In the event that severe weather conditions dictate the need to delay the beginning of school or cancel school entirely, the following procedures will be used:
- The superintendents will monitor weather forecasts.
- Prior to 5 a.m., the superintendents will consider a number of factors such as:
- safety of the students, especially with the mindset that we have young, often inexperienced drivers, in tandem with thoughts related to students who walk to school
- safety of our staff members
- the type of precipitation – fog, snow, ice, etc
- the amount of precipitation that is being predicted
- predictions and timing of real and wind-chill temperatures
- the timing of the weather event
- the current state of road conditions, in tandem with the predicted, new precipitation
- the type and duration of a weather advisory/warning
- feedback from city and county crews who are working on the roads as well as other sources of relevant information
- Consultation occurs with neighboring school systems.
- A decision is normally made by the superintendents no later than 5:30 a.m. to delay the beginning of the school day by two hours or to cancel school.
- If the decision is made to delay the beginning of the school day, conditions may change enough to warrant cancellation. The decision to cancel school following a decision to delay will usually be made by 6:30 a.m. and no later than 7 a.m.
Weather Closing/Delay Information
In the event of inclement weather, such as heavy snow, extreme temperatures or dangerous wind chills, West Central Valley Community School District may do one of four things:
- Cancel classes at all schools but administrative offices remain open.
- Cancel classes at all schools and administrative offices are closed.
- Dismiss schools early.
- Delay the start of school by two hours but administrative offices open at the regular time.
If the superintendents issue one of these four notices, below explains what impact it will have on students, parents and school district employees.
Classes Cancelled/Offices Open
Students/Parents
- No classes will be held.
- No school-related activities.
- No breakfast or lunch service. Breakfast and lunch menus are subject to change for the following school day.
- Kids Korner Childcare will be open.
- Facility rentals are cancelled.
WCV CSD Employees
- Administrative offices will be open.
- All 12-month employees will report. If they cannot make it into work, they will be expected to use appropriate leave benefits or will be deducted salary for absences.
- Less-than-12-month employees and substitutes do not report. They will not be deducted leave time. These employees will be expected to provide service at a later date when their calendar year extends an additional day(s). An employee absent on the subsequently scheduled make-up day shall use appropriate leave benefits or will be deducted salary for absence.
- Foodservice staff will not report unless instructed to do so by a supervisor.
- Breakfast and lunch menus are subject to change for the following school day.
- Dismissal time of 12-month staff will be based upon the needs of the facility and will be determined by the employee’s immediate administrative supervisor. Employees shall use appropriate leave benefits or will be deducted salary for absence.
Classes cancelled/Offices Closed
Students/Parents/Employees
- No classes will be held.
- Administration offices will be closed.
- No school-related activities.
- No breakfast or lunch service. Breakfast and lunch menus are subject to change for the following school day.
- Kids Korner Childcare will be open.
- Less-than-12-month employees will not report. They will not be deducted leave time. These employees will be expected to provide service at a later date then their calendar year extends an additional day(s). An employee absent on the subsequently scheduled make-up day shall use appropriate leave benefits or will be deducted salary for absence.
- Employees who work 12 months will not report except emergency or essential personnel. They will not be deducted leave time.
- Operational, maintenance, and technology employees may be directed to provide service as determined by their immediate supervisor.
2-hour Early Dismissal (Inclement Weather)
Students/Parents
- All schools will dismiss 2-hours earlier than their normal dismissal time.
- All high school events will take place as scheduled unless mutually agreed upon by the participating schools.
- All middle school activities are cancelled.
- Varsity athletic practices and activities will be voluntary.
- Lunch will be served. Service time may be changed to accommodate building needs.
- Normal hours will be in effect for morning preschool.
- No afternoon preschool.
- Facility rentals are cancelled.
- Kids Korner Childcare will be open.
WCV CSD Employees
- Faculty will be dismissed when the building is secured.
- Staff will be asked to clock out when the building is secured.
- Administrative offices will remain open. Dismissal time of staff will be based upon the needs of the facility and will be determined by the employee’s immediate administrative supervisor. Employees shall use appropriate leave benefits or will be deducted salary for absence.
2-hour Delayed Start/Offices Open Regular Time
Students/Parents
- All schools will begin classes two hours later and dismiss at the regular time.
- Buses will run routes two hours later.
- Students should listen for announcements when arriving at school about which class period will begin the school day.
- Lunch will be served. Service time may be changed to accommodate building needs.
- All classes will end at the regular time.
- AM Preschool will be cancelled.
- All before-school, extracurricular activities will be cancelled.
- Kids Korner Childcare will be open at regular time.
WCV CSD Employees
- All administrators, food service,12-month employees will work their regular schedule. Employees who do not report by their designated start time shall use appropriate leave benefits or will be deducted salary for absence.
- Teachers, other instructional certified staff, substitutes and secretaries should report prior to the 2-hour delay start time. An employee who does not report by the 2-hour delay start time shall use appropriate leave benefits or will be deducted salary for absence.
- Operational, maintenance, and technology employees may be directed to provide service as determined by their immediate supervisor.
How Families And Staff Are Contacted
We will use the following methods to communicate with families and staff during an emergency:
- JMC email, text & phone
- We will provide updated information as it becomes available to all families and staff using the contact information in JMC. For families and staff to receive a text message they must complete the opt-in process.
- How to “opt-in” and receive SMS text notifications:
- Parents/guardians/students/staff can check any or all of the following boxes in JMC for each of the phone numbers listed in the Parent Information section. Remember to hit save to record your changes.
- SMS(Text Message)*
- Emergency/Weather Related
- Student/Lunch Related
- General School Information
- Parents/guardians/students/staff can check any or all of the following boxes in JMC for each of the phone numbers listed in the Parent Information section. Remember to hit save to record your changes.
- How to “opt-in” and receive SMS text notifications:
- Cell phones must be in JMC and the boxes must be checked for each phone number to receive a notification from West Central Valley Community School District.
- If you would like help with your username or password information for JMC, please contact your building secretary or the district office at 515-523-2187.
- *There is no fee from West Central Valley Community School District and/or JMC for SMS text messages, however, recipients may be charged for receiving district messages depending on the type of monthly plan they have with their wireless provider.
- We will provide updated information as it becomes available to all families and staff using the contact information in JMC. For families and staff to receive a text message they must complete the opt-in process.
- Website (wcvwildcats.org): Emergency messages and updates will be posted on the district homepage as they develop.
- Facebook & Twitter: Messages will be posted as quickly as possible to our Facebook page and Twitter account.
- Local news media: When appropriate, we will make information available to local television and radio stations and will enlist their assistance in communicating with you.