We announce schedule changes like school delays and closings through:

• Local media outlets including radio stations
• Our website's homepage
• School Messenger (phone calls, emails & text messages)
• Our Facebook, Instagram, and X/Twitter pages

If you've signed up for School Messenger at your school, you'll get a notification. Some families aren't receiving notifications, and we're actively working to fix technical problems with the system.

Thank you for your patience as we review weather conditions and other information to make decisions that keep students and staff safe.

We decide whether to change the school schedule by 6AM. We generally notify ACPS families, staff, and our local media outlets beginning at 5:30AM.

However, we may update our decision if the weather worsens. For example, a 2- or 3-hour delay could change to a full closure. We'll let you know as quickly as we can.

If we dismiss students early because of bad weather, we usually decide at least 2 hours before the early dismissal time.

Yes, a 2- or 3-hour delay can change to a full closure if conditions get worse. Weather in Allegany County can change quickly, and different areas may have different weather at the same time. Because of this, families, staff, and students should keep checking for updates throughout the morning.

ACPS releases its Inclement Weather Plan each academic year at the start of bad weather.

ACPS has three snow days (called "severe weather days" by the State of Maryland). On these days, students, teachers, and staff will be off, and the days will be made up at the end of the school year.

If we need to close school beyond those three days, we'll use virtual learning days to keep students on track academically. Information about Virtual Learning Days can also be found on our website.

Entire School District or Regional Delayed Openings: Delayed openings are designed to allow for conditions to improve, additional road condition evaluations, and weather updates. Delayed openings can result in a 2- or 3-hour delay.

Entire School District, Regional, or Specific School Closures: The entire Allegany County Public School District may close, or a regional closure specific to certain areas may occur. In the case of a regional closure, students in the closed region will be given excused absences and will not require a note from a parent or guardian for the day their school was closed due to weather.

Please note: Occasionally, a closure may be specific to a particular school within a region. In this instance, if an elementary school closes due to adverse weather conditions, students attending the middle and high school from the elementary school's region will not be transported by school bus. Again, students in the closed school and the middle and high school students from the elementary region will have an excused absence.

School officials monitor weather forecasts from multiple sources throughout the winter. We start watching closely many hours—sometimes even days—before predicted bad weather.

ACPS uses local weather monitoring resources and communicates directly with the National Weather Service to get real-time weather information specific to Allegany County.

Our maintenance, operations, facilities, and transportation staff begin checking road conditions as early as 3:00 a.m. They continue monitoring as needed and gather updates from multiple sources and agencies throughout the county.

Based on this information, the Superintendent decides whether to keep normal school hours or announce a delay or closure. We make this announcement starting at 5:30 a.m. on:

• The ACPS website
• Facebook, Instagram, and X/Twitter
• Local media outlets
• School Messenger (phone calls, emails, and text messages)