by Superintendent Mitch Wainwright
I hope everyone had an opportunity to enjoy time with family and friends during the holidays and that your New Year is off to a good start. There was no white Christmas, but to no one’s surprise, the snow started to fall soon after. It also would not surprise anyone if the temperatures fall below zero either. We do live in Wisconsin.
With the winter weather season upon us, we will continue to make decisions that keep the safety of our students in mind. When the weather turns bad and creates poor road conditions, there are a large number of phone calls that get made very early in the morning. I speak with Todd Schmitz, from First Student Busing, and discuss what we know. He has connections to county and township workers and I speak with other area school district administrators and their bus companies to get as much information before making a final decision. The number one factor for me always comes down to our own families and students. These are not always easy decisions, but when I consider the number of 16 year-olds that are driving to school in the snow/ice for the first time, I think about safety. Todd and I also talk about bus routes that have difficult road conditions, like drifting, and that factors into the decision. Safety sometimes comes in the form of a snow day. When the decision is made, we will use our normal communication networks to get the message out as soon as possible which include: Madison television stations, Dodgeville and Platteville radio stations, our Skylert mass alert system for staff and families, Facebook, and the district website. Please read this document for more details:
If we have bad weather on a school day this year, we will actually have a traditional snow day. Snow days will not turn into virtual days, unless we reach our maximum allotment and need to make up instructional hours. My hope is that kids will be able to have a “normal” snow day experience here in #PointerNation!