About School Closings

Sometimes school must be closed, delayed, or dismissed early, due to weather or other emergency conditions. When this happens, we will notify parents as quickly as possible. Normally, these days are made up at the end of the school year. The district will use the following methods to inform our families:

  1. Telephone calls, e-mails, and SMS text messages will be sent out to all families through ParentSquare, our automated parent notification system.
  2. An announcement will be made on local radio and TV stations in Chittenden County.

The safety of our students will be paramount in all our decisions.

No School Procedure:

  • Announcements in the morning will be made as soon as possible, preferably before 6:00 AM.
  • Normally, school days missed are made up at the end of the year in June.

Delayed Opening Procedure:

  • The decision will be made as soon as possible.
  • Delayed opening will be for 2 hours.
  • The morning Colchester Early Child Programs will be cancelled, but afternoon sessions will be held at their regularly scheduled times, including transportation. This includes EEE Preschool, Head Start and Playgroup.
  • Bus drivers will run their normal schedule, but delayed 2 hours.
  • Transportation will not be provided for Colchester High School students attending vocational education centers or private schools. Students should listen to the radio to determine if their program is cancelled. If the program is not cancelled, students should make every attempt to provide their own transportation.

Early Dismissal Procedure:

  • The decision will be made when weather conditions have severely deteriorated after students have arrived at school.
  • Generally, early dismissal will take place after lunch. However, some storm days may require us to dismiss earlier.
  • Secondary students will be dismissed before elementary students so that older siblings will be home first.
  • The afternoon Colchester Early Child Programs will be cancelled. This includes EEE Preschool, Head Start and Playgroup.
  • Timing will be coordinated with the Colchester Highway Department to ensure roads are plowed and sanded.

For more information on school closings in Colchester, please select the links on the right side of this page. If you have any questions, please contact your school or our Central Office.

Throughout the year, the Colchester School District uses ParentSquare to notify parents about emergency situations, school delays or cancellations due to inclement weather, and other school news. Utilizing voice, SMS text, and e-mail, our district can send thousands of messages instantly and reliably using ParentSquares's notification system.

Is Your Child's Information Accurate?

It is important that we have current contact information (telephone numbers and e-mail addresses) for all of our students. Please make sure your child's school has up-to-date information for your family! If you find that you are not receiving messages, be sure to contact your child's school to update your e-mail and phone numbers in our student database.

Were You Called in Error?

It is likely that your phone number has been accidentally included in our database. To have the number removed from our system, simply call our Central Office at (802) 264-5999 (select option 0).