Winter Weather Decisons

Winter Weather: How We Make the Decision to Cancel School or Open Late

 

Dear Pennridge Community,

 

As the weather begins to turn colder, I wanted to provide some information on Pennridge School District procedures for making decisions on inclement weather days.

 

How is the decision made?

The Directors of Operations and Transportation and I all monitor various weather outlets and receive hourly reports from the National Weather Service.  Multiple employees drive to monitor the situation in various areas of the District and provide information on road conditions, as well as the safety of bus stops and sidewalks.

 

Additionally, I work with the Superintendents of the Palisades and Quakertown School Districts.  Our three districts often make the same decision since we all send students to the Upper Bucks County Technical School.

 

When is the decision made?

There will be situations when the decision can be made the night before. I will inform all families and staff, using our Blackboard connects system via email, text blast, and phone messages, in those cases no later than 10:00 PM. If you have not heard by that time, you know that the decision will not be made until the morning.

Decisions made in the morning will be communicated to you between 4:30 AM and 5:15 AM.

 

What about early dismissals?

Decisions regarding early dismissals will be made by 9:30 AM.  Depending on the forecast, the High School will close at 10:30 or 11:30, Middle Schools at 11:15 or 12:15, Guth and Sellersville at 11:45 or 12:45, Bedminster, Deibler, Grasse, Seylar, and West Rockhill at 12:00 or 1:00. 

Please make sure that your child knows their routine for any early dismissal. 

 

How will the decision be communicated?

All emergency communications are posted to the website and sent via email, phone call, and text.  In the event of a weather situation, the information is also provided to local radio and television stations and is posted on the District Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

 

We use the information from your Power School Parent Portal Account for these communications.  It is important to make sure that this information is accurate.  You may view and edit this information through the “Demographic Info” tab in Power School.  Ensure the Blackboard Connect Phone numbers and Blackboard Connect Email addresses are up to date. If you need additional assistance, please contact your child’s school.

 

Will we just use remote learning on snow days this year?

Our calendar has built-in snow make-up days and most of the students/staff in grade K-8 have not utilized remote learning this school year.  In addition, many weather decisions cannot be made in advance and a snow day or two can be fun! 

 

If we have multiple days of bad weather, we will consider utilizing remote learning for all students.

 

Do we have to make up days missed due to the weather?

Our calendar currently has two potential snow make-up days scheduled.  These days will be used as school days if any weather cancelations occur before those dates. 

 

Beyond the two snow make-up days, any missed days, may also be added to the end of the school year. Our current last day of school is Thursday, June 6.

 

I know that some of you will not always agree with a weather decision that I make.  Please know I am working from the best information available and will, in all situations, prioritize the safety of our students and staff. 

 

Angelo G. Berrios III

Superintendent of Schools- Pennridge School District