By Sunni Dearmin

Saturday morning 8 a.m., a school day?

For the students of Avery County schools in North Carolina that has become a reality this year. Students and teachers report to school on Saturday mornings until 11:30 a.m. if they have missed a school day due to snow the previous week. Saturday school only takes place if the school has been closed a day or more during that week.

It is against North Carolina law for students to be made to go to school for six days in a week. As of Feb. 18 students were on their seventh consecutive snow day. These seven days are only a drop in the bucket compared to all the snow days they have missed this winter.

“I would rather go on Saturdays than make them all up in June,” says Darrell Brewer, a teacher and football coach at Avery County High School. As of now graduation will not be held until well into June but if the snow keeps up then students may spend the whole month of June in a classroom.

“When I was in sixth grade I spent my birthday on June 21st in school for the only time, but it looks like I may be doing the same again this year as a teacher,” says Brewer. Snow totals on Beech Mountain were 20 inches on Feb. 18, making it hard for students to get to Beech Mountain Elementary School on top of the mountain.

Another new delay schedule has been added to try to help the school system get as many days in as possible. A three-hour delay has been put into action this year. In previous years Avery County has only gone up to a two-hour delay but now the students have days where they go to school at 11 a.m. and go straight into lunch.

Is there any controversy in the new “Saturday School?”

“Most of the staff at the high school are happy with the idea of giving up a Saturday morning if it means they get a hot summer day free instead,” says Brewer.

Many locals are also talking about how this winter has been.

“ I have not seen a winter like this since I was in elementary school,” says Catherine Childress. Childress has been a resident of Avery County since she moved from Charlotte when she was only in second grade. Now she has three children of her own who are in elementary and high school.

One option that is being discussed by school officials is spring break. In the past when the school system has passed the number of snow days allowed the county starts slowly taking away days from the students’ spring break. No one wants to go all summer, but the students don’t want to lose their spring break, either.

“Cutting spring break is one of the first options they consider,” says Brewer.