Teachers, parents and children often wonder what is involved in a school district’s cancellation policy concerning freezing temperatures, wind chill and even absentee rates for sickness. Both city and county school systems have recently addressed these policies in anticipation of these events.
Daviess County Public Schools
Daviess County Public Schools Superintendent Matt Robbins recently provided the rationale for DCPS policies, and several DCPS schools posted it on social media.
“The decision to close or delay opening of schools is always made with careful consideration of weather and road conditions, with the safety and well-being of our students always the most important guiding factor,” the statement read.
Robbins said that weather reports provided by the National Weather Service are closely monitored and involve local agencies input. In addition, DCPS staff members also travel the roads in Daviess County to assess the conditions to make sure travel remains safe for families.
“We also monitor absentee rates during flu season or other health epidemics,” Robbins wrote.
Robbin’s wrote the following concerning wind chill scenarios:
“This week, we are looking ahead at two possible scenarios from the National Weather Service: A Wind Chill Advisory and a Wind Chill Warning. The ‘wind chill factor’ is calculated based on air temperatures and wind, resulting in a ‘feels like’ temperature that may affect the rate of heat loss from the body.
NWS definitions for each are:
Wind Chill Advisory – Wind chills are between 10 and 24 degrees below zero.
Wind Chill Warning – Wind chills are 25 degrees or more below zero.
When or if the National Weather Service issues a Wind Chill Warning for Daviess County that would be in effect during the time students would be coming to school, DCPS schools will be CLOSED for that day.
We anticipate making those decisions that morning as it would be difficult to predict wind chill status the night before.
If there is a Wind Chill Advisory in effect, DCPS schools will be open, unless there were unforeseen operational problems with our bus fleet or mechanical problems affecting heat in our buildings.
Decisions will be made as early as possible as we understand the challenges families face when finding supervision for children. Messages will be communicated through the Infinite Campus Messenger system; please ensure that your family’s contact information remains updated in the IC Parent Portal. School closings and delays are also posted on our district website and Facebook page, and communicated through local media outlets.”
Robbins reiterated that safety is the most important factor in guiding DCPS’ decisions to open or delay schools.
Read Robbin’s full statement here
Read more about DCPS cancellation, delay and early dismissal information here.
Owensboro Public Schools
Owensboro Public Schools did not provide a statement concerning all winter policies, but did address the most this week’s most concerning issue — Wednesday’s low temperatures.
According to Jared Revlett, Owensboro Public Schools public information officer, OPS is working closely with local school districts and the National Weather Service to make an informed decision about school Wednesday in regards to the possibility of extreme cold temperatures.
“It is our goal everyday to have our students in school while ensuring their safety as they travel to and from their school buildings,” Revlett said “We are closely monitoring the weather situation and if a decision is made to close school, we will communicate that message via our district Facebook page as well as through our TIE TXT service and local media.”
To sign up for TIE TXT to receive school closing information, Revlett said people can do so here.
Both districts said that during the winter months, they want to make sure all students are dressed appropriately, especially if they will be waiting outdoors for a school bus or are walking to school and if assistance is needed for appropriate clothing, please contact the school Family Resource Coordinator.
