inclement weather guide

Community High School District 117 puts student safety first, which is why the district takes several factors into consideration when determining whether to close schools due to extreme weather. The following are some criteria that will be used when making school closure decisions. Invariably, there will be situations that do not fit into the guidelines in which case the administration will do its best to provide cancellation information to families as soon as possible. 

School may be cancelled or changed to E-Learning if : 

The late news forecast (10pm) for 6am the next day predicts a wind chill BELOW -25 degrees.

OR

An actual air temperature of negative double digits. Air temperature colder than -10 degrees. 

Snow Days: 

As for the more traditional “Snow day” the district plans to decide by 5 a.m. on a given day whether school will be cancelled that day due to heavy snow and/or icy conditions.  On days when school has already begun, and conditions appear to be worsening; the district will decide by 1p.m. whether after-school activities will be cancelled for that afternoon.

Other considerations: 

• Is there blowing snow with winds greater than 20 miles per hour? 

• Is there or will there be a heavy accumulation of snow, especially during the typical travel times to and from school? • Are streets and sidewalks clear? 

• Are buses unable to run due to extreme cold or unplowed streets? 

• Are driving conditions hazardous? 

• Are there power or phone outages? 

• A late start schedule will be an option.

If school is not canceled and a parent and/or guardian feel his/her child is safer at home, they reserve the right to keep them home. Keeping a child home due to weather will be recorded as an excused absence on the student’s record so long as the parent and/or guardian reports the absence in a timely manner.

In the event schools are closed or the arrival/dismissal time is changed due to severe weather, please check the status of D117 facility in the following ways:  

•  Go to the public website at http://www.emergencyclosingcen... and search for the facility by typing the name and city or by the main phone number of the facility. 

•  Receive an e-mail notification of a change made to your facility by signing upon the Emergency Closing Center website at www.emergencyclosings.com

•  Listen to WGN Radio 720-AM, WBBM Radio 780-AM, or watch CBS Ch. 2, NBC Ch. 5, ABC CH. 7, FOX 32, WGN-TV Ch. 9 or CLTV cable for closing information
• Check the CHSD117 website (www.chsd117.org)

If schools are closed for the day, CHSD117 will make every effort to release this information via the aforementioned avenues by 5:30 a.m. If schools are closed, all after-school activities in the district, including sports and evening events, will also be canceled; unless otherwise communicated.

Click here to read a mobile-friendly version: CHSD117 Inclement Weather Guide