School closings tomorrow for extreme cold in Chicago area: How to check

Many Chicago-area students will be home Friday after several schools decided to cancel classes or move to e-learning in anticipation of a brutal cold front moving into the area overnight Thursday.

An extreme cold warning goes into effect for all of northeastern Illinois around 3 a.m. Friday, with dangerously cold wind chills as low as 30 to 40 degrees below zero expected, according to the National Weather Service.

Students are more than 100 schools across Chicago and the surrounding suburbs will be moved to e-learning or have the day off, including Chicago Public Schools, the largest district in the state.

Though it takes a lot for Chicago-area schools to be canceled for weather, Friday’s brutal cold is likely to break weather records and could be Chicago’s coldest day in years, according to NBC 5 Storm Team Meteorologist Kevin Jeanes.

Here’s a look at what to know as the plummet in temperatures nears.

How can parents check if their kids’ school will be closed or moved to e-learning?

Most school districts communicate with their school community via phone, email and text message notification and post about closings on social media and their website.

The Emergency Closing Center also has a frequently updated list of schools and business schedule to close due to the weather.

See the most updated list here (NOTE: If you are accessing this link from our app, please go to your mobile browser).

What schools have announced closures for Friday?

Around 11:30 a.m. Thursday, Chicago Public Schools announced it would be closed Friday “due to severe weather.” No remote learning was scheduled for the day.

Lake Forest District 67 and 115 schools will be closed Friday, with April 24 now being designated as a regular attendance day to make up for the cancelation, according to a pop-up message on the district website.

Western Springs School District 101, Township High School District 211, Park Ridge-Niles School District 64 and Lake Zurich Community Unit School District 95 also made similar announcements regarding a closure of schools on Friday on their websites.

What schools are moving to e-learning?

Some schools are opting for e-learning instead of a full cancellation of classes.

Lockport Township High School District D205 moved to e-learning for Friday, with classes beginning at 9:45 a.m.

Despite the move to remote learning, all LTHS D205 athletics and other after-school activities will continue as scheduled, the district said in a post on social media.

Skokie School District 73 and 73.5 will also both move to remove learning Friday.

All schools in Cicero District 99 will transition to e-learning for Friday and all before- and after-school activities are canceled, the district announced.

Waukegan Public Schools will also do e-learning Friday, the district announced, and all extracurriculars are canceled except for some high school athletic events.

Joliet Public Schools District 89 Schools, Morton 201 District schools and Homer Community Consolidated School District 33C also announced they would move classes to e-learning Friday.

How do schools decide to cancel or move to e-learning?

While most school administrations say their priority is keeping buildings open, the safety and welfare of students and staff can force a closure.

There isn’t a particular degree of temperatures or amount of snowfall that triggers a closure, instead, several factors typically go into the decision.

The severity of weather, timing of weather events, ability of buses and cars to travel safely and operable condition of buildings are all things generally considered by school administrators when deciding if schools should close.

The decision is often made in collaboration with local government officials and other nearby schools and are based on warnings from the National Weather Service.

Some districts, like Glenview School District 34, have policies that schools will be closed if an extreme cold warning is issued.

Details on a school’s policies and weather-related guidelines can typically be found on their website.