Emergency School Closure

It may be necessary to send students home early or cancel part or all of the school day because of extreme weather conditions or other emergencies. To protect the safety of students during such time, we urge parents/guardians to do the following:

1. Choose a "second home" in the neighborhood where your child could stay in the event that you are away and school is cancelled or students are sent home early. This information must be provided to the school office.
2. Tune your radio and/or television to the stations listed below. These stations have agreed to broadcast emergency school information.

Procedure for Sending Students Home Early

If weather conditions or emergency situations arise during the school day, the school district administration may send students home early. Depending on the kind of emergency, children may be kept at school until conditions improve, or they may be sent home directly. The safety of students will be the deciding factor.

If parents wish to come to school personally to pick up their child, they must check in with the school office before going to the classroom.

Delayed Morning Opening or Cancellation of the School Day Emergency conditions may occur during the night or prior to the beginning of the school day. If such circumstances indicate hazardous road conditions for school buses, the school administration will usually make one of two decisions: 1.

1. Cancel the entire school day including all bus transportation and all school sponsored events, or
2. Delay the opening of school and bus service for one or two hours. If road conditions do not improve at that time, the remainder of the school day will also be cancelled. Listen to radio stations or visit the websites listed for special announcements.

Radio Station Announcements

The following radio and television stations have offered to provide free public service announcements during severe weather times. We urge you to tune into these stations or visit their websites for school conditions during potential or announced emergency circumstances.

News Media Receiving School Closure information as of 8/05/09

You can also visit www.flashalertportland.net to view the most current closure information. This is the first place changes are made and this is also where the news stations get their information about your school.

TELEPHONING THE SCHOOL

We expressly urge parents and students to tune into the above resources for school closure information.

PLEASE do not call the school during such times except in extreme emergencies. Such a large volume of calls floods telephone lines making it impossible for the school to use the telephone for school emergencies. It also exceeds our capacity to answer all calls.