Snow, Squalls, and Weather Calls
The recent snow over the weekend was a good reminder that it is time to share some communication about snow days!
The superintendent, in consultation with the transportation director, will make school early release or cancelation decisions in the event of inclement weather. Weather forecasts and hour-by-hour weather conditions will be tracked through NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and other resources. The transportation director and superintendent will be checking roads, speaking with the country road supervisor, and communicating with area transportation directors and superintendents prior to 5:30 A.M. with the goal of making a decision by that time. In some rare instances a decision may be made on the previous evening to cancel school the next day. While the current daily early out schedule is in place, we will not be calling late starts. As soon as a cancelation decision is made, the information will be shared in the following places:
Television: WOI-ABC Channel 5, KCCI TV Channel 8, WHO TV Channel 13
Radio: 1040 WHO AM, KISS 107.5 FM, The Bus 100.3 FM, The Bull 96.9 FM, ALT 106.3 FM, and 1460 KXNO AM
Online: www.indianola.k12.ia.us, WHOtv.com, 13NOW.com, and District Facebook
We also have emergency notification by phone for parents/guardians who provided cellular numbers through the annual online enrollment process.
Please understand that being able to safely transport students to and from school is the primary determiner. Local weather conditions can vary between cities and even within different parts of the school district. Inclement weather decisions can be difficult to make, and weather conditions do sometimes change after a call has been made.
It is the intent of the Indianola Community School District to eventually engage all students in remote learning when inclement weather results in the cancellation of attending school on site.
Pursuant 2020 Iowa Acts Chapter 1107 (Senate File 2310), section 15, subsection 1.
Temporary remote learning because of inclement weather: If the school district or accredited nonpublic school determines that an entire school building or district must temporarily move to primarily remote learning because of inclement weather for a period not exceeding five consecutive school days unless the Iowa Department of Education approves of a longer period.
At this point in time, the PK-5 Elementary Students do not each have a device, such as a Chromebook, but those are anticipated by second semester. The current plan for when school is cancelled due to inclement weather is to utilize the additional instructional hours built into the calendar for students. This means that for now, students do not have required remote learning during snow days, and teachers will work remotely.
Additional snow day information will be sent in the upcoming months, as plans will be dependent on the number of snow days that may occur and when the elementary devices will be ready for use. The district is developing a specific structure for remote learning snow days to use once all students have devices.
Thank you,
Superintendent Art Sathoff