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School Cancelation, Delay, and Early Dismissal Procedures

Student and staff safety is always our top priority. At some point this school year, school cancelations, delays, or early dismissals will affect our schedule.

Snow day at Linn Mar

If bad weather or unforeseen circumstances force the closing of schools, we will utilize the following procedures to alert parents and staff of a delay or cancelation. Early closings and activity cancelations, due to adverse weather conditions or other emergencies, will be communicated in the same manner.

Our School Messenger system sends parents and staff emails and texts. Please be sure that your PowerSchool account is up to date to ensure the delivery of these messages.

Cancelations and notifications will also be provided through these official outlets. 

Please avoid calling the school about cancelations, delays, or early dismissals. Unless you see an alert on our website or receive a notification through School Messenger, assume school is running as usual. The Linn-Mar Community School District will not open when travel is too difficult to guarantee the safety of our students and staff. If you believe the weather is too hazardous for your child to attend on a day that school is being held, you may keep your child home. Please call your school’s attendance office to report the absence, which will be excused.

The district follows these General Guidelines to determine if the school schedule should be adjusted due to weather. Decisions and notifications will be made by 5:30 a.m., when possible, for late starts and cancellations.

In cases where school is delayed or canceled, please use the following guidelines for other programs/activities:

TWO HOUR DELAY

Little Lions Preschool: AM Session Canceled / PM Session will be held.

Before/After School Care: Will open at the regular time (and will stay open if school is later canceled.)

Elementary/Intermediate/Middle Schools:  AM Activities Canceled

High School, COMPASS, and Success Center: AM Activities Canceled

SCHOOL CANCELED

Little Lions Preschool: Canceled

Before/After School Care: Canceled

Elementary/Intermediate/Middle School Activities:  Canceled

Interscholastic Competition (High School): PM activities may be canceled depending on changing weather conditions.

EARLY DISMISSAL: Prior to 10:30 a.m.

Lunch: Every effort will be made to serve the lunch meal before sending students home.

Before/After-School Care: After-School care is canceled.

Elementary/Intermediate/Middle School Activities: Canceled

Interscholastic Competition (High School): PM activities may be canceled depending on changing weather conditions.

EARLY DISMISSAL: After 10:30 a.m. 

Lunch: Will be served following the early dismissal schedule.

Before/After-School Care: After-school care is canceled.

Elementary/Intermediate/Middle School Activities: Canceled

Interscholastic Competition (High School):  PM activities may be canceled depending on changing weather conditions.

OTHER EMERGENCIES:

The Linn-Mar Community School District has Crisis Management Guidelines that outline procedures for all types of emergencies and incidents that might occur. Evacuation and relocation is always a possibility.

FAQ:

What happens when extreme weather threatens?
The safety of students and staff is the overriding, deciding factor. Since school is a safe, supervised setting for children the District tries to avoid early dismissals.

How do we decide to start, delay, or cancel?
The Superintendent decides whether or not to cancel, delay, or dismiss early. As early as possible, information about weather and road conditions is gathered from various sources – including government agencies, meteorologists, and through personal inspection by school personnel. Please refer to our Weather Guidelines for more information.

Why don’t all school districts make the same decision?
Sometimes road conditions in outlying areas vary from those in the city. Sometimes building conditions may vary. For example, there may be problems with heating and/or power.

How are Transportation Services impacted?
In the event of a delay or early dismissal, students normally transported in buses will be picked up and returned to the regular bus stop unless other arrangements have been previously made and communicated to the school.

What about an Energy-Related early dismissal?
The District has an energy-saving agreement with Alliant Energy to shut down power on the main campus should temperatures become too extreme (cold or hot). Buildings that would be directly affected by a power shutdown: Linn-Mar High School, Excelsior Middle School, Indian Creek Elementary, and the Learning Resource Center.

How are Parents and Staff Notified?
Additional School Cancelation and Notification Information. Please make sure your PowerSchool information is up to date to receive communication through our School Messenger System.

When will Parents and Staff be notified?
We will make every effort to notify parents and staff by 5:30 a.m. (and as early as possible if dismissing early).

When will the days be made up?
Due to the number of additional student hours already built into our school calendar, these days will not be made up later in the year. (Unless we are under the state-mandated number of hours for the school year).