JAN 01, 2021

Kathy Hypes

Superintendent DeAnna Whipkey President, Board of Education As possible inclement weather nears, parents and students should be aware of information related to emergency school closings. Braxton County Schools (BCS) uses the School Messenger notification system to place phone calls to families concerning snow delays or closures. Please make sure that your child’s family phone number in the school’s West Virginia Education Information System (WVEIS) is current by contacting your school. This notification system is only as good as the accuracy of the information maintained in our system. Notification of delays/closings will be posted as early as possible. At times, circumstances such as late-arriving storms may necessitate a closing or delay later than usual. The goal is to have a school, but the conditions must be safe for transportation. It is difficult to make a decision that pleases everyone. Board of Education officials monitor conditions through the state highways, conference calls with the National Weather Service, bus operators located throughout Braxton County, Internet weather websites, and driving of certain bus routes to determine conditions. Braxton County is extreme in the fact that we have variations in elevation and road access throughout the county. Please do not rely heavily on one media outlet for your information. Temperature concerns always present a difficult challenge. The general guidelines follow: The school will be delayed when the air temperature is below 0. The school will be delayed when the wind chill is -5 and below. The decision will be based on widespread and general conditions throughout the county and not on an isolated occurrence. Delay and closure information is placed on the West Virginia Department of Education website, http://wvde.state.wv.us/closin...

School status is placed on the Board of Education telephone system, 304-765-7101, extension 715. Radio stations with delay/closure information follow:

Sutton (WSGB – 1490 AM, WDBS - 97.1 FM, WAFD – 100.3 FM, WKQV – 105.5 FM) Buckhannon (WDNE – 98.9 FM, WELK – 94.7 FM, WBUC - 1460 AM, WDNE – 1240 AM) St Albans (WKLC – 105.1 FM, WMXE – 100.9 FM) Weston (WHAW – 980 AM, WVRW 107.7 FM, WOTR 96.3 FM) Clarksburg/Mt. Claire (WWLW/Sky - 106.5 FM, WFBY – 102.3 FM, WAJR – 103.3 FM, WWLW - 106.5 FM, WBRB – 101.3 FM, WBTQ – 93.5 FM) Public Broadcasting (WVPB – 88.5 FM) TV stations with delay/closure information follow: WCHS Channel 8 - Charleston WDTV Channel 5 – Bridgeport WBOY Channel 12 - Clarksburg WSAZ Channel 3 - Huntington WOWK Channel 13 - Huntington p.1 Due to the pandemic and this year’s daily schedule, when a two-hour delay is necessary, all schools will extend their daily schedule for two hours. Each student and family should have a plan in place in case of a delay. This is an extremely busy time for each school and phone calls informing the students of the plans are not always possible. School phone capacity is limited as is staffing to answer phones. Weather-related calls to school should be kept to a minimum; therefore, we request that each student have an emergency plan in place before any delays or closures. If you have a question, please do not hesitate to contact the school. As mentioned earlier, please make sure that your child’s family phone number in the school’s West Virginia Education Information System (WVEIS) is kept current. This notification system is only as good as the accuracy of the information maintained in the system

Sutton Elementary

PRESS RELEASE FOR BRAXTON COUNTY SCHOOLS CLOSURES OR DELAYS