When school is cancelled due to snow or ice in Ferndale School District, students and some staff get to stay home. Meanwhile, many other staff members continue working behind-the-scenes clearing sidewalks and parking lots, communicating with families, and ensuring school district operations stay on track.

Before any school closure or delay is announced, there’s a team, including Superintendent Dr. Kristi Dominguez, who determines whether local roads are safe enough to drive on. A group of Ferndale transportation and maintenance staff members drive on the streets throughout Ferndale School District – from major Ferndale roads like Vista Drive and Thornton Street, to areas outside of the city but still in our district such as Lummi Nation, Custer, and North Bellingham. They typically test the roads in the evening before, and then again around 4 a.m. that next morning.

“My team and I remain in continuous communication into the early evening,” said Dr. Dominguez. “It’s a concerted effort to keep the business of the district moving forward, no matter the weather. I have such a great appreciation for all involved.”

If there is a closure or delay, Ferndale’s communications team springs into action to let the community know. For local media – a crucial partner in spreading the word on school closures and delays – they use a program called FlashAlert. This instantly notifies news agencies from KAFE to Cascadia Daily News to even The Seattle Times about our plans, so they can quickly share that information.

The communications team alerts Ferndale families and community members about school closures in a few different ways. They post notices to ParentSquare, the district’s mass communication platform, and social media. A pop-up message is also added to the Ferndale School District website (which you likely saw upon opening this article).

But the work doesn’t stop there for Ferndale school staff. Even when our schools are closed, our maintenance, custodial, and groundskeeping crews are hard at work preparing campuses for the day when students return. They shovel sidewalks and parking lots around our buildings, including the playgrounds and outdoor commons areas at some of our schools. It can feel like an uphill battle at times, but this hardworking team is dedicated to ensuring staff and students feel as safe as possible once they step foot on campus again.

“I’m proud to make sure that the kids are safe and that there’s no accidents when they come back,” said Barb Lively, custodian at Cascadia Elementary School.

Life goes on inside Ferndale’s central administrative building during snow days. Staff in payroll, human resources, student services, and teaching & learning are busy doing the behind-the-scenes work that keeps Ferndale schools running smoothly.

School principals are also at their buildings, using the slower day to tackle some big-picture projects like improving attendance and analyzing student academic growth.

“Snow days aren’t ideal, but I really am using the day to take advantage to catch up on some pretty major school initiatives,” said Vista Middle School Principal J.J. Jensen. “Everything that I’m doing right now, I’d typically have to do between the hours of 5 to 7 a.m., or 5 to 7 p.m.”

School custodians are able to use the mostly-empty buildings to tackle some deep-cleaning projects. At Horizon Middle School, custodian Jan Martin repaired a patch of carpet and polished the cafeteria floor with a smile while ‘70s soft rock blasted out of her speaker.

If you have any questions about school cancellations or delays due to inclement weather, or how decisions are made about snow days, you can learn more information at https://bit.ly/FSDSnowDay. Our central office phone line is also open, so you can give us a call at (360)383-9200.

“We miss you, and hope the snow thaws soon,” said Jensen. “We’ll see you before you know it!”