Fordland Focus

District Update

February 2025

Fordland Families,

I hope this newsletter finds you safe from the cold weather and snow-packed roads outside. It's been an interesting month of weather, but it looks like we have mild temperatures coming our way next week. I'm hoping that this wintry weather is behind us!

Our winter sports season is wrapping up in the next few weeks. The boy's and girl's basketball teams will compete in districts next week. We will host the Girl's district games starting Tuesday, February 25. Our varsity girls will play at 6:30 vs Gainesville. The boys are playing Monday night in Mansfield. They will face Bakersfield in their first round match-up. Our Academic Team also competes Tuesday night in Norwood. Good luck to all of our programs! Next up is Middle School Volleyball and our spring softball, baseball and track seasons. Check out our district calendar or follow our school Facebook pages for game times and other school events.

I included the January article we published about snow days. If you didn't get to check it out earlier this winter, be sure to look it over. At this point, we are on Day 8 of our Inclement Weather Make-Up Days. As you can see in the calendar below, we will begin using AMI days if there are any more snow days in the future. You should have received a packet of material if your child is in elementary school and our secondary team sent out information regarding assignments on Canvas.

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

Alayna Bates

Meet Mrs. Bates! She is a preschool teacher in our Early Childhood program. This is her third year with the district. She is described by her co-workers as dedicated, warm, welcoming, humble and a team player! Her favorite thing about working at Fordland is the students and close community of the Fordland staff. She says she loves her students and couldn't survive without Christy Crowe in her classroom!

Q: Tell us something that might surprise you.

A: "I LOVE all the Jurassic Park movies."

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

A: "Raising three small children while working full-time."

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

A: "Dr. Pepper & Milk Duds"

Q: What is your favorite thing to do when you're not at work?

A: "Stay in my pj's and play with my kids!"

Kylie Thompson

Meet Ms. Thompson! She is a paraprofessional at Fordland High School. Ms. Thompson has been with our district for 2 years. Her colleagues say she has a contagious smile and positive spirit. She is reliable, motivated and helpful. It's obvious she cares about the students she works with and is an integral part of the team's success.

Q: Tell us something that might surprise us about you.

A: "I have never broken a bone!"

Q: What is your favorite thing to do when you're not at work?

A: "My favorite thing to do is travel and go to Target."

Q: Who is your biggest inspiration?

A: "My biggest inspiration is my mom. She has taught me many important life lessons and she always encourages me"

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.