Inclement Weather Preparation with Wireless Clocks

For those of us in a four-season climate, winter happens. This year, for those of us on the east coast of the United States, winter happened much sooner than we could have expected. When I think of snow, I usually picture a mid-January, post-Christmas storm in which I am armed and ready to go with winter gear and snow shovels. This year, however, I hardly had time to break out my Halloween costume, let alone a snowsuit, before our first major snowfall. Luckily, this particular storm occurred on a weekend. Had it occurred during the week, I can only imagine the chaos that would have ensued for schools responsible for the safe travel of hundreds of students. When it comes to inclement weather, it is best to always be prepared. Installing a wireless clock system in your school is one of the best ways to assure that your facility will always be ready for the unexpected.

Early Dismissal

When a storm is looming, or the snow has already begun to fall, schools have a relatively short window of time to ensure that all of their students are evacuated with enough travel time to make it home before the worst hits. A massive coordination effort must be made on the part of the school administration, bus service, and students. For non-public schools, this process can be particularly hectic. The busses serving these schools may belong to several different districts, all of which may decide to evacuate at different times. When a school administrator receives the word that a particular district will be arriving at 12:15pm, he must be confident that every clock in the facility is accurate and that there are no discrepancies, so that no student misses his or her bus. With a wireless clock system in the school, this is a non-issue as every individual clock receives the same time input via a master clock. Because of this, not only will the time always be precisely correct, every clock display in the school will match. With a wireless clock system, every student will know when it is his time to head out to the busses, allowing for a quick and problem-free evacuation.

Delayed Opening

Sometimes a storm is not sufficiently severe or has had enough time to be cleared so that an entire day of school need not be cancelled. In this case, schools will often operate on a two-hour delay. A two-hour delay means shortened class periods and a different schedule for students and teachers alike. This often necessitates an individual to manually ring the bells in an attempt to keep the school on schedule. However, this can easily be subject to error, and when class time has already been reduced to as short as 20 or 30 minutes, a bell that is rung just 5-minutes early or late can make a significant difference. With a wireless clock system, this problem can be avoided. The master clock, which sends each individual clock in the system the correct time, can also control the school’s bell system. With this feature, a school can set up to 800 different bell events for any situation that may occur, such as assemblies, or in this case a two-hour delay. With the scheduling capabilities of a wireless clock system, classes will switch on time every time, and time spent in class will be maximized.

When it comes to inclement weather, preparation is key. That’s why it is important for schools to install a Sapling Wireless Clock System in their facility before the first major storm hits. With a wireless clock system already installed in the facility, schools will have a much easier time coordinating their day through synchronized time and scheduling capabilities should the need for change arise. Whether a snow storm results in an early dismissal or a delayed opening, school administration, students, and parents alike will feel confident in their school’s organization and efficiency.