How remote learning kept Butler County students progressing following Sunday’s snowstorm
Gone are the days where more than a foot of snow meant children could enjoy a day with no classes to worry about. In the post-pandemic world, remote learning is keeping students inside and the school calendar on track.
As Butler County worked to clean up the 11 to 20 inches of snow from the weekend’s storm and faced bone-chilling temperatures throughout the week, most area school districts moved to remote learning setups.
For parents like Sarah Curran, a Butler Area School District parent, the weeklong departure from in-person school meant comfortable clothes and lunch with her two children — third-grade student Finnegan Curran and eighth-grade student Jameson Curran.
“I’ve been able to help them with questions and the teachers have been great,” Sarah Curran said. “I am grateful for this option to keep everyone safe and not have to make up missed days in June when we all want to be outside in the sun.”
She said she works for a State Farm office that gives its employees the option to work from home or bring their children to the office.
On some occasions, she has taken her children to the office with her; but this week, the family stayed home working from their devices and spending their free time together at their Butler home.
She said she was grateful the Butler Area School District canceled in-person classes.
“I think the roads are still pretty terrible and I understand why it’s not safe,” she said. “I can imagine the roads in the country are worse or similar.”
As she’s overheard her children in class, she said both children were engaged and the teachers were “not missing a beat.”
“I don’t think anyone will be behind,” she said.
Sarah Huth, a Moniteau parent with two sons in grade school, echoed Curran’s thoughts on the remote learning setup.
“As a parent, I get clear and concise information regarding what is required of my elementary student,” Huth said. “My high school student has been busy with Google Meets and working on assignments.
She said she felt the district was well prepared for the possibility.
“And it shows,” she said. “I don’t think anyone anticipated a week of remote school, but I'm grateful that keeping our kids safe while they continue to learn is the district’s priority.”
Others on a Butler Eagle Facebook post asking parents for their experience this week also offered positive feedback. Two that offered up concerns didn’t prefer remote learning, but said they saw it as needed because of the weather or road conditions.
All nine school districts with Butler County footprints closed or moved to remote learning Monday and Tuesday. Most followed that trend for the rest of the week. Some even decided Wednesday that Thursday and Friday classes would move online.
Butler Area School District allowed a true snow day for Friday, while others stuck to their remote learning plans.
Allegheny-Clarion Valley was the one district that opted to bring students back in person mid-week, but still on a two-hour delay schedule.
“It’s relatively new and that’s the tricky part of it. I’ve been able to rely on the principals and teachers, work together with them and collaborate,” said David McDeavitt, A-C Valley’s superintendent.
For rural districts like A-C Valley, which is made up of parts of four separate counties, students don’t always have immediate access to internet. McDeavitt said students, particularly younger ones, will have packets sent home to them and teachers have office hours for parents and students to call in.
McDeavitt said if he can’t make a call on delays or cancellations the night before, he wakes up at 4:15 a.m. to monitor the weather and make a call by 5:30 a.m.
Seneca Valley School District officials told parents they had been hopeful students could return Thursday or Friday with a 2-hour delay because it “strongly values in-person learning.” However, the amount of snow still on the ground in some areas “make in-person attendance not possible.”
“We always evaluate conditions on a day-by-day basis and base our decisions on the most current information available,” an email from the district said. “This includes weather forecasts, actual temperatures, road conditions and confirmation from our transportation and facilities teams that buildings and buses can operate safely.
“Forecasts alone are not the only factors in making these decisions across a 100-square-mile district.”
School districts can offer remote learning due to changes that came after the Pennsylvania Department of Education transitioned in 2023 from requiring a strict 180-day school year to a more flexible model.
The department allows local school districts to meet either 180 days or required instructional hours of 900 hours for elementary students and 990 hours for secondary students.
Because of this, schools must balance remote learning and flexible instruction days to meet the requirements.
Knoch School District, which has had remote learning the past several days, clarified to its parents a flexible learning day (FID) allows students to complete activities independently at home.
Remote learning days follow a normal schedule, where students participate in live, synchronous virtual classes with their teachers at scheduled times. They are expected to log in and attend as they would in person.
“FID days do not require students to be online at specific times and are designed to provide families with flexibility while maintaining instructional continuity,” Knoch said in an email.
But under Department of Education guidelines, school districts are limited to using a maximum of five FID days per school year, the email said. Hence, Knoch operated with remote learning setups instead.
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Jackson Badac attends school remotely from the conference room of Tim Reges Jr. Insurance and Financial Services after weather canceled in-person classes Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026. Matthew Brown/Butler Eagle
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Third grade student Finnegan Curran attends class remotely Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026. Matthew Brown/Butler Eagle
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Eighth grade student Jameson Curran, looks through some of the remote classwork he completed during a remote learning day Thursday, Jan. 26, 2026. Matthew Brown/Butler Eagle
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Third grade student Finnegan Curran talks about the different marine animals he drew during a remote learning day Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026. Matthew Brown/Butler Eagle
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Third grade student Finnegan Curran attends class remotely Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026. Matthew Brown/Butler Eagle
