What factors affect school closure? The factors involved in determining school closure are all related to the safety of our students, their families and our staff. This includes:
- Dangerously low temperatures affecting students who may have to wait outside for a bus
- Outside temperatures dangerously low potentially affecting students on a bus (in the event that the bus is stranded for any reason)
- Roads impassable or significant number of impassable turnarounds for buses
- Inexperienced high school student drivers
- Staff traveling to work
How Does the Wind Chill Affect School Being Delayed or Closed? During the winter months, several factors come into play that could delay the start of school or cause school to be closed all together. One such factor is the wind chill on a given day. On particularly cold mornings, we continuously monitor the National Weather Service and closely monitor the weather conditions. There are two possible scenarios that come from the National Weather Service: a Wind Chill Advisory and a Wind Chill Warning. The National Weather Service defines the two as the following: Wind Chill Advisory-Wind chills between -10 and -24 degrees and at least a wind of 10 MPH or more. Wind Chill Warning-Wind chills -25 degrees and below with at least a wind of 10 MPH or more. When the National Weather Service issues a Wind Chill Warning for Jessamine County for the time the school day begins, we will make the decision to close schools. It is quite likely we will make this type of decision on the morning of the day in question as it is hard to predict what the wind chill will be the night before. If there is a Wind Chill Advisory for the county, school will likely be open unless there are operational problems with the bus fleet or mechanical problems in the school buildings. Buildings and the bus fleet are assessed in the morning prior to school by 6:00 a.m.
When will a decision be made regarding school? Efforts are made to cancel school as soon as possible. If reasonable, we will cancel the day before prior to 10pm. When the snow falls overnight, at approximately 2:30 am, school leaders go on the road to assess travel conditions. We consider street safety, outdoor temperatures, and the pending weather forecast when deciding to cancel or delay the start of school. We try to make this decision as early as possible to allow enough time for families to make child care arrangements.
What is the latest a decision will be made? Because our busses pull out of the garage to begin thier earliest routes at 6:00am, this would be the absolute latest we'd ever call school off. Therefore, if it's after 6:00am and we haven't called school off, school is in session on the normal schedule.
When will you notifiy us that school is in session? As a general rule, we do not make an announcement when there IS school. Unless we say there IS NOT school, then you can conclude that school is in session.
How can I find out school is cancelled? When school is cancelled due to weather, it will be posted on the JCS Facebook and JCS Twitter pages. It will also run on local media outlets (television and radio).
Why don't you do use the One Call system to notify me of a cancellation? In a district of our size, we would need to start calling families at around 4am in order for everyone to be notified in time. We don't think anyone wants a call at 4am, even if it's to say there's no school.
How/when will parents be notified if school closes early due to hazardous weather? If the students are already at school and we feel it is within our best interest to send them home early, the notification will be similar to if we had called school off before it started. A notice will be posted on our social media pages, the JCS website, and the decision will be communicated to local media outlets. In addition, we will send out a OneCall Now automated message, however it does take quite a bit of time to call all parents, so that message won't come as quickly as the social media/news outlet announcements.
How many snow days are built into the school calendar? This year we have ten "Non-Traditional Instruction" days, so the make up days will start with the eleventh day we miss.
What are "Non-Traditional Instruction" days? Non-Traditional Instruction simply allows for the continuation of learning when students miss days of regular instruction. Students will have the opportunity for skill reinforcement, remediation and enrichment through electronic or conventional paper lessons.
How will I know if a day is a Non-Tradtional Instruction Day? The first ten days we miss will be NTI days.
How will my child complete the work assigned on Non-Traditional Instruction Days? Students with Internet access will be able to complete work electronically from home or another location using educational computer programs that are already familiar to your child. Schools will make accommodations for students who do not have Internet access.
What if we don't have internet at home? How will my child complete the assignments? Schools will make accommodations for students who do not have Internet access.
What if my student needs help with this work? This will also vary by school, but your child's teacher(s) should be accessible at some point in the day via phone, email, or other means of communication.
What if there is a 2-hour delay? How does that work? In the event of a 2-hour delay, all busses run and all schools open exactly two hours later than normal. School will end at the normal time. All zero block high school classes will be canceled, and high school students will begin with their third block class. There will be no AM preschool. Breakfast will still be served.
Does Jessamine County offer childcare options on snow days? Yes, there is snow day childcare at Nicholasville Elementary It is at NES from 7am - 6pm with drop off from 7am - 9am; $25 per child; breakfast, lunch & afternoon snack are provided. You do not need to pre-register, but we can only accept 100 children.
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