Dear D105 Parents and Staff,

With winter upon us, I thought this was a good time to share how we prepare for inclement weather. 

Calling a remote learning day or canceling school is always a last resort.  It is our intention to have students learning in-person unless the weather makes it unsafe to do so. The decision to either cancel school or use a remote learning day will be made at the time it is deemed unsafe to come to school. My goal is always to make this decision by 9:00 p.m. the day prior to moving to remote or canceling school. However, due to the timing of a significant weather related event, it might be necessary to wait until early morning. 

While in most cases, the District would move to a remote day rather than cancel school, several factors are considered when making this decision including:

• safety and well-being of students and staff
• availability of power, internet and overall operable condition of our buildings
• predictability of the weather
• timing of the weather events including time for staff to plan meaningful lessons 
• severity of the weather (extreme cold, excessive snow, flooding, etc.)
• ability of buses and cars to travel safely

We seek to make decisions that are educationally sound. This includes considering whether students were sent home with a device the night before the remote learning day. Of course, we will make every effort to do so. If calling a remote learning day will help ensure more robust learning than adding a day to the school calendar in June, then we will utilize our option to call a remote learning day.  

If a remote learning day is implemented, we will most likely utilize a late start schedule (9:15 for elementary and 9:00 for Gurrie). This allows teachers to adjust lesson plans to best support a remote learning environment. If a remote learning day is implemented due to snowfall and temperatures are not predicted to be too cold, staff will consider incorporating some optional outdoor learning/fun activities.

In some cases, due to transportation or other needs, we might call for a late start to in-person learning. If this is the case, the timing of bus routes and the start of the school day will be communicated. 

Making the Decision
When determining if conditions at our schools warrant the cancellation of school or the need to implement our remote learning plan, I work in collaboration with:

• the Board of Education
• district administration
• other area superintendents, local village departments
• the bus service provider and the Illinois Department of Transportation

Since we have many families with students also enrolled in LTHS, we seek to be consistent to create the least amount of family disruption.  This may not always occur, but please be assured it is a priority in our deliberations.
 
When school is canceled, all after-school activities, student events, athletic events and 
practices, and field trips will be canceled unless specifically announced by the school principal.

Notification About Closure
In the event of a school closing or other emergency, parents and staff can expect to receive an automated phone call, email, and text via ParentSquare.  Emergency and closing information is also available on:

• The District and school websites,
• The District’s Facebook and Twitter accounts
• The Emergency Closings Center

Sincerely,

Brian J. Ganan

If District 105 schools are closed, radio & TV stations that broadcast school closings will be notified as early as possible. These stations include: WGN, 720 AM; WBBM, 780 AM; CBS 2 TV; NBC 5 TV; ABC 7 TV; WGN 9 TV; FOX 32 TV; and CLTV. We also provide information through the following sources about District 105 school closings and other weather-related circumstances such as late buses:

• The district’s website, www.d105.net, is your best source for timely information about whether our schools are closed or in session on days with emergency weather situations.
• The district will also update our social media site with the most current updates regarding school closings and/or modifications to our schedule.
  • Facebook – La Grange District 105
  • Twitter – LaGrangeDistrict105 (@dist105)
  • Instagram – lagrange105
• Parents can also find any changes in our schedule by visiting www.emergencyclosingcenter.com.
• Please do not call your school or the district office about school closing information as our personnel will be very busy responding to the safety needs that arise during emergency weather.

In addition to providing information through the sources listed above, we will contact parents/guardians about school closings and other weather-related circumstances with our automated message service, which sends emails and text messages along with making phone calls to cell phones numbers.  If you have changed your phone number or email address since registration, please contact your school office to update your contact information. 

Si las escuelas del Distrito 105 se cierran, las estaciones de radio y televisión que transmiten los cierres escolares serán notificadas tan pronto como sea posible. Estas estaciones incluyen: WGN, 720 AM; WBBM, 780 AM; CBS 2 TV; NBC 5 TV; ABC 7 TV; WGN 9 TV; FOX 32 TV; y CLTV. Nosotros también proporcionamos información a través de las siguientes fuentes sobre los cierres de escuelas del Distrito 105 y otras circunstancias relacionadas con el clima, como camiones escolares tarde:

• La página web del distrito, www.d105.net, es su mejor fuente para obtener información a tiempo sobre si nuestras escuelas están cerradas o en sesión en días con situaciones climáticas de emergencia.
• El distrito también actualizará nuestro sitio de redes sociales con las actualizaciones más recientes con respecto a los cierres de escuelas y/o modificaciones a nuestro horario.
  • Facebook – Distrito 105 La Grange
  • Twitter – LaGrangeDistrict105 (@dist105) 
  • Instagram – La Grange105 
• Los padres también pueden encontrar cualquier cambio en nuestro horario visitando www.emergencyclosingcenter.com.
• Por favor, no llame a su escuela o a la oficina del distrito sobre la información de cierre de la escuela, puesto que nuestro personal estará muy ocupado respondiendo a las necesidades de seguridad que surgen durante emergencias del clima.

Adicionalmente a suministrar información a través de las fuentes listadas arriba, nosotros contactaremos a padres/guardianes sobre los cierres de escuelas y otras circunstancias relacionadas, por medio de nuestro Servicio de Mensajería Automatizado, el cual hace llamadas telefónicas a números celulares y teléfonos de casa. También enviaremos correos electrónicos con mensajes de voz incluidos y mensajes de texto (para aquellos que “lo han optado”) a padres/guardianes. Si usted ha
cambiado su número de teléfono o la dirección de correo electrónico desde la registración, por favor contacte la oficina de su escuela para actualizar su información de contacto.