Orting School District Snow and School Closures

November 16, 2015

Dear Staff and Families,

On Sunday morning, some of our Orting community woke up to a dusting of snow! It is a good time to revisit ways that we will communicate with you in case of school closure, one or two hour late start, no morning pre-school, no afternoon pre-school, no out-of-district transportation, or emergency bus routes due to snow, power outages, or other conditions.

Phone call
Please make sure your primary phone number is correct at your school. I will send out a message the morning that school is affected. If you miss the call, the message is sent to your voicemail.

Flash alert
Please sign up for Flash Alert. A text will be sent the morning that school is affected. Here is the link for Orting School District’s Flash Alert: http://flashalert.net/news.html?id=4312

Orting School District social media
Please “like” Orting School District Facebook page for ongoing updates and information.
Please “follow” @OrtingSchools on Twitter for ongoing updates and information.

Orting School District Website
You may visit www.ortingschools.org for the status of school operations during inclement weather.

Local news
We will post the status of school operations to local TV news stations. They often run it on the ticker at the bottom of the screen. Please watch the following stations: KING TV on channel 5, KIRO TV on channel 7, KOMO TV on channel 4, KSTW TW on channel 11.

Radio stations
The following stations announce local school closure updates:
AM Radio Stations: KAPS660, KGY1240, KJTT1110, KBRC1430, KIRO710, KLAY1180, KRSG1210, KIX1880, KNWS770, KCIS630, KOMO1000, KRKO1380, and KVI570.
FM Radio stations: KBKS106.1, KSLY92.5, KUBE93.3, KPLZ101.5, KBSG97L3, KMPS94.1, KUOW94.9, KCMS105.3, KMTT103.7, KXXO96.1, KIRO100.7, KPLU88.5, KYCW96.5, and KJR95.7.

Additional information, including emergency bus routes, is posted on the district website. Under “Departments “ go to “Transportation Services.”

As you know, our district boundaries include the valley floor as well as mountainous areas with steep hills. Sometimes there is not snow in the valley while our hilly areas have snow or ice that make it unsafe for buses to travel. When we make a decision that affects school closure or alternate bus routes, we drive each of these terrains to determine if we can safely transport students. Student safety is our number one priority.

Thank you for connecting with us as we continually work to improve communication!

Sincerely,

Dr. Marci Shepard
Superintendent