On December 4, 2024, Superintendent Michael Bennett shared this letter with families via email.
As winter approaches I wanted to provide a reminder of winter weather practices, as well as an update on our safety drills.
Deciding on a Delay or Snow Day
In the event of winter weather, I’m usually up around 3:30am to assess conditions. This includes watching local weather channels, communicating with superintendents from surrounding districts, and talking with our transportation supervisor who stays in frequent contact with the town and highway departments. Our District poses a unique geographical challenge - it encompasses residences across 135 square miles and over a 1,000ft difference in elevations. While the weather may be less severe in the Town of Greenville, in places like the hilltowns the roads may be impassable.
In making the final decision to delay or close school, we consider the entire geographical area of our District. With that being said, if you don’t notice poor road conditions near your house, just remember that elevation plays a big role in these decisions and it was likely the road conditions in the hilltowns that led to the delay or closure.
Communicating with Families During a Delay/Snow Day
As soon as I’m aware of the possibility of a delay or snow day, I contact our district office team who remains on standby. Once a decision is made, I contact the local news station and the team uses our mass communication system to send an email and text message, and post on social media. Additionally, they schedule a phone call to go out at 6:00am to alert families. Based on community feedback, it is our practice to do our best not to make weather-related phone calls before 6:00am or after 9:00pm. This is why in some instances, you receive a text message and email before a phone call. I try my best to have a decision made as early as possible, however, the many variables that go into making the call can make that difficult.
Delay Schedules and Letter Day Changes
In the event of a two-hour delay, the UPK program begins at 10:40am while K-5 begins at 9:55am and follows their regular schedules. There is no morning Questar program for high school students. Breakfast is not served. The high school schedule is as follows on two-hour delay days:
Warning Bell 10:06
Period 1 10:08-10:35
Period 4 10:38-11:08
Period 5 11:11-11:41
Period 6 11:44-12:14
Period 7 12:17-12:47
Period 2 12:50-1:17
Period 3 1:20 - 1:47
Period 8 1:50-2:16
Period 9 2:19-2:45
In the event of a snow day, the Middle/High School letter day calendar changes. For example, if Monday is an A Day and we have a snow day, when students return to school on Tuesday it will NOT be a B Day, it will be an A day. The calendar will be adjusted accordingly.