Fordland Focus

District Update

January 2025

Fordland Families,

Welcome back to our second semester and 2025! It has been an eventful start with several snow days, but we're hopeful to get back into a consistent routine. This time of year can feel long and dreary because of the cold weather and shorter days, but I do enjoy some of the perks that come along with winter-sitting by the fire, comfort foods on the menu and basketball season.

Speaking of basketball, our winter season is keeping our athletes busy. The boy's basketball team is playing in the Houston tournament. They entered the tourney with a record of 9-4! The girls will compete in the Mansfield tournament next week. Their record is 11-4! Our Academic Team continues to shine. They host Gainesville on January 30. Good luck to all of our teams!

Check out our district calendar or Facebook page for game times and other school events.

Once again, your partnership matters to us. Successful schools depend on the support and involvement from families and the local community. Our Fordland team looks forward to continuing the collaboration between home and school. Thank you for supporting your child and us.

Let's continue to make it a great year! #DoTheWork

Sincerely,

Dr. Stephanie Vickers

Superintendent

Fordland R-3 Schools

Fordland Early Childhood

Fordland Elementary

Fordland Middle School

Fordland High School

Faces of Fordland

Ashali Orr

Meet Mrs. Orr! She is a paraprofessional at Fordland Elementary School. This is her first year with the district. She is described by her co-workers as caring, dependable and resourceful. Mrs. Orr is always willing to help. Her favorite thing about working at Fordland is all of the students. She says you can truly see how well they thrive from all of the great teachers and staff.

Q: Tell us something that might surprise you.

A: "I have lived and attended Fordland since third grade and went to school for Marketing."

Q: What is the greatest challenge you have had to overcome in your life thus far?

A: "Figuring out what I wanted to be as an adult, and now I have the best job doing what I love."

Q: What is the coolest trend you see today?

A: "The 90's hair and leopard print trend!"

Q: What advice would you give our students?

A: "It's okay to fail, and it's okay to take a break as long as you get back up and try again."

Clayton Tunnell

Meet Mr. Tunnell! He is one of our Ag teachers at Fordland High School. Mr. Tunnell has been with our district for 8 years. Mr. Tunnell is described as friendly, hard-working and dedicated to his students and the Ag program. His favorite thing about teaching is seeing students take interest in different aspects of Agriculture through FFA Contests, greenhouse plant sale, seeing students SAE projects over the summer and driving a school bus.

Q: What's something people don't know about you?

A: "Each year my family gets together and we butcher hogs on Thanksgiving. We process our own sausage, bacon and cure our own hams in the smokehouse."

Q: What's something you can't live without?

A: "Christ, Madison, Buckley, our family and our dachshund, Livie."

Q: What advice would you give our students?

A: "You were given two ears and one mouth for a reason. It's important to stand up for what is right, however in the same token, make sure to listen before you speak."

Q: What is the coolest trend you see today?

A: "People that are getting back into homesteading. Folks are growing their own produce and livestock, then learning how to process it at home."

REPEAT-Snow Day Protocol

Have you ever wondered what goes into the decision-making process for a superintendent when it comes to calling off school? It is definitely a complicated decision and not taken lightly. We understand the last-minute impact is has on our Fordland families and aim to consider all factors in a careful yet timely manner so families can make other arrangements. Here are some action steps taken during the process:

National Weather Service Calls: Our NWS office holds conference calls for area superintendents at 4:15 am if bad weather is moving in. These calls are informative and give us a better idea as to when inclement weather will arrive in Fordland and how roads will be impacted.

Transportation: Before making a decision, I drive around Fordland to check the road conditions. This process usually begins the night before or in the morning around 4:30 am or earlier if there's no weather call. My goal is to drive part of every bus route so we have a good idea of what road conditions will be like for our bus drivers, student drivers and parents. My own children attend Fordland Schools too, so I would never want to put any of our students, including my own, in a dangerous situation.

Communication: When school is cancelled, we communicate it to our families in multiple ways. You should receive a telephone call, email, notification (if you have the Fordland app), and it is also posted to our social media sites-Facebook and X. If you have not received school communication this year, please call our offices and we'll make sure that your contact information is updated in our system. School day closings will also be posted to KY3. Ideally, we would love to communicate cancellations to our families the night before, however this is not always possible since weather doesn't always match the forecast.

Make-up Days: With our current calendar, we have built in enough hours to forgive two snow days. After that, we will start making up snow days on Mondays. In addition, we have added the option of AMI this year. AMI days will only occur if we have more than 8 snow days. Your child's school will communicate the AMI plan in December. Please see the school calendar below for the order of make up days vs forgiven days.

Feel free to reach out if you have additional questions regarding snow days. Thank you for your support.