Weather Related Incident Response
The Decision Making Process: Weather Related School Closures and Delays
Dare County Schools has developed an Incident Response Team and protocol in response to weather related school closures and emergency situations. We believe it is important for families to understand all of the factors that influence decisions regarding school delays and closures. This is the process Dare County Schools follows with any weather related decisions.
Incident Response Team
Our Incident Response Team is dedicated to ensuring the safety of our students and staff during emergencies. The team consists of key personnel that represent each of our departments, including:
- Superintendent
- Assistant Superintendent
- Safety Officers
- Maintenance Staff
- Transportation Department
- Technology Department
- Finance Department
- Public Information Officer
- School Nutrition Services
- Elementary and Secondary Directors
- Human Resources
- Exceptional Children Services
- After-School Enrichment Program (ASEP) Director
Our Process
- Initial Meeting: Our team meets to assess the situation, starting with monitoring information from the National Weather Service and Dare County Emergency Management.
- Regular Monitoring: We participate in National Weather Service webinars to stay updated on the latest developments and forecasts during a weather related emergency.
- Decision Factors:
- Safety: The safety of our students and staff is our top priority.
- Instructional Time: We aim to protect our instructional time and only use Remote Learning Days when absolutely necessary. The State of North Carolina permits districts to schedule up to 5 weather related remote learning days per year.
- Logistics: Considerations include wind, rain, overwash predictions, wind gusts on bridges, and input from individual building principals.
Considerations for School Closures or Delays
- Weather Predictions: Including wind, rain, and potential overwash.
- Wind Gusts: Particularly on bridges.
- Geographic Needs: Input from principals regarding their specific areas.
- Scheduling Decisions: Delay, close, required workday, optional workday, or no action.
- Regional Decisions: Separate decisions for Cape Hatteras and northern areas if needed.
- Technology Distribution: Ensuring all students who need them have Chromebooks for Remote Learning.
- Power and Internet: Potential outages at homes and schools.
- Remote Learning: Providing assignments that do not require technology if needed.
- Transportation: Safety of school buses and young student drivers on flooded highways.
- Staff Commute: Staff traveling from outside Dare County or to and from Buxton.
- After-School Programs: Allowing families time to plan for childcare.
- Plan Adjustments: Ability to change plans if conditions worsen or improve.
- Extracurricular Activities: Considering the safety of students involved in after school activities.
Communication
We strive to communicate changes to the school schedule as early as possible to allow families and staff to prepare. This includes notifications about school closures, remote learning days, and any changes to extracurricular activities.
District Communication Channels
- Email, phone call, and text message alerts to families based on the contact information provided at the start of the school year.
- District and school website alerts and news posts
- Social media alerts on Dare County Schools' Facebook, Instagram, and X pages
- Press releases sent to local and regional media outlets for distribution