Over the past few years, many school districts have rolled out e-learning days — also called remote learning or flexible learning days — to make up for instructional time lost to inclement weather and other unexpected events that push school buildings to close.

With a strong e-learning program in place, educators can continue teaching their curriculum online and help students stay on track academically outside of a classroom setting. It’s also an opportunity for districts to see the impact of digital tools on student learning, train staff on educational technology and evaluate their data privacy and security measures.

It takes a lot of time and planning to deploy an e-learning program that gives students an authentic learning experience. But in the face of adversity, school districts may not have the luxury of time and come across challenges as they create plans to shift learning and teaching online.

Thankfully, there are school districts across the country that have gone through the process of developing e-learning plans. District leaders can turn to them for ideas as they build out their remote learning strategies. But before they do so, there are key questions they must ask when considering implementing short-term and long-term e-learning programs.