To close or not to close: How does Brockton's superintendent decide when to cancel school?

BROCKTON – When snow is in the forecast, what factors does the Superintendent of Brockton Public Schools consider when choosing to delay or cancel schools?

The superintendent consults with multiple city agencies before announcing a district-wide snow day, delay or half-day.

“The decision to modify a Brockton Public Schools school day or activities is made by Acting Superintendent Dr. James Cobbs,” he said in an email to The Enterprise. “This decision is made after collaborating with our Facilities Director Kenneth Thompson, Brockton Emergency Management Agency (BEMA) Director Stephen Hooke and Department of Public Works (DPW) Commissioner Patrick Hill for information regarding weather forecasting that will have a significant impact on school district operations.”

When are Brockton families notified?

Cobbs said the district “makes every effort” to inform BPS families by 5:30 a.m. if weather will alter school operations that day. Brockton High, the school with the earliest start time, opens its doors at 7:20 a.m. An early dismissal ends the school day at 11 a.m. rather than the typical 2 p.m.

“The timing to decide when to cancel or delay school or activities is dependent upon the prediction of significant weather changes and the speed at which the weather changes may impact school district operations,” said Cobbs.

“If we are aware of and have verified any significant weather potentially impacting school operations or activities further ahead of such time, then the call to cancel or delay will be made sooner than the morning of the delay or cancellation,” he said.

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What leads to a snow day or delay?

In an announcement to the BPS community on Nov. 17, 2023, Cobbs said “we consider many different factors, including timing of the storm, the amount of snowfall and the risk for downed trees and power outages.”

When the superintendent announces an altered school day, families are notified via the school district’s website, Facebook and Twitter accounts, phone and text message systems and on local broadcast TV stations.

Residents can opt in to receive text messages from BPS by texting YES to 675-87.

“If conditions deteriorate during the school day, we may elect to dismiss school early in order to keep our students and staff off the roads during the peak of the storm,” Cobbs said in the announcement. “Weather-related early dismissal announcements are made via direct phone calls and text messages and are posted on bpsma.org.”

Most recently, BPS held a two-hour delay on Jan. 17 due to the previous night’s snowstorm.

“If a storm moves out of our region in the early morning hours, we may elect to delay the start of school to give crews the requisite time to clear roads and walkways near our buildings. Depending on the timing of the storm, we may delay for either one hour or two hours,” Cobbs said.

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When are makeup days?

When full school days are cancelled due to weather, power outages or waterline breaks, the day must be made up later in the year to ensure students have required classroom time, according to The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE).

"If school is canceled, the district must make up the day in-person, which is added on to the end of the school year calendar," Cobbs said.

Despite Brockton's ability to hold classes virtually throughout the pandemic, DESE does not allow public schools to replace in-person school days with virtual ones when canceled due to weather conditions. Canceled days must be made up in person.

This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: What goes into consideration when Brockton schools call a snow day?