Making decisions about full days, late starts, and/or snow days are never fun or easy. All you have to do is check social media and see all of the names we get called on questionable days and you will be able to quickly ascertain this isn’t for the faint of heart! We do the best we can with the information and resources we have at the time. Please remember you can keep your child(ren) home on days that we have school and you think we shouldn’t.
WHY YPS HAS SCHOOL ON “COLD DAYS” WHEN SOME DISTRICTS DO NOT
We are fortunate to be one of the few school districts in Nebraska that has an insulated bus barn that keeps all of our buses from freezing during those cold winter nights and early mornings. That, along with the fact we offer over 90 bus stops within town, and basically door-to-door service on most country routes, ensures that we can have school on “cold days” (with or without snow) where other districts shut down. Most districts that shut down on “cold days” do so because their buses are left outside and they’re unable to guarantee they will run the next day. We take extra precautions on extremely cold days and we are glad to be open as we offer heated buildings, warm meals, and a structured environment that many of our kids rely on. Again, if you think we shouldn’t have school on a “cold day” where other districts have shut down, please feel free to keep your child(ren) at home.
THE IMPACT OF SNOW DAYS ON OUR SCHOOL CALENDAR
If we have any school cancellations this year, the first two won’t be made up as they are allowed for in our existing calendar. For example, if we have two cancellations, school will still end on May 18th as already published on our school calendar. If we would have four cancellations, for example, we would make up two days and school would end on May 20th. So, we build in two free snow days each year. We have no limit on late starts.
WEDNESDAYS – WEDNESDAYS – WEDNESDAYS
Wednesdays are our early dismissal days. If we ever have a 2-hour late start on a Wednesday, that turns into a full day of school and will NOT be an early dismissal. We feel it would be silly to have a late start on a day you get out of school early on. So, Wednesdays are unique in that they COULD turn into a full day of school if we determine a late start is necessary.
LATE STARTS
Late starts are often used to buy a little time. We feel better about our buses and young drivers navigating the roads during the daylight of a late start than early morning in many instances. It is sometimes common to see a late start follow a snow day as country roads still have drifts, etc. We cancel morning pre-school on late start days but do have afternoon pre-school classes.
COMMUNICATION
Troy Rowe and I are normally in contact with weather professionals, road workers, and area schools to see what the conditions are like. We often drive throughout our district between 4:00-5:00 AM to determine what we feel is needed. Our decisions are never made lightly.
In the event of a school closing, York Public Schools will communicate in numerous ways. Information can be found:
• On our website at www.yorkpublic.org
• Listening to KAWL/KTMX Radio
• Watching NTV or KOLN/KGIN TV
• On the York Public Schools Facebook Page
• On Twitter at the hashtag of #yorkdukes
• Through our “NOTIFY ME” instant notification system you can sign up for at www.yorkpublic.org (search for the NOTIFY ME tab on the left side of the homepage)
o This will send you text messages and/or emails when decisions are made
We take the safety of our students and staff very seriously. We make what we feel is the best decision for the school district as a whole during these difficult scenarios.
Please remember you can keep your child(ren) home on days that we have school and you think we shouldn’t.
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