Not just a coin flip: understanding the process of calling snow days and delays
More stories from Amanda Corrao
Deciding on snow days and delays is not an easy process.
Whenever you wake up to a 2 hour delay or a cancellation, do you ever think of what comes behind that decision? Most think it seems like it’s just a flip of a coin or a simple “eenie miney moe” to choose if a delay or cancellation is appropriate. But surprisingly, it’s not that easy.
According to Carlisle Area School District Superintendent John Friend, “Between 4:45 through 4:50 we send out the ‘email blasts’ and put the news on T.V. and radio stations.” But before that, there are several people and events involved in this decision.
Michael Hurley, the CASD Director of Transportation/Safety, said that officials “begin traveling district roadways between 4:00 and 4:30 a.m.” The official decision is made by 5:15 a.m.
This decision is not just made by Carlisle employees but includes other school districts as well.
Friend said the schools bordering around us are who officials contact to make a final decision. These include Big Spring, South Middleton and Cumberland Valley.
“Distance between schools has decreased. We talk to way more people and the weather forecast itself is getting better. We never used to delay for temperature reasons until recently,” said Friend.
The technology and things are getting easier for the superintendents and other ones involved to see through these decisions. The representatives from different schools use a group chat service to discuss impending weather conditions and make decisions.
After a decision is made, Stephanie Douglas, the district’s Director of Digital Learning and Technology, sends out a text message, emails, and voicemails to parents.
“I have pre-recorded voice messages from Mr. Friend along with emails and text message verbiage that I can send out quickly once a decision has been made for a delay or school cancellation. Depending on the time of the decision, I can send out the message to all students, staff, and outside contractors all at the same time.” said Douglas.
Friend also accesses local news station listings through a pass code.
He’s the one who deals with the calls and emails people back when they’re concerned of the safety hazards.
Hurley said, “Our decision to delay, or cancel school is ultimately based on our safety concerns for students that ride school buses, walk and/or drive to school.”
Some people wonder how our school makeup days are chosen. This is actually established when the school calendar is created.
Friend said, “Beforehand, the calendar has a snowflake for a possible school day.”
CASD is now looking into using eDays for snow make up days. The district applied to use these eDays in the first week of January; despite the state’s assurance that they would notify districts in 45 days after receiving the application, the district is still waiting to hear from the Pennsylvania Department of Education regarding its application to do so.
To this end, the make up for the most recent snow day has yet to be decided. Check back here for updates when that decision has been made.
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Amanda is a staff writer for the second time this year, this time heading our new Student Life section. She loves the when the moon comes out but she...
Camera Bailey • Oct 27, 2021 at 9:32 pm
It was interesting to see what goes into making a snow day. I definitely used to think it was just a quick superintendent decision. It makes sense that it is connected to so many other outside forces.
Hannah Hixson • Apr 7, 2015 at 9:11 am
I didn’t realize how much deliberation it took to call for a 2 hour delay or a cancelation. I thought this was a really interesting article because I love waking up to delays, or cancelations and I never knew it was this thought out.
Carol Ann Weibley • Mar 27, 2015 at 12:52 pm
I think this is a great article! I do think that the office needs to be more considerate of students coming from outside of the district. For students like me who are approved by administration to live outside the district, it’s sometimes hard to get to school. This is especially prevalent when the district I live in cancels or delays. I wish they would be more understanding when it comes to determining what tardies/absences are unexcused versus illegal because weather does play a part in that.
Alexis Spence • Mar 27, 2015 at 12:49 am
I always did wonder what determined the delays and cancellations whenever it would snow. It was completely new to me that someone went out to test the roads. And that it is actually a process to this. I always thought that it was a lot more simple than that. I just thought John Friend was the only person that made the decision and he would make it based on what other schools were doing.
Michaela McQuaig • Mar 26, 2015 at 5:34 pm
Great article! I knew multiple people were involved in the decision, and that several districts communicated, but I didn’t realize that someone would go out on district roadways and check! It’s nice to have schools that care that much about the safety of their students! Well written and very informative!
Kenleigh Peet • Mar 26, 2015 at 12:41 pm
Super interesting! I had no idea that there was an actual science behind snow days, I thought they were just little gifts from the snow gods!
Brianna Robison • Mar 26, 2015 at 7:45 am
This was really informative on how delays and cancellations are decided. I knew there was a system to is but i had no idea people actually went out and tested the roads. Great article!!
Justine Douglas • Mar 25, 2015 at 8:58 pm
S/o to my mom, Stephanie G. Douglas!!!!!!!!!!! I always love waking up to a call at 5am from Mr. Friend to let my mom know that there is a delay or cancellation. When we get a call at that time I always know I can go back to bed and not worry about waking up in an hour 🙂 My favorite delay and cancellations are when we get the call the evening before so we know that night.
Erin Newcomer • Mar 23, 2015 at 8:25 am
I really like this article because I always wonder how they make the decision to call a delay or cancellation. I feel like it can’t be easy to determine the safety. I know that I live two minutes from the school and can always safely make it to school, but some of my friends further out will have horrible road conditions. Personally, I don’t like the idea of eDays. This is because I know how much work I put in to my homework and how much others put in. An hour of work to some could be two hours for me so I feel that these days will be horrible.
Sydney Ritchie • Mar 19, 2015 at 8:30 am
Nice Article. I had no idea that more than one person’s opinion went into the decision-making process.