Officials take no chances with school cancellations
With the onset of winter, school delays and cancellations are sure to happen, and local school officials have systems in place to help determine when to make those calls.
Under state regulations, adopted under the West Virginia Department of Education, schools are allocated five snow days and five remote learning days each year before districts must add on to their calendar.
In Hancock County, Superintendent Dan Enich says it’s pretty much impossible to do any kind of long-term planning for winter weather, as situations can change quickly, both with the weather itself and road conditions.
“It usually starts the day before,” Enich said, explaining school personnel keep an eye on any weather forecasts as part of their preparations. “It’s one day at a time.”
Determinations for a two-hour delay are targeted for 5 a.m., in order to provide sufficient notification not only to parents and students, but to the school district’s maintenance and food service personnel.
The target time in the event school is canceled is 7 a.m., Enich said.
As part of their process, Hancock County Schools has a group of administrators hitting the streets, usually by 4:15 a.m., to get a first-hand look at local road conditions.
Enich, along with Assistant Superintendent Dave Smith, Technology Director Steve McKinney, Transportation Director Mark Dziatkowicz, and Director of Facilities and Maintenance Kasey Arnott, divide up the county, each taking a designated area to see if the county’s roads are safe enough to transport children to the county’s nine schools.
Calls on whether to cancel athletic events or other after-school activities are made between noon and 1 p.m.
Similar methods are used in Brooke County.
Jeff Crook, superintendent of Brooke County Schools, said when considering delays or cancelations, “We monitor weather (forecasts) throughout media outlets and receive weather alerts and information from the Pittsburgh office of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.”
“I also have a team that evaluates the current and future conditions. This team includes myself; Deputy Superintendent Corey Mitchell; Karen Whetsell, my executive assistant; Transportation Director Ron Staffileno; and Steve Mitchell, director of maintenance and building services.”
“We continuously communicate to determine if it’s safe for us to operate for students and staff,” said Crook.
He noted Staffileno and Mitchell travel local roads early in the morning to determine their conditions, while officials at the local West Virginia Division of Highways headquarters and local law enforcement also are consulted.
The approach is used because of the potential differences in each community.
Enich noted he often hears comments from people, asking why delays or cancelations are called, just because they see clear roads in part of Weirton, for example. He reminds residents that just because roads look clear in one area, or even just in one neighborhood, it doesn’t mean those same conditions exist elsewhere.
There could be clear roads in downtown Weirton, for example, but snow coverage on Marland Heights. Streets in Chester may have received only a dusting of snow, while New Cumberland could have received several inches.
“It’s not indicative of the whole county,” Enich said.
In addition to having the group of administrators looking at the roads, Enich explained officials also are in contact with the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office, the West Virginia Division of Highways, local weather services, and even have a group of private citizens, often current or retired educators, call in with their own observations.
Alerts in both counties are sent out by various methods, including local media outlets, social media platforms, the West Virginia Department of Education’s website, telephone and text messages, and Smartphone applications.
“We will always make the safest call, and if there are any doubts about student and staff safety, we will close. We are extremely cautious with our students and staff,” Crook said.
Crook said two-hour delays help staff to ensure heating systems are working properly in all school facilities and all school buses are operating properly and other safety measures, such as chains on the buses’ wheels, are taken.
“A two-hour delay also can be changed to a full closure if conditions become poor overnight,” he added.
Brooke County School policy also allows bus drivers not to travel their appointed route if they find it to be unsafe. On such occasions, the driver must report that to a supervisor in the transportation department.
The West Virginia Department of Education requires all public schools to provide at least 180 days of instruction.
Both counties establish days which can be used to make up days, if needed.
Under the state Department of Education’s policy, such days can include those allotted for spring breaks or staff development.
State policy also allows the instructional time to be made up by adding time to the school day.
For example, elementary schools may add up to 30 minutes to their 315-minute school day to make up for five lost days.
Schools also can adopt alternative teaching methods, such as online instruction, to make up for lost time.
In Brooke County, students have been instructed to use packets of classwork that had been sent home with them or turn to online instruction through a website established by the school district.
Crook estimates the school district has had three such non-traditional instruction days and five cancellations.
Hancock County Schools have used five cancelations, with four remote days, with Enich noting some days were used in September in relation to threats made against students and schools over social media.
(Staff writer Warren Scott contributed to this article)