Indiana winter weather is upon us and love it or hate it, we still have to deal with it. This is the time of year when we must start planning for the challenges Indiana's winter weather can bring. With the beauty and excitement that comes with the first snowfall, also comes the anticipation of what is going happen with the school day. Delays, closures, early dismissal, and snow make up days are all consequences of the sometime beautiful and sometime crippling winter weather.

As the Superintendent, I can assure you when the winter storms and extremely cold temperatures are forecast the LCSC staff is not drinking cocoa by a warm fire. Starting up to 24 hours before a potential inclement weather situation, the LCSC staff is in communication with local and regional law enforcement agencies, checking with the National Weather Service, city and county street departments, and Indiana Department of Transportation when necessary. All of this communication is necessary to gather the information we need to make a decision that is in the best interest of student safety. In addition to gathering information about the weather predications, every decision made about delaying or closing school is always made after LCSC personnel travel the roads. In most cases, the LCSC Director of Transportation and I start driving both the city and county roads around 4:00 a.m. There are specific city streets and county roads we drive to ascertain the conditions and the possible impact the weather will have on bus transportation, students and staff that drive to school, and the students who walk to school. Only after all of the information is collected and I have experienced the conditions first hand do I make a determination as to what impact the weather will have on the school day. In the end it is the decision of the Superintendent that determines delays or closures.

There are primarily two changes to the school schedule due to inclement weather. The first is the full closure - there will be no school that day. When the type of weather and the consequences that come with the weather appear to be so severe the impact will last most or all of the day, school will be closed. When schools are closed there will be no access to any of the LCSC schools or facilities. Extra-curricular events will be cancelled as will all practices. Also if the issue is snow it is important the parking lots at the schools are free of cars so the maintenance crews can focus on removing the snow. In the case of the new high school, that means removing almost twice as much snow since we have expanded the size of the parking lot. If the inclement weather is extremely cold temperatures or fog, two factors which will likely change over the course of the day, a delay may be appropriate to insure student safety. In almost all cases a delay will result in school starting two hours later. Children should not arrive at school earlier than 15 minutes before a delayed start time. There are also very rare and unpredictable weather situations that could impact schools. We experienced our first school closure due to flooding conditions last spring, and in Indiana the possibility of a tornado is always a concern in the spring. In each case it is the safety and well being of the students and staff that will guide all decisions and resulting actions.

Even though winter weather has a nasty habit of operating on its own schedule, it is our goal to decide to delay or cancel school by 5:30 a.m. This allows us to make the necessary notifications to the local media and to get the message out on the auto call system. The information concerning any school closure or delay is also always available on the LCSC website.

As you know, bad weather can move into our area during the day. With student safety being our highest priority, LCSC may make the decision to implement an early closure. This is a very, very rare response to bad weather. It is often safer for students to remain at school under the supervision of staff. With so many families having a busy work schedule it is impossible to determine if a child will have a responsible adult or guardian waiting for them when they get home. In most cases of bad weather in the middle of the day it is better for us to keep students in school until it is safe to release them. Regardless of the type or length of a school delay or closure, it is important every LCSC family have a plan in place to insure your children are well cared for and supervised. Likewise, it is extremely important your contact information, for both home and work, is accurate and up-to-date so communication from the school arrives to you as soon as possible.

Making the decision to delay or close school is the one decision I make as Superintendent that I can guarantee you will always be questioned, criticized, praised, or cursed. Regardless of your thoughts, I can assure you my decisions are always based on considerations for student safety. Making weather-related decisions is something that is never taken lightly, never made in haste, and is always made with the same care, and concern you would make when it comes to the safety and well-being of your child. The only difference is I make those decisions out of concern for the well-being of 3,560 young men and women. So when the wind starts to howl, the snow starts to fly and the ice starts to form, you can put an extra log on the fire, break out the sleds, and make another cup of cocoa because your LCSC staff is working hard to make sure your children will be safe.

The week of October 21st is "Bully Free Begins with Me!" week, activities planned are:

• Monday, October 21st-"Put a CAP on Bullying!"-wear your favorite hat!

• Tuesday, October 22nd-"Team Up Against Bullying!"-Wear your favorite team jersey or shirt!
• Wednesday, October 23rd-"Hoosiers are Giving Bullies the BOOT!"-wear your western wear, boots, hat and all ya'll
• Thursday, October 24th-"Paws'itively Bully Free!"-wear an outfit with animal print and bring your favorite stuffed animal!
• Friday, October 25th-"We are Sham'rockin and Bully Free!" wear your favorite "Stokes" gear or anything green!