We have been fortunate that the past few years have required minimal school cancellations due to weather. Though we have not had that same luck recently, the District does plan for these instances. The decision to cancel school is not taken lightly. As always, the safety of our students and staff is of the utmost importance. Every effort is made to determine school cancellation as soon as responsibly possible. The decision is then immediately shared with staff, followed by families. School closures are reported, by the following avenues of communication: Email, Textcaster, Robo-Call, Facebook Post, Radio Station Announcements, and Television Station Announcements.
Attendance for schools is calculated by hours, not days. Missouri statute requires that the school term consist of one thousand forty-four hours of actual pupil attendance. In order to be eligible to receive state aid for education programs, districts must adopt a calendar that meets minimum standards that provides at least 1,044 hours of instruction and a minimum of 36 weather make-up hours for possible loss of attendance due to inclement weather. Any hours missed up to the 36 hours are not required to be made up. Additional hours missed beyond the 36 requires that half of the number of lost or cancelled hours, up to forty-eight, be made up, resulting in no more than sixty total make-up hours. Inclement weather is defined as ice, snow, extreme cold, excessive heat, flooding, or a tornado. Hours that are missed for reasons other than inclement weather, such as illness, have to be made up and are not included in this provision.
Our approved 2023-204 District Calendar included the required 1,044 hours + 36 make up hours, for a total of 1,080 hours. Should additional make up hours be required, that will be communicated at the time it becomes necessary. The 2024-2025 District Calendar has been drafted and will be taken to the Board for approval at the regularly scheduled meeting on January 17th. It includes the same amount of hours.