Snow, ice and cold have luckily not been too much of an issue in November, December and most of January, but, is now starting to affect daily decisions of the North Royalton School District. Luckily, the January 17 storm did not affect school, as the district was off for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. At the time of this writing, forecasters are predicting another storm coming.
The School Superintendent is ultimately responsible for making the decision on the closing of schools, based on certain factors, along with the recommendation from the Assistant Superintendent, who is responsible for the buildings and grounds of the district. In a recent communication, North Royalton School Superintendent, Mike Laub shared his thoughts on how calamity day decisions are made. He indicated a breakdown for cold and snow: “To close because of the cold, the temperature typically has to reach -15 with the wind chill during times students are traveling to and from school. We start considering the decision at -10 with the wind chill, but -15 is the target number. In addition, a temperature of zero degrees before wind chill being factored in is also a number we look at as we make that decision. Of course, sometimes there are additional factors that go into that decision, but those are our general guidelines.” He added that “to close because of snow, the decision is more complicated. We have to determine if our school campuses are clear. We have to see if the main roads and side roads are safely passable by bus and car. We also have to look at the volume of snow on the ground, the building conditions, and what else is forecasted to arrive. Of course, cold temperatures and ice are also factors.”
Laub noted that “We try to make these decisions as early as possible to help parents (the night before is ideal), but the latest we would decide to make that call would be 6 a.m. The first place that will always be communicated would be through Twitter: @LaubNRSD. We will also send an automated call and post the closure to the District website.” That website address is northroyaltonsd.org. According to published district procedures, “after sending an alert message, we contact the local television stations. We contact channels 3, 5, 8 and 19 (in that order).”
As of February 1, the North Royalton School District has had two calamity days, according to Laub. Previously, the state gave each district five days per school year, but that was changed many years ago, with the state guidelines requiring the district to be in session a total number of hours per school year.
When asked about early dismissal, Laub responded by stating that “We would hope to not have to do an early dismissal, as that would be very difficult on parents. We will look at the weather closely and make the best decision possible for the remainder of the week.”
“As of now, we do not plan to make calamity days remote learning days,” said Laub. “We feel that pivoting an in-person lesson to an online lesson takes planning. In addition, not everyone has the access needed to engage in a remote learning day. Our top priority is the safety of our students and staff. If you do not feel that it is safe for your child to go to school on days with inclement weather, use your best judgment as to whether or not your child should attend. Student attendance may be excused depending on the circumstances.”
By GLORIA PLEVA KACIK
Contributing Writer