Washington County Public Schools

We are excited to announce that after several weather-related closures coming out of Christmas break, the second semester is officially underway in Washington County Public Schools! It’s great seeing all our students and staff back in their classrooms. We want to give a huge shoutout and big THANK YOU to Mr. Andrew Hockett (Operational Supervisor of Transportation), Ms. Dawn Crosswhite (Transportation Secretary), Ms. Peggy Hughes (Transportation Dispatcher), our bus drivers, mechanics, and entire transportation department, for ensuring that all students were delivered safely to school this morning. We are so grateful for such a hardworking and awesome team! While we did have one bus get stuck this morning, the issue was quickly resolved thanks to this crew. We also want to thank our families for their continued patience as we navigated these weather challenges. We know that schedule changes can be inconvenient – but appreciate your understanding when it comes to making safety a top priority. We can’t wait to see what our students accomplish this semester, and we are also happy to report that attendance for today is better than expected. Thank you again to everyone for helping ensure we started this semester off strong.

WCPS Alumni Spotlight: Are you a graduate of Washington County Public Schools? If so, we'd love to hear from you! We're excited to learn about your accomplishments and share your story and advice with our current students, families, and community. Please click here, to fill out a submission form: https://forms.gle/7qzqxJCpCjryVsfW8 OR Do you know a graduate from Washington County Public Schools who has made a positive impact in their community? Nominate them to be featured in our Alumni Spotlight Series! Click here, to nominate a WCPS graduate: https://forms.gle/LFV1PwdpHnLfYRhn8

Mental Health Supports: Do you have burning questions about parenting, relationships, or your child's well-being? Join our partners at Parent Guidance for Ask a Therapist Live with renowned family therapist, Dr. Kevin Skinner. Participants anonymously submit questions to receive thoughtful, personalized answers. This event will take place tomorrow, Wednesday, January 15, 2025. Click here to register: https://shorturl.at/IM1eZ

As you may know, Washington County covers more than 500 mi.², and is serviced by more than 2,000 miles of primary and secondary roads. VDOT has done an excellent job of clearing the vast majority of these roads. However, there are still several roads in the county that are snow and/or ice covered. Based on the current forecast for the upcoming days, it doesn’t appear that there will be much change in the condition of those particular roads. Since we are able to safely travel a majority of county roads, Washington County Public Schools will operate on a two hour delayed schedule on Tuesday, January 14, 2025. However, buses will only travel on clear roads. Students who live on roads that are snow and/or ice covered will have multiple options: 1. Parents can choose to keep their child at home and the building principal will work with that family to make up assignments and missed instruction. Students who live on these roads and do not attend school will be given a weather-related approved absence and it will not adversely affect their school record. 2. Parents who can safely navigate these roads may take their child directly to school. 3. Parents may also drop their child off at the school closest to their home in the morning. A bus will then transport their child to their school of attendance. Use the car rider line at the school by 9:30 a.m. A staff member will take your child to a designated transfer area. Afternoon pickup will be at the child’s home school. Again, parents who choose not to send their child to school because of road conditions in their area, will have the support of their principal and the School Division. If you are a parent of a teen driver, we completely understand and support you if you decide not to allow your child to drive to school. We are providing a list of the roads that won’t be used tomorrow. Those roads can be found here: https://www.wcs.k12.va.us/documents/transportation%2Fbus-routes/743711 We are also giving bus drivers the discretion to avoid other roads if they have a concern. Please be patient as altered routes and longer car rider lines will cause delays to our typical routines. Melting that occurred today may ice over and there is potential for additional snow overnight. We will reevaluate in the morning. If a change needs to be made, that decision will be made by 7:00 a.m. We will be sending laptops and other instructional materials home with students for the foreseeable future. Due to the number of days we have missed already, we will consider using remote instruction should we have adverse weather in the future. We appreciate your patience as we navigate the snow, ice, and temperatures. Childcare will be provided at elementary schools for working parents who need it. Be on the lookout for specific details from your child’s school.

Winter Weather Excitement: It was a snowy and fun weekend for our WCPS students. We loved seeing our students enjoying their time in the snow! Take a look at some of their activities. A big thank you to everyone that shared photos with us!

It has been another busy day for our road checkers across Washington County. While crews have worked hard this weekend to clear main roads and secondary roads, there are still many backroads across the area that remain snow and ice covered, with the possibility of a refreeze as temperatures drop again tonight. As a result, WCPS will be CLOSED tomorrow, Monday, January 13, 2025. Childcare will be provided at elementary schools. Please be on the lookout for additional information from your child's principal. Looking ahead at the weather for this week, we are hopeful we will be able to have students and staff return to their classrooms on Tuesday, as conditions are expected to improve and temperatures rise. In the meantime, if you know the name of any of these roads, put it in the comments.

We would like to send out a huge thank you to Mr. Johnny Baldwin and the whole maintenance crew for giving up their Saturday to get all of our parking lots scraped! That will prevent the snow being packed to ice before the upcoming decrease in temperatures. Great job guys!

Check out this Snow Angel Challenge from Dr. Perrigan! https://www.facebook.com/share/v/15ZdtXP1Kk/ Remember to send photos of the fun you’re having in the snow to ahoak@wcs.k12.va.us to share on social media!

Linq Connect Online Payments: All meals in WCPS are free! However, if your child would like to purchase a-la-carte items, you can pay online. Click here to make a payment: https://linqconnect.com/main

Winter Fun: From sled riding and building snowmen to doing snow related science experiments and even soaking up warmer temperatures – our students have been staying busy! We have been missing our students during break and inclement weather days. With more snowfall expected, keep those photos coming! We would love to see what our students and families have been up to. Please feel free to share pictures with our school outreach specialist, by emailing Ashley Hoak at ahoak@wcs.k12.va.us *Please Note: Submitted photos may be posted to social media platforms.

School Menu Changes: Due to weather-related school closures, the School Nutrition Department has modified the January lunch menu. Please see the link below if you have not already signed up to receive menus via email. In addition, you can download the app "Web Menus by Isite Software". Once you download the app, you will be able to add your child's school. Click this link to have school menus emailed to you automatically -- Choose the school menus that you would like to receive: https://shorturl.at/Gzs7b

We wanted to make you aware of a couple upcoming alterations to the WCPS Calendar. During the Board Meeting on Thursday, January 9, 2025, Board Members voted to make Martin Luther King Jr. Day and President’s Day regular school days. If you recall, these days were previously built into the school calendar as make-up days in the event of inclement weather and the use of snow days. *Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Monday, January 20, 2025) – SCHOOLS OPEN – NOW A REGULAR SCHEDULED SCHOOL DAY *President’s Day (Monday, February 17, 2025) – SCHOOLS OPEN – NOW A REGULAR SCHEDULED SCHOOL DAY With students now scheduled to be in the classrooms during these two important days, teachers will use that time to educate students on the importance of honoring and recognizing Martin Luther King Jr. Day and President’s Day.

Our road checkers have been busy surveying roads across the county all day today. While we believe we would be able to have students return to school on a regular schedule tomorrow morning, the expected timing of the winter storm in the afternoon could make safely transporting students home difficult. Accumulating snow is expected to start at noon tomorrow. As a result, WCPS will be CLOSED Friday, January 10, 2025. Childcare will not be provided. We have put much thought and discussion into this decision, but based on conversations with multiple meteorologists, we feel this is the safest option for our students and staff. Be safe and stay warm!

Winter Weather Activities: Check out some of the fun our students had during winter break and how they have been spending their snow days! We have been missing our students during break and these inclement weather days. We would love to see what our students and families have been up to! Please feel free to share photos with our school outreach specialist, by emailing Ashley Hoak at ahoak@wcs.k12.va.us *Please note: Submitted photos may be posted to social media platforms.

Mental Health Series: Please remember to check out these FREE webinars through our partners at Parent Guidance. Events are virtual, interactive, and designed to help you support your child. Registration, attendance, and interaction are anonymous from other viewers. To register for any topic, click here: https://parentguidance.org/mhsindex/

Share Your Photos: We have been missing our students during break and these inclement weather days. We would love to see what our students and families have been up to! Please feel free to share photos with our school outreach specialist, by emailing Ashley Hoak at ahoak@wcs.k12.va.us *Please note: Submitted photos may be posted to social media platforms.

SCHEDULE UPDATE: We have had multiple snow squalls in different parts of the County this evening. Unfortunately, it’s snowing again now. As a result, Washington County Public Schools will be closed tomorrow, Thursday, January 9, 2025. Childcare will still be offered at elementary schools. Please be on the lookout for information from your student's principal. Stay warm and be safe!

A reminder that WCPS will operate on a 2-Hour Delay tomorrow, Thursday, January 9, 2025, due to expected wind chill temperatures in the single digits. Childcare will be provided at all elementary schools for working families who need it. Please be on the lookout for additional childcare information from your student’s elementary school. We are looking forward to starting the second semester and welcoming our students and staff back to their classrooms. Stay warm and be safe!

SCHEDULE UPDATE: While we were excited and planning on welcoming back our students to start the second semester today, due to unexpected heavy snow flurries that have covered many roads throughout the county, some of which have black ice, WCPS will be closed Wednesday, January 8, 2025. Childcare will still be provided at elementary schools. That information will be provided by each principal. Stay warm and be safe!

WCPS will operate on a 2-Hour Delayed Schedule on Wednesday, January 8, 2025. Childcare will be provided at all elementary schools for working families who need it. Please be on the lookout for additional childcare information from your student’s elementary school. Our biggest obstacle for tomorrow is parking lots and drop off lines. We have worked those hard this afternoon and will hit them again in the morning. For parents and students who will be driving, please take extra care in those areas. Due to expected sub-zero wind chills, we will operate on a 2-Hour Delayed Schedule on Thursday, January 9, 2025, as well. We understand how inconvenient delayed schedules can be for families so we are providing this advance notice to give everyone ample time to make arrangements. We can’t wait to see our students and staff back in their classrooms tomorrow (Wednesday)! Stay warm and be safe!