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Emergency Closing Procedures
 
The following information is provide as a guide to times when the district may decide to close the schools. If it does become necessary to close schools it will be announced on the radio and TV stations listed on the right side of this page.

School emergency closings could happen at any time of the year. Parents need to arrange plans with their children (and a neighbor, childcare, employer, etc.) on what is expected should an emergency closing occur. Decisions to close or dismiss school early are always a judgment call, however, we do use some general criteria in making such decisions. School procedures call for an emergency school closing announcement to be given over local radio and television media. Below are some of the criteria and examples of what would impact a decision to cancel school or to dismiss school early.

1. Weather Forecasts - Weather conditions and events are very unpredictable. We will never cancel school or dismiss school early solely on a weather forecast. Weather events must be occurring and deteriorating for school to be cancelled or for us to dismiss early.

2. Extreme Heat – Per Illinois State Board of Education guidelines, school districts cannot announce in advance (i.e., the day prior) that school will be closing after less than 5 clock hours because of extreme heat. To announce this in advance will cause the district to use one of its five emergency days instead of counting a shortened day as a full day of attendance. Therefore, any announcements that we will be dismissing school for extreme heat will only occur on the morning of the event and only after the start of school.

3. Snow - Generally speaking snow is not a primary reason for closing school. As long as roads are not drifting shut, it’s possible we would have school even with a sizable snowfall (e.g., greater than six inches).

4. Road conditions - As referenced above, road conditions dictate many of our decisions. Due to the fact the district is widely spread out, we primarily consider road conditions where the bulk of our students live (Springfield, Chatham, and unincorporated areas of Chatham, Ball and Cotton Hill Townships).

5. Cold - We will look at wind chill and air temperature (also road conditions) when making a decision relating to cold weather. Please remember that we do live in central Illinois so below 0° weather is not uncommon. In most situations, if air temperature is 0° to -10° with a little or moderate wind chill, we will likely have school. Air temperature of -20° or below (regardless of wind chill) will probably cause us to cancel school. If temperatures are between -11° to -19° and depending on wind chill, road conditions, and other current weather conditions, we may or may not have school.

6. When are winter-related decisions made? Unless we are in the midst of a blizzard or another winter weather-related event, a decision to cancel school will occur between 6:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. the night before school or, in most instances, no later than 6:30 a.m. the next day. Once school is in session, decisions to dismiss early will occur by 11:00 a.m. Of course, in an extreme emergency, we may have to announce early dismissal after this time.

Please remember that the safety of our students will always be our top priority. We trust this communication provides you with necessary information into our decision-making process.
Media Sources
Television
WICS
WAND
WCIA

Radio
WMAY
WNNS
WQLZ
WFMB
WCVS
WDBR
WTAX
WYMG
WQQL
WIMI
WLCE
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