EMERGENCY INFORMATION

In the event of changes in school routines or schedules due to weather related or other emergencies, Kelso School District works closely with the Kelso Police Department, Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Department and Department of Emergency Services to ensure the safety of all students.

For printable pdfs of the information on this page, click the links below.

HOW WE INFORM YOU IN AN EMERGENCY

The safety of your child is always our first priority. In the event of an emergency affecting our students and schools, Kelso School District will post information and updates in several places. Depending on the situation, some communication channels may be unavailable, so we recommend checking a few.

REMEMBER: No news is good news! We only make announcements when there are changes in normal routine.

EMAIL & TEXT

We’ll use the email and cell phone you have listed in Skyward. Please make sure your contact information is correct. Contact your school office to update your information.

FLASH ALERT NOTIFICATION SYSTEM

Subscribe to FlashAlert to receive emergency announcements by email and/or text message.

To subscribe to this free service (and see the most current news), go to: flashalert.net/id/KelsoSchools. Enter your email address to create an account and subscribe to our alerts.

RADIO & TV

Check local radio stations and the Portland TV stations for information and updates.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Anyone can view our Twitter and Facebook pages.

KSD APP

Download the Kelso School District app for Android or iPhone and enable notifications for the district and/or specific schools.

PHONE

For a recorded message, the district information line is (360) 501-1990.

REUNIFICATION

We have a plan in place to reunify students and parents in case of evacuation. We have multiple locations available, so wait for instructions about where to go. Students will be released to parents/guardians or emergency contacts only. Please bring ID.

IN CASE OF INCLEMENT WEATHER

Snow, ice and wind can impact our ability to conduct school activities as planned. Depending on the road conditions, any one of the following may happen:

  1. Buses are on snow routes. All schools and activities continue, but some routes are altered. Snow route details are on our Transportation web page.

  2. School is delayed two hours. Buses pick up students two hours later than normal; no breakfast or AM preschool.

  3. School is canceled for the day. All schools, activities, and athletics are canceled for the day.

  4. School is dismissed early. All activities and athletics are canceled.

How we decide

Before deciding to close schools, district officials consult county road crews and our own employees who are out driving the roads in the early hours of the morning.

Our district covers a large region with steep terrain in places. While roads may be passable in town, conditions may be different just a few miles away. Before we close schools we seek answers to the questions below:

  • Can we ensure that buses can navigate streets safely?

  • Will students be safe waiting for buses, driving, or walking to school?

  • What are the predicted weather conditions later in the school day so we can also ensure students a safe return home?

  • Will conditions be substantially improved if we start school late?

  • Will we have heat and lights in our schools?

How we inform you:

We attempt to provide you with as much prior notice of school closures as possible. We make every effort to announce changes by 6 AM and we use a variety of methods to get the information to parents and staff. See the above "HOW WE INFORM YOU IN AN EMERGENCY" section.