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Watauga Schools Will Not Hold Saturday School Session Originally Scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 13

Due to forecasts of freezing rain and snow Friday evening into Saturday morning, Watauga County Schools will not hold the Saturday school session originally scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 13.

Monday, January 15 will be an Optional Teacher Workday as previously planned. Students will return to school on Tuesday, January 16.

“Typically, when severe weather is anticipated, our road check team attempts to gather as much real-time information as possible about road conditions and forecasted precipitation before making the call to cancel or delay school,” Superintendent Dr. Scott Elliott said. “But in the case of holding Saturday school this weekend, we wanted to give everyone as much advance notice as possible. We don’t want to take the chance that we wake up on Saturday and end up having to cancel school.”

Watauga County Schools has missed seven days for inclement weather so far this year — roughly half of the 15 days the system misses on average. As we enter the period of time when winter is typically most severe, Elliott said Watauga County Schools must be flexible and call on every option to have school when possible.

“As a parent myself, I understand how taxing delays and cancellations are on all of us, but our first priority must always be the safety of our staff and students,” Elliott said. “We genuinely appreciate the flexibility and patience of our parents, and we want you to know we make every effort possible to make the best decision regarding the operation of schools.