Review of School Closure Procedures

In light of the surrounding districts decision to close schools because of weather conditions, I felt it would be beneficial to review with the patrons, Garfield County School District procedures and expectations regarding this process. In GCSD, schools will be open on all regularly scheduled school days unless circumstances create health or safety issues. We fully expect our schools to be open and functioning normally throughout the winter, but weather conditions can vary greatly in different communities. We encourage parents to make attendance decisions for their children based on their specific ability to get to school safely.
Additionally, if your contact information has recently changed, please contact your local school with the current information. This will enable the school and/or the district to notify you in the event of a late start, early release, or closure through our parent link.
Again, we fully expect our schools to be open, but we will notify parents if that changes. If you don’t hear anything, you can safely assume your school is open. If you are concerned about your child’s ability to safely travel to school, please exercise your parental discretion to make the decision that is best for your family.
If severe weather conditions or other events force a school closure, delayed start, or early release, the following procedures will be implemented.
• Announcements:
We will notify parents via the news media, the district website, district social media through Facebook at facebook.com/GarfieldSchools and Twitter @GarfieldSchools., Parent Link (phone call) and possibly email, and text in the event of a delayed start, early release, or closure. Also if decision is made to close schools we will contact 100.5 FM and request for them to broadcast the information. If you hear nothing, you can assume your school is open. Parents and employees should listen to news media outlets for information. Authorization will come from the superintendent or his/her designee.
• Length:
All school closures, delayed starts, or early releases are for one day only.
• Normal Operation:
No announcement means schools are open and regular schedules will be followed.
• Emergency Plan:
Parents are encouraged to create an emergency plan for their students. Parents should plan with their students where to go or what to do if a parent is not home and schools are closed, delayed, or dismissed early. In the event of an early release, elementary and middle school students will be held at school until parents or guardians are notified and arrangements are made to keep the students safe.
Ben Dalton
Superintendent
Garfield School District

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