Superintendent stresses student safety is top priority
Due to the threat of severe weather on Wednesday, April 5, the Habersham County School System has canceled homework centers and after-school instructional programs at the county’s elementary and middle schools and at the Ninth Grade Academy. School superintendent Matthew Cooper says a decision on athletic events and practices will be made Wednesday.
READ: Significant severe weather possible Wednesday
In light of the developing weather situation, Now Habersham requested and received the following statement from Habersham County Superintendent of Schools Matthew Cooper:
“We have been notified by the National Weather Service and GEMA that there is the possibility of severe storms affecting our area during the day on Wednesday. All Habersham County administrators are aware of this potential for severe weather and are taking steps to monitor the weather situation closely and to ensure the safety of students.
When our area is faced with the possibility of severe weather there are some who may wonder why we do not close our schools. I want to make my position clear regarding severe weather and whether or not we have school. I am certain that many of our students are safer in a school building than they are in their places of residence. Many of our students live in mobile homes or housing that was not built to withstand tornadoes and severe storms. Being in a mobile home is the absolute worst place to be in a tornado or severe storm. I am also very concerned that if we do not have school many of our boys and girls would be home alone during severe weather. The bottom line is this – If we can safely get our students to school, we will do so. Once our students are at school, we will hold them until it is safe to put them on school buses.
We have weather radios in all of our schools and all of our schools have excellent severe weather plans. These plans involve moving students to secure areas of the buildings where they are the safest during severe weather. Our schools practice severe weather drills throughout the year and our administrators have recently reviewed our severe weather procedures for integrity. GEMA also consults with our schools to ensure that our plans are sound.
As superintendent, I have rearranged my calendar tomorrow so that I can personally monitor the weather closely. I often communicate directly with meteorologists from the National Weather Service as well as our Habersham County EMA. I am able to communicate immediately with all of our schools by radio.
One note of interest is the fact that our High School administrators have developed special plans to ensure that our student drivers stay off the roadways on days like tomorrow when there is the potential for severe weather. We know that the safest place for our student drivers to be during severe weather is in the fortress we call Habersham Central High School. Our parents in Habersham County should know that as superintendent I make student safety my top priority every day. Every decision that we make is with the safety of our boys and girls in mind.”
