December has arrived in southwest Iowa and the snow has come as well.  The blizzard we had at the tail end of the Thanksgiving weekend put into action our weather plan.  I follow a checklist that I have established as a Superintendent and it helps me ensure I keep the district’s staff and students safe.  The first task for me is to communicate with our transportation director about any upcoming weather that may cause delay or cancellation of the school day.  We both will go out and check roads and determine if the roads are safe for student drivers, staff, and bus drivers.  I will also begin communication with area school Superintendents are thinking.  When I have made a decision, I will immediately contact administrators so they can get it out on the school wide text, website, and social media.  I also have a list of TV and radio stations I will contact.  These are the last to be called because they are not secure and sometimes carry the wrong information.  This happened during our first weather closing.  Please check the website and then social media.  My first priority is student safety and I will always error on the side of it.

When weather comes in while we are in school, I will do much of the same process and determine when and if we need to dismiss early.  We will get the information to parents as soon as possible.  Nightly activities are also at my discretion and I will determine the safety of travel and communicate with the Superintendent of the school we are playing to determine what we plan on doing.

During this month the new version of the school report card will be released to the public.  This report card is required for the new legislation called Every Student Succeeds Act or ESSA.  This legislation replaces No Child Left Behind.  This first report is not like the state report card that people are use too.  That report card will be released in March or April.  The federal report card will give school districts a baseline on where we are as a district and what we need to work on in the future.  This report card will be released in mid-December.

As we make the last push until the Holiday Break, I encourage you to visit the schools for the holiday concerts and attend the sporting activities and support our student/athletes.  Become a member of the PTO or Booster Club and become a supporter of all things Timberwolf! 

Happy Holidays!

Chris Fenster, ED.S

Superintendent

Southwest Valley Schools

Corning and Villisca