My first year at Veritas numerous folks warned me that “making calls about school cancellation and delays is always tough.” While there are a number of factors that go toward making decisions like this, the truth is that most of the time these calls are straightforward and can be made with plenty of notification time. Also, the truth is that these kinds of decisions are made by a team on behalf of the school community. Some of the factors that have to be remembered when making a weather-related delay or cancellation are that within our fine school we have over 200 families, there are over 360 students, and we have more than sixty-five staff at the building. Decisions about delays and cancellations take all of this under consideration.
To slightly complicate the decision-making matter, just a bit, while our average family’s travel time is just under twenty minutes, we do have families that are as far away as an hour from the school. One more interesting variable is that some of our folks live at higher altitudes. Why does this matter? It means that some people wake up with ice in their driveways some mornings while others will not see any ice on the roads in their ten minute commute to the school.
These various factors go toward the one fact above all others when it comes to inclement weather over the next few months-- “If you are at home and are concerned for your safety regarding travel, you may certainly make the decision not to bring your child to school. In our area, weather can vary significantly in just a short distance, so if you are in doubt at all, please stay home.” As with other private and public schools Veritas has a policy and plan for dealing with inclement weather. Last year, we did not have a single canceled day due to snow or ice. While that is our hope again this year, we never know. We will always do our best to give plenty of notice and we will always act in the best interest and safety of the wider school community.
