Typical Illinois weather means chilly Decembers and unplanned snowstorms in January and February. Snow days can be the origin of numerous fond memories as a child, but with remote learning in place for the past two years, we question what will snow days look like now.

Though the priority is to keep the building open, in the case where severe weather becomes a safety hazard to students and staff, students will move to an emergency e-learning plan for asynchronous learning. If the school is closed and does not resort to the asynchronous learning plan, an emergency day will be added to the end of the school year. If the school building closes, all after school activities, practices and sports events will be canceled.

Should the school choose to stay open, guardians who feel that it is not “safe or possible” to send the student to school have the right to phone in an excused absence.

If the severity of the weather isn’t as extreme, the school may opt for a 2-hour late start rather than the emergency e-learning plan. An email was sent to staff and faculty stating, “A two-hour late arrival allows additional time for road and sidewalks to be cleared, or for the temperature to rise to a safer level. In this case, the school will operate on a two-hour late arrival schedule.” Bus pickup, early bird classes and first period will start two hours later than the regular bell schedule.

Decisions will be made by superintendent Dr. Steven Isoye by 5:30 a.m. on the day of and will be made public information through the district website. Phone, email and text messages will be sent if an emergency e-learning plan is declared, but the district website will house the most timely response. Closing and late starts will also be posted through the Emergency Closing Center.

Listed below are factoring conditions found in the email that may cause an emergency e-learning plan:

• weather conditions, including excessive snowfall or extreme cold;
• the visibility and street conditions in Niles Township;
• the functioning of our school buses;
• our building functioning properly, including heat and light;
• discussions with our sender elementary schools; and
• the conditions of D219 parking lots and grounds.