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  4. Weather-Related Delays & Closures

Weather-Related Delays & Closures

What to know if there are weather-related school closures.

Only Mother Nature knows if Suzy Snowflake or Jack Frost have Bainbridge Island on their winter itineraries — here's what you need to know if they pay us a visit.  

What is involved with making weather-related closures? Student and staff safety is at the forefront of every decision we make.
 

WHEN WEATHER HITS OVERNIGHT: District officials begin driving Island roads around 3 a.m. to evaluate their conditions. They drive main roads, side roads and hills throughout the island, as conditions can vary from one end to another. If necessary, the school schedule will be adjusted. 
 

WHEN SCHOOL IS CANCELED, DELAYED, OR DISMISSED EARLY: Once we decide to alter our schedule, we begin alerting our staff and BISD families by around 5:30 a.m. Because many of our staff live off-island and many of our parents work off-island, it's imperative to get the messages out ASAP. 
 

BESIDES ROAD CONDITIONS, OTHER FACTORS PLAY INTO THE DECISION INCLUDING:

  • What are the surrounding conditions like in Kitsap County? Approximately ⅓ of our staff live off-island. If the majority of ⅓ of our staff were unable to get to work, there would not be enough substitute teachers, substitute bus drivers, substitute food servers, etc. to cover the necessary staffing positions to operate a school day. 
  • Are the BISD parking lots and walking paths safe? Despite the Herculean efforts of our grounds and custodial crews, sometimes Mother Nature dumps more snow or ice than our crews can keep up with!
  • Other considerations include: the weather forecast; weather conditions for students getting to and from (and waiting for) school buses.

We use the following communication tools to spread the word—

ParentSquare: We use a system called ParentSquare to push out time-sensitive messages such as school closures. For those registered, the system sends the message based on your communication preferences (you have the option to select how you would like to be notified). However, the system is “smart” and sends an automated phone call if your preferred communication method fails for some reason. If you do not register, you will only receive messages via email. To learn more about setting up your ParentSquare account, please review this document: Parents/Guardians Instructions for Activating ParentSquare   Community Members not affiliated with BISD can subscribe to BISD alerts (which include weather-related delays) by completing this form. 
 

Website: Decisions regarding snow-related schedule changes are posted on all BISD school home pages.
 

Social Media: Decisions regarding snow-related schedule changes are posted on our social media accounts.
 

Local Media Announcements: Radio/TV stations will announce districts by name. Look and listen for Bainbridge Island School District #303.
 

REMEMBER: No announcement means school is on schedule. 
 

Questions about the communication process? Contact Erin Bischoff at ebischoff@bisd303.org or 206-780-1081.

FAQs on Weather-Related Closures & Delays

  • In order to help our families and staff plan accordingly, we work hard to get communications out as quickly as possible. Crews from our Transportation Department check road conditions around 3:30 a.m. Our goal is to begin communicating information by 5:30 a.m. However, Mother Nature can have plans of her own, and sometimes we are delayed due to unknown conditions. Please know that we are working hard to make a decision and communicate that decision to you!

  • Simply add two hours to your student's regular start time. For instance, if your child's school usually begins at 7:50 a.m., a two-hour late start has school beginning at 9:50 a.m. Please note: Dismissal times remain the same and are not pushed out two hours.

     

  • Add two hours to your student's regular morning pick-up. For instance, if your child's bus usually arrives at 7:23 a.m., a two-hour late start will have the bus arriving approximately at 9:23 a.m. 

  • Simply subtract two hours from your student's regular dismissal time.

  • Again, simply subtract two hours from your child's regular scheduled stop. For instance, if your child's bus usually returns at 2:50 p.m., a two-hour early release will have the bus returning at approximately 12:50 p.m. 

  • Visit the Transportation Department Emergency/Snow Bus Routes & Stops webpage to access these routes. Please remember to adjust the times if we are operating on a late start or an early release. 

    Questions about the communication process? Contact Erin Bischoff at ebischoff@bisd303.org or 206-780-1081.