Blue Heron Elementary School

Mountain schools include all schools in the Conifer/Evergreen articulations areas including:

• Bergen Meadow Primary School
• Bergen Valley Intermediate School
• Conifer High School
• Elk Creek Elementary School
• Evergreen High School
• Evergreen Middle School
• Marshdale Elementary School
• Parmalee Elementary School
• West Jefferson Elementary
• West Jefferson Middle School
• Wilmot Elementary School

In addition, these schools are considered mountain schools, too:

• Coal Creek Canyon K-8
• Ralston Elementary School

Length of a weather-related School Closure

Unless otherwise announced, weather-related closures are for one day only. If there is NO further announcement after one day, then schools will operate as usual.

After school care, event Cancellations or Postponements

If a decision is made to cancel after-school care and/or activities district-wide, we will do our best to notify families by 1:00pm that day via email, text message, social media, website alert, and phone.

All students are expected to go home after school if after-school activities are cancelled and after-school care programs may close early. Staff will remain until all students are picked up, however we ask parents to please pick up students as soon as they are able if notified of after-school cancellations.

Check with individual schools or event sponsors regarding the cancellation of events and activities. These kinds of cancellations may vary from school to school. Many schools will utilize social media to share this information; we encourage families to follow their children's school, as well as the district's social media channels for the fastest information.

Make-Up Days

District policy mandates a specific number of days each year teachers must work directly with students. When a school falls below this level, make-up days, which will be announced, may need to be scheduled. Check the district's school year calendar for more details.

• District school leaders/principals will be notified the day before the anticipated storm arrives in order to plan for a remote learning day.
  
  
• The final decision for a remote learning day will not be made until late that night or in the early morning the day of the expected storm.
  
  
• Staff and families will be notified as soon as possible about the final decision. Messages will be sent to the community and the media will be notified by 6:00 a.m. the day of the storm.
  
  
• On a remote learning day, students who have been attending in-person classes will have a remote learning day.
  
  
• Teachers will work with students who are attending school in person to take home devices (Chromebooks, iPads, laptops) and materials to learn from home. Teachers will plan their lessons for a remote learning day and work to accommodate the needs of their students.
  
  
• All remote-only learners will continue their learning as usual.
  
  
• Students who do not have access to a device and/or internet access from home can have their attendance excused according to the normal absence notification protocol for their school.

We live in an area where snow is typical in the winter and unless the storm is extreme, school will not be canceled or delayed.

Many factors are taken into consideration when deciding to close schools, but the safety of students and staff is number one. Decision makers and district staff work through the night and early morning to determine the best course of action and to clear the roads and our school sites.

Questions that help determine our decision on these days:

• Can our school bus and snow removal teams do their jobs?
• Will we be able to provide meals?
• What is the forecast for later in the day? 

More than anything, we consider the impact on families who are counting on us to be open because they do not have access to other childcare and cannot afford to take a day off at a moment's notice. We also provide meals for hundreds of families who count on the food we provide for breakfast and lunch every day.

Ultimately we ask, does the current situation justify disrupting 80,000 students' families and their often basic human needs and 14,000 employee schedules, plus the expense to the school district? Most often, the answer is no. Because of all these reasons, we will always do whatever we can to have schools open every day.

Mountain Areas
Many often ask, do you evaluate the mountain school areas differently/separately from the more metro area locations? YES. We are aware of weather conditions throughout our district boundaries every day. The mountain areas are evaluated differently using many agencies and experts, including spotters and people located in these mountain areas. However, again, conditions must be deemed extreme enough to warrant closing, based on the reasons explained above. We work closely with county crews to evaluate and clear these areas, and our own Jeffco staff often focus on more impacted areas during weather events.

Jeffco Public Schools rarely takes snow days; that is the organizational history and culture. Like mentioned above, we live in Colorado and expect to have snowy conditions many times of the year. Unless the storm is extreme, school will not be canceled. We know the definition of “extreme” varies from person to person, but parents can always make the call not to send their children to school that day if they feel it is unsafe.

• View a video about your school district's snow closure procedures
• Read the Frequently Asked Questions

SchoolMessenger (district messaging system)

SchoolMessenger distributes messages via email, text message, and phone. Be sure to keep your information in the Infinite Campus Parent Portal up-to-date at all times to ensure you receive these notifications.

District And school Social Media Channels

Follow the district's Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook pages in order to receive the fastest information. Turn on notifications for our channels once you have "followed" them.

Local News Media

Listen and watch the news media, particularly local TV stations.

When are decisions made about school closures, and how will I know?

The district makes every effort to decide and announce decisions to close schools before 5:30am. The planning and review process begins the night before. Once a decision is made, a message will be posted on our social media channels, district and school websites, local news media stations, and sent to Jeffco families via email, text, and phone.

What factors are used to make a decision?

Weather and road conditions are checked throughout Jefferson County beginning the night before.

Using a variety of resources, the school district gathers as much information as possible and monitors ongoing weather reports from weather forecasting services, the Colorado Department of Transportation, and local and state law enforcement agencies.

Specific personnel who are at district and school sites early and who are located throughout our district are consulted.

After a thorough review of all available data collected, district officials will provide a recommendation before 5am to the district administrator responsible for making the final decision.

Is there a set temperature that would cause the district to close schools?

No, but temperature is one of many factors taken into consideration when making a decision to close or delay school. Extreme temperatures may cause schools to limit recess, off-campus lunch hours for high schools, and/or extracurricular activities.

If a school day is cancelled, will there be a make-up day?

State law requires a specific number of hours of classroom instruction each school year. If a school does not meet this requirement the school year must be extended. Potential closure make-up days are built into the school calendar.

Sometimes schools have power outages or other emergencies such as broken pipes. When this happens, what is the procedure at Jeffco Public Schools?

District personnel make every effort to protect students, provide for their comfort, and ensure their safety. Sometimes power outages cause classrooms to get cold, but the district does not want to send students home unsupervised. School principals can make the decision to send students home. If this happens, the district uses social media and the email, text, and phone capabilities of SchoolMessenger to notify families and will post notifications on the district and school websites. The news media may also be notified, depending on the situation. Students will not be transported home without parent notification.

How can I make sure my student is safe?

Families have the option to keep children home when weather conditions are extreme.

Students should always be dressed appropriately for whatever weather conditions exist. No one can predict when a fire alarm might go off or when buildings might have to be evacuated due to an emergency.

Parents are encouraged to make arrangements at the beginning of each school year for their children in case of school closures and plan for the rare situation when it is necessary to close an individual school because of a power failure or another circumstance.

Parents should always maintain current contact information and emergency contact information in JeffcoConnect. 

What about school bus transportation when the weather is bad?

All bus stops will be serviced in inclement weather unless an emergency announcement is made. In inclement weather, buses may run late for a variety of reasons, but usually less than 15 minutes. Prepare your child in suitable clothing to wait additional time at the bus stop. 

Parents should have a contingency plan in the event that a bus is running extremely late or breaks down before reaching the bus stop. Discuss with your child what to do and who to call if the bus does not arrive.

You can also follow the transportation terminals on Facebook and Twitter for more information.

Does the district ever close only some schools, while others remain open?

Yes. The district may close select schools due to unsafe conditions, but leave other schools open that are not affected by the issue. The Jeffco Public Schools district covers more than 770 square miles and conditions can vary drastically throughout the county.