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Inclement Weather Procedures

From snow and icy road conditions to natural disasters and poor air quality, Poudre School District has procedures to respond to what Mother Nature throws our way. The superintendent may cancel school and work entirely, call for a remote school and workday, start school later, or close school earlier in the day. Please see below for details about each procedure. 

Note: PSD-authorized charter schools (Liberty Common, Ridgeview, Moutain Sage, Compass Collaborative, and Fort Collins Montessori) operate independently and may make different weather-related decisions. Please contact your charter school directly for information about their planned response to inclement weather. 

Communications  

  • PSD aims to announce decisions as early as possible – including on the night before the next scheduled school day – to allow families to arrange for childcare, transportation, and more. At the latest, PSD will announce inclement weather decisions prior to 5 a.m. on the day inclement weather is expected. 
  • When PSD implements a procedure, the district sends an email, SMS message and robocall to all parents/guardians and secondary students. Information is also posted on the district website and social media platforms. 
  • PSD also submits information to media outlets across the region and state. 
  • If PSD does not communicate about one of the procedures above, it means that schedules are “business as usual.”
  • Mountain Schools snow days may be called independent of the rest of the district. In that case, the principal communicates directly with families.

 

Snow DayInclement Weather: No school/work
(all district buildings closed) 

  • Final decision is made prior to 5 a.m. on the day inclement weather is expected. If possible, decisions are made by 10:30 p.m. the night prior to the day inclement weather is expected.  
  • No technology distribution, meals, busing, before- and after-school care, athletic practices and games, extracurricular activities and clubs, or field/overnight trips because school is closed. 
  • All in-person classes at PSD Career Tech Center are canceled. Students taking classes at FRCC and CSU should consult with those institutions regarding their weather protocols. 

 

A cloud representing inclement weather.Inclement Weather: Remote school/work
(all district buildings closed) 

  • Final decision is made prior to 5 a.m. on the day inclement weather is expected.  
  • The decision to send technology devices home is made by noon the day prior to the day inclement weather is expected. Any communications sent will make it clear that devices should be taken home but that a final decision hasn’t yet been made. 
  • Remote synchronous learning takes place. A remote learning schedule will be available on each schools’ website.  
  • All PSD Career Tech Center classes take place remotely. Students taking classes at FRCC and CSU should consult with those institutions regarding their weather protocols. 
  • No meals, busing, before- and after-school care, athletic practices and games, extracurricular activities and clubs, or field/overnight trips because school is closed. 

Weather delay icon.
Inclement Weather: 2-hour late start 

  • Final decision is made prior to 5 a.m. on the day inclement weather is expected. If possible, decisions are made by 10:30 p.m. the night prior to the day inclement weather is expected. 
  • No remote learning or technology distribution. 
  • PSD Career Tech Center: Morning session is cancelled. The afternoon session is normal.  
  • Breakfast will NOT be served. Lunch will be served. 
  • Buses will pick up students at bus stops 2 hours later than the regular schedule. Road conditions may increase travel time for buses and students may have a longer wait time at bus stops. 
  • AlphaBEST will provide childcare after school only and only to those already registered with AlphaBEST. 
  • After-school athletic practices and games proceed as planned. 
  • After-school extracurricular activities and clubs proceed as planned. 
  • All field trips and overnight trips are canceled. 

 

Two hour early release.Inclement Weather: 2-hour early release
(district buildings close 2 hours earlier than usual) 

  • A final decision is made by 10 a.m. on the day inclement weather is expected. 
  • No remote learning or technology distribution. 
  • PSD Career Tech Center: Morning session is normal. Afternoon session is cancelled.
  • Buses will drop students off at bus stops 2 hours earlier than regularly scheduled. 
  • Breakfast and lunch will be served. 
  • AlphaBEST will provide childcare before school only and only to those already registered with AlphaBEST. 
  • Due to snow: All athletic practices and games are canceled.
    ​​​​Due to heat: Athletic practices must either be canceled or shifted to the early mornings or shifted to 6 p.m. or later, depending upon sponsor schedules. 
  • Due to snow: All extracurricular activities and clubs that occur after the early release time will be canceled.
    Due to heat: Clubs are encouraged to shift meetings to early mornings or 6 p.m. or later depending upon sponsor schedules. 
  • All field trips and overnight trips are canceled. 

 

Poor air quality  

PSD follows the U.S. Air Quality Index. 

  • When the index is red (151), individuals with Healthcare Action Plans that reference heart disease or respiratory conditions, such as asthma, lung transplant, etc., should have no to very limited time outdoors.  
  • When the index is purple (201), PSD reduces the duration of outdoor time to very small amounts – think 5-10 minutes – for all children. 
  • When the index is maroon (301), there are no outdoor activities.