Information for heat-related early dismissal
As school begins there may be days that are hotter than others. Occasionally, there may be heat-related early dismissals at our non air-conditioned elementary schools. Thankfully, our high schools, middle schools and four elementary schools, Irving, Leeds, Nodland and Unity, have air conditioning. These schools will NOT dismiss early on those days.
We encourage you to pay attention to local media outlets, or review the information regarding school announcements by clicking on the “Weather Related School Dismissals” button on the right-hand side of our district web site’s front page at www.siouxcityschools.org. Additionally, we now utilize our ParentLink phone messaging system to call families when we make the decision to alter our school day. We will work to inform our customers of any change to the regular schedule as soon as we are able to make the decision.
Our priorities for decision making in inclement weather are and always will be: 1. Student and staff member safety, and 2. Student achievement. We care very much about our students’ safety and do our best to make appropriate decisions based on these priorities.
As you understand, our weather is not only challenging at times, it is constantly changing. The decision regarding the alteration of the school day due to weather is one that commonly brings out questions and concerns, with many people passionate about their perspective of the challenge. Please remember that parents and guardians have the right to make the decision to keep their child home on any day that they feel it is unsafe for their student to be in school because of weather conditions. If you believe the weather provides a sincere reason why you may have to keep your students at home, or take your student home when classes are scheduled to continue, you as a parent or guardian will simply need to contact your child’s school to let them know.