Lansing USD469 Looking Forward To Welcoming Back Students on Thursday, January 6th - NO LATE START
Teachers and staff of Lansing USD469 are excited to welcome back students on Thursday, January 6th. As a reminder, there will be no late start during any week consisting of three school days or less, so students will follow the regular schedule on the first day back.
With the predicted cold temperatures for January 6th, we wanted to remind parents of the Lansing USD 469 Inclement Weather Procedures:
Unless circumstances create health or safety issues, Lansing School District schools will be open on all regularly scheduled school days. However, weather conditions can vary significantly in different neighborhoods and streets. We encourage parents to make attendance decisions for their children based on their specific ability to get to school safely.
If you are concerned about your child's ability to travel to school safely, please exercise your parental discretion to make the best decision for your child. If your contact information has recently changed, please contact your child's school with current data or update your information in Skyward. This will enable the school and the district to notify you in the event of a late start, closure, or early release. If you are not notified by the designated channels listed below, you can safely assume your school is open.
Here are some general philosophies regarding school closure decisions:
- I will use weather forecasts, radar, personal reconnaissance, and colleagues' opinions in the decision-making process.
- Safety is our top priority, so when in doubt, I try to err on the side of caution.
- I will make the decision as soon as possible to give families a better chance to plan. I will not comment on the likelihood of canceling school in advance of the decision.
- After the decision to cancel school is made, I will sometimes send a follow-up email explaining the factors involved. I will not typically send notices that school will be open as scheduled.
METHODS OF NOTIFICATION
- Lansing USD 469 Mobile App: Click here for instructions on downloading our free app. We will no longer be sending weather cancellations via Skylert text messaging.
- Social Media: We will share cancellations through our district Facebook and Twitter accounts.
- Skyward Email: I will also email all parents and employees.
- Media: We will air our closing announcements on KMBC TV 9, KCTV 5, WDAFTV 4, KSHB TV 41, KMBZ AM 980, KFKF FM 94.1, KCUR FM 89.3.
COLD WEATHER CANCELLATIONS
- Cold weather can prevent our diesel buses from operating properly and endanger students.
- In preparation for cold weather cancellations, the National Weather Service (NWS) has a very helpful wind chill and frostbite graph, which you can see here:
https://www.weather.gov/safety/cold-wind-chill-chart
- To err on the side of caution as promised, I will use a wind chill temperature of negative 15 degrees Fahrenheit as the cut-off point for canceling school. For your convenience, the decision will be made the night before using the 7:00 a.m. NWS forecast located at this site:
CONTINGENCY PLANS
- For your convenience, I will not delay the start of school. I will avoid dismissing school early whenever possible, but circumstances may require it, so please plan for that contingency.
- The decision to cancel school must be made by 6:00 a.m. Conditions may worsen between then and the start of school. If so, I cannot reverse the decision without endangering students because buses and many parents will have already departed. Therefore, if conditions worsen after 6:00 a.m., you will need to use your best judgment as to whether or not to send students to school.
- Parents always have the option to excuse an absence due to inclement weather or local road conditions.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns. Thank you.
Dan Wessel, Superintendent of Schools
Lansing USD 469 Inclement Weather Procedures