AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE
CONCERNING SCHOOL CLOSING or DELAYED OPENING,
Again this year, in
addition to the possibility of closing schools due to inclement weather, we may
also use a delayed opening. In order to
ensure greater safety, the opening of schools may be delayed by either one or
two hours.
Should there be a delayed
opening, students will be expected to go to their bus stop or to leave their
houses (if they walk to school) one (or two) hours after their regularly
scheduled time. The bus company and crossing
guards will know about the delay and will rearrange their schedules
accordingly.
The quickest way to
determine whether school will be closed or the opening delayed due to bad
weather is to listen to your television or radio, since they will be the first
to be informed. We will post the
information on our web site www.newtonpublicschools.com
and will also have a dedicated information line for emergency purposes that you
can call to listen to a recorded statement.
Please do not call the police or school officials. This only ties up telephone lines and
disrupts attempts to plan for or respond to emergencies.
Every
effort will be made to call in "No School" announcements to the
following radio stations and television channels before
WBZ - 1030 AM
WRKO 680 AM
TV Channels - 4, 5, 7, 56,
or you may call
(617) 559-9699 for a recorded message.
If
the announcement is not listed the previous evening, the decision has not yet
been made. Normally, the decision is not
made until the early morning hours of the day in question. The decision to close or delay the opening of
schools is made by the Superintendent of Schools. This decision is based upon the best
information available on street and weather conditions from the Police
Department, Public Works Department and the U.S. Weather Bureau at the time the
decision must be made, usually before
If school is held, but
conditions are still very bad on any particular street or area of the City,
parents may use their own judgment in determining whether or not to send a
student to school.
If a storm occurs during a
school day, school will ordinarily remain in session. We are advised by the Police Department that
once students are in school they are better off remaining there than being
released early because of a storm. The
reasons are several: (1) the City has more time to service major accesses to
and from schools prior to dismissal; (2) parents of many younger children may
not be home to receive them; and (3) drivers are not as cautious during hours
that they expect students to be in school.
However, parents should also make certain that their child knows where
to go, in the event schools have to be dismissed early. Early dismissals, should they occur, will
also be broadcast in advance over the referenced radio/television stations, the
web site, and the dedicated emergency telephone line.
The cooperation of the
general public and the parents of
Sincerely,
Jeffrey M.
Young
Superintendent of Schools
Jeffrey
M. Young
Superintendent
of Schools
JMY/mb
Jeffrey
M. Young
Superintendent
of Sc
JMY/mb