For the third school year, parents of Williamson
County Schools students will be contacted by phone
if schools are closed due to bad weather. While the
local media will also broadcast closing information,
parents can expect to receive a phone call at
home early in the morning or during the day at work
if schools have to be closed due to inclement
weather. The district’s phone notification
system continues to be used by the school district
and individual schools to notify parents of school
closings and other important information.
“We hope to notify
parents as early as possible if we must cancel
school for the day,” said Director of Schools Dr.
Rebecca S. Sharber. “The positive feedback we’ve
received from using the phone notification system to
contact parents has been overwhelming. Parents
appreciate the service that allows us to contact
thousands of them in a matter of minutes.”
Sharber said that
the district will try to call by 9 p.m. if
school will be cancelled the next day, but if that
is not possible, the district will begin calling
homes as early as 5:45 in the morning the day school
is closed. Parents will
only be called at the main number on file with the
school in the morning or evening. If school is
dismissed early for the day, parents will receive
calls at all of the phone numbers on file with the
school.
“It’s crucial that
schools have the correct contact information for
each child on file, and we want to remind parents to
notify the school immediately if that information
ever changes,” said Sharber.
In addition,
school closing information will still be available
on the Williamson County Schools cable access
channels, Comcast 3 and Charter 96, and local radio
station WAKM AM 950. School closing information
can also be found on the school district web
site, www.wcs.edu, by selecting School
Delays/Closings on the home page, and Nashville area
television stations and radio stations WSM AM 650
and FM 95, WLAC AM 1510 and Oldies 96.3 will
also broadcast school closings. The same media will
air early closing information as well.
The decision to
close school will be made as early as possible to
allow parents time to make alternate arrangements
when necessary. According to Transportation
Director John Hancock, spotters are located
throughout the district and keep an eye on road
conditions throughout the day and night, but the
Director of Schools makes the final decision to
close school.
“We want parents to
remember that any type of inclement weather,
including snow, ice and flooding, can cause us to
close school,” said Sharber.
Hancock said the
decision to call off school is not an easy one but
that the safety of the students is the deciding
factor. “Our whole system is based on safely
transporting each child,” said Hancock. “The
district has studied using alternate routes when
weather conditions are not ideal, but we have found
that this is not a safe option in our county.”
Since Williamson is
a large county with many rural roads, hazardous
conditions in one part of the county may close the
entire district.
When schools are closed
due to weather, events are automatically cancelled
at the elementary and middle schools. The
cancellation of high school events is determined at
the school site, and individual schools will share
that information with students and parents.
The district has 10
inclement weather days built into the 2007-08
calendar; any additional days missed would be
rescheduled.
