Greetings Thompson School District Students, Families, Staff and Community:
While I consider myself a servant leader who makes all decisions in the best interest of students, families, staff and the community, occasionally I find myself challenged when I make decisions that may not be popular. A big challenge of almost every superintendent is when he or she is faced with the daunting decision of whether or not to call a snow day or even a late start to the school day. While I seek the “win/win,” I may fall short when I make the ultimate decision around snow days.
“Weather” is an exact science, but weather forecasting and predicting is not. As a district, we rely on the forecasts and predictions of our weather services and bureaus to help inform our decisions around the potential impact of a snow event in our communities. There are many variables that play into the forecast. Suffice it to say, weather forecasting gives us guidance, but it may or may not be accurate. In addition, our district includes 362 square miles of land within five communities. Weather conditions can vary greatly from one location to the next. Ultimately, a deciding factor for us revolves around the navigability of our streets in order to get all students and staff from their home to school. Some rely on our school buses. Others get driven to school. Some drive themselves and others walk to school. All 16,000 of our students and all 2,100 of our employees have to traverse our streets and sidewalks in order to get from point A to point B. The other key factor is air temperature. How cold is it outside for our students to wait at bus stops and/or walk to school? A decision has to be made about how “safe” the streets and sidewalks are and how “safe” the air temperature may be. In the end, a decision is made. The decision is made in consultation with many agencies, local city and county officials, law enforcement and district staff. The decision is important and I always try to make the correct one.
I also want to share that closing schools has a huge impact on people. Obviously there is the educational impact of not having the opportunity to attend school to learn and participate in activities and events. For some of our students, there is the impact of not receiving breakfast and lunch—meals that they depend on due to food hardships. Economically, some of our hourly employees, such as our substitute teachers, depend on going to work for a paycheck. Then there is the potential family hardship. Oftentimes, families need to secure childcare and supervision because they do not have the ability to take off work and now their children are at home. While we may cancel school, work is not canceled for our parents and guardians. However, student and staff safety override these impacts, and know that it is ultimately the decision of a parent or guardian as to whether or not they send their children to school.
As a collective, we are all on the same TSD team, and I always have the interests and safety of students, staff and the community at my core. As we head into our “snowy” months, there may inevitably be decisions that need to be made with regards to the closing of school. I hope that this letter provides a bit more insight around snow days and some of the factors that are considered when making decisions.
Have an amazing February and thank you for your support of our incredible district.
Sincerely,
Dr. Marc Schaffer
Superintendent
Thompson School District