How to determine if PMCA will be open or closed.
Early Dismissal Procedures.
School closing numbers for area schools.

IS PMCA OPEN OR CLOSED?

To find out if PMCA is open or closed, do one of the following:

• Check out the main page of PMCA’s website at www.phil-mont.com.
• Listen to KYW, 1060 on your AM dial, first thing in the morning. Our school closing number is 365. If PMCA’s number is called, there is no school. If it is not called, we have school.
• Also listen for your school district number (given below) for bus transportation information. Your school district number will then let you know if your child’s bus will arrive on a 1 or 2 hour delay*, or if you will not have busing at all (morning or afternoon) due to your district’s closing. (If your school district number is NOT called, your busing should proceed according to the normal schedule.) Special busing is NOT provided for PMCA students if your school district is on a delay or is closed due to inclement weather.
• Several television stations now list school closings by name on their early morning shows. You will need to be watching for both PMCA and the name of your school district. You may watch for closings on:
  • NBC Channel 10 (Snow Alert 10) beginning at 5 a.m.
  • ABC Channel 6 (WPVI)
  • FOX Channel 29 (WTXF) Morning News beginning at 6 a.m.
• A number of Internet websites also will be carrying this information, including PMCA’s website at www.phil-mont.com.

 If your district is on a delayed opening, you have two options: you may have your child ride the bus and arrive at school one or two hours late (he or she will be excused for being late) or you may bring your child in yourself, at the usual school opening time of 8:00 a.m. If you are unable to get your child to school by any means, it is extremely important that you call the office so we have an account of your child.

 *Philadelphia Parents, please note: An announcement that Philadelphia public schools will be opening one hour late does not necessarily mean that the Philadelphia buses to PMCA will be one hour late. Our experience with Philadelphia has been that some buses will run at the regular time, some will run one hour late and others will be somewhere in between. You need to be prepared for anything. The best option may be to touch base directly with the busing contractors, Atlantic Express (215-537-5405), to see what time your particular bus driver is planning to begin his or her run.

SECONDARY SCHOOL EMERGENCY DISMISSAL

If we are in session for the day and need to send students home because bad weather has set in, we will activate our EMERGENCY DISMISSAL system. It is important for everyone to follow this procedure so that we can get the children home as quickly and safely as possible. Students first, faculty second, Admin/Staff/Maintenance last.

1. The decision to close school during the day will be made by the Head of School, or the High School Principal in the Head’s absence, after consultation with the Elementary and High School principals, no later than when the first public school bus district calls. We will try to get a pick-up time from the busses but will not make any announcement immediately. We will notify the student body when the first bus arrives and the process will begin.
2. We will make one announcement to dismiss, with the following instructions:
1. All students will be dismissed at the same time.
2. All students will have a designated destination.
3. Every teacher will be assigned a duty post.
3. All students will go to their lockers and prepare to take everything with them they need for dismissal.
   1. Yellow school bus riders will all report to the auditorium.
      1. The arrival of each bus will be announced via the PS system.
      2. If a student comes to school on the bus it is mandatory he returns home on the bus, unless he has made prior arrangements to ride with someone else and already has a permission slip on file. If we don’t enforce this rule the student will call home to get a ride and the bus will come before the ride. Or, we will have a rush of students trying to home with another student without permission. This causes unnecessary confusion.
   2. Student drivers and riders will be dismissed through the office so permission slips can be checked.
      1. Only the driver needs to report to the office with a list of the students he/she is taking.
      2. They will be allowed to leave immediately with permission.
      3. Students who ride with student drivers will have to have their name on a student/driver parental permission form, signed and filed prior to the early dismissal.
   3. Septa students will be excused to the cafeteria and will exit from that point to their bus. They will be required to leave immediately to wait for the next bus, at the Montgomery Avenue bus stop. SEPTA cannot keep a schedule when it is snowing. Students need to be at the bus stop to catch the bus whenever it comes. The sooner they go, the better their chances are of getting home without too much delay.
   4. Individual car pool people will report to the auditorium.
      1. Telephone calls will be made by the office staff to car pool parents to alert them of the early dismissal. Students will not have to call. A list of names and numbers will be on file.
      2. The arrival of individual cars will be announced via the PA system.
   We greatly appreciate everyone’s cooperation with this process. Getting both the children and our faculty and staff home safely and quickly is our main concern. If you have any questions, please call the office at 215-233-0782 before snowy weather sets in. Thanks for your help!

SCHOOL CLOSING NUMBERS