School year will be a few days longer for some
tazewell, va. — Some area students will be spending a few extra days in the classroom next month.
That's due to instructional days that were lost due to the weather. But it wasn't just a bad winter and snow that contributed to a loss of instructional days this school year. A February flood, and the remnants of Hurricane Helene last September, also caused school closures.
In Tazewell County, days had to be added to the end of the school year to make up for the loss of instructional time due to the various weather events.
The last day of school for students in Tazewell County will be Thursday, June 5, according to Tazewell County School Superintendent Dr. Chris Stacy.
The last day for teachers is Friday, June 6.
'We missed some school for weather, flooding and a hurricane,' Stacy said. 'It was quite a weather year. This is the first I can ever remember us missing school in September.'
The original school calendar for the 2024-2025 school year had school ending in late May.
The remnants of Hurricane Helene slammed into the region on the morning of September 24, 2024, toppling thousands of trees and power lines across the region. It also caused localized flooding.
Thousands across the area were without electricity for more than a week. Stacy said several schools in the Eastern District of Tazewell County, including Graham High School, lost electricity following the storm.
In neighboring Mercer County, the last day of school for students is June 10 and the last day for employees is June 16, according to Amy Harrison, data and information specialist for Mercer County Schools.
Although the school year will stretch into the first 10 days of June, the instructional days lost due to the weather were recovered during spring break, according to Harrison.
'We did not have to extend the school year because the number of snow days over our built-in days in the calendar were taken during spring break,' Harrison said.
While some students will be in the classroom a few days longer, seniors will soon be graduating across the region.
In McDowell County, graduation is set for May 22 for both Mount View High School in Welch and River View High School in Bradshaw.
In Mercer County, graduation will be held May 30 for Montcalm High School, Bluefield High School, Princeton Senior High School and PikeView High School.
In Monroe County, graduation is also set for May 30 for seniors at James Monroe High School.
Contact Charles Owens at
cowens@bdtonline.com
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