Loden: Winter Weather
One of the decisions that faces
a superintendent each year is
the decision whether to cancel
school for the day, call a “Two-Hour Late
Start” to school, dismiss school early,
or not call off school during inclement
weather or other
situations. The decision
involves consideration of
multiple issues, but, in the
final analysis, it all comes
down to a subjective
(albeit, informed) judgment
call.
When a decision is
made we will send out a
notification on the district
app if you have that option
activated. We will
also send out a districtwide
phone call. Calls or app alerts will
go out prior to 10 p.m. the night before
or after 5:15 a.m. the day of a no-school
or late-start day. We hope these times
will serve to inform you while accommodating
your schedules. This will be
in addition to television, radio, website,
Facebook, and Twitter announcements.
If you do not receive an app notification
or call, we do encourage you to check
the other options. We cannot guarantee
your phone service lets the notification
through, so having a backup notification
is always a good option.
In the event of school being dismissed
early, the call/app notification
will go out as soon as the decision has
been made so that you have as much
time to plan as possible. As is the case
with a No School Day, it is, of course,
the parents/guardians’ responsibility to
make the necessary arrangements for
this change of schedule. This responsibility
is the same for a late-start day.
If a late-start decision is made, all
buses will run two hours later than their
normal Monday-Thursday schedule
regardless of the day, and school will
begin two hours later than
the normal Tuesday-Friday
start time. For example,
the high school would
start at 9:30 for a twohour
late start, even if the
late start was on a Monday.
For ELC and ECC
late start information, go
to the About Us section of
www.nixaearlychildhood.
net
If you as a parent feel
it is unsafe to have your
child(ren) attend school, please know
that decision continues to be yours…
one the school district will respect.
However, all absences will be recorded.
Only verified weather-related absences
(areas where our bus routes have been
canceled) will be treated as “excused.”
This decision (excused/unexcused) will
be made by the building principal alone.
In an attempt to provide a service
to those who wish to drop off their
child(ren) at school on their
way to work in the morning
of a late-start day, the building principal
will have someone near the front door
to welcome your child(ren) to school
beginning at 7:30 a.m. (grades 5-12)
and 8:30 a.m. (grades PreK-4).
Hopefully those students taking the
bus will continue to do so, especially
since it is one of the safest ways of
traveling during bad weather. We are
also asking parents who typically take
their child(ren) to school to continue to
do so, just two hours later than normal.
The fundamental purpose of a
Two-Hour Late Start is to allow the
early morning weather conditions and
daylight to improve, thus making travel
safer for those we serve.
Questions? Please contact your
principal or myself. We will be more than
happy to discuss this information with
you. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Dr. Gearl Loden
Superintendent of
Nixa Public Schools
417-875-5400
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/www.nixaearlychildhood.net