Emergency Closings & Delays
Living in Wisconsin, it is inevitable that we sometimes experience delays or cancellations due to weather. Sometimes weather conditions change quickly, and our decisions are made accordingly. If either the Neenah or Menasha public school district is delayed or closed due to weather, SMCS follows suit.
Text Message Notifications
As soon as a delay or cancellation is determined, the information is posted on the SMCS Facebook page and local TV and radio stations are alerted. It is also sent directly to the phones of people who have signed up for our emergency notification system as a text message.
How to Sign Up for the SMCS Emergency Alert System
You may subscribe, at no cost, to the SMCS emergency alert system. To enroll your phone number, please text SMCS to (844) 947-5948. You will receive a confirmation text and a text indicating that when you want to opt out of this service you simply need to reply STOP. You may enroll multiple cell phone numbers using that same process (text SMCS to (844) 947-5948).
We do our best to immediately notify SMCS families and staff members when cancellations or delays are determined, but please understand that we do not have control over how quickly a TV or radio station gets the information worked into their own notification systems.
You can prevent being unpleasantly surprised by a change in schedule by doing the following:
- Be aware of potential weather conditions that may impact the next day’s SMCS schedule, such as an expected sustained wind chill factor of approximately -35 degrees, icy conditions or significant snowfall
- Sign up for the SMCS emergency notification system
- Check the SMCS Facebook page
- Check with another SMCS parent or employee
- Check on multiple radio or TV stations if you don’t see/hear it on the first one; if we are not listed, check to see if anything is listed for Neenah or Menasha schools
SMCS contacts the following television & radio stations to help share notifications:
- Television: WBAY, WFRV, WLUK, WGBA
- Radio: WIXX (101.1 FM), WNCY (100.3 FM), all other area Midwest Communications affiliates
If you cannot find anything posted for SMCS, Neenah or Menasha schools, SMCS is operating on a normal schedule.
Important Notes
While inconvenient for all of us, being unprepared for a delay or cancellation can be of great concern for families with younger children. If you have a child in elementary school, please be extra vigilant about keeping yourself informed, and be aware of the following:
- A school delay or cancellation is a delay or cancellation for everyone, not just students. Please do not assume that the school building will be open or that there will be an employee present at the school building to supervise your child before the designated start time.
- A delay is a delay in the start of the school day. Even if a school normally provides before-school care, it will not be available on days with an unplanned late start. All students should arrive at the designated time.
- If your child rides a bus to school, please be especially mindful of potential delays on days when either Neenah or Menasha has a late start and the other does not. Although we do contact the bus companies that serve SMCS families in the event of delay or cancellation, the message that SMCS students should not be picked up does not always make it through to the drivers.