As we approach the winter months, I want to communicate our plan and procedures regarding school cancellations this year due to inclement weather or any other emergency situation that would cause us to close school. 

With the change to our school calendar (adding seven minutes to the school day), we have three fewer student attendance days this year compared to last year. This reduces the number of inclement weather days we have to four days before we will move to Alternate Methods of Instruction (AMI or “virtual”) days in order to not extend the school calendar. 

For the Rockwood 2025-2026 school year, this means:

1-4 Inclement Weather days: no change in the last day of school

5-9 Inclement Weather days: AMI days; no change in the last day of school

10+ Inclement Weather days: the district calendar will be adjusted accordingly

Changes to Inclement Weather Days

Senate Bill 727, which took effect in the 2024-2025 school year, requires 1,044 hours of instruction. SB 727 also provides further funding for schools that are in session for a minimum of 169 days. Therefore, with 173 student contact days in our calendar, we have four traditional inclement weather days (173-169 = 4). 

What this Means for You

Rockwood will approach AMI days using the general guidelines below. There will not be an expectation for teachers to conduct live lessons, but teachers will be available to respond to questions via email throughout what would be the typical school day hours. Student attendance will be based on the completion of assignments.

General AMI Plan

Please remember, AMI days give us a "buffer" of five additional snow days before we have to start adding days onto the end of the school year, and they will only be used if we reach a fifth snow day. The five AMI days afford us a total of nine days out before having to extend the school year past Memorial Day. If we didn't take advantage of AMI, we would be adding days to the end of the school year after the four snow days.

For pre-K and elementary families, your child’s school will be sending home more information and hard copies of the choice boards in the coming weeks. Again, these will only be necessary if we have more than four inclement weather days this winter.

Making decisions about whether to have school during inclement weather is something we take very seriously. There are many factors that come into play with a district our size. Please know the safety of students and staff will always be my main concern. 

As a reminder, please make sure your contact information is up to date with your child’s school so we can reach you in the event we do call off school for weather or another emergency. More information about how we communicate when schools are closed can be found on the district website.

Thank you for partnering with us to ensure all students realize their potential!