Emergency School Closings

The Perkiomen Valley School District recognizes that as we work to assure the safety of all of our students and staff, winter weather emergencies caused by snow and ice may cause such disruptions in school operations including school closings, delayed openings and early dismissals. 

Our administration realizes that the decision to open or close schools in bad weather or emergency situations has a big effect on families. While it is always our intent to serve students in school, our top priority is the safety of our students and staff in school and on the way to and from school.

The decision to open or close schools in the Perkiomen Valley School District in bad weather is based on a careful analysis of all relevant information. The Superintendent is responsible for the final decision, but her assessment is based on recommendations from the Director of Operations & Transportation and other information such as: Information on road conditions from operations staff and from local police. We must give careful consideration to the most dangerous roads in the district. The Perkiomen Valley School District encompasses a total of 26 square miles in six different municipalities. The streets in your neighborhood might be cleared of snow and ice, but the roads somewhere else in the district may be quite dangerous.

  • Amount of snow and ice accumulated. 
  • Whether precipitation is continuing. 
  • Building conditions.
  • Parking lot conditions. 
  • Administrators talk to maintenance and custodial staff members who are responsible for clearing and treating school parking lots and sidewalks. Temperature and wind chill. Please remember that some of our students walk to school and many must wait outside for the bus. 
  • Weather predictions. We prefer not making our decision based on weather predictions, which are not always accurate. But sometimes this is unavoidable.
  • Young drivers. We must consider that some high school students drive to school.

The decision must be made by 5:30 a.m. (or earlier if possible) so the district can notify radio and television stations and post the decision on the web site. If a later decision would be made to announce a school closing, some parents will have already left for work, leaving their children unsupervised.

 It is difficult to reverse the decision about opening schools without endangering students, even if weather conditions worsen. Once the decision is made to open the schools, parents rely on it and leave for work. Many students will return to unsupervised bus stops and empty houses if students are sent right back home. An early dismissal could occur if conditions worsen during the school day, but all possible attempts will be made to give adequate notice to parents first.

Although the district staff does our absolute best through this process, no perfect decision exists. If you do not feel as though it is safe for your child to attend school, we advise you to use your best judgment on whether he or she should attend. Also, we also would advise parents to discourage teenagers from driving in bad conditions and offer them alternatives if weather conditions worsen.

Information on school closings, delayed openings, or early dismissals due to inclement weather and other emergencies will be announced via the following sources:

    • We call you: Perkiomen Valley School District utilizes an automated emergency telephone system that allows school district administrators the ability to distribute a message to the homes of all students within a very short time. However, the system is not based in the district and is subject to a variety of limitations that are beyond the control of district personnel. Please be sure to notify your child’s school about changes to your home, cell, and work numbers.
      • What do I do if I’m a parent and I’m not receiving emails or phone calls about closings/delays/early dismissals?  First, contact your child’s school building to speak with a secretary and verify that the information the district has on file for your family is correct. If your contact information is correct, the next step is to contact us at webmaster@pvds.org to determine if there is another issue preventing the delivery of messages.
      • What do I do if I am receiving calls from Perkiomen Valley School District and I don’t have a child in the school district?  Contact us at webmaster@pvds.org for assistance.
    • You call us: Parents may call the district’s main number at (610) 489-8506 and press #2 at the prompt. Any messages about weather-related closures, late openings, or early dismissals will be heard at this number.
    • School district website: In the event of a weather-related problem or other emergency, parents can also check the Perkiomen Valley School District website (www.pvsd.org) for a special message on the home page. If there is a school closure, late opening, or early dismissal, a message will appear at the top of the screen.
    • Email: In addition to a phone call from the Blackboard/Connect 5 telephone system, the Perkiomen Valley School District will also send out an email to all registered email addresses. The email message will provide details about any school closures, late openings, or early dismissals. If you are not sure if we have an email address on file for you, please contact your child’s building for assistance.
    • PV app: Download our free app from the App Store (Apple) or Google Play (Android). Weather notifications will be sent to all who install the app on their mobile device. 
    • PV Social Media accounts:
    • Television/Radio Stations:

Children who normally ride the bus will take the bus home on early dismissal days. In general, you can expect your child’s bus to arrive home by estimating the amount of time it usually takes for the bus to arrive home after dismissal, and applying it to the new dismissal time. For example, if your elementary school child typically arrives at his bus stop at 3:45 p.m. on a regular school day, that is one half-hour past dismissal time. If elementary schools dismiss at 12:15 p.m., your child would arrive home at 12:45 p.m. Please keep in mind that this would be an estimate – road conditions and other issues may delay buses. Parents should be prepared with a back-up child care plan (if appropriate) that can be put in place in the event of an early dismissal.

Community Education Classes are cancelled when there is an early dismissal or if our schools are closed due to inclement weather.

Flexible Instructional Days (FID)

 Traditional or Virtual “Snow” Day?

The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) approved the use of Flexible Instructional Days (FID) as an alternate form of instruction in response to inclement weather or other emergencies. On a FID day, instruction will be virtual. FID assist schools in meeting the required 180 student days. PA Schools may use up to five (5) FID per school year.

After utilizing all three (3) built-in inclement weather days, the District may implement Flexible Instructional Days (FID) to provide meaningful instruction to students.

Learn more about FID here and in the FAQs below:

Attendance – the action or state of being present at a place or event

  • Elementary – Teachers will take daily attendance during morning synchronous time
  • Secondary – Teachers will take attendance during each class throughout the synchronous portion of the day
  • Students must have their camera turned on to receive credit for attendance in classes, unless there are extenuating circumstances communicated to the teacher.

Participation – the action of taking part in something

  • Students will participate in learning by completing and submitting activities provided by teachers
  • Participation may impact grades
  • Teachers are expected to consider any extenuating circumstances for individual students that may impact completion of assignments and extend deadlines for activities as appropriate

Students must have their camera turned on to receive credit for attendance in classes

  • Take district Chromebook home when inclement weather is predicted
  • Check email / Google Classroom for updates or class information
  • Join and attend all classes via Zoom
    • Cameras are expected to be ON during synchronous learning to receive credit for daily attendance
  • Complete and submit assigned activities
  • Email teachers with questions or concerns
  • If internet connectivity is not available, communicate with teachers as available
  • Be aware of the district’s Inclement Weather Plan
  • Listen for announcements regarding the use of inclement weather days
  • In the event the district utilizes a FID, ensure your child(ren) have an appropriate learning space to utilize for school activities and their district provided chromebook
  • Ensure child(ren) join and attend classes via Zoom with their cameras on
  • Encourage child(ren) to complete assigned activities during asynchronous times

Elementary Student Schedule

Synchronous Portion: 8:40 – 12:15 pm

Lunch Break: 12:15 – 1:00 pm

Asynchronous Portion: 1:00 – 3:15 pm

Kindergarten Student Schedule

AM K Synchronous Portion: 8:40 – 10:20 am

AM K Asynchronous Portion: 10:35 – 12:15 pm

PM K Synchronous Portion: 10:35 – 12:15 pm

PM K Asynchronous Portion: 8:40 – 10:20 am

*NO K+ Programming on FIDs

Secondary Student Schedule

Synchronous Portion:

Period 1: 7:50 – 8:18 am

Period 2: 8:22– 8:50 am

Period 3: 8:54 – 9:25 am

Period 4/5/6: 9:29 – 9:56 am

Period 6/7/8: 10:00 – 10:27 am

Period 9: 10:31 – 10:58 am

Period 10: 11:02 – 11:30 am

Lunch Break: 11:30 – 12:15 pm

Asynchronous Portion:

12:15 – 2:30 pm

Transportation to Non-Public Schools

Provided below are some FAQs and their answers to help you understand how we work with our bus contractor, STA, to get students home or to school safely on inclement weather days.

When the Perkiomen Valley School District (PVSD) is closed due to inclement weather, no transportation will be provided to any public, non-public, special education or other non-PVSD school students in or out of the district.

If the Perkiomen Valley School District has a delayed opening or early dismissal due to bad road conditions and/or inclement weather within the district, transportation to any public, non-public or special education school, both in or out of this district, will be adjusted by the same amount of time.

Transportation for students attending non-PVSD schools shall be coordinated with the early dismissal times of the school district in which the non-PVSD school is located.

No transportation will be provided to any public, non-public or special education school where the local public school district is closed due to bad road conditions and/or inclement weather in the district, even though PVSD may be open.

PVSD will not transport students to any non-PVSD school until it has confirmation that the school is open and prepared to receive students.

PVSD transportation will follow their regular schedule and transport your child to his/her non-PVSD school.

The district does not provide transportation for students to non-PVSD schools when the district is closed due to poor road conditions or inclement weather.

FYI: The Board authorizes the use of video and audio recording on school buses and school vehicles in accordance with Perkiomen Valley School District Policy 810.2.