Adverse Weather Information

Durham School Services and District staff check the local road conditions between 4:00 and 5:00 am.  Current and forecasted weather conditions are also reviewed.  Conditions on Anderson Island and in DuPont, Steilacoom, and portions of Lakewood are taken into consideration when making any weather-related decision.  The Superintendent determines feasibility of safely transporting students to and from school by 5:30 am.

All families should have an emergency inclement weather plan in place that can be put into action on short notice. Ensure that your children have an alternate place to stay if you must be at work on a day when school has been canceled or delayed.

SHSD will communicate any changes in school operation schedules through a variety of ways.  For faster access to this information, please use the following resources before contacting your child's school or the District Office - our phone lines are often busy on days with school closures or delays.

• NOTIFICATION SYSTEMS
  ParentSquare – SHSD will send emails, text messages, and app notifications
  
  FlashAlert – sign up for automatic alerts and emails at https://www.flashalert.net/id/SteilacoomSD
  Download the FlashAlert app - You will find the free FlashAlert Messenger app at Google Play and in the iTunes app store. Download the app and install it on your phone or tablet. The first time you open it, the app will ask you to link to your existing FlashAlert Messenger account, or to go to the FlashAlert website and create an account and then link.

• RADIO AND TELEVISION
  AM Radio -  KOMO 1000
  FM Radio - KIRO 97.3, KOMO 97.7, KUOW (NPR) 94.9
  Television -  KOMO 4, KING 5, KONG 6/16, KIRO 7, KCPQ 13
   

• SOCIAL MEDIA
  District website -  www.steilacoom.k12.wa.us
  District Facebook -  https://www.facebook.com/steilacoomschooldistrictno1
  District Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/steillyschools1/

• School Buildings are Closed – "School Buildings are Closed" means in-person learning will not be provided at school sites, and all in-person activities are canceled. No preschool. No in-district or out-of-district transportation will be provided.
   

• Schools 2 Hours Late – Schools will start 2 hours late. Buses will begin their routes 2 hours late.  The district will notify families if buses are running on regular routes, or on snow routes. Students will be dismissed at regular time unless otherwise announced.  No 9:00am preschool session and no out-of-district transportation.  No before-school activities.  Zero hour classes will start two hours late. If a 2-hour late start occurs on an ACE day, students will still be released at the normal ACE day time.
   

• Power Outages - All students will remain at school until they are scheduled to be released home for the day. A decision to "early release" would only be made in a worst-case scenario.
   

• Early Release – This decision would only be made in a worst-case scenario with student and staff safety as our highest priority.

Snow Routes

If school is delayed, it may be necessary to limit bus service to alternate stop locations, referred to as snow routes. Buses will only stop at listed snow route locations, not all stops on the route. Students should use the closest posted location to their normal bus stop.

View district snow routes here.

Out-of-District Transportation

No out-of-district transportation applies to a small number of SHSD students who attend schools in other districts to meet their academic needs. This also applies to McKinney-Vento transportation. 

If Bethel School District is open, our PSCS students will still receive transportation to the Pierce County Skills Center.

The Right at School programs at Cherrydale Primary and Chloe Clark Elementary will follow the school schedule in the event of inclement weather (2 hours late or closed).

For other locations, please contact your childcare provider.

Community groups using school facilities after hours should coordinate their activities with the school principal.

We avoid changing the call whenever possible. However, weather conditions or power outages may dictate a change.