The Monticello Central School District (MCSD) is aware that the Catskills are subject to sometimes-brutal winter weather, which can cause a number of hazards that can impact the safety of our students and staff.
MCSD is also keenly aware that disruption to students’ schedules can have repercussions to academic performance. We are also sensitive to the realities that many of our families face in terms of work schedules, childcare, transportation challenges and more.
Although our district’s goal is to have school in session on all days that it is scheduled to be in session, there are instances when district leaders must make difficult decisions regarding whether to close or delay school. Read more about how we make these decisions.
District Communications for Delays and Closures
The fastest way to receive information on delays and closures is to sign up to receive district notifications from ParentSquare. This option is only available for families with students attending MCSD. For more information about creating an account, or managing your alerts, please visit our ParentSquare webpage.
The District also sends information to our media partners for release: Thunder 102, WDNH – Sunny 105, WJFF (90.5), WSUL (98.3), WVOS (95.9), WNBC (Channel 4), and TWCN (Cable 6).
Delays and Closures
The District will utilize one and two-hour delays as necessary.
On one hour delays, students should arrive at school or at their transportation stops one hour later than usual.
On two-hour delays, students should arrive at school or at their transportation stops two hours later than usual.
The initial decision to close or delay school will be made no later than 5:45 a.m. and will be announced on all communications channels.
If there is a delay and persistent inclement weather warrants a school closure, that decision will be announced by 7:45 a.m. on all communications channels.
Early Drop-Off students and delays
When school is delayed, the start time of the early drop-off program will also be delayed by the same amount of time. Parents of students enrolled in the early drop-off program may drop off their children at 7:30 a.m. during one hour delays and 8:30 a.m. during two hour delays.
Early Dismissal Times*
When school is dismissed early, all after-school activities are cancelled.
Monticello High School/Robert J. Kaiser Middle School: 11:15 a.m.
Kenneth L. Rutherford Elementary School: 12:32 p.m.
George L. Cooke Elementary School/Emma C. Chase Elementary School: 12:58 p.m.
*These times are subject to change as conditions warrant.
To ensure the safety of students, walkers will wait in the gym until all buses have left, at which time they will be dismissed. If you are picking your child up at dismissal time, you must park your car in the parking lot in such a way that the buses can swing through the lot and park in front of the school. Please do not enter the bus loading area or pass any parked bus. Please refrain from bringing pets on school grounds. Again, this is for the safety of all children.
Instructional Time and State Aid
In order to receive the full amount of state aid that a district is entitled to, it must provide 180 instructional days (including up to four superintendent conference days) AND must also provide 990 instructional hours for students in grades 7-12 and 900 instructional hours for students in grades K-6, across the entire school year. Delayed openings, early dismissals/half-day schedules, and school closures all impact these tallies.
Districts that fall below the 180 days and 990/900 instructional hours threshold are penalized with a reduction in state aid. Recess, lunch and time in between classes do not count towards instructional hours.
For example:
In the past, if there was a three-hour delay on Dec. 1, 2 and 3, NYSED would count all three of those days towards the 180 minimum.
Now, if there is a three-hour delay on Dec. 1, 2 and 3, NYSED would still count all three of those days towards the 180 minimum, but the district would only receive credit for the actual amount of hours of instructional time towards the 900/990 minimum.
However, NYSED does waive the hours requirement on days where there are up to two-hour delays. In other words, one and two-hour delays count as full instructional days, with the maximum number of instructional hours accounted for, despite those delays.
Student and Staff Safety Trumps All
The District serves a diverse population scattered across an enormous geographical area that includes urban and rural neighborhoods, high elevations, flood plains, winding country roads and curbed sidewalks.
We have working parents, stay-at-home parents, families living in isolation, families living in densely populated housing developments, families who have access to all-terrain-vehicles, families who do not own a vehicle and everything in between. In every situation, the district’s first and foremost priority is the safety of its most vulnerable population.
After an ice storm, families living on winding roads at high elevation may be our most vulnerable population, even if the roads seem clear to a resident who lives off of a main road ten miles away. Two days later, when the wind chill hits record lows, our families who walk to school may be our most vulnerable population. On yet another day, when there is heavy precipitation in the early morning hours that is scheduled to end by 8 a.m., our transportation team, who must be in our bus garage hours before the buses leave, may be our most vulnerable population.
There are an infinite amount of factors and scenarios that lead to the decision to close or delay school, but the MCSD will always act in the best interest of our most vulnerable population.
A guide to weather-related closings
For information about how wind chill and temperature impacts the District’s decision to close or delay, click here.