SNOW DAY AND DELAYED START INFORMATION

Letter to all Stakeholders-Snow Day-Delayed Start

 

 

Dear Fall River Joint Unified School District students, parents, and staff members,

As we move into the winter months, precautions are taken to insure our students and staff members have a safe commute both to and from school.  In extremely snowy or icy conditions, our district has occasionally called a “Snow Day.”  While safety is the priority, on many occasions, conditions improve throughout the day.  Ice melts, roads are plowed, sidewalks cleared, buildings warmed, branches removed, and people in our outlying areas have ample time to “dig out” and either arrive at the bus stop or begin their personal commute to school. 

State law mandates each school be in session for a required number of school days, and, depending on specific grade levels, a prescribed number of instructional minutes.  Each “Snow Day” means our district may be subject to “making up” days/minutes later in the school year.  FRJUSD has sufficient instructional minutes at all grade levels, affording the opportunity to consider starting school later in the morning and not losing an entire day of school. 

Several years ago, our district implemented a Late Start policy, something other districts with weather conditions and patterns similar to those we experience have been practicing for some time.  We are apprising each of you of the procedures we will be following in case of a Delayed Start

  • Shortly after 6:00 A.M., our district will deliver an “All Call” phone message to each student and employee’s household, indicating our district is either having a Snow Day or a Delayed Start Day.  Based on satellite weather predictions, the district will announce school will be cancelled or start at the later time.  Sorry for the early call—many students and employees leave for school very early and we want to give notification to everyone at one time.
  • If a Delayed Start Day is called, everything will be delayed by two hours.  Schools will begin shortly after 10:00 A.M. and end at the conclusion of their “normal” school day.  Busses will pick up students two hours later than normal—if a student normally boards the bus at 7:20 A.M., they will be picked up at 9:20 A.M.  Students will return home using their normal mode of transportation and arrive at the same time as other days.

I believe this Delayed Start Day will help keep everyone safe as well as assist in our goal of giving our students the greatest opportunity to learn in a safe and consistent manner.  Thank you for your flexibility.  Please let your student’s school know if you are not receiving the “All Call” messages, or if there is any way that we can assist you in getting updated information.  

Sincerely,

Merrill M. Grant, Ed.D.

Superintendent