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Weather-Related Protocols
The health, safety, and well-being of our students is a top priority, and extreme temperatures require extra attention. During these times, schools may need to modify outdoor activities and daily routines to help keep students safe and comfortable.
If severe weather requires changes to the regular school day or the closure of schools or facilities, families and staff will be notified as quickly as possible through ParentSquare, which sends messages by phone, email, text, and app notification. School closures will also be shared on the District website and social media channels.
Please keep in mind that extreme weather can be unpredictable, and decisions about school closures are typically made the morning of the event. Families will receive a message only if schools are closed or the regular school day is changed. If you do not receive a message, the school day will proceed as usual.
PE, Recess and School-Related Outdoor Activities: If the heat index reaches 100°F or higher, PE, recess, and school-related outdoor activities will be moved indoors.
Middle School Sports: The District follows excessive heat guidelines established by the Illinois Elementary School Association (IESA), which are based on guidelines from the Illinois High School Association (IHSA). IESA and IHSA guidelines use Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) to assess heat conditions. Unlike the standard heat index, WBGT accounts for ambient temperature, humidity, wind and solar radiation.
Please use the following resources to help keep you and your family safe and healthy in the heat:
If schools cannot be open due to bad weather, District 58 will have the option to use an e-learning day or an emergency day (also known as a “snow day”). The Board of Education has approved an e-learning plan that allows District 58 to use remote learning days instead of emergency days. As communicated previously, because of construction plans this summer and the need to maximize that time for construction, it is more likely that District 58 will use an e-learning day instead of an emergency day (“snow day”). An e-learning day does not need to be made up at the end of the school year. However, students are required to participate in e-learning from home to earn credit for the school day. If District 58 uses a traditional emergency day, that day will need to be made up in May/June.
All school closure communications will specify whether the District will use an emergency snow day or an e-learning day. After declaring an e-learning day, families would receive additional communication regarding how to access instruction. All elementary students (including morning preschoolers) would begin their day by logging into a Google Meet virtual session with their teacher at 8:30 a.m. Middle school students would similarly log into their advisory period/class at 8:30 a.m.
Please view District 58’s E-Learning Plan, which was formally approved by the Board of Education. District 58 will follow this plan if it uses an e-learning day in lieu of an emergency day (also called “snow day”) this school year.
When a decision is made to close school due to inclement weather, the District will send an automated phone, email, text and app notification to all families and staff via ParentSquare. The communication will include whether District 58 will hold an e-learning day or a traditional emergency/snow day.
District 58 also posts school closure information at www.dg58.org and on Facebook and X (Twitter). The District also notifies major news radio and network television stations.
District 58’s superintendent consults with a variety of resources — weather forecasts, neighboring superintendents, the bus company and the District’s Buildings and Grounds teams — to make an informed decision. The decision is based on many factors.
- Building conditions: Do the buildings have power, light and heat?
- Site conditions: Is the parking lot plowed? Can buses get in and turn around? Can parents drop off students? Are the exit doors free of snow?
- Bus operations: Can the bus drivers get to the bus company? Do the buses start? Do the drivers feel comfortable driving?
- Road conditions: Are the roads continually plowed and is traffic moving?
- Air temperature: How cold is it? What is the wind chill? Can children safely walk to school? There are times when schools may need to be closed due to dangerously cold temperatures. In these situations, wind chill is also taken into account, as well as the extent to which the temperatures are sustained throughout the school day. District 58 has collaborated with District 99 and the elementary districts that feed into District 99 to develop consistent standards. We will likely close school based on extremely cold conditions when an extreme cold warning is issued by the National Weather Service during the times students are traveling to or from school. An extreme cold warning is typically issued when apparent, or "real-feel" temperatures are around -30 degrees Fahrenheit or colder.
If the answer is yes to the first four questions, and if a wind chill warning has not been issued, most likely the decision will be to keep schools open.
Student and staff safety is District 58’s top priority, but the District also understands that closing schools and quickly shifting to an e-learning day or an emergency snow day is inconvenient for students, teachers and parents. The superintendent will make the decision as soon as safely possible.
Grade K-8 students can go outside if the "real feel" temperature (wind chill) is 0 degrees or above, barring special circumstances, such as excessive ice. Please be sure to dress your child warmly! Students should remember to bring hats, gloves/mittens, scarves, coats, snow pants and boots. They may want to bring an extra fleece to wear, as well as an extra pair of socks in case theirs get wet. Please remember to label these items with your child's name!
District 58’s Buildings and Grounds team proactively monitors the weather along with our snow removal contractor. Plowing and salting begin as soon as conditions warrant. The goal is to remove all snow/ice from roads, parking lots and walkways within four hours after the conclusion of a snowfall. The timing and amount of precipitation always require adjustments to the plans. The use of winter de-icing products helps prevent and/or break the bond between snow/ice and the pavement to provide safer conditions. Unfortunately, de-icing chemicals lose effectiveness in extremely cold temperatures and some pavement areas may still be slick. Please use extra caution when traveling on any pavement surface, such as roads, parking lots and sidewalks, during extremely cold weather events.
- In Downers Grove, parking on streets and in public parking lots is prohibited between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. when 3 or more inches of snow have fallen.
- It is against Downers Grove ordinance to shovel, place or blow snow or ice onto the street, sidewalk or any right-of-way.
- Please be a good neighbor and shovel your sidewalk and any nearby fire hydrants, if you are able.
- Please keep fire hydrants accessible and shovel out an area around them, if you are able.
- Avoid driving during snow events, but if you must go out, keep water and blankets or an extra coat in your car for warmth, and keep the gas tank full.
- Make sure your vehicle has adequate tire tread to avoid getting stuck.
- Keep children from playing in snow banks along the road. It’s enticing because the large piles of snow seem like a giant fort, but it can be very dangerous; children may tumble onto the road in front of cars or snow plows.
- Place a snow shovel in your trunk. You never know when you might need one during your travels.
- Snow shoveling secrets! When shoveling at the end of your driveway, be sure to shovel snow to your right (when facing the street). As the plow passes, it will carry the snow away from your driveway.