Dear District 194 Families,

With our first snow on the ground of the season, it is a good time to share our protocols for school closings in the event of inclement weather. Our top priority is the safety and well-being of our students, staff, and community and the procedures below outline how we will notify you in case of a closure.

If we need to close school due to weather conditions, we will notify staff and families through multiple channels, including email, text messages, and phone calls through ParentSquare. Additionally, we will post updates on the Emergency Closing Center, our school Facebook page, and our website. While there may at times be exceptions depending on the weather, we will always try to make the decision to close school by 9:00 p.m. the night before. If you do not receive notice from the school district of school closure, that means school will be in session.  

This year, we are returning to traditional “snow days” and moving away from e-learning during weather-related closures. While e-learning provided a temporary solution in past years, we recognize that it does not consistently support the same quality of education that in-person learning offers. Meaningful instruction often requires hands-on activities, collaboration, and direct interaction, which are challenging to replicate effectively online. We are committed to maintaining the high standards of education our students deserve. 

Please note that utilizing traditional snow days may result in the use of emergency days at the end of the school year. These days (June 4 - 10) are already allotted on our calendar for use if needed. We encourage all families to plan accordingly to accommodate these potential calendar adjustments. Should we find ourselves in a situation where we have used more than our scheduled emergency days, we will reevaluate. We sincerely hope we will not need to utilize any emergency days.  

Sincerely,

Dr. Anthony McConnell

Superintendent