The safety of our families and staff is our priority. Opening and closing times may change based on the severity of the weather and/or road conditions. There may be times when the public is alerted to stay home and off roads, and when staff cannot travel due to unsafe conditions. See details on program changes due to inclement weather here. 

We will communicate updates via email on school closures in as timely a manner as possible. You can also sign up for school closure and delay information from Flash Alerts.  Please ensure that your contact information is current and we have up-to-date phone numbers and emails. It is helpful to ensure you have additional authorized pickups near your program site. 

Full-Day Programs (Break Camps and Non-School Days)

If there is a weather issue on a day when school is not in session, we will follow these decision-making steps:

• If the school district is making a closure announcement, we will follow their plan for closures.
• If the school district is not making a closure announcement due to it being a non-operating day (i.e. holiday break), we will make a decision by 6:00 am and communicate any delays or closures.

The following criteria will be used in making this decision:

• School building access
• Staff availability
• Local road conditions
• Closest local Y facility operations decisions 

Before & After-School Enrichment

Weather patterns vary greatly across the YMCA of Greater Seattle service area. We follow the decisions made by local school districts for our opening, start, or closing times. For our school-based programs, this is a requirement of our space usage agreements.
 
Before-School Programs
If your child is enrolled in a morning care program and the local school district announces a late start, the Y will follow the late start timelines. If school opens two hours late, the Y will begin programming two hours past the normal opening time. For example, a program that opens at 7:00 am would open at 9:00 am instead.
 
After-School Programs
If your child is enrolled in an afternoon care program and the local school district announces they will be closed for the day, the Y program will also be closed for the day.
 
If school is cancelled during school hours, the Y after-school program will also be cancelled and parents or guardians will need to pick up their children according to the school procedures for early closing. This also applies to schools cancelling all after-school clubs and activities.

What to Bring

Please make sure that children arrive with weather-appropriate clothing for both indoors and outdoors. While we will suspend outdoor time in cases of extreme weather, we do go outside each day, rain or shine. Please don't hesitate to reach out to any member of your program team should you have any questions.