The safety and well-being of students and staff is our top priority and the decision to close, delay or release school is taken very seriously.  Before deciding to modify the school day due to extreme weather conditions, the Superintendent consults with a variety of people and resources not limited to but including: our district transportation director, local weather stations, and the National Weather Service.  Our commitment is to keep students, families and staff safe, as well as keeping the community informed of weather-related school closings, delays and cancellations.

Please note that we continually monitor the forecast from the National Weather Service (NWS) in order to make the best decision for students, staff and families in a timely manner.  The NWS’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) wind chill index chart is utilized in the District’s decision making process.  The NOAA wind chill index chart can be found under Appendix A of these guidelines.

Announcements of District weather-related decisions are communicated through local media outlets and multiple district communication platforms.

Notification will be sent directly to families by phone and email through the District’s Infinite Campus system and posted on the District’s website www.wl.k12.ia.us/.  To receive notification through the District’s Infinite Campus system, please ensure your contact information (email and phone) is accurate in Infinite Campus and is set up correctly.  Announcements will also be posted to the West Liberty Schools’ social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, etc.). 

High school activity and athletic event decisions are also communicated by the building administrator/designee.  The District must make one decision that is appropriate for more than 1250 students.  We recognize that this decision may not always fit with individual circumstances.  Therefore, we support parents/guardians making the best decision for their family.  Parents/guardians may choose to keep their children at home if they are concerned about their child’s safety due to weather conditions.  In this event, they must notify the school and the absence will be recorded as excused.

School may be canceled if the forecast for 10:00 a.m. the following morning shows frostbite times of 30 minutes or less (see Appendix A) for the majority of the day.  Decisions regarding cancellation due to temperature/wind chill will be made by 5:30 a.m. that morning.  As a general practice, all before school activities are canceled unless otherwise noted (Coaches will notify all players of the current practice and game status should changes arise.)

Closing due to snow or hazardous driving conditions will occur if heavy snow and/or icy conditions make it exceedingly hazardous or impossible for school buses to travel their routes and/or for employees and students to report to school safely.  The goal is to make a snow day decision by 5:30 a.m. the morning of a cancellation and to send out notifications immediately following, and no later than 6:00 a.m.  As a general practice, all before school activities are canceled unless otherwise noted. (Coaches will let their participants know if anything varies from the mass announcement).

At times we will delay the start of school due to weather conditions that are expected to improve throughout the school day.  School will be delayed if the forecast for 6 a.m. the following morning shows frostbite times of 30 minutes or less (see Appendix A). Decisions regarding cancellation will be made by 5:30 a.m. that morning.  When a late start is deemed necessary, late start times may vary depending on the weather conditions but will typically be two hours. In the event of any late start, half day morning preschool will be canceled, and breakfast will not be served.  As a general practice, all before school activities are canceled unless otherwise noted. (Coaches will let their participants know if anything varies from the mass announcement).

At times we will release students early due to weather conditions that are expected to worsen throughout the school day.  

When an early dismissal is deemed necessary: 

• A decision is determined by 10:00 a.m. unless conditions worsen later in the day 

• Early dismissal times may vary depending on the weather conditions 

• Children normally transported on buses will be returned by bus according to the early dismissal schedule unless other arrangements have been previously made and communicated to the child’s school 

• Decisions regarding high school activity and athletic events will be made by the building administrator/designee 

As a general practice, all after school and evening activities are canceled unless otherwise noted (Coaches will notify their participants if anything changes from the mass announcement). 

If road conditions are hazardous in areas of our school district, hard surface bus routes may be used to ensure the safety of our school buses. Hard surface bus routes use blacktop surfaced roads only. When an announcement is made that school will be open but buses will travel only hard surface bus routes until further notice; that means buses will run on the designated blacktop surfaced roads only throughout the district. Parents are asked to meet the buses on the blacktop roads for children to be dropped off and picked up, if possible. Students will be returned from school on the same blacktop roads.  We support parents/guardians making the best decision for their family.  Parents/guardians may choose to keep their children at home if they are concerned for their safety trying to get to the hard surface road to meet the bus.  In this event, they must notify the school and the absence will be recorded as excused. Buses will run regular routes unless hard surface bus routes have been specified in the announcement. If hard surface routes are used in the morning, drivers will follow the same route that afternoon.

At times we may cancel after-school activities due to weather conditions that are expected to worsen throughout the school day. This may happen when school is in session as normal.  Decisions to cancel activities will be made as soon as possible on the day of the cancellation.

As with all cancellations, late starts, early releases, and other postponements, we will do our best to provide adequate time for students, families and staff to plan ahead.  However, there are times when weather moves in unexpectedly causing quick decisions for the safety of our students and staff.  In those circumstances, we may cancel, or postpone school and activities on very short notice.  An example of this is light rain in the early morning that turns to ice around 6:30, causing us to delay the start of school later than normal.  As previously mentioned, we trust and value your judgment as a parent, and if you feel it is unsafe for your child to attend school due to weather related concerns, please make sure you notify your child’s attendance office.