I have heard from several parents and guardians who share very valid concerns regarding the fact that we have already used three snow days in the month of November, and we still have a long Maine winter yet to go.

The themes of these questions have been primarily two-fold. The first theme is from parents wondering how the decision to close school is made and the second theme is from parents who are wondering what this means for students in terms of the school calendar, impacts to the last scheduled day of school, and options for how we might make up days during the course of the year if necessary.

A decision to close the schools, use a one-hour or two-hour delay, or to have school on an inclement weather day is no small decision. On inclement weather days, my day begins at 4:30 a.m. when I get up and go directly to the TV to watch the weather report.

After that, I call our maintenance crew who is already at the schools working to clear sidewalks, plow parking lots, etc. They are also in direct contact with the Gorham Public Works Department who are able to give real-time road conditions whenever I reach out.

I find out the current conditions, and what they expect to see for conditions throughout the day. I then call our transportation director. He is typically out and about on the roads as well and checking radar and other information sources to provide insight into current and predicted conditions.

At the same time, I have already started a text chat with all area superintendents. I check another local weather update and review information online from NOAA and other sources to view satellite radar for present and future conditions. Oftentimes, I will then call the maintenance crew back and ask specific questions of the Public Works Department for their recommendations.

By 5:00 a.m., a decision must be made. Some of the key thought processes that enter my mind before making the decision include: What are current road conditions and what are they predicted to be at key times of the morning? Will the roads be safe for students at any of these times? Is it an all snow event or is there predicted sleet or freezing rain? What are the conditions across all of Gorham? If I can safely get kids into school can I safely get them home? What are other school systems, especially those whose weather conditions typically match ours, doing?

At no time do I consider how many days I’ve already used or how many are left in the calendar. The primary concern in all of my decision making is the safety of our students. The rest of the implications for snow days can be dealt with later.

Speaking of those implications, let’s look at theme number two. Where are we with snow days, the last day of school, and what are our options moving forward? I want parents to know that even with three snow days in November, we are still in relatively good shape for the end of school.

If we do go beyond the planned five days, which I think is likely, we are still in very good shape because we would have an additional four days to use before we had to consider going into the last week of June. This means we could (in theory) use up to a total of nine snow days (of which we have already used three) and still have the last student day on Friday, June 21.

We also have the ability to use planned early release days and/or planned full professional development days to make up as student days if needed. We have four early release days planned between February and May. We will have a much better sense of where we are in February, and we could potentially convert these early release days into making up two snow days if needed.

We also have a planned full-day professional development day for teachers in June that could be used to make up for a student day. This means we have an ability to make up three additional days of school using nothing but professional development days.

This could bring us up to a point of using 12 snow days during the year and still being able to have the last student day on Friday, June 21. If we get to the point where we have used up all those potential days and still need more, we could then consider an extension of regular school days by one hour for five days to make up additional days as needed (5 hours = 1 school day). This would be a last resort and a decision that would only be made after great thought and consideration.

Please trust that I will continue to always keep the safety of students as my top priority throughout the winter months, and always know that as parents, you have the final authority as to what is best for your student’s safety as well. The Gorham schools will always keep the safety of its students paramount to all else.