The safety of our students, staff, and community is our number one priority and we understand the impact closures and delays have on families. 

How the District makes the decision:

The safety of our students, staff, and community is our number one priority. I’d like to share how decisions on weather-related closures and delays are made. When considering these decisions, the following occurs: 

• Weather is closely monitored

• All Champlain Valley Superintendents engage in conversation about delays/closures collaborating on weather conditions

• We evaluate the status of our neighboring districts as we share Technical Centers, students and staff with many districts

• We determine if school lunch can be served when considering early dismissal (when lunch is not served, the day cannot be counted as a school day)

• We consult South Burlington road crews to discuss road conditions 

• We consult school transportation and facilities staff to evaluate preparedness internally

• We consult with local superintendents

  • Keeping in mind that many of our teachers live in or send their own kids to schools in neighboring districts, we need to consider staffing levels and child care as these factor into our decisions

  We take concerns seriously. Parents and staff can take the following steps:
  

  • Always make the best decision for student and family safety

    • We will excuse student tardiness

    • Parents always have the right to excuse their children from school for the day

  • Anyone can call the South Burlington Department of Public Works at (802) 658-7961 to report any road condition concerns

  • Please notify Bart Miceli, Director of Maintenance & Facilities (bmiceli@sbschools.net)  to report any school facilities needs that require attention such as ice/snow

  • Please notify Jean-Marie Clark, Operations Director, (jclark@sbschools.net), to report any concerns with transportation

Notifications

• Using our automated emergency notification systems, updates are sent via email, over text and voicemail. 

• Updates are also shared via our website, dedicated SBSD app, Twitter (@sbschoolsVT), Instagram (@southburlingtonschooldistrict) and Facebook

• In some cases, the decision to close can be made the night prior, by 8 p.m. However, if that is not possible, a notification will be sent no later than 6 a.m. in the morning.

Parents and Staff can take the following steps:

• Always make the best decision for student and family safety

  • We will excuse student tardiness

  • Parents always have the right to excuse their children from school for the day

• Contact the South Burlington Department of Public Works at (802) 658-7961 to report any road conditions

Grand Isle County and Georgia

• If we have school, we will send buses out

• If any school choice district or supervisory union closes or delays (on days SBSD does not close or delay), those students are automatically excused for the duration of the delay/closure.   

The South Burlington School District, in coordination with the City of South Burlington, has developed an Emergency Plan.  There is also more information at the District's Safety Page.

As students are participating in school events in the classroom, on the playground and at field trips, photos are commonly taken and used in school newsletters, on the district's social media and often provided to the media. Visit PowerSchool to sign a photo release if you are comfortable with having photos or videos of your student included.

The district utilizes social media to inform the community about district and school events, school closures, upcoming school board meetings and more. These are used only as secondary sources for information as all information can be found on the website or in communications directly from the schools.

Please follow us on :

Instagram (@southburlingtonschooldistrict)

Twitter (X) (@sbschoolsvt)

Facebook (South Burlington School District)

LinkedIn (South Burlington School District)