Weather Delays, Cancellations, or Early Dismissals

children walking in the snow

The Superintendent will make the decision to cancel school, delay the start time, or dismiss classes early if conditions are deemed dangerous to students and staff. We will announce delays in start times and cancellations as early as possible, but not later than 5:30 a.m. Parents or guardians may choose to keep their children at home if they are concerned about weather conditions while school is in session. Please notify your student’s school and your absence will be recorded as excused.

How Weather Delays and Cancellations are Determined

All Story County school superintendents use a variety of factors when determining whether to delay or cancel school. The safety of students, staff, and parents is a priority when making these decisions. We take into consideration travel conditions, as well as students who may have to walk and/or wait for the bus. Some of those factors include:

  • Timing of impending winter storm
  • Travel conditions that include blowing and drifting snow.
  • Wind chill threshold as determined by the National Weather Service. We use a fifteen-minute threshold as a gauge when making decisions.

When a school cancellation of classes is necessary:

  • All District schools will be closed, before and after-school activities will be canceled.
  • As a general rule, athletic events will be canceled.

When a delayed start is necessary:

  • The District will follow a two-hour delay schedule unless there are unusual circumstances.
  •  All before-and after-school professional development activities will be canceled.
  • Morning preschool and early kindergarten classes at Northwood Preschool Center will be canceled.
  • Northwood afternoon classroom (both preschool and Early Kindergarten) will start at 12:15 p.m. and dismiss at 3:15 p.m.
  • Elementary school will start at 9:40 a.m.
  • Middle school will start at 10:40 a.m.
  • High School will start at 10:30 a.m.

When an early dismissal is necessary:

  • The Superintendent will make the decision by 11 a.m., if possible.
  • Early-dismissal times may vary depending on the weather conditions. We do try to follow a 2-hour early dismissal time if possible.
  • Afternoon preschool and early kindergarten classes at Northwood Preschool Center will be canceled.
  • After-school activities will be canceled and, in general, athletic events will be canceled.

Make-up Days

If the number of weather-related cancellations requires days to be made up to complete the state-and Board-mandated number of instruction hours, we will add make-up dates to end of the District calendar and we will alert parents and guardians about the calendar change.