Emergency School Closing/Cold Weather Guidelines

When severe weather conditions or other school emegencies exist, the Superintendent of Schools is authorized by the School Board to close schools. Local news media cooperate by broadcasting information about such closings.
The decision to close schools due to severe weather is made prior to 6 a.m.  Unless you hear an announcement over local TV and radio stations that schools are closed or delayed, you can assume that school will be in session as scheduled.  Your cooperation in not calling stations or schools regarding possible closure is appreciated.  School closing information is generally broadcast on the following stations and their affiliates:

National Weather Service  The Weather Channel   Duluth News Tribune  KDLH - TV3 KBJR - TV 6 WDSE - TV 8   WDIO-TV 10 KDAL Radio 610 AM   KDAL Radio 95.7 FM WSCD Radio - 92.9 FM  

WEBC Radio 560 AM   KQDS Radio 1490 AM   KQDS Radio 94.9 FM

How are weather closing decisions made?

· Transportation personnel are up at 3:30AM checking National Weather Service reports, and on the road by 4:00AM personally checking road conditions. 

· They consult with transportation managers from Proctor, Hermantown and Superior school districts (who are also checking roads) and with the bus contractor.  They may also consult with the police department, MinnDOT, highway patrol, plus city and county departments that handle plowing.

· Transportation managers consult with superintendents and make a decision whether or not to close schools by 5:30AM.  Making a decision later than 5:30AM is difficult - school buses begin routes by about 6:00AM, and the longer school districts wait to make a decision, the more difficult it is for parents to plan their day, i.e. daycare, childcare and latchkey. 

· Duluth schools rarely dismiss early.  Early dismissal puts many parents in a bind; they don't have access to last minute childcare, which could result in sending young children to an empty house with no supervision.  During severe weather, parents always have the option of picking their children up early from school.

Please know that when it comes to winter weather, we encourage and strongly support you in making the decision that is best for your child.  You are always the best judge of your child's health and safety.  The school board and administration realize that their decision for the majority of students may not fit with your individual circumstances.  A decision to keep your child home for safety reasons will be considered an excused absence.

“Rural Buses on Plowed Roads Only” ADVISORY  

Occasionally Duluth may experience a weather pattern that incudes heavy snowfall in rural areas over the hill and little or no snow in urban Duluth.  In these situations, roads in rural areas may not be safe for school bus travel while roads in town are perfectly fine.

About 20% of our student population resides in the rural area.  About 80% resides in urban Duluth.  The challenge – keeping schools open when severe winter weather affects rural roads but not roads in town.

When severe snows hit rural areas and not urban Duluth areas, the District may issue an announcement that for safety reasons rural school buses are running on plowed roads only. This announcement will be made in the morning via the same communication channels that announce whether schools are open or closed including TV, radio and websites.  The announcement will look/sound like this:

   “Duluth Public Schools are open – Rural buses on plowed roads only.”

That means school buses in rural areas will perform their routes as close to normal as possible on roads that are plowed.  Schools will be open for the day.

Families who live on rural roads that are not plowed that morning have choices:  1) Keep their student home for safety reasons and call their school to report the absence, which is excused or 2) Transport students to and from school themselves.

This approach will provide an opportunity for education to continue for most students and at the same time maintain safe school bus travel. 

What is considered a “rural” area?

--Between Rice Lake and Howard Gnesen Roads: Everything north of and including Norton Road.

--Between Howard Gnesen Road and Woodland Avenue: Everything north of Calvary Road.

--Jean Duluth Rd: Everything north of Everett Street.

--Lester River Rd: Everything north of the intersection with Superior Street.

--North Shore Drive and the freeway: Everything north and east of the intersection with Superior Street.

Does “rural buses on plowed roads only” apply any time it snows?  No, only to situations involving severe winter weather when, after checking road conditions, a decision is made by District officials to run rural buses on plowed roads only and the decision is announced through TV, radio and other communication venues.   

Can I take my student to school and have the school bus drop them off in the afternoon?

It’s best to plan on picking your student up after school.  In the afternoon, buses will again travel only on plowed roads and we have no reliable means of verifying which rural roads will be plowed by dismissal.

How does this affect teachers/staff who live in rural areas?  Unlike closing school, a “plowed roads only” decision does not affect teachers or staff.  Employees who live in affected areas are expected to come to school or, if they feel conditions are not safe to travel, they may stay home and take a personal day.  

Cold Weather Guidelines 

Elementary students are expected to go outside at noon recess under most weather conditions. In the winter, children should dress warmly and wear boots, snow pants, warm jackets, hats and mittens.  Each school has systems to ensure children are dressed properly for outdoor play. 

Principals are responsible for implementing cold weather guidelines for their school building. Staff will monitor outdoor conditions at 0 degrees and below to determine if students need to remain indoors because of cold air temperatures and/or wind speeds.  Schools will not send children outdoors if the wind chill is -18 or less.

Schools are equipped with weather radios that inform staff of National Weather Service alerts:

Cautionary (Wind chills of -18 to -20 degrees)
Advisory   (Wind chill of -25 degrees or below)
Or Warning (Wind chill of -35 degrees or below) 

In addition, current conditions can be checked on the Internet at www.weather.com or at the National Weather Service website www.crh.noaa.gov/dlh