School's out for the eclipse: Why class is canceled for many in the South on Aug. 21

Even schools are gearing up for the eclipse — by shutting down or ramping up lessons.

Several school districts in the South have announced classrooms will be closed Aug. 21 for the rare solar eclipse, while others are incorporating the event into their curriculum.

Many schools across the country will be closed regardless because of summer vacation. But school districts across the southern U.S. typically open earlier, forcing them to make a decision: Keep students in school or let them stay home.

The public school system in Lincoln, Neb., is having a special eclipse day celebration on Aug. 21, which will be preceded by a week of hands-on learning "leading up to the grand finale." In Missouri, however, several schools in the St. Louis area will be shut down.

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Nashville Public Schools, one of the largest school systems in the eclipse path, reversed course, deciding students would need to come in on eclipse day after initially giving them the day off.

"(We) were asked by the mayor to reconsider that decision as she felt strongly that young students could encounter safety issues if they were left home without supervision on that day," the district said in a statement.

Other districts throughout Tennessee split on how to handle the event, with some closing and others remaining open. Schools in Clarksville and Knoxville will be closed, for example.

South Carolina state allowed local districts to decide whether to open. Under state law, the first allowable day of school was Aug 21, but the General Assembly voted to "allow schools to start two days earlier, on Aug. 17, so that students could receive instruction tailored toward the eclipse." 

Both the Columbia and Greenville, S.C., school systems decided to start school Aug. 22. In the Charleston area, schools will open Aug. 17, and be closed Aug. 21.

"Everybody was on board with not having school on the 21st,” Dorchester County (S.C.) spokeswoman Pat Raynor told the Post and Courier (Charleston).

Meanwhile, many public schools in the eclipse path in the northwestern U.S. won't have opened for class yet, including those in the cities of Salem, Ore.; Idaho Falls, Idaho; and Casper, Wyo.  

Contributing: Ashley Cole, KSDK-TV, St. Louis; Jason Gonzales, the (Nashville) Tennessean; Megan Boehnke, the Knoxville News-Sentinel.