2024-2025 Winter Weather Procedures

Hello Governor Mifflin Families, 

As we get into the colder months, I want to take this opportunity to remind our families of our winter weather closing, delay, and dismissal procedures.  

On December 14, 2023, Governor Shapiro signed a new law that changes the way schools can count their school year. Before, schools had to meet 180-days AND a minimum amount of instructional hours unless they got special permission to do only one. This new law allows schools to count either days or hours, not both, therefore allowing schools more flexibility when creating their yearly calendar and the ability to focus on either the number of days OR just the hours they need.

Our district has chosen to focus on the required instructional hours rather than day-count for our 2024-2025 school year calendar. Elementary schools need at least 900 instructional hours per year. Middle and high schools need at least 990 instructional hours per year.

As our calendar currently stands, we will exceed the number of hours required by law by three instructional days. What this means is that, by new requirements, we can have up to three snow days without the need for students to make up this time. That being said, if we have more than three snow days, we will need to use the days that are marked at the end of the year.  As we go through the year and we have inclement weather, we will keep you informed of any snow make up days that will need to happen at the end of the year.

Snow Days/Cancellations

In the case of an overnight weather event, I will consult with local police for information on road safety and the bus transportation company will drive the roads through the District to gain a visual perspective of the physical conditions.  Our school district spans roughly 42 square miles and varies greatly in road and weather conditions due to the elevation changes.  The intent of physically driving the area is to get a real time view of the roads that are typically problematic for student, parent, and bus transportation.  At the same time, we will be checking with municipalities about plowing, cindering, and salting schedules as necessary.  We also speak with key district personnel during these events  to ensure the school grounds are safe for opening.

To make a final decision, we couple our knowledge of Governor Mifflin School District geography and demographics in tandem with knowledge of the following:

• The number of buses and miles traveled 
• Weather conditions varying greatly across the district
• Many bus stops are affected by snow plowing
• Our student drivers that drive to school
• The time needed to plow parking lots, clear walkways, and clear buses from ice/snow

We will aim to make winter weather calls by approximately 5:15 -5:30 a.m. to allow families, transportation, and staff time to prepare for the morning.  While this timeframe may not always occur due to the timing or complexity of the issue, it is our general target timeline.

If inclement weather necessitates use of a snow day, we will do so in the interest of safety for our staff, students, and community. However,  weather is unpredictable and the district must have a plan with options to ensure we meet instructional time requirements and our seniors graduate on time. 

Weather-Related Delay Schedule

Two-Hour Delay

Unless otherwise communicated, all Governor Mifflin students in grades Pre-K-12 will follow the 2-hour delay schedule below:

Secondary:  Students in grades 7-12 will start at 9:35 a.m. 

Elementary:  Students in grades K-6 will start at 10:45 a.m. 

Pre-K will begin at 11:00 a.m. 

During 2-hour delays, a breakfast option will be made available to all students when they arrive at school.

BCTC students should refer to the delay and cancellation information on the high school page of our district website. 

Weather-Related Early Dismissals
In the event that we would need to dismiss early due to winter weather, we will make our best effort to notify parents by 9:00 a.m. In most scenarios, we will dismiss using the following schedule:

Secondary:  Students in grades 7-12 will be dismissed at 11:00 a.m. 

Elementary:  Students in grades K-6 will be dismissed at 11:45 a.m. 

Pre-K dismissal will begin at 12:15 p.m. 

A grab-and-go lunch will be made available to all students upon early dismissal. 

We understand that the winter weather season can be disruptive, so we provide this information now and encourage families to have a plan for the scenarios above. Likewise, please log in to your Skyward account and click the Skylert tab to ensure that your contact information is up-to-date.  In the next few weeks, we will conduct a test call from our Skylert system to ensure we have everyone’s appropriate contact information.  All closings, delays, and early dismissals  are sent to families through Skylert via a phone call, text message and email. Closings and delays are also posted on our district website, social media, and WFMZ (Channel 69).

Let’s look forward to a successful and productive winter in Mustang Nation!

Sincerely,

Lisa

Dr. Lisa Hess
Superintendent
Governor Mifflin School District