D70 Protocols and Handbook
District Protocols
- School Closing Information
- Two-Hour Late Start Information
- Guidelines for Parent-Teacher Communications
- Parent-Student Handbook
- Publicity of Students in News Media, Internet, Social Media
- School Calendar Creation
School Closing Information
How is an eLearning day determined?
Parents and students should believe that school will be held in person unless otherwise notified. Should parents or students be notified of a weather-related closure, the superintendent will either announce a Snow Day (to be made up at the end of the school year) or that classes will be held remotely with synchronous and asynchronous instruction in an eLearning day.
Information on eLearning days can be found on the website under the Teaching, Learning & Assessments Department.
While it is always a goal to have students in school, when safety is an issue, there is no compromise in placing children at risk. With that in mind, when there is a forecast of inclement weather, television and radio stations, as well as reports from the National Weather Service and Weather Channel, are monitored.
When heavy snow or extremely cold temperatures are predicted, superintendents in neighboring school districts begin planning in the early morning hours of, and sometimes even the night before, a storm. Communication is maintained with District 70's bus company representatives and the district's maintenance/snow removal crews as well.
Extreme Cold Warning
An extreme cold warning is typically issued when the wind chill will be -30 degrees Fahrenheit or colder OR the actual air temperature is -15°F. An extreme cold warning indicates that life-threatening conditions and a safety risk exist. Measures should be taken to safeguard life and property immediately.
- All classes will likely be canceled. District 70 may offer remote learning or a Snow Day.
- If schools are closed, extracurricular activities and before- and after-school care will be suspended.
- All notification systems will be leveraged to communicate school cancellations to families. You will receive a phone call, an email, and a text message
- Avoid going outside.
Cold Weather Advisory
A cold weather advisory is typically issued when the wind chill is -20 degrees Fahrenheit or colder OR the actual air temperature is -5 to -14°F. The weather during a cold weather advisory is not life-threatening but presents conditions that may result in inconveniences or pose a moderate risk to safety.
- Schools will likely be open; however, all outside activities may be suspended, including recess and outdoor physical education.
- Extracurricular activities may be suspended if conditions persist. Updates will be posted on school websites, and parents will receive an email if after-school activities are canceled.
- All field trips may be canceled.
- Be aware of the cold temperature and act accordingly.
The National Weather Service (NWS) is the meteorological source District 70 uses to determine and declare an extreme cold warning or cold weather advisory.
When Will I Know?
A decision will be communicated by 6:00 a.m. the day of inclement weather, by either declaring a Snow Day or an eLearning day. We often wait until the morning to make the final decision because Chicagoland weather can change quickly.
If school is held that day, no communication will be sent out, and classes will be held as usual.
Please understand that there are many factors that go into making the final decision because D70 understands that canceling school may be inconvenient for students and parents, as well as teachers and staff.
The decision involves:
- Building conditions: Do the buildings have heat, light, and power?
- Site conditions: Are the parking lots plowed? Can buses get in and turn around? Can parents drop off students? Are the school exit doors free of snow?
- Bus operations: Can the bus drivers get to the bus company? Do the buses start? Do the drivers feel comfortable driving?
- Road conditions: Are the roads continually plowed, and is traffic moving?
- Air temperature: How cold is it? What is the wind chill? Can children safely walk to school or wait outside for a bus?
If the answer is yes to these questions, most likely the decision will be to keep schools open.
We recognize that everyone looks at weather-related closures through their own personal lens, and there may be times when the D70 Community may not agree with District 70's decision. Please know that any decision we make will be made with the safety of the children as our top priority. Schools will be open, and student attendance is expected.
When schools are closed, please note:
- All District 70 school facilities or an individual facility may be closed as necessary.
- All before- and after-school activities and field trips will be canceled unless specifically announced by the school principal.
- All student events will be canceled unless specifically announced by the school principal.
- Athletic events and practices will be canceled unless specifically announced by the school principal.
- Champions Child Care programs at the elementary schools will be canceled.
Generally, a decision needs to be made by 6 a.m. or sooner to try to catch anyone before they leave for school and/or work. Closure decisions will only be made the night before if conditions are known for certain and warrant closure. Parents should establish contingency plans for possible closures throughout the school year, regardless of the season.
When a decision is made to close schools, D70 families will be informed in several ways:
1) An announcement is made on the D70 website -d70schools.org- and all the school websites.
2) The message is pushed out through automatic phone calls and text messages from the superintendent through the D70 notification system to phone numbers D70 families provide during registration. Please make sure your contact information is current every winter.
3) The message is delivered through D70 email to family email addresses provided during registration. Please make sure your contact information is current every winter.
**To update your emergency contacts, please contact our Student Enrollment Specialist, Dina Lepczynski, at registration@d70schools.org or by calling 847-362-9695 ex: 7116.
4) The announcement is posted to Facebook @LibertyvilleD70 and Instagram @libertyville_d70.
5) All school names are broadcast as closed on WGN-AM (720), WBBM-AM (780), CBS-TV, NBC-TV, ABC-TV, WGN-TV, and FOX-TV.
7) All school names are listed on the Emergency Closing Center at www.emergencyclosing.com.
There is no set amount of snow or a set temperature during severe weather that automatically triggers schools to close; all factors depend upon circumstances and the ability to get children and staff to and from school safely. Safety is, and always will be, the major concern.
Two-Hour Late Start Information
In inclement weather, District 70 can enact a Late Start Protocol on days when hazardous snow conditions or cold weather alerts are expected to improve later in the morning.
The goal of this protocol is straightforward: to provide additional time for roads to be cleared or for the temperature to warm, and for staff and students to arrive safely. Staff arrive 30 minutes or earlier before the new start times.
Late Start Times
When a two-hour Late Start Protocol is enacted:
- Little Sprouts
- The AM session will be canceled. PM will follow the usual schedule.
- Adler Park, Butterfield, Copeland Manor, and Rockland Schools
- Classes start at 10:15 a.m. Drop-off is from 9:45 to 10:05 (two hours later than usual)
- Your principal will share a new daily schedule.
- Highland Middle School
- Classes start at 10:50 a.m. Drop-off is from 10:20 to 10:50 a.m. (two hours later than usual)
- Your principal will share a new schedule of classroom periods.
What This Means for You
- Bus Schedules: Bus routes will operate two hours later than their normal morning times when the Late Start Protocol is used.
- District 70-sponsored before-school clubs and activities will be canceled.
- Dismissal Times: At this time, dismissal times will remain the same unless we communicate otherwise, even for Early Release.
- Champions before-school sessions will be canceled.
- Communication: If a Late Start is called, you will be notified through our usual channels (automated calls/emails/texts and website/social media). We will clearly label the announcement as “Late Start – 2-Hour Delay,” to distinguish it from a full closure.
We are implementing this protocol to provide ourselves with an additional flexible option on days when a full closure may not be necessary, but early morning travel is unsafe. Thank you for your flexibility on challenging weather days.
Guidelines for Parent-Teacher Communications
We value the strong home-school partnership that has helped distinguished District 70 with its strong educational foundation. With high-quality instruction in the classroom, our partnership stands as one of the most significant factors in a child's education. We want to ensure that we have an open and highly collaborative relationship with all our families and that our communication is strong. In addition, we want to address any concerns you may have over the course of the year in a positive, constructive, and reasoned manner.
Parents have three ways to communicate with teachers: e-mail, telephone, and face-to-face meetings. Each of these methods can serve a useful purpose as follows:
- Emails permit teachers to respond to questions that are simple and straight forward. They are efficient to transmit information. Emails are usually replied to within 24 hours. Email, though, has its limitations is not a productive method to problem-solve with parents and leaves room for misunderstanding. Moreover, it is devoid of any affective tone to reflect the true feelings of a person. With this context in mind, teachers will welcome the opportunity to share information or give a short response. If a conversation requires more extensive interaction a request may be made for a telephone conversation or a face-to-face meeting.
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If your message is urgent (ie: change in pickup) call the school's office.
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Telephone or Face-to-Face Meetings
These two methods permit the teacher to more effectively problem-solve a concern with parents. While either of these two methods is appropriate, face-to-face meetings are useful if more than one person may need to be involved in the conversation. We encourage our staff to use these two methods to problem-solve concerns and topics with parents.
Please know our teachers want to connect with you to understand and resolve your concerns.
If you and a teacher cannot resolve the concern, please ask that the principal participate in the problem-solving process. The principal will be the final arbiter on all matters relating student concerns. In a rare case, the matter may be referred to the Superintendent or a central office administrator.
Parent-Student Handbook
Publicity of Students in News Media, Internet, Social Media
District 70 maintains an open relationship with the area news media and welcomes coverage of student events and achievements. Examples include school assemblies, concerts, plays, and special class projects. Recognized news media, including print newspapers and online affiliates, television and radio stations, may be invited by D70 to report on and take photos, videos, and audio at various student events. At all such events, children dealing with the media are closely monitored and protected by school staff.
District 70 also works to communicate student events and achievements through the communitywide newsletter, District 70 Views, along with the D70 website (d70schools.org), individual D70 school websites, as well as D70-based, D70-sanctioned, or educationally-based teacher websites. Student projects, as well as student images, may be used on these sites. Students appearing on D70 websites are identified only by their first names and the initials of their last names.
As technology advances and new tools to communicate are introduced, D70 will select appropriate tools to enhance communication between D70, parents, and the community. District 70 uses social network sites in its dedication to transparency, including Facebook (Libertyville D70), Instagram (Libertyville D70), and teacher or school YouTube accounts that are protected by being unlisted, and on occasion will post student names (first name, last initial), images, or work.
Information that D70 releases is not sold or given to commercial or non-profit groups.
Any parent/guardian can withhold their consent for release by sending a signed letter withholding consent for the news media, along with the D70 website and D70 school websites, in the current school year within the first thirty (30) days of school to Libertyville Elementary District 70, Attn: Robin Smith Kollman, Director of Communications, 1381 W. Lake St., Libertyville, IL 60048. Parents/guardians should understand that if they withhold consent, none of the student’s information will be released. This includes examples such as information/photographs for the school yearbook or memory book, award listings such as the honor roll in the newspaper, and classroom projects on D70-based teacher websites or links.
School Calendar Creation
How is the School Calendar Created?
Annual school calendar creation is generally a multi-step process. It begins with a countywide calendar committee meeting each year, where representatives from every Lake County school district assemble to create a three-year calendar. From this group comes a recommended Lake County calendar that is sent to all Lake County school districts. Using this calendar as a guideline, District 70 works to establish consistent vacation and holiday dates. Although Libertyville High School District 128 follows its own process to create a one-year or two-year calendar, an attempt is made to keep the District 70 and District 128 calendars aligned, if possible. As such, the District 70 calendar allows for its own beginning/ending of school dates as well as conference and teacher workshop days. The District 70 Board of Education and the Regional Office of Education in Lake County then approve the District 70 calendar. State of Illinois guidelines require that the calendar include 185 school days, with five emergency/snow days being deducted at the end of the year if not used. This entire process takes several months from beginning to end.