Idaho Examiner: Pocatello/Chubbuck School District’s Emergency Closure Plan Expanded"Common Sense News"

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Education

Pocatello/Chubbuck School District’s Emergency Closure Plan Expanded

Posted on: December 05, 2007

The Pocatello/Chubbuck School District has expanded its emergency school closure plan to include delayed start times. Implementation of delayed or “late starts” would allow the District to postpone start times of school by up to two hours, when necessary. The purpose of the expanded plan is to insure the safety of our students and staff, and to protect precious instructional time.

In the past, when emergency situations occurred, the district closed schools for the entire day. With this expanded plan for late starts, the option of holding at least a partial day of school is possible. Typically, emergency school closures and late starts would be related to winter weather. But a variety of emergencies could also cause closures or late starts. Examples of situations which may cause a late start would be power outages, frozen water lines or icy roads, where the problem is expected to be resolved within an hour or two. This could cause closures or late starts district wide or only at those schools affected by incident. In cases such as these, the District might decide to start school a couple of hours later than normal.

Dropping temperatures, cold winds and recent snow flurries symbolize the coming of winter. The cold winter weather of the Pocatello area and the possibility of severe snow, cold, wind, and ice could make it unsafe for children traveling to and from school, could make it unsafe to operate our buses or render them inoperable, or could make the roads impassable. These conditions, as well as non-weather related conditions, could make it necessary to close schools or implement a late start for schools. The decision to close or not to close schools, or to delay the start of school is difficult and is based on a number of factors. First, and foremost in making the decision, is the safety of school children! In addition to safety, other factors considered are:
• Educational, as every day missed represents lost learning opportunities
• Road conditions, as the district encompasses approximately 384 square miles and conditions may be good in one area but unsafe in another
• Parental choice, as parents can choose whether or not to send their children to school based on weather conditions in their geographical area and their own judgment of what is safe for their child/children, and
• Family issues, as the District administration understands that when schools are closed or the start of school is delayed, it creates child care and sometimes transportation issues for parents who work outside the home.

The decision to close schools or implement a late start is made by the Superintendent of Schools or her designee. Representatives from transportation agencies, the weather bureau, the highway district, city and county law enforcement agencies, and the district’s transportation department check roads and monitor information throughout the night and early morning hours. They confer by telephone between 5:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. to reach a decision which insures the safety of students. If the decision is made to cancel or delay the starting time for schools, the District’s Communications Specialist will notify local television and radio stations, which will broadcast regular announcements of school closures or delays. Also new this year, is the posting of emergency school closures or late starts on the District’s website. A message denoting the closure or late start will also be left on school district telephone messages. Only under the most severe conditions will a decision to close schools be made the night before the closure.

Winter Safety Precautions for Children

Along with school closures or delays, parents should be aware of other winter safety precautions to protect children from prolonged exposure to cold temperatures and moisture. Prolonged exposure to winter cold, wind, snow and ice can result in frostbite, hyperthermia and falls.

Whenever children will be outdoors for extended periods of time such as walking to and from school, waiting for school buses, or playing they must be adequately dressed for the weather conditions. Following are some tips on how to keep children safe and warm.
• Dress warmly, using several layers and make sure clothing is dry and stays dry. Children typically require one more layer than an adult would need to stay warm
o Send extra pair of warm socks to school with your child in case they get wet
• Wear snow boots to keep feet protected and to avoid falls on snowy or icy days
• Wear gloves and a hat
• Tuck in or secure loose scarves, and drawstrings on coats or hoods, etc.
• Limit the length of exposure, especially in cold and windy conditions
o Set reasonable time limits on outdoor play
o Children should come indoors periodically to warm up

Free winter coats are available through the winter coats program at Irving Middle School (232-3039) or through the Southeastern Idaho Community Action Agency (233-7348, ext. 131).