As we approach this weekend, we welcomed our first big cold front since our students have returned to school from their winter break. As we look at the upcoming weather forecasts - as we often do in the school business, I wanted to remind our community of how we communicate school delays or closings in Jarrell ISD.
Whenever the decision is made, we will advertise a two hour delay or a school cancellation in a variety of ways:
Local Media Outlets will be notified (Local Television, News, and Radio)
We will post to our Jarrell ISD Facebook Page - Click here to follow us if you have not already done so
We will post to our Jarrell ISD Twitter Page - Click here to follow us in Twitter
We will send our push notifications on the JISD Schoolway App - Click here to install the SchoolWay app for Apple, Android, or Google Devices
We work very hard to keep you informed in the event that weather is severe enough to impact our JISD. To let you know a little more about how we come to these decisions, the following is an excerpt from a blog post from two years back:
I can tell you that probably the absolute most difficult decision that I have to make is a weather call. Ultimately the decision as to whether or not to cancel school, delay the start time of school, or proceed as normal comes down to me. I do not take this decision lightly, nor do I randomly make the decision myself.
I consult a number of people. This starts with our district staff, continues with fellow superintendents in the area, and also includes Williamson County and Travis County Emergency Operations personnel along with National Weather Service Meteorologists.
The first thing we do is listen in on the county weather calls, where Wilco or Travis County Emergency Personnel moderate a call between all available parties including schools, cities, and county agencies as well as TXDOT and the National Weather Service. We are given weather probabilities and best/worst case scenarios. The road service agencies detail current conditions and precautions they are taking.
I then participate in conversations with area superintendents about the weather, the situation, and the probabilities. We try to work in unison and share information as much as possible so that we can get as clear a picture as we can,
Additionally, district staff start driving the roads in our district. For JISD, this usually means that our transportation director always goes, and I sometimes accompany her or drive to different areas. We compare information and share notes on current conditions in JISD. In addition, our district staff communicate with other districts and other entities, or just coordinate messages between district staff. This could include very simple data - for example yesterday afternoon, our drivers reported back to the transportation director that the afternoon drive was much easier than the morning route for one simple reason - they could see the roads, especially where we had potholes on our rural county roads that often had ice patches. This information was critical in our announcement of a late start today.
As I stated above, I take this decision very seriously - our ultimate decision comes down to can we guarantee safety in getting to school.
As I stated back then, the number one focus is the safety and security of our students. One of the reason that we put so much thought, time, and energy into this decision is that we know that our schools are one of the safest places for our students. If we were to cancel school due to inclement weather and then the weather is not as bad as thought, many of our students would be home alone. Furthermore, over 55% of JISD students qualify for free or reduced lunch. If those students are not in school, they may not be eating breakfast or lunch that day.
So I can always promise you that we take decisions like these with the utmost importance. We want to ensure the safety and security of our students at school and at home. Be safe and stay warm this weekend.
Go Coogs!
Whenever the decision is made, we will advertise a two hour delay or a school cancellation in a variety of ways:
Local Media Outlets will be notified (Local Television, News, and Radio)
We will post to our Jarrell ISD Facebook Page - Click here to follow us if you have not already done so
We will post to our Jarrell ISD Twitter Page - Click here to follow us in Twitter
We will send our push notifications on the JISD Schoolway App - Click here to install the SchoolWay app for Apple, Android, or Google Devices
We work very hard to keep you informed in the event that weather is severe enough to impact our JISD. To let you know a little more about how we come to these decisions, the following is an excerpt from a blog post from two years back:
I can tell you that probably the absolute most difficult decision that I have to make is a weather call. Ultimately the decision as to whether or not to cancel school, delay the start time of school, or proceed as normal comes down to me. I do not take this decision lightly, nor do I randomly make the decision myself.
I consult a number of people. This starts with our district staff, continues with fellow superintendents in the area, and also includes Williamson County and Travis County Emergency Operations personnel along with National Weather Service Meteorologists.
The first thing we do is listen in on the county weather calls, where Wilco or Travis County Emergency Personnel moderate a call between all available parties including schools, cities, and county agencies as well as TXDOT and the National Weather Service. We are given weather probabilities and best/worst case scenarios. The road service agencies detail current conditions and precautions they are taking.
I then participate in conversations with area superintendents about the weather, the situation, and the probabilities. We try to work in unison and share information as much as possible so that we can get as clear a picture as we can,
Additionally, district staff start driving the roads in our district. For JISD, this usually means that our transportation director always goes, and I sometimes accompany her or drive to different areas. We compare information and share notes on current conditions in JISD. In addition, our district staff communicate with other districts and other entities, or just coordinate messages between district staff. This could include very simple data - for example yesterday afternoon, our drivers reported back to the transportation director that the afternoon drive was much easier than the morning route for one simple reason - they could see the roads, especially where we had potholes on our rural county roads that often had ice patches. This information was critical in our announcement of a late start today.
As I stated above, I take this decision very seriously - our ultimate decision comes down to can we guarantee safety in getting to school.
As I stated back then, the number one focus is the safety and security of our students. One of the reason that we put so much thought, time, and energy into this decision is that we know that our schools are one of the safest places for our students. If we were to cancel school due to inclement weather and then the weather is not as bad as thought, many of our students would be home alone. Furthermore, over 55% of JISD students qualify for free or reduced lunch. If those students are not in school, they may not be eating breakfast or lunch that day.
So I can always promise you that we take decisions like these with the utmost importance. We want to ensure the safety and security of our students at school and at home. Be safe and stay warm this weekend.
Go Coogs!