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January 14, 2025
GLPS Families,
Good afternoon! While the sun is shining as I write this, I know the morning commute was quite a bit snowier and slippier than expected, and that made for a tricky drop-off at our schools. Today’s decision was challenging, and my reason for writing now is that I had a number of students who emailed me this morning, wondering about the roads and why we had school as normal.
First, I appreciate the fact that students feel comfortable communicating directly with me, as I value student voice and we are working to build a culture here in which students’ voices are elevated for things that are important to them. Second, I appreciated the respectful tone that all of the students used to inquire. I was impressed with how well the students shared their concerns and articulated their thoughts. Part of the culture of elevating student voice is ensuring that they elevate it appropriately and in the appropriate venue, so I was pleased to read the emails today, and I responded to each one.
Since I responded to a number of students, I thought it would be a good idea to share the general response I sent to them (I added answers to specific questions they asked) so you have the same information. Here is the base message that I sent back to the students who inquired:
Thank you for the email! We were out early (4:00am) checking the roads this morning, because we have to make the decision by around 5:00am to get the buses out on time. We have a team of four that drives all corners of the district between 4:00 and 5:00am, and we communicate with staff in neighboring districts as well. By 5:30, the roads were relatively clear, but between 5:30 and 7:30 we ended up with a couple more inches of snow, which made travel more difficult. Plows are out and salting, so I would anticipate better roads on the way home. Thanks again for reaching out!
As I have shared in previous messages, making a decision on a snow day is a combination of driving on as many of the district roads as we can before 5:00 am, and trying our best to predict what will happen between 5:00 am and the start of school. Today, the predicted wind and single-digit temperatures did not materialize, but we certainly got more than the 1-2 inches that were expected, which is what ultimately made for a tricky commute.
Again, I always appreciate our students asking good questions, I appreciate your understanding, and I appreciate your careful driving on the way in this morning as well.
As always, thank you for your support; I am #proudtobeacomet!
Dr. Bill Barnes
Superintendent of Schools
