One of the reasons I live in Minnesota is the dream of a snow day. But that dream isn’t as good as it sounds when you’re a teacher and snow day means you are required to physically show up for work to get work credit. Red Wing Schools has a workaround.

Red Wing Schools have made snow days an online working day for educators. Using their group subscription access to Whitewater Learning, Red Wing educators can stay home and work on professional development – and still get credit for working. In years past, educators were required to physically show up for work, even on Snow Days, to get work credit. But with the Whitewater subscription – funded for the Goodhue County Education District (GCED) in part by the Blandin Foundation – educators can report for work simply by logging in and completing at least one online professional development course from Whitewater.

The teachers actually get two weeks to complete the course – so if they don’t have broadband at home they can wait until they get to school or find another location. Teachers seem to like it a lot since they didn’t have to drive in to work during the snowstorm.