Dear Parents and Guardians,
As winter settles in, we want to take a moment to share how we make decisions regarding “snow days,” or in our district’s case, eLearning Days. Our top priority is always the safety of our students, staff, and bus drivers. Road conditions, weather forecasts, and overall safety all play a major role in these decisions. While we would much rather call off school and end up not getting the predicted weather than put anyone at risk, we also recognize that the best place for students is in school—learning, growing, and enjoying a nutritious meal each day.
Whenever possible, we will make a closure or eLearning decision the night before. If the weather makes that difficult, we aim to notify families by 5:30 AM. As you know, conditions can change quickly, but safety will always guide our choices.
If a Snow Day/eLearning Day is announced, you will receive notification through SchoolMessenger, Facebook, KHQA, WGEM, and our district website.
We also want to remind families that parents always have the final say when it comes to your child’s safety. If you feel road conditions in your area make travel unsafe, you may keep your child home—and their absence will be excused.
Unity was one of the first districts in Illinois to adopt eLearning for inclement weather, and it has been a great benefit to our students. eLearning days allow learning to continue without interruption and count toward our required school days. This helps us keep our planned end-of-year calendar intact. Only if we exceed five eLearning days would additional closures need to be made up.
We’d also like to recognize our terrific bus drivers. Driving a school bus can be challenging on even the best days, and winter conditions only add to that responsibility. Please offer them a little extra patience and grace if their routes run behind. If delays become significant, we will make sure to notify you.
Thank you for your understanding, flexibility, and support as we all navigate the winter months together. We appreciate your partnership in keeping our students safe and learning.
Stay warm, and thank you for being part of the Unity family!
