Education
Education

Gwinnett schools: How do they decide to close for bad weather?

Minute by minute and day by day, some school districts in metro Atlanta are clawing back instructional time lost to unusually severe winter weather this year. Gwinnett County, Georgia’s largest district, had already altered its calendar last month to make up the three days lost to an Arctic chill in early January and a snowstorm later that month. Now, in response to another round of snow that shuttered school for four days this month, the district has announced it will lengthen 48 school days by half an hour, from Monday through mid-May. FULL ARTICLE HERE | GET SCHOOLED BLOG: Should schools cancel spring break to make up snow days? I vote 'yes.' | More Atlanta area school headlines
Minute by minute and day by day, some school districts in metro Atlanta are clawing back instructional time lost to unusually severe winter weather this year. Gwinnett County, Georgia’s largest district, had already altered its calendar last month to make up the three days lost to an Arctic chill in early January and a snowstorm later that month. Now, in response to another round of snow that shuttered school for four days this month, the district has announced it will lengthen 48 school days by half an hour, from Monday through mid-May. FULL ARTICLE HERE | GET SCHOOLED BLOG: Should schools cancel spring break to make up snow days? I vote 'yes.' | More Atlanta area school headlines
By
Dec 8, 2017

UPDATE at 12:15 p.m.: Gwinnett  schools has announced an early dismissal for Friday. See details here. 

With the season's first snow possible on Friday, parents and students are keeping a close eye on school plans.

Gwinnett County Public Schools’ superintendent is in charge of making the decision to close school. That call is made in consultation with public safety, county, emergency management, and state transportation officials.

Severe Weather Team 2 Meteorologist Karen Minton reports.

The school district follows a list of producedures when inclement weather is expected, including having operations and facilities team members hit the roads as early as 3:30 a.m. to inspect conditions.

Gwinnett’s procedure states the school district is more likely to cancel school “in the early morning” and that “full-day cancellations usually are announced by 6 a.m.” Cancellations and early dismissals will be announced on the district’s website, social media pages, and media, including AJC.com.

LEARN MORE: PREPARING FOR WINTER WEATHER

About the Author

Follow Vanessa McCray on twitter
More Stories

Keep Reading

A electronic billboard showing 14-year-old Apalachee High School students Christian Angulo and Mason Schermerhorn and teachers Cristina Irimie and Richard Aspinwall is seen at a vigil at Jug Tavern Park in Winder on Friday, Sept. 6, 2024. A 14-year-old Apalachee High School student is accused of shooting and killing the four and injuring nine others at the Barrow County high school on Wednesday. (Arvin Temkar / AJC)

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Families see changes after Georgia school shooting, but wonder are they enough?

Parents of Apalachee High students, who have different political beliefs, come together to advocate for school safety measures after the Apalachee High school shooting.

Facing deportation, international students get temporary legal victory

The court order applies to 133 students and recent alumni at universities across the country, including 27 in Georgia, who abruptly had their immigration status terminated.

New Georgia school voucher program gets almost 12,000 applications

Lawmakers budgeted enough money to fund more than 21,000 scholarships for students zoned to attend low-performing public schools.

The Latest

Pro-Palestinian protesters demonstrate against the war in Gaza and the detention of Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil at Emory University in Atlanta on Thursday, March 20, 2025. The 30-year-old legal U.S. resident was detained by federal immigration agents last month. Emory is one of many schools across the nation with a student whose immigration status was recently terminated by the Trump administration. A judge issued a ruling late Friday that will temporarily protect mor than 100 internationals, including about two dozen in Georgia, from possible deportation. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com

Facing deportation, international students get temporary legal victory

Families see changes after Georgia school shooting, but wonder are they enough?

New Georgia school voucher program gets almost 12,000 applications

Featured

Thousands attend Easter sunrise service atop Stone Mountain on Sunday, April 20, 2025. (Jenni Girtman for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Credit: Jenni Girtman

Thousands greet first light of Easter atop Stone Mountain

The sunrise tradition is shared among Christians around the world to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus.

Orange Crush delivers ‘vibe you want’ at annual HBCU beach bash

Orange Crush, a notoriously rowdy spring break party held on popular Tybee Island, starts new era as a sanctioned music festival.

Keyatta Mincey Parker is planting seeds of community for Atlanta bartenders