As you know, the weather forecast can change drastically overnight, so decisions are always made early in the morning. With such a large geographic area, the conditions at individual school sites may vary, and this is also a consideration.

The decision is made after staff tour the district between 2 and 6 a.m. and report road conditions to the Superintendent. Historically, the official decision is announced between 6:45 and 7 a.m., however, we’ve heard that students, their parents and staff would benefit from earlier notifications, especially those that take school or public transportation. Moving forward, the district will make every effort to make the first announcement between 6 and 6:15 a.m.

Announcements can be found on the district website, Facebook, Twitter, local radio stations, or by School Messenger via email, phone or text.

Schools will remain open, except under extreme circumstances. By doing so, all students have the option to attend. Closures can be a real hardship for many families, therefore it is the district’s priority to take every reasonable step to have schools open and students engaged in learning.

Parents, as always, may choose to keep their child at home if they don’t feel it’s safe to travel to school.

Thank you for your understanding,

Nanaimo Ladysmith Public Schools