Rooted in Academics

January 2024
Making The Call

When the Snow and Cold Blow Into Nebraska

The first snow of the year brings out the excitement of kids like nothing else, and in many cases, the adults welcome it too. Multiple bad weather days are an entirely different story. As exhilarated as kids can be, I am well aware of how inconvenient these days are for parents and families. It’s certainly true in our house as we shuffle our schedules and scramble to make it all work.

The new year has blown in with force, making it difficult for all of us. If you read no further, please know we recognize these days are a very real challenge. Thank you for your partnership as we navigate winter weather.

The natural question is how we decide the status of school in bad weather. Despite the funny memes my fellow superintendents and I post on social media, behind the scenes we put significant time and thought into these decisions. Unfortunately, constantly changing forecasts make it especially complicated. When bad weather starts to roll in, we begin monitoring multiple forecasts, including the National Weather Service out of Valley, Nebraska, and Offutt Air Force Base.

We try to make the call early enough for families to plan, and yet late enough that we have the most accurate information available. Sometimes we need to make a decision based on a forecast because of the timing of the potential weather, and in other instances, we are responding to actual conditions.

When the weather is bad at night, I get up around four in the morning and drive the district. This is nothing new. Dr. Sutfin always did, as did Dr. Lutz before him. We do it to check the roads and see what’s happening in different parts of Millard. A lot can change within thirty-five square miles. We also drive to see and thank our grounds, maintenance, and custodial crews.

This drive is also not unique. My fellow superintendents are out as well. It’s just one of many variables that go into our decision. Often metro schools have the same response on snow days, but sometimes we don’t. There are many reasons. Some districts are rural, while others are suburban. Not all districts have a late start option.

Busing can be a challenge. Many districts have buses that run on diesel fuel which can gel in cold weather. The fuel literally freezes. It can be confusing because the fuel freezes based on the actual air temperature, not the wind chill or ‘feels like’ temperature that many of us monitor. This means on some days when it feels like it is much colder than it actually is, buses can still run while on other days when it doesn’t feel as cold but the actual temperature is enough to gell the fuel, the buses may not be able to run. Some districts also avoid this issue by storing their buses indoors. In Millard, this is less of a concern because our buses run on propane which can handle the cold better. These are just a few elements that superintendents consider. In short, while we are all affected by weather, each district has its unique situation.

In Millard, our next critical decision is what kind of day it will be. We have three tools in our toolbox - 1) a remote learning day, 2) a canceled or ‘traditional’ snow day, and 3) a two-hour late start. All three have pluses and minuses.

Remote days are our district standard and have helped continue the learning and maintain a consistent last day of school on the calendar. Our first inclement weather day was remote. Sometimes other options are best. The second was the very next day. Given that we had only been in school two days since winter break, and that it would have been two days of remote learning in a row, it seemed best for students, staff, and parents to cancel for the second day.

On the third day, we returned to remote learning and pivoted to a late start on the fourth day. The late start let us avoid yet another missed day of in-person school. It allowed extra time for roads to be cleared and the temperature to increase. Sometimes just a few degrees or a slight change in timing can make a difference in the decision.

We also fully recognize families have their own individual circumstances, and we respect when parents need to make a personal decision, the same as they do when keeping a child home who is not feeling well.

These decisions are never taken lightly. Student and staff safety is always a top priority, as is the education of our children. We do our best to strike the right balance and maintain the continuity of learning. Thank you for your flexibility during the winter weather season. We appreciate the partnership and ongoing trust you put in our schools. Let’s hope for more mild winter weather moving forward!

✉️ Email: MPSCommunicates@mpsomaha.org
🌐 Website: www.mpsomaha.org
📞Phone: 402.715-8200

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