointing to one single mother who asked the school system not to use two-hour delay virtual days because of daycare and work schedules.
Miller recommended approval and thanked residents for their feedback, saying there is no one-size-fits-all approach to winter weather in Garrett County. She said the school system still considers in-person learning best and will prioritize it whenever possible, but virtual days help keep instruction consistent ahead of AP exams and state tests.
Board members asked how students and staff without internet would be handled. School officials said schools survey families ahead of time about internet access and send paper packets home in advance for students who need them. Under the plan, staff without internet are expected to report to the nearest GCPS location, and those who can’t safely get there work with their supervisor to decide whether they can do their job or need to take leave.
The biggest change this year is for pre-kindergarten. School officials said pre-K students will get paper packets instead of going online. Pre-K is a voluntary program that isn’t covered by compulsory attendance laws, they said, and participation among the youngest students had been low given their age and the amount of screen time involved. Pre-K students are marked present when the packet is turned in the next day, and teachers will provide extra help to any student who needs it when school resumes. Officials added that pre-K teachers can fill in as substitutes or team teach on those days.
One board member asked about a suggestion from the public comments to start every virtual day at 10 a.m. Miller said the current schedule came from a committee that included union representatives, and that staff have found it hard to get students back online after lunch. The two-hour delay virtual option is meant for days when a delay has already been called and the weather gets worse around 8 a.m., giving the superintendent an alternative to closing schools. She said any substantial change would go back to that committee first.
Miller also said the state is reviewing calendar and instructional time rules after a number of school systems sought waivers last winter, and that concerns about screen time may lead the board to take another look at virtual days in future years.
The board approved the plan by voice vote with no opposition. According to the plan, it will be posted on the GCPS website after Nov. 11. Anyone having technical trouble on a virtual learning day can call the GCPS IT Helpdesk at 1-888-285-7254 or email helpdesk@garrettcountyschools.org between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.
The Board of Education’s next regular meeting is Tuesday, Dec. 8, at 6 p.m. at the Dennett Road Educational Complex in Oakland.
Meeting materials: Nov. 10 agenda and documents | Meeting video
