School Closure Process
We live in an area where snow is typical in the winter and unless the storm is extreme, school will not be canceled. Additionally, Jeffco does not use delayed start.
Many factors are taken into consideration when deciding to close schools, but the safety of students and staff is the number one consideration. While we realize it is snowy and driving conditions can be scary, there are myriad other things the district must consider before making a decision to close schools. Among other things, we ask, can our school bus and snow removal teams do their jobs? Will we be able to provide meals? What is the forecast for later in the day? Many parties work through the night and early morning to determine the best course of action and to clear the roads and our school sites.
More than anything, we consider the impact on families who are counting on us to be open because they do not have access to other childcare and cannot afford to take a day off at a moment's notice. We also provide meals for hundreds of families who count on the food we provide for breakfast and lunch every day.
So ultimately we ask, does the current situation justify disrupting 86,000 students' families and their often basic human needs and 14,000 employee schedules, plus the expense to the school district? Most often, the answer is no. Because of all these reasons, we will always do whatever we can to have schools open every day.
Many often ask, do you evaluate the mountain school areas differently/separately from the more metro area locations? YES. We are aware of weather conditions throughout our district boundaries every day. The mountain areas are evaluated differently using many agencies and experts, including spotters and people located in these mountain areas. However, again, conditions must be deemed extreme enough to warrant closing, based on the reasons explained on this webpage. We work closely with county crews to evaluate and clear these areas, and our own Jeffco staff often focus on more impacted areas during weather events.
Jeffco Public Schools rarely takes snow days; that is the organizational history and culture. Like mentioned above, we live in Colorado and expect to have snowy conditions many times of the year. Unless the storm is extreme, school will not be canceled. We know the definition of “extreme” varies from person to person, but parents can always make the call not to send their children to school that day if they feel it is unsafe.
What Parents Need to Do
- We encourage all families to follow us on our Facebook and Twitter channels. This is the first place we post information, as it is the easiest and fastest. Also, be sure to bookmark our webpage, as we post emergency notices there as well.
- Parents should ensure we always have the most current contact information for them and any emergency contacts, through JeffcoConnect. You, or anyone else picking up your child from school during school hours or under special circumstances, will always be asked to present photo ID before the student will be released. Additionally, anyone you wish to have permission to pick up your child must be designated as such in JeffcoConnect; the pick-up box must be checked for all such individuals.
- In cold weather students should be dressed appropriately. No one can predict when a fire alarm might go off or when buildings might have to be evacuated due to an emergency.
- All families should make advance arrangements for their children in case of school closures and for the rare situation when it is necessary to close an individual school because of circumstances.
- Children should know where to go if a parent will not be home and how to contact parents or guardians.
How to Find out about closures/Alerts
District Social Media Channels
As mentioned above, follow the district's Twitter and Facebook pages in order to receive the fastest information. Turn on notifications for our channels once you have "followed" them.
SchoolMessenger
The district uses the messaging system, SchoolMessenger, to message families about many things. It is also used for announcements such as snow closures. SchoolMessenger uses email, text messaging, and sometimes phone. Contact information parents submit in JeffcoConnect is what SchoolMessenger uses for sending messages to parents. Please keep this information up to date at all times.
Local News Media
Listen and watch the news media, particularly local TV stations, for these messages:
"All Jeffco Public Schools are closed"
or
"All Jeffco Mountain Schools are closed"
Mountain Schools are:
- Bergen Meadow Elementary
- Bergen Valley Elementary
- Coal Creek Canyon K-8
- Conifer High School
- Elk Creek Elementary
- Evergreen Middle School
- Evergreen High School
- Marshdale Elementary
- Ralston Elementary
- Rocky Mountain Academy of Evergreen
- Parmalee Elementary
- West Jefferson Elementary
- West Jefferson Middle School
- Wilmot Elementary
Length of an Emergency School Closure
Unless otherwise announced, school weather-related closures are for one day only.
If there is NO further announcement after one day, then schools will operate as usual.
Event Cancellations or Postponements
Check with individual schools or event sponsors regarding the cancellation of events and activities. These kinds of cancellations may vary from school to school. Many schools will utilize social media to share this information; we encourage families to follow their children's school, as well as the district's social media channels for the fastest information.
Make-Up Days
District policy mandates a specific number of days each year teachers must work directly with students. When a school falls below this level, make-up days, which will be announced, may need to be scheduled. Check the district's school year calendar for more details.