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Parents » Flexible Instruction Days (FID)

Flexible Instruction Days (FID)

Dear Parents and Guardians, 


The Pennsylvania Department of Education has approved the use of Flexible Instruction Days (FID) as an alternate form of instruction in place of a day otherwise canceled due to inclement weather or unforeseen emergency. River Valley School District has been approved for up to five (5) Flexible Instruction Days for the 2021-2022 school year. To count as a full day of instruction, the FID must occur on the day of the building closure. On a FID, students must complete class assignments set by their teachers at home on the day that would otherwise have been canceled. Students will be given assignments for each subject that would have originally taken place during the regular school day. 


If a significant weather event or unforeseen emergency occurs, administrators at River Valley School District will make the necessary decisions to utilize a FID and relay that information to parents and guardians in the form of a phone call, email, and/or text message through the district-wide messaging system, REMIND. Notifications will also be published on the district website, and depending on the situation, alerts will be broadcasted on local radio and television stations. 


District Calendar

  • If a FID occurs on a day that is scheduled as Day 3, students will continue with Day 4 upon their return to school. 
  • The FID counts as a regular school day and does not need to be made up later in the year. 

Student Attendance

  • Elementary students in grades K-5 are required to attend synchronously and complete asynchronous work by blocks that include English Language Arts, Mathematics, Social Studies, Science, Specials, and WIN. Attendance is based on attendance at each of these blocks. In some cases, synchronous learning may or may not be possible. Therefore, elementary students are permitted to submit attendance by watching the recorded lessons and completing all asynchronous work. This work must be submitted the next day when the student returns to school for attendance purposes.
  • Secondary students are expected to log into each class according to the provided schedule. Attendance is kept for each period by synchronous attendance. Attendance is determined by the proportional amount attended. For example, if a student attends the first 4 of 8 periods, he/she/they will be marked as attending ½ day. 
  • In the event of a student's illness, the normal rules for making up work will apply and an excuse for the illness should be submitted. 

Student Work Assignments

  • Assignments will be meaningful and in line with the lesson plans scheduled for the week. 
  • Teachers will post assignments for students in grades Kindergarten through 12th grade via CANVAS by the start of the school day according to the building schedule. SeeSaw may be used for PreK students.
  • Elementary FID will include running a similar schedule to the typical bell schedule through Google Meet and/or teacher-created CANVAS courses. In essence, the Flexible Instruction Day will be as it is during the regular school day with built-in breaks and asynchronous assignments. Students are not required to log in during recess and lunch.

  • Secondary FID will also follow the regular school day bell schedule. Accessing teacher-created CANVAS courses, students will log in to their Google Meet during their assigned time for each period following the required lessons posted within CANVAS by each teacher. Assignments and asynchronous work may also be available through Google Classroom. Students are not required to log in during lunch and study halls.  

Special Education

  • Lessons will be designed for students with special needs utilizing specially designed instruction identified in their Individualized Education Plans (IEP). 
  • Related services (Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech, Special Education Services, Gifted Services, English as a Second Language programming, etc.) scheduled during the FID will be conducted through synchronous modalities using the same platforms and video-conferencing tools. 

Wi-Fi Access

  • Students without Wi-Fi access or with limited bandwidth will be provided with T-Mobile hotspots with unlimited or limited data.
  • A classroom cyberspace will also be available for students without home Wi-Fi access. 
  • Wi-Fi will also be available in close proximity to each building from the parking lot in extreme cases.

Please note that Flexible Instruction Days (FID) will only be used when there is the certainty of a significant weather event or unforeseen emergency. If there is doubt about the severity of the weather event and the possibility of face-to-face instruction still exists, a traditional school delay will likely be used. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact your child's principal.