Dear Shaler Area families,

With the winter weather season approaching, we want to remind our families of the district’s procedures for delaying or canceling a school day to ensure you can plan accordingly. It’s also an opportunity to provide information about how Flexible Instructional Days are used in place of canceling classes due to inclement weather.

The safety of our students and staff is of utmost importance to us, so we take the decision to delay or cancel classes very seriously. During a winter weather event, we take into account the current road and weather conditions, temperature, wind chill; and the day’s forecast. We also consult with the safety coordinators of our contracted bus companies who travel the roads in the district to assess their safety. Please be aware, school delays or cancellations can also occur for other unexpected reasons, such as an area water main break, power outage, or other significant event. Be sure that you have appropriate plans in place in the event the district should need to delay, cancel, or dismiss students early.

While many Shaler Area faculty and staff are familiar with the procedures and notifications in place for delays and cancellations, please find the information below for your convenience:

• The decision to delay or cancel school will be made and communicated whenever possible before 6 a.m. and, if feasible, the night before. There are occasions that changing road and weather conditions will necessitate a later decision.
• A BlackboardConnect phone message will be sent to each employee.  Please ensure that your ProSoft employee portal contact information is up-to-date with a reliable phone number.
• Staff should consult the district’s website, shalerarea.org, as the primary source of information, such as delays and closings, as well as the district’s social media.
• Staff  can call the district’s main phone number, 412-492-1200, at any time. The district’s phone message will be updated to reflect any changes in the district’s schedule, such as a delay or cancellation.
• In addition to the website and main phone number, Shaler Area notifies three local news stations: KDKA, WPXI, and WTAE. Please note that the school district does not control how quickly the information is updated on-air. You may consider signing up for the electronic alerts through the respective television stations.
• Early Dismissal Plans: In the event that Shaler Area would need to dismiss school early, we have encouraged our families to have appropriate childcare arrangements and/or dismissal plans in place. It also is important to be sure that emergency contact information is current. If your families have contact information that needs to be updated, please encourage them log in to Infinite Campus to make any necessary changes or contact their student’s school.

While we strive to make the best possible decisions in the timeframe we are given, unexpected winter weather issues may occur.

Flexible Instructional Days (FID): Shaler Area will continue to utilize Flexible Instruction Days (FID) in place of unexpected, emergency school closures to eliminate the need to make-up that day. Specifically, Shaler Area will use these days in place of cancellations for inclement weather for the 2024–2025 school year.

In the event that the district needs to cancel in-person instruction, all students will participate in remote instruction through their district-issued device.

• The transition to a Flexible Instruction Day will be announced on the district website.
• Beginning this school year, Flexible Instruction Days will operate on a two-hour delay schedule to provide students and staff the opportunity to transition to remote instruction. The class start times will be as follows:
  • High School:                                     9:18 a.m.
  • Middle School:                                9:40 a.m.
  • Elementary School:                      10:12 a.m.
  • Primary Schools:                            11:00 a.m.

Logging in during a Flexible Instruction Day: 

• All classes will require synchronous instruction (in real-time with live instruction).
• All teachers will take attendance, and there will be minimum requirements for instructional minutes.
• Students not present during FID remote instruction will be marked with an unexcused absence unless a note is provided by a parent/guardian—following the same absence procedure as a typical school day. Technical difficulties or connectivity issues should always be reported to the classroom teacher as soon as possible.

We thank you in advance for your continued support and cooperation as we navigate the upcoming weather in our region.

Sincerely,

Bryan O’Black, Ed.D
Superintendent

Brian P. Brown, Ed.D
Assistant Superintendent