Weather Communication Information
Winter weather can be a stressful event for families. We wanted to relay the following information about expectations for winter weather communication and what that looks like for school days for our families.
We thank you for your feedback to improve this process and we hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable winter season.
FID Days
The district has been approved for five Flexible Instructional Days (FID) for the 2023-2024 school year. This means we are able to provide instruction virtually during the event of a full snow day. However, after hearing feedback from our families and throughout the community, we know there is an appreciation for having a “true snow day.” Therefore, on the first full day snow day (where we will not be running a delayed schedule), we will close school and allow our students to have the day off. The remaining 5 snow days will be FID days, if needed.
Emergency Communication
In the summer of 2022, Derry Township School District asked our families to fill out a communication preference survey to further understand how our families would like to be informed of delays or school closures. Based on the results of the survey, the order of communications was updated. The process changes will allow for information to be received faster than previously. You can see the new order of communication listed below:
- Text message to all parent/guardian text-eligible numbers stating there will be a 2-hour delay, early dismissal, or school closure with directions to visit the website for more information.
- Pop up on all district webpages (www.hershey.k12.pa.us) with information about school closure, 2-hour delay or early dismissal.
- Phone call to all parent/guardian phone numbers from Dr. Winslow.
- Email to all parent/guardian email addresses.
- Once our family communication is sent, we will post on official district Facebook(DTSDnews) and Instagram(@dtsd_news).
- Posting on local news stations.
We have created a helpful one-page document that contains the process and 2-hour delay schedule information.
One Page Communication Document
Social media posts will look similar to the graphic below.
Delays and Early Dismissals
During 2-hour delay schedules, buses will arrive exactly 2 hours after their regularly scheduled A.M. pick-up times. Early dismissals are flexible based on weather conditions. If an early dismissal were to be utilized, we would use the communication procedure listed above to detail the time of dismissal and busing information.
Bell schedule for Middle School and High School can be found in the handbooks below:
Updated Contact Information
If your contact information has changed recently, we ask you to please contact your student’s building office to have that information updated. You only need to contact one office if you have students in multiple buildings.