Winter Weather Plan

We constantly monitor current conditions and the forecast for inclement weather. Through this process, we consult with the National Weather Service, the Iowa Department of Transportation, and other local schools. While every situation is different, we will do our best to communicate changes to the school schedule due to weather in a manner that provides as much advance notice as possible.

In general, we will work to decide before 9:00pm the night before, no later than 5:30am the morning of, or by 11:00am for an early dismissal.

Communication Plan

When a decision is made, we will communicate accordingly:

MSTM Staff

  • We will initiate our phone tree among District leaders who will then communicate directly with their tea

  • We will e-mail all staff using their mstm.us e-mail account.

MSTM Students and Parents

  • We will initiate communication with all families via JMC in the format of a text message, phone call, and e-mail.

  • We will post the information to the district website.

  • We will post the information on these X (Twitter) accounts: @MSTMSupt and @MSTM_BlueDevils

  • We will share the information with these media outlets: WHO Radio 1040, WOI TV Channel 5, KCCI TV Channel 8, WHO TV Channel 13

District Services

Bus Routes

When we have a 2-hour weather delay, bus routes will coincide with this delay and buses will pick up students 2 hours later than their normal pick-up time. When we have an early dismissal, bus routes will coincide with the early dismissal in that buses will pick up students from school earlier than their regular dismissal time and will drop off students earlier than their normal drop-off time.

Daycare Services

  • If school is delayed, Daycare services will open as scheduled unless there is an issue with the building itself.

  • If school is dismissed early, Daycare services will be offered for 90-minutes unless otherwise communicated

  • If school is cancelled, Daycare services will be cancelled.

School Start Times

When there is a 2-hour delay, school will begin at 10:25am at both the Elementary and Junior High School / High School.

Preschool will follow the Elementary Schedule except for on Wednesday; if a late start was assigned on a Wednesday, there would be no preschool as students in preschool only attend until 11:00am on that day of the week.

An early dismissal will be based upon a time specific to the conditions of the day, rather than a set time.

Activities

  • If school is delayed, morning activities are cancelled.

  • If school is dismissed early, a decision on activities will be left to the discretion of the Superintendent.

  • If school is cancelled, all activities are cancelled with limited exceptions left to the discretion of the Superintendent.

snowy weather