District Information: Message From the Superintendent

On behalf of the staff of the Washougal School District I would like to wish you and your family a wonderful Winter Holiday. My first several months in the District have been exciting, both challenging and rewarding. I would like to thank those of you who have gone out of your way to introduce yourself to me. Many of you have shared what you feel are the strengths of the District, as well as areas where we need to continue our work to refine our programs.

The two-hour late start scheduled on Thursday, 12/15/11 is a reminder that the winter weather has just begun and careful attention must be given to safe travel to and from school. Two hour late starts are needed when hazardous road conditions exist. These conditions can be experienced District-wide or just in the higher elevations in the east part of the district.

Each year patrons ask why the District does not conduct late start at some schools while leaving others open. There are a number of reasons why this is not feasible. Our high school students come from all corners of the District, preventing safe travel for some students who need to be attending the same classes with students from lower elevation neighborhoods. In addition, many parents have tranfered their students from a “neighborhood” school to a different District school, requiring that their child be transported to or from an area affected by frosty weather. Our bus transportation system is also involved as our capacity to run routes at the regular start time and at late start time on the same day is very limited. For these reasons, the solution is to conduct a late start District-wide allowing county vehicles to plow roads, as well as time for temperatures to rise before putting school buses on the roads. We combine snow routes with a two-hour late start to allow safe bus travel on mornings where snow and ice create hazardous road conditions.

Please keep your phone charged and close during the coming months so that our automated phone system can keep you up-dated regarding changes to the school day due to weather conditions. The District will also post late opening or closure decisions with the local media – both radio and TV stations.

Sincerely,