Emergency Closings

The Superintendent or designee makes the final decision. 

The final decision needs to be made no later than 5:30 a.m. in order to get communications out in a timely fashion.  This ensures that buses have not begun their routes and staff have not started their commute.   There are multiple parties to coordinate with in order to close school.  Even with an automated system, it requires time to complete calls.  We begin making those calls as early as 6:00 a.m. and want them to be completed no later than 6:30 a.m.

Every attempt is made to provide as much notice as possible to families.  This allows for families to plan for a no school day.  Whenever possible, the District provides a notification the night before, no later than 10:30 p.m.  This does mean that the decision is based on weather predictions, which can change resulting in a weather closure for weather conditions that do not materialize.  Evening decisions are based on:

• The amount of predicted snow or ice

• The predicted timing of the storm and  impact on staff travel to work as well as student arrival/dismissal

• Other area schools closing impacting staffing for our schools as staff need to stay home for childcare purposes

• The length of time the storm is predicted to last (e.g. snow throughout the day which may be hard to keep cleared)

• The predicted low temperature and wind chill (e.g. a polar vortex) 

Notification is also posted on our website and the Emergency Closing website.

In addition to information provided by the Village of Skokie regarding road conditions and consulting with our buildings and grounds department, the District and Building Administrators conduct a thorough analysis of relevant factors before making a final decision. These factors include:

• Whether or not our bus company is able to start and move buses

• The amount of snow and ice accumulation onsite

• Predictions as to whether the snow/ice fall will continue, including the timing of the storm

• Building conditions (e.g. whether or not we have electricity and heat)

• Parking lot conditions and sidewalk safety

• Village plow operations

• Temperature and Wind Chill

• Weather predictions 

• Consultation with Niles Township Superintendents

• Review of area school closures, and the potential impact on our ability to staff our schools

After 6:00 a.m., even if weather conditions worsen, we are unable to reverse a decision.  It takes approximately 45-60 minutes to ensure that everyone is properly notified, including ensuring that buses are not picking students up.  Adults in the household may have already left for work and students may already be en route to school.  We have to ensure that students are not returning to empty houses and have supervision/care. 

There are several ways to find out if school will be opened or closed on a predicted bad weather day, as follows:

• Listen for our automated phone messaging call (typically between 5:30 a.m. and 6:30 a.m.) In some cases, we can make the decision the night before and the call will occur that evening (typically before 10:30 p.m.).

• Look for a text message from the district. The text message is typically sent at the same time as the automated phone call (typically between 5:30 a.m. and 6:30 a.m.).

• Visit Skokie School District 69 Website at www.sd69.org and pop-up window will appear on the home screen if school is closed. 

• Check your email (make sure that the District has your current email address) for any notifications.

• Visit http://www.emergencyclosingcenter.com

• Tune into CBS, NBC, ABC, WGN, Fox, CLTV for live weather reports.

• Listen to local radio: WGN (720-AM), WBBM (780-AM), and The Zone (94.7-FM) for weather reports.

ParentSquare is our automated phone messaging system. It is used in place of a traditional "phone tree" to notify parents and staff of school closings, power outages, and other significant events. Everyone receives the same recorded message within minutes.

To receive a message, you need only answer your telephone or cell phone, or have an answering machine or voicemail to record your incoming message. Calls are automatically sent to the phone numbers you have provided to the school. Please be sure that we have all of your updated home and cell phone numbers and email addresses. Please email the school’s office if you need to change any contact information:

• PreSchoolInfo@skokie69.net

• MadisonInfo@skokie69.net

• EdisonInfo@skokie69.net

• LincolnInfo@Skokie69.net

The District will notify all families as soon as the decision is made. If you haven’t heard from the District by 6:45 a.m. then school will be open.  Check for the District’s phone call, email and/or text messages.  You can also check on the District’s website - if there is no alert on the website indicating we are closed then we are open.  As a last resort you can call the school office; however, this typically results in a large volume of calls that disrupt the school’s ability to focus on what they need to do to safely receive students at arrival during a weather event.  

Buses will always operate when schools are open. However, it is likely that on days with severe weather buses will move slower and face delays. If there is a known delay, the school will communicate that with families via text message. We ask that families allow for additional delays with our bus service on these days. 

On days with severe weather, the District anticipates that families and staff may be running late. Thus, the District will excuse all late arrivals on these days - there is no need to call the office unless your child will be absent. 

Five emergency days are built into the school calendar at the end of the year to be used to make up any days that the District closes. If any or all of these days are not used, they are subtracted from the calendar. Please do not make any vacation plans for these emergency days until you have confirmation that they will not be used. This year’s school calendar can be found here. 

No. The District has 5 make-up/emergency days built into the school calendar. These days allow the District to prioritize in-person learning for students, thus snow days are made up at the end of the year.  Remote learning requires teachers to plan differently and students to have appropriate materials at home and it is more productive to make these days up at the end of the school year. 

Yes.  The District has an approved e-Learning plan that allows them to use up to 5 remote learning days instead of a school closing (snow) day.  However, for a typical snow day the decision is being made less than 12 hours before the start of the school day.  Remote learning requires teachers to plan differently and students to have the appropriate materials at home.  Therefore, the District will attempt to only implement an e-Learning day with proper advanced notice (typically 1-3 days ahead).  Generally, the District is unable to provide that level of advanced notice to families and staff for inclement weather and will instead use Emergency Days where school is closed. 

Although the District does its best to make a sound decision for everyone, we know that often no perfect decision exists. If you do not feel it is safe for your child to attend school, we respect your right to keep your child at home. Please be sure to report your child’s absence to the attendance line.