Snow Day!

Everyone loves a snow day!  At least it is my hope that you enjoyed the day doing something you like while Belmond-Klemme took a day of unplanned vacation due to winter weather.  Although it took some time to get here, North Iowa felt the snowy effect with a decisive Friday morning of the white stuff.  This time it looks like it will stay for a while, which means that roadways and travel become more unpredictable.  Keep your vehicle prepared and be wary of the wind, which can cause whiteouts and drifting even with no snow in the forecast.  This being the first day that BK has cancelled, we are on the third planned make-up day of the year.  February 20 will be used in order to keep the annual days of learning at 180.  This is Presidents' Day as well, and if needed (but we hope not) there are two other days during the school year that could be used as well - March 26th and April 9.  If we don't lose any more days, those will be days of vacation.

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Return of the Snow

Yes, it is December in Iowa.  We have received a small amount of snow in Belmond, but it is that heavy, sticky, road icing stuff that makes three inches of the white stuff seem like a foot.  In my second year as a superintendent, I simply hope to get as lucky as I did last year.  There is no "victory" in making snow calls.  Each one is inevitibly "wrong" as this is clearly a place where safety and education are at odds.  In order to enhance education, I try my best to preserve as much time in a school day as possible.  On the other hand, I'm not even able to consider how I would feel if there was a loss of life on a snowy road.  In any of these circumstances, it is easy to see how every call is a "loss" in advance.  It is only after the fact that any call can be considered a positive outcome.  When the best of all things come together, we have a full day of school filled with learning, and each of our students returns to their home safely.

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Winter in Iowa

As the warm summer days have turned cooler, it is with dread that I anticipate the snow and cold that typifies an Iowa Winter.  This is never my favorite time of year.  The motorcycle essentially stays in the garage (I try to brave the cold/snow/ice one day a month for some inexplicable reason), the driveway will be in need of clearing as will the walkways, the yard becomes unusable, and I simply don't like being cold.  Some people love it and always will.  This is not my category. 
This year, however, I am able to add yet another piece to the "anti-winter" stance that I maintain.  As Superintendent of Schools, it is my responsibility to determine whether the roads and weather are in such condition that delaying or cancelling school is necessary.  Typically I like to have the responsibility placed on me and accept the blame when it goes wrong.  However, I'm not really a weather-watching guy on my own, and this whole prospect is a little unnerving.  This may be the one factor I now dislike the most about winter. 
There is good news in two parts.  One, it is no longer the "Lone Ranger" approach of driving a few back roads (hopefully with success) to determine passability.  Access to information abounds, and most superintendents across the state communicate with others in the area to discuss pros and cons of such actions.  The second piece is that it isn't really something new to me.  I have made the call several times in the past when our Superintendent was not available, so there is some comfort in having that experience (a bonus is that each decision was essentially good or at least I'd make the same call again in hindsight-that won't always be the case). 
Now that it is my responsibility, however, I find that my nights are a little less restful when the wind blows or the report indicates ice is on the way.  The irony is that there isn't even any snow on the ground right now, but I worry about what I may have missed.  I'm an early riser most of the time, but I'm sure that one time that I sleep in to 6 AM or something will turn out to be the morning that we get 8 inches of snow and high winds with a temperature of about 28.  Those are the days that really require some conscious thought and communication, and I hope that there are enough safeguards in place that will alert me to that situation so I don't sleep through the opportunity.

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