Emergency Procedures

There may be some rare storms or situations that requires South Washington County Schools (SoWashCo Schools) to close all district buildings and cancel schools, programs and all learning activities due to wind chill, snow, ice, hazardous roads, inclement weather or other situations.

• THE DECISION The decision to move to an emergency closure for weather will generally be made by 5 a.m. the morning of a cancellation for weather. Depending on forecast certainty, the decision may be made the evening before a cancellation. The decision to move to an emergency closure for weather will generally be made by 5 a.m. the morning of a cancellation for weather. Depending on forecast certainty, the decision may be made the evening before a cancellation. 

• SNOWY WEATHER: Cancellations may occur due to snow, ice or hazardous road conditions that make it extremely hazardous or impossible for school buses to travel their routes.

• COLD WEATHER: Cancellations may occur if the expected forecast for 6 a.m. shows that the wind chill will be -35 Fahrenheit or colder and the National Weather Service issues a wind chill warning.

E-Learning Day

During an e-learning day, students will log in to Schoology (6-12+) or SeeSaw (K-5) from home with their district-issued device (Chromebook or iPad) to access assignments. An e-Learning day helps minimize the disruption to academic progress due to an emergency school closure. It’s important to note that not all school closures will be designated as an e-learning day.

Before an e-learning day:

If a weather event is forecast, schools will prepare students by sending them home with their devices. If the weather is not severe enough to cancel in-person school, students will bring their devices back to school the next day. 

During an e-learning day:

Families will receive notice of an e-learning day through an automated phone call, email and/or text message with at least two hours notice prior to the school start time. Teachers will be available online and by phone during regular school hours.

• Day 1 - Learning activities are posted in Schoology for grades 6-12; and grades K-5 may be instructed to either log into SeeSaw or choose a lesson from a paper activity sheet. Students will check and complete assignments and interact with teachers on their own schedule.

• Day 2 and beyond - Students will connect and interact with their teacher and classmates through a live video conference with a set schedule for the day. This may also include logging into SeeSaw or Schoology to complete assignments. 

Day 2 Schedules

During an emergency closure or e-learning day: The procedure below DOES NOT apply to days in which SoWashCo Schools calls for either an emergency closure or e-learning day. Scheduled activities should follow the procedures listed for an emergency closure or e-learning day. 

South Washington County Schools may choose to cancel after-school events and activities due to snow, ice, hazardous weather or other situations that are expected to worsen throughout the school day. Afternoon preschool, Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) classes and the regular school day will continue as usual.

• The decision to cancel after-school activities will be made by 12 noon on the day of cancellation.

Recess will be held indoors when the air temperature is zero degrees or colder, or the wind chill is expected to be colder than -10 degrees below zero.
SoWashCo Schools uses the National Weather Service (NWS) wind chill chart to determine whether recess will be held outside. Wind chill is the temperature it feels like on your skin when the wind is blowing. The stronger the wind, the colder it feels.

As you can see in the chart below, if the temperature is 10 degrees above zero with winds of 15 miles per hour, the wind chill would be -7 degrees. This would allow recess to continue outside safely. However, if the temperature is 0 degrees with a 5 mph wind, the wind chill would be -11 degrees, requiring recess to be held indoors. 

Please dress students appropriately for all winter weather.

Families are encouraged to monitor their children’s clothing selections to make sure they are appropriately dressed for cold weather. Students who do not have the appropriate winter clothing will not be able to participate in outdoor recess.

SoWashCo Schools uses the National Weather Service (NWS) wind chill chart to determine whether to cancel school or make adjustments to outdoor recess. Wind chill is the temperature it feels like on your skin when the wind is blowing. The stronger the wind, the colder it feels. 

For example, if the temperature is -20 degrees with winds of 10 miles per hour, the wind chill would be -41 degrees.