November 19, 2024

Families,

Winter and inclement weather is approaching. Lyle School District considers the safety of our students and staff as our NUMBER 1 priority. Please read through the information below to make sure that you are up to date on the process and what you can expect when we need to delay or cancel due to unsafe conditions.

We have several ways that we communicate with families. The most important thing you can do to stay informed is make sure we have a current email and phone number for you. If you need to update it, call the school office at 509-365-2211 or email support@lyleschools.org. If you have never received a call from our auto-caller, please contact the office as soon as possible so we can make sure you are receiving calls, emails and text messages.

Here’s more info on our decision process and communications:

Weather-Related School Closures

When the weather outside is frightful...  deciding whether to close school is not an easy task.

Snow may accumulate in one area and not in other areas. Lyle School District administration puts a great deal of effort and thought into determining whether to keep schools open, start late, or close schools due to inclement weather conditions.

Although a lot of factors come into play, our number one consideration is student safety.

We know, for example, that road conditions on High Prairie or Appleton can be much different than in the rest of the district. Parents always have the final say regarding whether it’s safe to send their children to school during inclement weather. All weather-related absences will be excused with notification to the school.

No News is Good News!

If you do not receive a call or email, and nothing has been announced on the local news, this means school is running on a regular schedule.

If we do make changes to our regular schedule, here are a few messages you may see, and what to expect:

School Closure - If school is closed, all out-of-district transportation, meetings, field trips, after-school activities, and athletics games/practices will be canceled for the day unless otherwise announced. All evening meetings/functions scheduled to take place in district facilities will also be canceled. 

Two-Hour Delay - If there is a two-hour delayed start PreK-12 students that need breakfast can get a “grab and go” Breakfast after the Bell and lunches will be served at the normal time. If weather conditions worsen after we have called a two-hour delay, school may be cancelled for the day. Note – When we delay on a Wednesday, it is only an additional 1-hour late start, so school starts at 10:30.

Snow Routes - There are times when we will announce that buses are on snow routes.  In these circumstances, buses will meet parents and students at a more accessible location.  You can find snow routes here.

Early Release - In extreme conditions, students may be released early. Because we know parents/guardians may not able to return home from work to meet their children, our district will only dismiss students early from school in extreme situations. We also will take several measures to ensure our younger students aren’t left without supervision, including keeping them here at school until the parent can pick them up. Parents should have a back-up plan in case this kind of situation arises. 

Here are all the ways we share information about school delays or closures due to weather or other disaster situations, including earthquakes.

• Phone Alert - Parents will receive an automated phone call/text message to their designated primary phone number in the event of school closure, delay, or early dismissal. Calls are initiated before 6 a.m. when possible.

• Email - All parents/guardians with an email in Skyward will receive an email and/or a text message from the district via School Messenger, our email notification system. 

• Facebook - Inclement weather notifications will be posted on the Lyle Schools Facebook page, @lyleschools.

• The district website, www.lyleschools.org, will also have a notice on the district website homepage.

• Media - Radio stations such as KACI - 103.9 FM/1300 AM, KMSW 92.7 FM and KIHR 98.3 FM/1340 AM and Portland television stations KATU - 2, KGW - 8, KOIN - 6 and KPTV - 12 will announce schedule changes by district name after 6 a.m. Schools will be operating on normal schedules if no announcement is made.

• Washington state schools and municipalities use a service called www.flashalert.net to report the school's status to news media and emergency providers, and parents can check school schedule status on this page as well. Look for Lyle School District under "View Local News" > Portland/Vancouver/Salem > Columbia Gorge Schools.

Have questions or concerns? Email us at support@lyleschools.org

Dr. Ann Varkados

Superintendent

Holiday Gift Resources 2024 – Lyle School District families looking for a little extra help with children’s gifts are supported through a partnership with Mugs Coffee in Bingen. Mugs has a “Giving Tree”, and your requests will be anonymously posted. You will be called to the school to pick up your gifts the last two days before winter break, December 19th & 20th. The form also has a place to note if you'd like to receive a Lion's Club food box.

There are copies of the form in the student office and it's posted on the district website at: https://www.lyleschools.org/files/user/48/file/Holiday%20List%202024.pdf.

Please return this form to the school, or to Megan Winn, by Tuesday, November 26th. Questions? Call the student office at 509-365-2211.

Lyle Schools will have picture retakes on Thursday, October 24th beginning at 9:00am.  If you are not happy with the pictures your child received, please return the packet for a retake opportunity.  If you missed picture day and would like to get pictures, please follow this link https://v2.myproimages.com/patty-knapp-photography-2107/code/7ES6E to order. 

Families and Guardians,

We understand that life happens and things change. One thing we are trying to deal with efficiently is after school transportation changes. If you need to make a change to your students’ after school transportation plan, we need to have the change in the office by 2:45 PM. This allows sufficient time to process the change and get the notification to the student and teacher.

There are several ways to notify us:

• Email: jennifer.machado@lyleschools.org and elisha.hoffman.blazer@lyleschools.org
• Call 509-365-2211
• Send a note with your student. 

We take safety very seriously and no afterschool changes will be allowed unless we receive notification from parents.

Thank you for helping us create an efficient and accurate system to get your kiddos where they need to be.

We are dedicated to the success of your student. However, we cannot do it alone. We want to make sure you know about the tools available to families to support your students success.

First, Skyward Family Access! Skyward is a powerful tool that encompasses all the areas you need to check in on your student; grades, missing assignments, attendance, discipline, and much more.

Automated Email - Emails are sent for any assignment graded above a 95% or that score below 70%.

*NEW - Weekly progress reports to your inbox. Today, you will begin receiving emails containing your student’s current standing in each class. We realize this will likely be several emails in your inbox, however, this is one way we can make sure that you have the information at your fingertips. If you do not see the emails, please check your junk or spam folders.

Attendance - Attendance is a major component to student success. If you receive a phone call about your student being gone, please call the office to clear that up. We understand absences cannot be avoided and encourage students to stay home if they are sick. If your student will be have an extended absence, please contact us for ways to support classroom work while students are absent.

The most important thing you can do to stay connected is to make sure that we have your current email address on file. If you have not used Skyward before, please give us a call so we can help you with access.

Thank you for your collaboration!

Dear Lyle Families,

I am writing to inform you about a reported threat allegedly made verbally by a student, and the actions Lyle school district took to keep students and staff safe. Safety in our schools is our most important priority and we take all threats seriously. 

Late last night, Lyle school leaders were informed by the Klickitat County Sheriff’s Office that a student had made a verbal threat while exiting school transportation yesterday.

I want to express my sincere thanks to our staff team for their quick action to keep everyone safe. We continue to work closely with law enforcement to support their investigative work. We are following recommended best practices and conducting a threat assessment to determine supportive, safety-focused measures that can be taken now and in the future in response to this event.

This is an active investigation and therefore we are limited in the information we can share as a result. School districts are bound by strict confidentiality requirements when it comes to releasing information about people. We will share additional information if/when we can. Questions about the law enforcement investigation should be directed to local law enforcement.

I understand the desire to know specific information about student discipline and safety protocols related to this threat. Laws protecting student confidentiality prohibit us from sharing individual student discipline information. Additionally, consistent with recommendations from law enforcement professionals, we do not share safety/emergency plan information because it could create a threat to the safety of our students and staff if it inadvertently got into the wrong hands.

We are committed to shaping a healthy school climate that is also secure. Thank you to teachers, support staff, school leadership, and students for keeping our school safe for all.

I encourage you to reach out to me if you have any questions or concerns.

Dr. Ann Varkados, Superintendent 

Lori Smith, Principal

509-365-2211

Families,

This is a quick reminder about Outdoor School, which is taking place next Monday 9/9 through Wednesday 9/11 for all students in grades 6-12. Students will be attending outdoor school in Trout Lake, WA. Lyle School District will use the property belonging to Camp Jonah. Students will have breakfast at school then head to Trout Lake to participate in team building activities and learn school wide expectations in an outdoor environment. Students will return by 3:30 PM daily to take their normal bus home. 

Permission Slips: Permission slips were handed out to each student at school yesterday. Signed permission slips need to be returned by this Friday, September 6th.

Thank you,

Principal Smith