It’s that time of year…

This is the time of year when we begin to think about snow days.  For the next four months we will be watching and listening to weather reports to be ready for the early morning decision – should we hold school today?

It’s not a secret that in general, I would prefer we not have any snow days.  The loss of instructional time, the cancellation of important student events and disruption to family schedules are all issues with snow days.  A recent study even looked at the negative impact of snow days on student achievement. However, the safety and welfare of our students and staff is our top priority.  We will again have multiple staff  members driving the district roads to determine actual weather conditions.

Standard practice is to reach a school closing decision by 5:15 a.m. However, understand that weather conditions may change rapidly in the early morning hours, which could cause a decision to be delayed until a later time. When an announcement is made that Saline Area Schools will be closed due to inclement weather, this means all schools in the District will be closed for that day. Unless weather conditions are severe, announcements regarding school closings for the next school day will typically be made during the early morning hours for that day. It is practice for Saline Area Schools not to dismiss school on the basis of a weather forecast, but on actual conditions.

If school is closed, we will notify local media, post a notice on our website, record a notice on 429-8000 and send a Twitter message from the @SalineSchools account. You may also receive and AlertNow message from your building principal.