Parents

Welcome, Parents!

This page is designed to provide you with resources and information that can be used to contribute to the success of GJCS Students. Thank you for helping keep our schools #JasperGREAT. 

With school specific questions, please contact your child's school. 

Information regarding the schools for this school year can be found in the school newsletters, linked below. 

GJCS newsletters

jasper high school newsletters

jasper middle school newsletters

jasper elementary school newsletters

ireland elementary school newsletters

INFORMATION REGARDING SCHOOL CLOSING/DELAY DECISIONS

HOW DO WE MAKE OUR DECISION? Please understand that we make the decision to delay or close school in bad weather based on a careful analysis of relevant factors such as: 

• Information on road conditions from transportation staff and from police. We must give careful consideration to the most dangerous roads in the district. Even if your street looks clear, travel elsewhere in the district may be dangerous. Also, we must consider that some high school students drive to school. 
• Amount of snow and ice accumulated. 
• Whether precipitation is continuing. 
• Building conditions (such as whether we have electricity and heat). 
• Parking lot conditions. Administrators talk to maintenance and custodial staff members who are responsible for clearing and treating school parking lots and sidewalks. 
• Temperature and wind chill. Please remember that some of our students walk to school and some must wait outside for the bus. 
• Weather Predictions. We prefer not making our decision based on weather predictions, which are not always accurate, but sometimes this is unavoidable. 
• What other school districts are doing. We also share information with other local districts and check whether they are delaying or closing. 

WHO MAKES THE DECISION? As superintendent of schools, Dr. Tracy Lorey is responsible for the final decision, based on the above factors and recommendations from other sources. 

HOW IS THE PUBLIC NOTIFIED? We will utilize our BrightArrow calling system to initially notify all students and staff of a change in the school schedule. You may also tune to local television and radio stations for up-to-date informations on school closings. The district website, www.gjcs.k12.in.us will also be edited to show the status of our school session. Please do not call the schools unless it is an emergency. 

WHEN IS THE DECISION MADE? Every attempt is made to make the decision by 6:00 am or earlier so we can notify radio and TV stations and post the decision on our website. 

WILL WE CLOSE SCHOOL IF CONDITIONS WORSEN?If conditions get worse during the school day, we may need to dismiss early, but we will give adequate notice to all parents first. 

Although we do our absolute best in this process, we know that no perfect decision exists. 

We hope that this helps everyone understand the process that our district staff uses to make the best possible decision regarding school delays and closings due to inclement weather.