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Weather-Related Closures

Prairie View Elementary students at recess

Snowstorms, sleet, fog, ice, and wind chill warnings can lead to cancellations, delays, or early release from school. The safety of our children is our main priority. Decisions regarding school delays and cancellations are always made in alignment with that priority. Check out our Inside the OSD podcast episodes S1 E9 and S3 E5where Dr. Bergstrom talks with local meteorologists about the process for making weather closure decisions.

If school will be delayed or closed for the day, the District will make every effort to make the decision by 5:30-6:00 AM (the normal timeframe for closures). We understand that many families prefer to make plans for school closures as far in advance as possible; however, weather patterns are not always predictable and weather-related impacts for schools are not often clear until early morning hours on the day of the potential closure. We thank you for your understanding on these days of potential weather-related closures.  

At all times and in all cases, families make the final decision on attendance at school on inclement weather days. If no school delay or cancellation is issued and you believe the conditions (e.g., road conditions, temperature) are not appropriate for your student, you are free to keep your student home and the absence will be excused. If you choose to keep your student home, please call the OSD Attendance Line at 608-835-4000, Option #1 to report the absence.

Extreme Cold Warnings

Cold weather also has the potential to impact school closings, specifically with respect to extreme cold warnings. 

  • Extreme Cold Warning: The National Weather Service will issue an Extreme Cold Warning when dangerously cold air temperatures or wind chill values are expected or occurring. The District may cancel or delay school, depending on the timeframe of the warning.
  • Cold Weather: A Cold Weather Advisory is issued when seasonably cold air temperatures or wind chill values, but not extremely cold values, are expected or occurring. School will be in session unless it comes along with a storm producing snow that would cause roads to be impassable.

This is an established standard for the majority of Dane County school districts. However, note that different districts may have unique circumstances that can lead to different school closure decisions. For example, districts in urban settings that have large populations of students who walk to school may close at warmer temperatures than school districts that have larger populations of students who ride a bus to school. Alternatively, more suburban districts that have a large population of students who ride the bus to school may be more likely to close during snowfall than urban districts. Ultimately, closure decisions are made on a case-by-case basis for each individual school district.  

You can learn more about cold weather safety from the National Weather Service.

Communicating Weather-Related Closures

The Oregon School District will communicate school cancellations, delays, or early releases in the following ways:

Practices for Making Up Inclement Weather Days

There are three inclement weather days built into our K-12 grade school calendar, which will be treated as “traditional” snow days (no class on these days), if needed.  Specific details will be communicated directly with families as they are known. As always, the last day of school will be announced once the likelihood of inclement weather has passed in spring.