(by Don Meador, Allen County Schools, November 25, 2019)
The arrival of winter-like temperatures signals the
start of weather monitoring for transportation officials with the Allen County
School District.
Allen County School Transportation Director Roger
Weaver oversees a team of school officials charged with determining whether
snow and icy conditions are bad enough to recommend to Superintendent Travis
Hamby that school doors be closed or school dismissed early. The process to
determine whether school is canceled begins when ice, snow, or freezing rain is
first mentioned in the forecast.
“When the forecast is calling for snow or ice, we have a team of people that get up at three in the morning and start driving the roads,’ Weaver explained. “If precipitation is forecasted or is falling, we look at the roads and radar, and then contact Mr. Hamby and make a recommendation.”
Weaver is quick to point out that the tough
calls come when the forecast includes snow or ice but the precipitation has yet
to arrive.
“It seems like frozen precipitation often arrives about six in the morning,” Weaver explained. “That’s when we have to look at how the weather is moving and what’s happening in the direction from which the weather’s coming from.”
Weaver will network with transportation
officials in other districts to get a better understanding of the weather they
are experiencing. Once roads, weather conditions, and potential future
conditions have been reviewed, a recommendation is made.
When the decision is made to close school, the notification process starts. The school’s messaging system sends a phone message to the parents of each student as well as each staff member. The District also continues to use the tried-and-true method of alerting local and area media outlets who in turn make announcements. Notification is also made via the District’s Twitter account.
Locally, WVLE and WLCK radio stations are
notified as well as WBKO in Bowling Green and Nashville stations WTVF, WSMV,
WKRN, and WZTV.
When school is closed, the announcement will also remind students if the day is deemed as an Nclass@home day---a day of non-traditional instruction in which students will work on in-line or assignment packs.
Allen County School District policy also includes
the option of a one-hour or two-hour delay in the start of the school day. This
option allows school personnel additional time to further monitor winter
weather conditions. If the one or two-hour delay option is used, the school
messing system will inform students, parents, and district employees of the
delay. The same radio and televisions stations are also notified.
In addition, if the decision to dismiss school
early is made, the same notification policy is used to alert parents of the
change.
Any
parent who did not receive a call from the school messaging system when school
was closed on Tuesday, November 12 should call the Allen County School District
at 270-618-3181 to be added to the call list.