By Genevieve Presley and Seth Garner
Columnist and Student Reporter
Amarillo College has procedures in place to ensure timely communication and safety during severe weather.
AC primarily bases weather-related delays and closure decisions on whether Amarillo Independent School District (AISD) closes.
“The crux of our weather policy takes into consideration the students, faculty and staff members with children because there are a lot of factors that come into it with student safety and the ability to have access to the internet and all these other things,” Sadie Newsome, director of media, said. “That’s a good signal to us that we need to go ahead and respect those obligations that people have to care for their children and families.”
Newsome said that when Hereford ISD and Dumas ISD delay classes or close, the AC campuses in those areas can delay classes or close independently. However, if AISD closes, all campuses close due to commuters and central operations being housed in Amarillo. “The college does have the ability to close independently but for the most part they are dependent on an AISD closure,” she said.
Some AC students had mixed feelings about the 10 a.m. class delay due to snow on Jan. 21. “I was able to sleep in, but I feel like we got behind schedule for my classes,” Luis Ordaz, an electrical engineering major, said. “They did give me more time to do the homework I was assigned, which overall helped me get it done.”
According to Newsome, AC students are notified of campus closures through a program called Everbridge, an emergency alert system that many colleges, universities and municipalities use. “As soon as we find out, we push the notification to Everbridge and that alerts students via text, email and phone call. As soon as we possibly can, we also put the announcement on the AC homepage, social media and we alert the news media,” she said.
General Studies major, Nathaniel Gomez, said he thinks AC does a good job of notifying students in the event of a campus closure or delay. “I get emails as well as phone calls notifying me of school being closed or delayed. I haven’t had any issues with the communication.”
Newsome said that years ago, the college used to have an approval process that slowed down notifications, but now AC announces closures as soon as other campuses do. “There are a couple of key staff who stay up late or wake up really early to try to be right on the button as soon as we find something out,” she said. “As soon as we find something out, we stop everything we are doing and make sure everyone who needs to know is aware of it and that the alert is sent out with haste.”
Leave a Reply