Dear Families,
The official start to winter begins very soon bringing with it the threat of snow, ice, and hazardous road conditions. As a school district, we have proven that students can learn and teachers can instruct virtually, so online, synchronous learning will play a role in our inclement weather plan.
There are two types of “snow days.” First, there is the big event in which we are blanketed with several inches of snow making it difficult to hold school due to travel conditions. This school year, on two of these types of days, North Penn plans to call a traditional snow day and there will be no school.
Please note, however, these two days may or may not be the first two days of inclement weather. The administration’s plan is to choose traditional snow days that are expected to be the type of day that can be enjoyed in traditional ways. A virtual day may be called instead on days when ice may be expected or snow is arriving at inconvenient times of the day that in the past may have warranted an early dismissal or late arrival to account for potentially hazardous travel. In addition, any days we need to close our campuses beyond the two traditional snow days will also be virtual.
If school campuses are closed due to weather conditions and we choose to hold online classes, they will be held synchronously, meaning the school day will be held following its normal schedule but virtually. Teachers will instruct from their homes to students in their own homes.
With the winter upon us it is important that both students and staff are prepared to make this transition to virtual learning quickly. Please remind students to always take their Chromebook (or other learning device) to and from school daily and other materials needed to learn from home. In addition, we are working with all staff to ensure that our online learning platform Canvas is ready to use on virtual days. If families have any questions about Canvas or your student’s learning device please contact
[email protected].
Central administration will help by making, when possible, decisions the night before, with the exception of unforeseen weather conditions. We will use our traditional forms of communication in notifying families and staff (School Messenger, npenn.org, NPTV, local media, etc.). We also understand that winter weather can also bring power outages which can impact online learning. When this happens, exceptions may be made and communicated. If you have not already done so, please review your notification preferences, in School Messenger by visiting go.schoolmessenger.com. For information to create an account, please visit https://www.npenn.org/for_families/school_messenger_faq
Since the onset of this pandemic, everyone in NPSD has worked tirelessly to ensure a North Penn School District education is meaningful and engaging, whether in person, hybrid or in an online learning environment. A benefit of this hard work is that we no longer need to miss school, disrupt learning and extend the school year further into summer due to inclement weather.
Thank you for your cooperation and attention to this important matter.
Sincerely,
Curtis R. Dietrich, Ed.D.
Superintendent