Several communication tools let parents know about school closures

With winter weather nearing, it’s a good time to review how the Fayetteville-Manlius School District communicates emergency school closings, delays and early dismissals.

When there is inclement weather, the decision to dismiss early, delay opening or close school is based on the superintendent’s discussions with the F-M transportation director and the latest weather predictions.

There are several ways the district communicates this information; however, it is best to rely on more than one source of information when it comes to weather-related announcements. This is particularly true in situations that involve power outages, which can affect the district’s ability to send electronic notifications.

The superintendent will use the SchoolMessenger automated call system to notify parents/guardians of emergency school closings, delays and early dismissals. The system will also generate an email message, if an email address has been provided to the district.

If you have subscribed to the “Closing and Delay” alert category for the district’s School News Notifier (SNN) system, information will be sent directly to your email account. A text message will also be sent to the cell phone associated with the account if that delivery method was selected by the subscriber.

However, due to the volume of closing notifications sent and precautions put in place by some recipients’ email servers, these notifications may not always be received immediately.

When in doubt, please check the school district website’s home page. Cancellations, delays or early dismissals are posted on the website and the district Facebook page and shared via Twitter at @fmschools.

School closings are also announced on the following local TV and radio stations:
Time Warner Cable News (channel 10), WSTM (TV 3), WTVH (TV 5), WIXT (TV 9), and 570 WSYR.

Please note: Unless otherwise noted, all scheduled activities at F-M schools are canceled on the days school is closed or closes early.