2017 Winter Weather Procedures

With the severe cold and winter weather upon us, there are often questions about the district makes decisions to delay or close Reynoldsburg City Schools. Below is some useful information for parents and students.

First, our strong preference is to remain open, for the education and well-being of our students. Closing school creates significant inconvenience for our families, and in some cases, means children will not be supervised during the day or will not have access to a nutritious lunch. We believe it is in our students’ best interest to remain in session when possible. Parents, of course, may decide to keep their children home on certain days we remain open; that is their right and responsibility.

When assessing the safety of the morning commute, our focus is on school transportation. Are the temperatures and wind chills causing a frost-bite risk for children waiting 15-30 minutes at school bus stops (generally about -20 degrees)? Can school bus drivers navigate their routes with proper traction and visibility? Is the timing of the weather event such that city crews will not have time to plow or treat main roads?

District personnel monitor road conditions overnight. We stay in contact with city road crews and monitor local radar as well as weather forecasts as part of the decision making process. Occasionally, a two-hour delay is sufficient to allow roads to be cleared or temperatures to rise.

School is delayed or canceled only when it is necessary. We know that these changes can cause some added stress on our families, so we make the decision as early as possible to allow parents to make arrangements for children staying home.

Once the decision is made to delay or cancel schools, we use multiple avenues to communicate. As technology is not always foolproof, we rely on several messaging channels to alert the community of a delay or cancellation. Those channels include: notifying television and radio stations, posting on Twitter (@ReynSchools), Facebook (@reynschools), updating the website (www.reyn.org), sending emails and texts as well as making phone calls to families.

The State of Ohio has switched to a required minimum of hours for instruction instead of the long-standing number of required school days. That means that the state will not force Reynoldsburg to make up instructional time unless we were to miss about three weeks of school. However, the district could employ make-up days if there is an educational need. If we were to employ make-up time, we would provide ample notice to families.

To stay up-to-date on school delays and cancellation alerts, check our website often and follow the District and your schools on social media.