District official urges parents to contact teachers first; outlines snow-day decision process and virtual-instruction limits

Dr. Aderhold, district official, urged parents and caregivers to contact teachers first about student-specific concerns, reminded families of upcoming closures and a professional development day, and detailed how the district decides on weather-related delays and closures.

The reminder to contact teachers came at the start of the public portion of the Feb. 12 meeting. Dr. Aderhold said parents should first speak with classroom teachers and, if needed, be referred to counselors, nurses or school principals. She provided the district email format for staff as firstname.lastname@wwprsd.org and cautioned against relying on social media for answers about an individual child.

The issue matters because weather decisions affect student safety, staff availability and whether the district can legally shift to remote instruction. Dr. Aderhold said the district tries to avoid “double messaging” — calling a delay and then reversing it in the morning — and prefers to see measurable snow before making a decision. She said the district conducts a 4:30 a.m. snow call with other superintendents and works with building and grounds staff before deciding to delay or close.

Dr. Aderhold emphasized staffing constraints as a factor. “I also have to be mindful that our staff comes in from over 90 different municipalities,” she said, noting that a majority of staff travel from areas south of the district. That distribution, she said, affects whether the district has enough personnel to operate schools safely.

On the question of switching to virtual instruction for a weather day, Dr. Aderhold explained New Jersey’s current rules as discussed in the meeting: a district may petition to use virtual instruction only after three consecutive emergency-closing days, and after that petition the clock resets for subsequent storms. “Right now the law does not permit us to move to a virtual day” except under those emergency-closing conditions, she said, adding that some districts handle instructional days differently (for example, some districts schedule more than 180 days). She noted private schools and neighboring states operate under different rules, which can cause public confusion.

Practical reminders included that the district will be closed Friday for a staff professional development day and closed Monday for Presidents Day — a four-day weekend for students and a three-day weekend for staff — and that families should ensure contact information in the district’s Genesys system is current to receive any emergency messages.

The remarks were made during the posted public portion of the board meeting; there was no public comment on the topic during the session.