We got a huge dump of snow the past couple of days. In Metro Vancouver, that means school closures. Or does it?
Usually the private schools are the first the shut at the slightest sneeze of snow. It’s an easy one to understand, they draw pupils from across the city, and with varying degrees of danger on the roads, it’s an easy call to close them. For example, when I was in high school at St Pat’s, I lived in Richmond. The school is at Main and Broadway. There were students bussing in from all over East Van, Richmond, Ladner, Kitsilano etc.
However public schools are a local service. Yes, parents insist on driving their children to school in fear they’ll get snatched if they walk, but most public schools are within a few blocks of the people who attend them.
So, it’s a tougher call to close a school that you could walk to, as opposed to one that relies on driving and transit to transport it’s students.
This week’s snowfall was no different. 27cm in Lynn Valley caused all North Van schools to close, while 6cm at the airport caused little effect to the Vancouver school district.
Our newsroom, (which is one person - we’re a top 40 music station, come on!) did the best to keep track of which schools were closed where. When info was received we briefly mentioned it on air, but put details on our website.
To be honest, we got some information wrong.
It changed on a minute to minute basis and some people thought their district was closed, when it was in fact open. One teacher was scolded for not showing up to her class after she’d heard her district was closed on the radio. (I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t take a dj’s word that I shouldnt show up for work, I’d double check with colleagues and supervisors.) Regardless, it’s a shame, we’ve apologized as much as we can.
I’m hearing from our newsroom that some districts are struggling with how to handle the situation in the future. Really? The method of sharing school closures is not complicated there is a simple and obvious solution.
OPEN LETTER TO ALL SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN CANADA
From time to time, when there are exceptional circumstances, it may be necessary to close the school. Getting this information spread via radio is aniquated and inconsistent.
Not everyone listens to the same radio station, not every station is fully staffed to verify news information from multiple sources.
Here’s a simple layout to share the relevant information to the relevant recipients.
1. USE YOUR DISTRICT’S WEBSITE
Each district has a website, each school has a website. Many of these sites say “listen to xx radio station for school closure information.” Just as it was easy for you to put that information online, it is easy for you to post your individual closure information online. Instead of giving students multiple sources, you keep it to one - your website.
Principals wake up at 530a, 6a, 630a, determine the necessary policy and have it posted immediately. As parents and students wake up, they are given one reliable destination for information.
Having information collected for each school, on their respective district’s website also provides a solitary and reliable source for radio. Instead of having a newsroom field calls from schools all morning stating the closures (some of which could be student hoaxes) there would be a simple list of websites to check for accurate information. It could also be subscribed to via RSS feed should any changes be made that the newsrooms should be aware of.
2. USE YOUR AUTOMATED PHONE MESSAGES
The school has an answering machine for off duty hours. Update the message and give that number for parents to call. Yes, it can be busy, but it is also a reliable source of information for those without internet.
3. USE YOUR AUTOMATED DIALER
Many schools use an automated dialing service to call parents when students are late or absent. This is done in case something untoward has happened to the student in transit to school. Parents can also better keep track on the behaviour and attendance of their children. Use this dialer to send an automated message to each parent’s contact number that the school is clsed for the day.
4. USE EMAIL NEWSLETTERS
Just as you have contact numbers for parents, you have contact email addresses. Just as notices are now bulk emailed to parents instead of pinned to a child’s coat, you can bulk email the information to all the parents when it’s necessary for a closure.
5. DON’T CLOSE THE SCHOOL AT ALL
It’s been near -50 across the prairies all week. The schools have remained open. Why do we feel the need to close them at the slightest sneeze?
It’s all a matter of changing behaviour. It’s 2008, and while radio is a great way to spread information to a large number of people in a timely manner, when that information is niche and personalized, like a single school closure, radio becomes an ancient and cluttered method of sharing the information.
Schools have trained and told parents to “listen to xx radio station” for information, they could just as easily say “check your email in the morning,” or “check the website in the morning.”
Provided administration gets up early enough and makes the call on a closure with enough lead time, there should be no further mixups.
The Blog According to Buzz. Spread the word, ya heard?
