Inclement Weather Procedures at BHS
To minimize disruption to the educational process, the goal is always to keep school in session unless there is an emergency (power outage, flooding, gas leak, etc.) or road conditions, severe cold or other weather conditions pose a significant risk to student safety.
There is no defined depth of snow accumulation that indicates closure (because of the overall effect of wind, ice, temperature, humidity and other factors). Likewise, there is no exact temperature that indicates closure. Typically, when wind chills head into the -22 and below range, we consider school cancellation because frostbite can set in within approximately 30 minutes. If the road conditions are not favorable, bus delays may push bus stop wait times into the 30 minute range, posing a risk to our students.
In these types of weather-related school closure situations, a designated member of the administration and our public safety partners will often drive district roads between 3 and 4:30 a.m. and report findings and recommendations that help inform our decision. We also consult with weather authorities and other area superintendents, but ultimately we have to make a decision based on what we feel is in the best interest of Bloomfield Hills students.
Whenever possible, we try to provide advance notice of school closures so that families can make alternate plans. Yet, this has to be balanced with waiting as long as possible to make sure the weather stays true to the forecast. No forecast is perfect and sometimes the temperatures and snowfall amounts vary, which supports waiting until the early morning to make the decision (despite the difficulty we know this poses to families who have less time to make alternate arrangements). There is no way to be perfect with this, but we are committed to making the best possible decision in real time with the available information.
Thank you for your patience and understanding. Michigan winters are never predictable or easy to navigate, but we will do our very best to keep both learning and safety as our top priorities.