Closures, Delays and Remote Instructional Days

In the event of a two-hour delayed opening, each school will begin two hours later than normal starting time. Normal starting time is 8:30 a.m. at RHS; 7:50 a.m. at RMS; and 9:05 a.m. at all ES. Lunches will be served. Any before school activities will be canceled on delayed opening days.

School Schedule

• At RHS, school is in session beginning at 10:30 a.m. and ending at 3:10 p.m. A typical school day at RHS runs 8:30 a.m. to 3:10 p.m.
• At RMS, school is in session beginning at 9:50 a.m. and ending at 2:40 p.m. A typical school day at RMS runs 7:50 a.m. to 2:40 p.m.
• At IES, RES and WES: School is in session beginning at 11:05 a.m. and ending at 3:40 p.m. A typical school day at IES, RES and WES runs 9:05 a.m. to 3:40 p.m.

Transportation

Bus pick-up takes place at a student's regular bus stop two-hours later than the typical pick-up time in the morning. Drop-off occurs at the student's regular bus stop at the typical time as a normal school day.

Inclement weather may force the early closing of schools. In the event of an early dismissal, families will be notified of the closing time via the communications channels below.

• By Phone, Email and Text Message
  • All Radnor Township School District employees and families will receive an automated telephone message, email, and text message alert via the district's SchoolMessenger emergency notification system when weather conditions force the closing, delayed opening, early dismissal, or remote instruction of school.
    • Employees: You will be contacted on the "Home" (primary) and "Work" (secondary) phone numbers and every email address listed in your account in the Employee Web Portal.
    • Families: You will be contacted on the primary and secondary phone numbers and every email address listed in your account in Home Access Center.
• Through the Media 
  • WPVI 6 TV or www.6abc.com
  • FOX29 TV or www.fox29.com
  • NBC10 TV or www.nbc10.com
  • CBS 3 TV or philadelphia.cbslocal.com/
• Via the RTSD website
• Via RTSD's official Twitter (@RadnorTSD) and/or Instagram (@RadnorTSD) accounts
• Via an emergency message accessible by calling the district's main phone number, 610-688-8100, and pressing "1"

In the event of a delay the extended day program will also operate on a two-hour delay schedule.

When schools are closed, even if offices remain open, all activities in school district buildings are canceled unless otherwise specified.

All RTSD buses, serving both public and non-public schools operate on the same schedule. If there is a delay or closing for RTSD schools, it also applies to the transportation for the non-public school students.

On December 14, 2023, Governor Shapiro signed legislation that changed the School Code giving districts flexibility in relation to how they structure their instructional calendar and school days. The amended language is as follows:

…beginning in the 2023-2024 school year and continuing each school year thereafter, a school entity shall provide within the school year: 1) a minimum of one hundred eighty (180) days of instruction; or 2) nine hundred (900) hours of instruction at the elementary level or nine hundred ninety (990) hours ofinstruction at the secondary level.

The legislation modified the School Code by changing the word “and” to the word “or” allowing districts to provide either 180 days of school or 900/990 hours of instruction. According to an analysis completed by the Education Commission of the States less than 20 states set both a day and hour requirement. Most states select one or the other, or permit districts to choose between day and hour thresholds. The nuanced wording change permits districts in Pennsylvania significant flexibility in determining how best to meet students’ needs. Pennsylvania school districts may now contemplate a variety of options such as, but not limited to:

• Year-round school to reduce summer learning loss;

• A four-day school week to improve teacher and staff recruitment and retention;

• Delayed school start times to improve student sleep health;

• Fostering internship and externship opportunities for students during the school day;

• Recurrent teacher professional development time related to curriculum work, data analysis,

collaborative planning, and staff training.

After internally discussing a variety of options with this newfound flexibility, RTSD administration plans to utilize this flexibility to mitigate the impact of snow days and other emergencies that disrupt the school calendar. Moving forward, RTSD will elect to follow the 180-day requirement. Should severe weather cause for school to be cancelled, RTSD will not make up the day for students, and instead will bank hours to be used towards teacher professional development. Administration would limit this practice to 2-3 snow days per year, after which flexible instructional days (FID), also known as live-streamed snow days, or calendar amendments to extend the year may be necessary.

Act 80 days provide schools the ability to count teacher professional development days towards the 180-day requirement in the School Code. Utilizing snow days as Act 80 days would be beneficial for a variety of reasons:

1) Parents/guardians of elementary age students are required to facilitate online learning on snow days. Families with multiple elementary aged students may struggle to assist their children as they navigate concurrent live-streamed lessons.

2) Online learning is not the best form of learning, especially for younger learners.

3) Forgoing FID (live-streamed snow days) results in days tacked on to the end of the calendar in June. These days have significantly less instructional impact after PSSAs, Keystone Exams, and AP Exams have all been administered.

4) Built in snow days and days added to the end of the school year provide significant uncertainty to families as they look to plan ahead for summer.

5) The teacher professional development time would permit our staff the ability to work on curriculum, attend trainings, analyze data, and collaborate on major projects and initiatives.