Message from the Superintendent
INCLEMENT WEATHER INFORMATION
Winter
has arrived and so has my responsibility to make the sometimes
unpopular decision to delay or close the school buildings due to
inclement weather conditions. Students, ever so happy to have a day off,
will cheer me. On the other hand, parents may shudder depending on
their schedule. Under any circumstance, it is an important decision and
not one that I make without serious consideration of many different
factors. I have outlined my decision making process as follows: HOW IS THE DECISION MADE TO CANCEL SCHOOL? - Road
conditions - the Natick Department of Public Works is contacted for
information on road conditions. Careful consideration is given to roads
in the district with the most hazardous conditions. Even if your street
looks clear, travel elsewhere in town may be dangerous. Also, I must
consider that some high school students drive to school.
- The existing accumulation of snow and/or ice.
- The rate and expected duration of this precipitation.
- School building conditions (such as electricity and heat).
- School
parking lot conditions. The Director of Facilities, Robert Graham,
contacts the maintenance and custodial staff who are responsible for
clearing and treating school parking lots and sidewalks.
- Temperature
and wind-chill factors. Please keep in mind that a number of students
either walk to school or wait on sidewalks for the school bus.
- Weather
predictions. I prefer not to make my decision based on weather
predictions since they are not always accurate. However, this may be
unavoidable. Please understand when weather warnings are given, I am
awake at 4:00 am to begin the process, as listed above, to gather all
the relevant information in order to make a careful and well-informed
decision. The students' safety is my number one priority and my decision
to close or delay school depends upon it.
- I also
consult other districts and share information with local
superintendents and take their recommendations into consideration when
making my decision.
WHO MAKES THE DECISION?
As Superintendent of Schools, I am responsible for the final decision,
based on the above factors and recommendations from the Department of
Public Works and the Director of Facilities.
WHEN IS THE DECISION MADE?
My goal is to make the decision by 5:30 am or earlier so that the radio
and TV stations can be notified. I realize that if I wait longer to
announce a closing, some parents will have already left for work,
leaving their children unsupervised.
DELAY INFORMATION If
conditions are such that the DPW tells us that it needs extra time to
plow the roads or sand the streets, we will shorten the school day.
Under this alternative plan, the opening of school and all bus pickups
will be delayed two hours. This simply means that the High School will
open at 9:30 a.m. The Wilson Middle School and the Kennedy Middle School
will open at 9:50 a.m., and the elementary schools will open as
follows: Bennett-Hemenway 10:17 a.m., Brown 10:32 a.m., Johnson 10:32
a.m., Lilja 10:32 a.m., and Memorial 10:52 a.m. There will be no
morning pre-school on days with a delay opening. On
a two hour delay day, schools will dismiss at their regular times. The
noon meal will be served at the regular times in the cafeterias of each
building. We
remind parents not to attempt to send their children to school early on
"Two-Hour Delay" days since the school yards may not be plowed nor will
staff be available to supervise early arrivals. EARLY DISMISSALS
Under rare circumstances, the Superintendent of Schools may determine
that inclement weather that threatens to make the afternoon commute
unsafe requires an early dismissal from school. If such a decision is
made, we will notify families using the emergency function of our
automated phone and email system so that all phone numbers on record for
both parents will be called (home, mobile, and work) in addition to
both parents emails. Families are asked to plan ahead regarding
childcare for such a situation.
EARLY RISER PROGRAM AND AFTER SCHOOL CARE PROGRAMS - CANCELLATION AND DELAY POLICY
When school is cancelled, all Early Riser and After School Extended Care programs (ASAP & NED) will also be cancelled.
When
there is a delayed opening, the Early Riser programs are cancelled as
access to school campuses will not be possible, however, the afternoon
sessions will be held. If school closes early due to inclement weather, the After School Programs are also closed (ASAP & NED) If
the School Superintendent cancels after school programs and school is
released at normal time, then there is no ASAP at Kennedy and Wilson and
ASAP/NED programs at the elementary schools will remain open until 4:00
PM. If
school is open and bad weather is forecasted for the afternoon hours,
ASAP will email parents 24 hours in advance to let them know if they are
either closed or closing early. HOW IS THE PUBLIC NOTIFIED? A
recorded phone message will be sent to each family's primary phone
contact. In addition, announcements will be carried starting at 6:00
a.m. by radio stations WBUR (FM 90.9), WBZ (AM 103.0), WRKO (AM 68.0),
by television stations Channel 4, 5, 7, Fox 25, CW56. A posting will be
displayed on the Natick Public Schools Website as well as a recorded
message on the "School Closing Line" (508) 647-6515. The following
websites may also list school closings: www.myfoxboston.com www.thebostonchannel.com www.schoolclosings.com www.wbzclosing.com In
closing, as you have seen from above there are a number of items that
factor into my final decision, none more than the safety of our
students. The verdict to close or not to close is more of an art than a
science and I know I am only as good as my last decision. However, my
decision is made based upon information that is available to me at the
time that this decision must be made.
Sincerely,
Peter Sanchioni, Ph.D. Superintedent
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