TEACHER ASSISTANT APPLICATIONS

Snow Closure Policy ►

Scenario #1: If the DCSD schools close:

For morning classes: If the schools close or are delayed we will not hold morning classes.

For evening classes: Classes starting later in the day will be decided according to the weather, and a decision will be made by 1pm as to whether or not we will follow the closure. If the sun comes out and we feel it’s safe for people to drive we will go ahead and open for evening classes. As soon as we decide, we will put it on our homepage, social media, and change the voicemail.

Scenario #2: Now what often happens is the roads are fine at 4:30 and we start classes and are happily teaching away, unaware of what is happening outside. Slowly, parents are coming in and saying, "It's really getting bad out there!". We have to make some decisions and sometimes it's a hard call. As soon as we decide, we will put it on our homepage and change the voicemail and sometimes it is last minute. We tend to be conservative especially for the late night classes when many of the students are teenage drivers and we want them to be safe.

Scenario #3: Another scenario is the snow is worsening just before classes start at 4:30. Teachers are on their way and saying the roads are a little slick but not too bad. Parents coming in say it's slick but if you go slow it's fine. Will it get worse? Should we cancel or are we overreacting? Once again, this is often a hard call. The best we can do is make a decision when we have more information and post it online and change the voicemail. Sometimes this is very last minute.

In any event, please be patient as we are doing the best we can in balancing all the concerns when these decisions have to be made. If you feel it is unsafe, then by all means stay home. As the season progresses and we all get more confident in our snow driving, we find we cancel less often.