RADFORD -- On Monday, three of Lee Slusher's eight students remembered to bring their homework. The eighth-grade English teacher at Dalton Intermediate School expressed disappointment but did little to reprimand students.

She gave the assignment -- writing three sentences to support each of three thesis statements -- on Thursday, a school day that began with a two-hour delay and was followed by a snow day.

As most of the New River Valley's schools, Radford shuttered schools for all but one day last week because of snow and ice. It was the only school system to reopen on Monday, and that opening was delayed by two hours.

In coming weeks, school leaders across the valley will look at ways to make up for the instruction lost by inclement weather. To do so, they're likely to steal time away from other planned holidays.

In the meantime, Radford's students and teachers worked Monday to recoup instruction hours they'd missed because of the constant severe weather.

It wasn't easy.

Teachers dealt with issues that are likely to plague all school systems once they reopen their schools: inattentive, sleepy students who need a refresher course on lessons taught a week ago but would rather catch up with friends.

"It's like they're coming back and starting from scratch," said Joanne Cook, another Dalton English teacher. "I just don't want them to miss so many days that they start not taking it seriously."

And that could be tough with some Standards of Learning exams coming up and then spring break looming, teachers said.

"What I worry about the most is being able to cover everything that needs to be covered," Slusher told her students.

Before the weather deferred studying, the eighth-graders started to prepare for the SOL writing exam. It measures their ability to write critically and their knowledge of grammar and writing mechanics, and the state requires it to take place March 2 and March 4 -- snow days or no snow days

Unlike other SOL exams, the state sets the date and does not provide a testing window for schools.

Dalton's principal, Jeff Smith, got the word Monday from the Virginia Department of Education that the mandated day will not change despite the missed school days.

The exam won't be moved because it is given across the state the first week of March, said VDOE spokesman Charles Pyle.

"These are tests that are designed to assess writing skills over several years," he said.

Missing a few instructional days shouldn't affect students' overall knowledge of the skills, he said.

That means teachers such as Slusher have to pack their classes with what they think will be the most essential grammar and writing lessons, and that won't necessarily mean they'll all be covered thoroughly.

"Sadly, I'll have to move quickly," she said.

The National Weather Service is calling for more snow across the region today, which could keep students out of school longer.