Ushering in the months of cold and stormy weather, it’s time to remind and review our Inclement Weather Protocols with Murray families. As always, MCSD will make every effort to keep schools open and operating with safety for students and educators as our highest priority.
Along with continuing as normal, we maintain three options for handling hazardous conditions:
- Late Start
- Remote Learning
- Full Closure
Late Start
First is a late start, which moves school back two hours from the normal schedule. Transportation schedules will align with this; however, kindergarten classes will be canceled that day. School breakfast and field trips will also be canceled.
Remote Learning
The next option is a remote learning day where students and educators remain home for the day. During the winter months, students should bring their Chromebooks home before an anticipated heavy storm or hazardous conditions. Teachers will post school work in ParentSquare (kindergarten), Google Classroom (elementary), and Canvas (secondary) two hours after the normal start time.
Students will be expected to log in and complete assignments to avoid an absence. Teachers will be available to assist students on remote learning days from 10:30 am to 1:30 pm. Meal programs will be suspended for the day, as will field trips. Other events and activities will be evaluated, and those impacted will receive communication.
Full Closure
The final option is a full closure where buildings are closed, and no remote learning or other normal school functions will be operational. This type of closure will necessitate a make-up day on the calendared no-school day to ensure we meet minimum requirements.
Communication is Key
As with all situations, we will communicate with families through multiple channels as we recognize some conditions can severely disrupt Internet, electricity, and phone services. As part of our internal communication protocols, we will send phone, text, in-application, and email messages through ParentSquare.
But we will also post information on the district and school websites, social media platforms, and with our local media partners (radio and TV). Please avoid sharing information based on speculation or what other districts might be doing to help us with the accuracy of details.
While we can’t always predict weather forecasts accurately, as stated above, we will seek to anticipate potentially hazardous conditions and send students home with their Chromebooks.
Be assured we will be up early – hours before the start of school – to watch weather conditions and communicate as early as possible our intentions for the day.
Why In-School Learning Is Important
Again, the immediate well-being of our students and teachers is paramount, and we will not risk their safety if conditions are hazardous. We also respect individual decisions to stay home, recognizing that conditions can be vastly different from neighborhood to neighborhood and that we have some students and teachers who commute from outside the district.
However, there are three important reasons why we seek to have kids in school as much as possible:
- We know through recent research that kids do far better academically when learning in person. Lesson delivery and student engagement are optimized in classrooms.
- We also know that social and emotional engagement with peers and teachers also increases when students are in-person. All students need these interactions to grow and feel supported, but some are particularly vulnerable.
- Lastly, we understand some families experience food and shelter insecurities, and others have parents or guardians who must still report to work. The supervision and warmth of a school building, along with two meals, is a huge impact on the lives of some students that we can’t forget.
Unfortunately, we cannot predict when hazardous conditions will land in Murray. However, as you can see, we have a plan and are prepared to act on it as necessary.
Finally, we encourage you to check your Aspire accounts to make sure we have accurate communication information for you. If you have questions or need support, please reach out to your individual school administrators and teachers. Click here to review and download a copy of our Inclement Weather Protocols.
