Valley Mills Independent School District officials take into consideration several factors before a decision is made to delay school, dismiss school early, or cancel school during periods of inclement weather.  These primary factors include:

•  The health, safety and welfare of students;

•  The safe transportation of students from home to school and back; and

•  The disruption caused when school starts late, dismisses early or is cancelled.

How Decisions Are Made

The following steps are taken when inclement weather occurs during the overnight/early morning hours and threatens the start of school:

1. The Transportation Service will determine the driving conditions of roadways within the District.

2. The information will be share with the Superintendent of Schools, who in turn, confers with law enforcement officials, local meteorologists and officials with neighboring school districts.

3. The Superintendent of Schools will then make a decision as early as possible of the day in question whether or not to delay or cancel school.  When conditions warrant, the decision to delay or cancel school will be made the evening before the next school day.  Please note, announcements will not be made when schools maintain their regularly scheduled hours.

4. If students are already present in school and weather conditions worsen during the day, a decision for early release will be considered.

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Parent Communication

When a decision is made to delay school, dismiss school early or cancel school, the Superintendent will first notify parents using the District wide parent notification system.  Parents will receive a combination of automated phone messages, emails and/or text messages depending on the circumstances.  Parent or guardian contact information provided at the time a new student is enrolled—or when a parent or guardian updates his/her contact information —will automatically be used for notifications through the District wide notification system.  

The automated phone message, email and text message notification system is just one method Valley Mills ISD uses to inform parents about changes to the instructional day caused by inclement weather.  Parents are advised to also check the Valley Mills ISD website for detailed information.

Information about school delays, early dismissal or school closures will also be communicated through the following media, including but not limited to:  

•  Valley Mills ISD Facebook page:   https://www.facebook.com/VMISD?ref=br_tf
•  Valley Mills ISD Twitter:  https://twitter.com/VMHighSchool 
•  Waco television stations:  KWTX, KCN, KXXV
•  Radio Stations:  Waco – FM 100; KNCT 91.3 FM

Impact on School Closures, Delays, or Schedule Changes

When a decision is made to dismiss school early, transportation services and after school activities may be impacted, including the ACE Program . Parents may opt to pick up their child from school as conditions warrant.

When a decision is made to cancel classes, students should not report to school.  All previously-scheduled school day events, activities, field trips, etc. will be cancelled accordingly.   

Athletics and other district-sponsored events scheduled after school hours may or may not be impacted by the cancellation of school.  Parents are urged to confirm events in question with the respective coaches and sponsors for official information and details.  Information will also be posted directly on the websites of those respective programs.

As students prepare to return for the next regularly-scheduled instructional day, parents are encouraged to visit the District’s website  for possible changes related to class/bell schedules and other campus-specific announcements.

As a reminder, when classes are cancelled, students are expected to make up the day (also known as a ‘Bad Weather Make-Up Day’) and attend school in accordance with the current VMISD School Calendar.