Framingham Schools Struggle With Communicating Snow Day

Framingham Public Schools called its first snow day of the 2015-16 school year on Friday, Feb. 5.

But several district staff members, as well as Framingham parents and students, never received notification of Friday’s snow day or received it very late.

Framingham Superintendent Stacy Scott in an email to staff Friday after 4 p.m., told staff that there was a problem with the district’s “Connect Ed” system.

“Our Connect Ed service had technical difficulties,” wrote Scott to district employees.

Scott said that pre-recorded Connect Ed messages were sent in three languages between 5:50 a.m. and 5:56 a.m. through the phone and email.

Editor’s Note: Framingham Patch sent out a news alert to subscribers at 5:51 a.m. about the snow day. To subscribe for future news alerts, click here.

“Connect Ed messages typically complete their calls and emails in a few minutes. When the process was not completed by 6:05 a.m., technical service at Connect Ed was called,” wrote Scott. “Unfortunately, at 6:58 a.m., calls were still being sent through the program.”

Several school districts across the Commonwealth, like Boston, Malden, Somerville, Foxborough, Walpole, made the decision to call a Friday snow day on Thursday night.

Other school districts made the decision to call a snow day very early Friday morning.

For example, Natick called a snow day at 5 a.m.

The Christa McAuliffe Charter School in Framingham made the decision to call a snow day at 5:25 a.m., and did not wait for Framingham, who had yet to call one.

The public charter school, with students from several MetroWest communities including Framingham usually has no school if Framingham public has no school.

But its director, citing the declining weather conditions, made the decision to call a snow day and not wait for the public school district. (Patch sent out an alert at 5:30 a.m. notifying readers of McAuliffe’s snow day.)

Scott did not make the decision to call a snow day until after 5:35 a.m.

Buses start their high school runs in Framingham, as early as 6:15 a.m.

“Given the fluctuating accumulation projections and the path of the storm, I decided to call off school. Due to those conditions, that decision was made a little bit later than what is typical. At 5:36 I made the decision and set off the communication chain. The links in that chain were unusually slow today,” said Scott to staff members, some who live around Boston and Worcester, and not just in MetroWest and Framingham.

Scott told staff ”please know that this issue is being addressed.”

Many parents and students took to social media on Friday to complain about the very late call to cancel school on Friday.

Some parents and students said the call from Framingham Public Schools came after 6:30 a.m., and as late as 6:50 a.m., when they would have been on the bus or at the bus stop.

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How and when were you notified of the snow day? Post below.