Running Start students have to choose between their Clark College (CC) classes or Camas High School (CHS) classes when one or the other school closes due to inclement weather.
At CHS, a late start or snow day is determined by the district at six a.m. CC calls snow closures based on what teacher you have. Classes online will not close due to weather as snow does not affect online classes.
“I would see if the class happens and then I would see if it is possible to get there,” CHS senior Amy Lewis said. “If not, I would have to be absent and some teachers have policies that you can only miss a certain number of classes or you fail, so I would rather go to Clark over CHS.”
CC will hold students accountable for missing class, with some professors cutting students from the class if that student has missed over a certain amount of classes—which CHS does not do.
“I would have to adjust my whole schedule to make it on time for my Clark classes,” CHS senior Zoe Webster said. “Compared to high school, Clark takes more self guidance and you have to be willing to figure out whether you should go to your high school classes or your college classes.”
When the Camas School District decides on a late start—the morning of—CHS classes start two hours later, which does not always happen with CC as it is at least 20 minutes away from CHS.
If classes are not cancelled for CC and there is a late start at CHS, Running Start students have to make a choice to go to CC or CHS as the schedules would clash.
“Running Start students are encouraged to prioritize which courses would be more detrimental to miss,” CHS Running Start Counselor Heidi Uhirch said. “Ultimately, if missing Clark’s instruction time would set you back, it may be best to miss time at the high school or vice versa.”
Every professor is different at CC, but most will not take late work or missed classes, even if the student is prioritizing high school classes. CHS tends to be more accepting of missed classes and work when it comes to students who take classes outside of CHS.
“Overall the system isn’t great, and if the high school cancels classes and Clark doesn’t, it creates a huge dilemma for Running Start students,” Lewis said. “It would be great if the Running Start students could be excused from attending in-person classes if the school is closed.”
