Cancellations/Delays Guidelines
Cancellations & Delays
The decision process
When inclement weather has the potential of impacting the safety of our students and staff, the school district relies on many professional resources to guide us in our decision to close or delay school. Information is obtained from the national weather service, state and local police departments, the Department of Public Works and from other school districts prior to a decision being made. The decision is made at the district level, not by the schools.
A decision to open late or to close school needs to be made prior to 6:00 a.m. due to bus schedules. If weather conditions are likely to improve, the preference is to delay rather than close so that the school day is not lost, but safety is always our foremost concern. Unfortunately, the weather is not always cooperative and a decision to delay may change to a decision to close. We make every effort to announce this change by 7:30 a.m.
Early dismissal decisions need to be made by 10:30 a.m. so that the drivers and the buses will be available. We must base our decisions on predicted weather conditions that do not always come to fruition. Again, safety is our primary consideration.
Once a decision is made, we notify a vast number of media: The Talkline (255-TALK) is updated, ctweather.com is notified, then the radio stations, TV stations and our district webmaster. Updates are posted as quickly as possible.
Delayed Openings are two hours* after the normal starting time.*(this was changed from 90 minutes beginning the 2005-06 school year)
Early Dismissal usually occurs after a 4 hour instructional day, but unusual conditions could dictate a different schedule.
K12 Alerts - Emergency Notification System
USE THIS LINK TO SIGN UP FOR EMAIL AND TEXT AND PHONE MESSAGE ALERTS! https://www.k12alerts.com/emergencycards/login/fairfield/
Parents, guardians and staff have the opportunity to be notified by email and/or text to cell phones about:
- School closing and early dismissal
- News and calendar updates
- Important meetings and other school related matters
https://www.k12alerts.com/emergencycards/login/fairfield//
* Note - if you signed up last year, you need not sign up again, but you may want to verify your email and cell phone numbers by clicking the edit button on the guardian information area to insure the information is correct.. If you have changed cell phone carriers (for example, had Verizon and now are on ATT) and have NOT changed your cell phone number, you need to update the carrier on K12 Alerts. This is because the text message goes to the cell phone number @ the carrier.com…for example, 650-1234@verizon.com , so if you haven't updated that information, you will not get the emergency messages.
It is the responsibility of parents/guardians to secure information regarding delayed openings or early dismissals
Information is provided by:
The Fairfield Public Schools "hot line" at 255-TALK (8255)
Local radio stations WICC, 600AM and WEZN, 99.9FM
go to Cancellations & Notifications, Schools
