• Collecting information - To help make the best possible decision, the district gathers a lot of information first. A meteorologist is on contract to provide pinpoint predictions for the specific microclimates around our area. He helps the district understand which areas may be affected by upcoming weather and which may not.
• Examining conditions - Predictions are one thing. Actual conditions are another. That’s why the transportation department staff is on the roads around the district at 3 a.m. if it looks like a school closure might be in order. They report real road conditions. Custodians may be asked to report to work early at schools so they can report on conditions at the schools themselves.
• Analyzing the data - Once all the information is collected, the support services staff forwards it to the district’s administration, based on their best analysis of the situation. There are three options available:
• Leave schools open/follow normal schedule
• Start late
• Close schools
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• Determining what's best for the whole district - For communication and administrative reasons, it is not possible to close just some schools in the district while leaving other schools open for districtwide weather events. So the decision has to be the best one for the safety of students in all areas of the district while at the same time avoiding unnecessary disruption.
• Superintendent makes final decision - Once the administrative staff gets the information from support services, they make a recommendation to the superintendent, who makes the final decision. If there is a closure or a late start, the staff begins the communication system to get the word out to parents, students and teachers.
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• The SchoolMessenger® System notifies all staff and parents within 30 minutes by phone, text, and/or email.
• Emergency weather procedures can be found on the Lake Washington School District website at www.lwsd.org. If there is a closure/delay, there will be a pop-up notice on this website.
• Lake Washington School District's main information line can be reached at 425-936-1200.
• Sign-up for FlashAlert notifications – http://flashalert.net – this is the service that LWSD uses to alert media of changes to schedules. You can sign up to receive email or text alerts directly from this service as well.
• Local TV and radio stations will provide timely updates.
• Bad Weather Bus Routes (Snow Routes) Postcards were mailed to all households that qualify for services in November. For questions regarding your child’s inclement weather bus route visit: https://www.lwsd.org/programs-and-services/transportation and click on the red “2019-20 Snow Routes” link. Please note: Not all routes change in inclement weather. It is possible that your snow route bus stop is the same as your regular bus stop.
• Download the Versatrans My Stop App to view estimated arrival times for buses during winter weather events. The My Stop app that allows you to view the estimated time of arrival for your student’s bus can now be used to monitor changes to arrival times during winter weather events. GPS technology allows families to view estimated times of arrival for buses at bus stops. (Data on the app is updated every 5 minutes.) Visit the My Stop App page for information on how to download and use the app.