In the event that school must be closed before the normal dismissal time, parents are asked to have a contingency plan in place whereby an adult/neighbor is identified who has permission to temporarily house their child. This plan should be shared with the child to ensure his or her awareness and understanding. Please recognize that on an emergency day, our phone system becomes so over-taxed that it is not feasible for students to attempt to contact their parents.

The decision for canceling school, whether in session or before the school day begins, is made solely on the basis of student safety. The Superintendent of Schools considers many things in coming to the decision, including the cause of the possible school closure, power failures and company response times, alternative resources or, in the case of weather, street conditions, snow removal at the school buildings, projected snowfall, temperature, wind conditions, time of day, traffic, and conditions in surrounding school districts.

When all of these factors have been considered and a decision is made to cancel school, radio station WCCO 8•3•0 AM, WCCO (Channel 4), KSTP (Channel 5), FOX 9 KMSP and KARE 11 television are called, an announcement is placed on the Emergency School Closing Line (306-7863) and on the district website. However, in the event of a power failure, the district must look for alternative methods of notification as most media outlets are automated land-line phone systems and may fail and/or the district website may not be operable. In the event of questionable weather, listen to your radio, watch Channel 4, 5, 9 or 11, call 651-306-7863 or check the District Web site to learn if school has been delayed or canceled.