When extreme weather or other extenuating circumstances require an emergency closing, delayed start, or early release, the School District will employ some or all of the following tools to inform parents:
- An automated phone message will be delivered to the telephone number(s) on file in the district’s information system, alerting parents to the cancellation. (Please inform your child’s school whenever you change your telephone number, e-mail address, or residential address so that we are able to contact you in emergency situations.)
- A notice will be posted on the district website, www.district279.org
- School closing announcements and other emergency school-related instructions will be broadcast on radio and TV. District-wide school closure will be broadcast as "Osseo District 279." We notify these radio and TV stations:
If you disagree with a decision to hold school on a day when you believe the weather is hazardous, you are encouraged to keep your child home. Please contact your child’s school’s absence line to report the absence as an excused absence.
When possible, decisions to close or delay the start of school will be made by 5:30 a.m. School delays due to weather conditions will only be considered under unusual circumstances. A one-hour delayed start means that your child’s bus pick-up and school starting times will be one hour later than usual. Dismissal will be at the normal time.
When a storm occurs or continues throughout the night, district personnel survey conditions by driving critical roads on the east and west sides of the district and monitoring radio weather reports. When possible, they also consult with Brooklyn Park and Maple Grove police departments and snow removal officials.
While storms with high winds and snowfall of ten or more inches may cause schools to be cancelled or dismissed early, most snowstorms and cold weather events do not result in school closure.
ISD 279-Osseo Area Schools will do everything possible to avoid early dismissal once school is in session, in order to avoid sending children to locked homes. If a storm occurs or worsens during a school day, the same procedures described above will be followed, and a decision to close will be made by 11:00 a.m. If a tornado warning or severe weather is imminent, buses will not be loaded and students will not be dismissed. School staff may serve lunch, if a midday dismissal is decided. Schools would be dismissed in the usual order: first – senior high; second – junior high; and third – elementary. This order will minimize disruption caused by altered schedules, and older siblings will be the first to arrive home to await younger brothers and sisters.
When ISD 279 schools close, generally everything closes, including: all extracurricular activities; all Community Education activities, including youth and adult classes, Kidstop, 4 Star Express, Early Childhood Family Education; and all non-district events scheduled through the Community Education Department.
Cold Weather Procedures
Extremely cold weather can be very dangerous. Parents and guardians should be certain that their children are appropriately clothed with mittens, hats, coats, etc., and instructed regarding what to do in emergencies, particularly weather emergencies.
Minnesotans should be accustomed to many days of heavy snow and freezing temperatures during the winter months. ISD 279 will conduct school in the normal manner, if there is a reasonable expectation that 85% or more of the children will be in attendance. If the wind chill, according to the National Weather Service, is 35 degrees below zero or colder at 5:30 a.m. and predicted to remain that low or become worse, school may be cancelled. In most cases, however, the combined effects of snow, ice and wind form the basis for disrupting the school day.
Elementary school students are expected to go outdoors for recess, unless the wind chill factor falls below –5°F. During the winter months, sometimes parents request that their children remain in the classroom during noon recess. Such requests are difficult to honor because duty-free periods are provided for instructors at this time, and the rooms are not under teacher supervision. We have found that a short period of outdoor exercise generally refreshes children and gives them the opportunity to stretch and exercise muscles. Students arrive back in the classroom with renewed focus on learning.
