Emergency School Closing
Due to inclement weather or any other emergency situations, it is sometimes necessary for NSSEO to close one or all of the schools and programs. This decision is made after collaborative discussion with our member districts.
There are some circumstances in which NSSEO might elect to use an e-learning day in place of an emergency day. During e-learning, students will engage in learning from home to maintain continuity of learning. An e-learning day is a full day of learning and, therefore, an emergency day would not need to be made up at the end of the year. It is the intention of NSSEO that e-learning will be used for some, but not all, emergency days. The decision whether to use an e-learning day in place of an emergency day will be made by NSSEO leadership in collaboration with our member districts and will align with the considerations outlined in the NSSEO e-learning plan (linked below).
For the most timely and official information regarding school closures and/or e-learning days, please log on to our website www.nsseo.org. We will also provide the information through social media – Twitter (@NSSEO_org) and Facebook (NSSEO). As always, the safety and security of our students and staff remains a top priority of NSSEO.
NSSEO will follow these general guidelines when closing schools for winter-related incidents:
- Schools will be closed if there is a forecasted sustained wind chill of -30 degrees fahrenheit or colder, or when the actual temperature is a sustained -15 degrees fahrenheit or colder between the travel times of 5:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. and/or 2:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. NSSEO will use forecasts provided by the National Weather Service.
- For snow, ice, or other weather-related closings, NSSEO will monitor the current conditions, the forecasted conditions between the travel times listed above, the ability of our staff to plow parking lots and sidewalks, as well as the ability of local municipalities to plow and make streets passable. NSSEO will be in close contact with our transportation companies to assess their ability to safely run buses. In these situations, NSSEO will also be in contact with our member districts, appropriate local and state officials, and district representatives to make the most appropriate decision with the facts known at that respective time.
- If school will be closed, NSSEO will make the notification by 5:30 a.m. the day of the closing knowing that you may need to arrange for childcare or other schedule changes. If we are able to make the determination the night before to close school – meaning the forecast undoubtedly warrants closure – we will attempt to notify you between 6:00 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.
- Typically, we send out a telephone SchoolMessenger notice when closing school. NSSEO will also update its website, social media accounts (detailed above), and the Emergency Closing Center website (www.emergencyclosingcenter.com) as soon as a decision has been made.
- In the event the decision to close school is made after 9:30 p.m., we will not usually send out a telephone SchoolMessenger notice, as the system can sometimes take up to an hour or so to complete all calls. NSSEO will send out the telephone SchoolMessenger notice by 5:30 a.m. the following morning.
- When school is closed due to inclement weather, all extracurricular programs and school meetings (except for Board meetings) are cancelled.
- It is important to remind you that Illinois School Code and NSSEO policy allows parents to call their student(s) out, as excused, in the event that NSSEO keeps schools open and, as a family, you have concerns about your child’s travel during difficult weather conditions.
