This past weekend my son had to travel up north- he reported that there was snow on the ground! I then heard the same on the news that evening- some places had 3-4 inches and extreme winds. It's always this time of year when so many of us say, "I'm not ready yet". Not ready for snow, cold, or winter. (Of course, I know many others who "just can't wait"!) In either case, it's time to think about those days when school might be cancelled or delayed-especially with this recent bout of very cold, blustery, wood stove weather. I am repeating a blog I wrote a couple of years ago (with some updates) so that you have an idea of how these difficult decisions are made.
From a November 20, 2014 blog:
I thought this would be a good time of year to explain what goes into
cancelling (or delaying) school for weather related reasons. It's not
always snow- over the years we've had both flood days and a hurricane day!
Usually, it is the superintendent watching the weather reports and
hoping that the weather doesn't interfere with school. Sometimes, it is
a state-wide event and we all receive some direction from the NH
Department of Safety. The hurricane one year was one of these, and all
of the superintendents took part in a conference call advising us to
call off school the next day.
But when it comes to snow
or ice, superintendents are pretty much on their own with the
decision. I watch the weather every night and check for any storms that
are forecast for the school week. If a forecast calls for snow or ice,
I watch even more carefully! On the night before a predicted storm, I
stay up until around 11:30 PM watching the weather channel and the local
reports. I am then up the next morning at 4:30 AM to look out the
windows and check the television weather reports again. If there is
already snow on the ground, by 5:00 AM, I call our town road agent to
see if the roads are clear. Our town road workers are a good judge of
what it is like out on the roads and whether the roads will be ready. I
also call our police department to see what the officers are saying
about the state roads, such as Route 101. Finally, I need to make a
decision to call off school before 6:00 AM as our bus drivers
need to get the buses ready and out by 6:00 for our high school
students. This is so early that the decision is almost always a tricky
one. (More than once, I've had to make a decision for a two hour delay due to
unexpected icy roads that caught everyone by surprise!)
Once
I make the decision to cancel or delay school, it is a race to notify
everyone. I call each of the administrative team and then, Jennifer,
our Administrative Assistant, makes a call and creates a message to
families and staff members. I also call the television and radio
stations, the town road agent, the police, and the town manager. This
all takes about 45 minutes to an hour. Although students are not in
school, our administrators all come in, and the schools and SAU offices
are open for the day.
The most difficult decisions are
when a storm is predicted for later in the morning- after school has
already begun. If the weather reports say that the storm will be here
at 10:00, it is a tough call. Should I take a chance and get everyone
to school and hope that the roads will be clear at dismissal? Or should I
cancel school and take a chance that the storm will be so bad, that
people will forget it was clear in the morning?
And
what if a storm sneaks in unexpectedly during the day? Should I dismiss
school and get the buses out as quickly as possible? Or wait and hope
that the roads will be better prepared later in the day?
With
every decision, I am aware that families may have day care or baby
sitting issues that need to be resolved and that, they too, spend time
watching the weather to try and predict whether there will be school or
not. Every decision I make is made for the safety of our children. I do
not want students at bus stops or walking on roads that have not been
plowed or out walking where drivers may be sliding on our roads. We
live in a rural area with very few sidewalks; winding, hilly roads; and
narrow walkways. When you add a snowstorm or ice to this, it can be a
dangerous situation for our students.
Cancelling school
is not something I like to do, but I do it for the safety of our
students. We had two rough winters in a row, followed by one mild one, let's hope this year,
we only have snow on the weekends!