Winter has arrived in northeast Ohio and, like dressing for winter, a few more layers are necessary when it comes to keeping students safe! Here is some information to help us all ensure a safe winter season for our students.
Transportation
Patience is key when the weather turns bad. Road conditions change quickly. Extra time may be needed to get from stop to stop. Our staff will send our reminders and alerts via text message, social media (Facebook, X), the JAG Mobile App or on our website at jagschools.org. Typically we try to notify you if your child’s bus will be delayed by more than 15 minutes.. Be aware of the DANGER ZONE when loading or unloading your bus. The danger zone is an area around 10 feet around the entire bus. This is especially important when the bus stop area may be slippery. Being extra cautious in this area will ensure that the driver is able to see you. Waiting for the bus to come to a complete stop before approaching the bus will also ensure the safety of the students.
Snow Days
If there is one thing that grows our Twitter followers or Facebook likes, it is a snow day! Every year this is a decision nobody, except for the student body, looks forward to making. A snowy forecast, cold temps and wind chill advisories all mean a sleepless night is in the future for many staff members. Calling off school is costly and a major decision, but student safety is ALWAYS the top priority.
Calling off school is not an easy decision. As a parent, I realize the inconvenience it causes many families with last-minute child care. As a teacher, I know how they disrupt lessons. As a superintendent, I realize the lost instructional time they cause. In the end, the call is always made in the interest of student safety. Is there a magic number of inches of snow needed to call school? Is there a specific street that has to be impassable? The answer to each of these questions is, “No.”
The Process
When poor weather is forecast the transportation supervisor and I are in communication days before the weather event. We monitor the radar and timing of the storm. The morning of the potential snow day, we arrive at the school between 3 and 4AM to continue assessing the situation. We review our snow removal plan and begin driving the streets of Freedom, Nelson and Garrettsville between 4:00 and 5:30 AM. We look for how passable and slippery the streets are for a school bus and if the road crews have been able to keep up with the storm.
It is important to understand that there are many crews responsible for clearing roads in the JAG District. We encompass 54 square miles and have roads that are the responsibility of ODOT (State Routes), Township Roads (Nelson, Freedom), Village Streets (Garrettsville) and even some County Roads (Portage County Road Crew). Making all these roads safe for buses is a highly orchestrated effort and often takes a great deal of time.
Once the district streets have been assessed we meet back at the board office to examine the weather forecast. We look to see if the weather will be improving, maintaining or worsening as the day progresses. If the roads are impassable and the forecast is poor we will likely call a snow day. Again, student safety is the driving factor when considering the cancellation of school.
We make every effort to make this decision by 6:00 AM and begin our notification procedures immediately because we understand how this decision can impact families.
Cold Days
There have been cases when the temperatures have been too cold to have school. When temperatures reach below -10 or when there are sustained wind chills of -15 or below we will call off school. We look at the hourly forecast on multiple weather websites and use wind chill charts from the National Weather Service.
The ‘Real’ Criteria
The reality is, making a snow day decision is like herding cats at a dance party - tricky, full of surprises and the superintendent often comes out with several scratches. While we consider road conditions, student and staff safety, little did we know that the rituals kids perform at home may hold the keys to our fate.
Imagine a room full of kids, dressed in inside-out pajamas, spinning around– the famed "inside-out pajamas dance." Rumor has it, this ritual can add several inches to any forecast.
Then there's the mysterious "spoon-under-the-pillow" trick. No one knows how it works, but if you go to bed with a spoon under your pillow and wake up with it in the same place, all roads driven by the superintendent become ice covered.
Turns out, these important weather decisions are not just about meteorology; they involve the influence of student dance moves and other silly rituals. So, the next time your child is doing the weather cha-cha, know they're part of a grand conspiracy – the snow day secrets have finally been revealed!
Notifications
If you are a parent, you should make sure you have your email and mobile phone number correctly listed in Final Forms. If you need assistance with changing this information in Final Forms our school secretaries will be happy to assist you in making certain these are accurate. We will always send mass notifications (email, voice, text and mobile alerts) first to notify families of a school closing. All of these alerts are also posted on our website and social media channels.
We will also notify the major television (3, 5, 8, 19 and 43) and radio stations (FM: 99.5, 105.7, 98.1, 106.5, 100.7, 102.9 AM: 1100).
Makeup Days
Ohio has defined a minimum number of hours each school must be in session each year (910 hours for K-6 and 1,001 hours for grades 7-12). JAG currently exceeds that number. However, as we choose to exceed the State minimum, and we will make up any time missed beyond five (5) days. These days will be added to the end of the school year.
As always, if you have any questions please feel free to contact me directly at the office (330.527.4336) or on my cell (216.534.7413).
Go G-Men!
Ted