Parent Teacher Magazine Charlotte-Mecklenburg School January 2105 | Page 11

Inclement Weather Procedures

The safety of all students and staff is the first priority of the school system
when decisions are made about whether schools must be closed, delayed
or dismissed early because of severe weather. Severe weather includes
tornadoes, hurricanes, snow storms, ice storms and other extreme natural
events that pose an imminent threat to the safety of students and staff.

School staff

All school personnel should be familiar with severe-weather procedures.
Principals/supervisors are responsible for informing their staff, including new
hires throughout the year, about these procedures and ensuring that they
are followed. An overview can be found on the employee calendar, on the
CMS Web site and on the CMS intranet. Each school will issue a Connect-Ed
message or initiate a staff telephone tree as an additional communication
tool for severe-weather information.
When early dismissal occurs, parents must be informed quickly. The best
and quickest way to notify parents is with Connect-Ed.

Severe weather communication

The CMS Communications Department will notify the public when
severe weather requires that schools close or open with a two-hour delay.
No notification means schools are open. On days with closings or delays,
information will be shared by 5:30 a.m. If an early dismissal is required
because of severe weather, the information will be available by 1 p.m.
Severe-weather changes will be posted on the CMS Web site, intranet,
district social media sites and shared with local media (newspapers, TV
and radio stations). The Communications staff will also send voice and text
messages using Connect-Ed, post the information on the CMS Facebook and
Twitter pages and notify CharMeck 311.

Two-hour delay

When schools open two hours late because of severe weather, the start
of school is delayed but the ending bell time does not change. All employees
other than bus drivers will report to work at the usual time (unless a
notification is issued). Principals will develop a modified bell schedule to
accommodate the late start and will collaborate with the cafeteria manager
on a lunch schedule that allows all students to eat.

Early dismissal

If school is dismissed early, public notification will occur between noon
and 1 p.m. All buses will follow their regular afternoon route sequence unless

otherwise notified. All students will be delivered to their regularly assigned
afternoon bus stops, except ASEP students, whose parents will pick them up
at their home schools.
All students, whether they walk, ride the bus or get a ride to school,
should be cautioned about safety issues when early dismissal occurs,
particularly those who walk or drive themselves to school.
All CMS after-school activities (extra-curricular, athletic and community
use of schools) will be canceled in the event of early dismissal. All students
needing transportation should ride their assigned afternoon bus. For each
student, schools should have an emergency dismissal form where parents
have indicated how their child is to go home. (The form is available on the
intranet.)
Should severe weather occur after schools have dismissed at the regular
time, principals may opt to cancel after-school activities. They will need
to contact their transportation specialists at least one hour before regular
dismissal time. Principals may not cancel ASEP activities; however, they can
confer with the ASEP director to determine if parents should be called to
encourage early pick-up.

Athletic events

If schools are closed or dismissed early, all athletic practices and
scheduled athletic events for the day are canceled. Any exceptions (such
as out-of-town tournament events) must be approved by the director of
athletics. If schools are dismissed at the regular time and the weather
deteriorates during the afternoon, principals will decide whether to cancel
practice. For a scheduled game, the home-team principal will make the
decision to cancel or continue.

After-School Enrichment Program staff

If school is closed or dismissed early because of severe weather, the
After-School Enrichment Program will be canceled. During early dismissals,
ASEP staff and principals will collaborate to notify parents to pick up children
at their home school, not the ASEP location. School administrators and
teachers must give special attention to the dismissal of ASEP students if
schools are dismissed early. On a regular school day, if weather conditions
become hazardous while students are in ASEP, parents will be encouraged to
pick up their children as soon as possible. In this case, programs will remain
open until 6 p.m. Before-school programs will operate at the regular time on
when schools open late.

Top honors for Independence
“The Dancers” win at theater conference
The cast and crew of “The Dancers” won Overall Distinguished Play, the top
honor given by the judges in the North Carolina Theater Conference competition
held Nov. 20-21 in Greensboro. Now they will compete in March at the regional
Southeastern Theater Conference Festival in Chattanooga, Tenn.
Twenty schools from 10 states made it to the regional competition. The
Playmakers have a lot to do to prepare for the trip, which will cost $10,000.
The Playmakers won many individual awards as well. Senior Garrett Bradshaw
was awarded Outstanding Acting Award for a male and was offered scholarship
money by three different colleges. Two of five awards for Excellence in Acting for
a female were given to seniors Marissa Plondke and Kayla Hedrick. Senior Sarah
Rossi received the Excellence in Production and Design for Stage Management
award and theater arts teacher Paula Baldwin won one of three Excellence in
Directing awards.
“Ms. Baldwin and I both are beyond excited, and I’m happy to represent our
school and state,” said Thomas Dills, who teaches beginning and