Message From Head of School Regarding Yesterday’s Snow Storm

Dear Friends,

Yesterday, Northern New Jersey experienced a snowstorm that hit our area with an unexpectedly large quantity of snow at the exact wrong time of the day- the afternoon commute. We regret the inconvenience that this weather incident caused for our students and families in returning home from school at the end of the day yesterday and assure you that the safety of your children is of paramount importance to us.

The significantly higher than forecasted snow accumulations occurring over a short period of time led to unprecedented traffic conditions.  There were hundreds of abandoned cars blocking snow plows, which only made the situation worse. It produced total gridlock throughout the northern part of the state.

This situation led to a number of Eastern Christian School buses not being able to complete their routes and resulted in approximately 50 of our students needing care at our high school campus. Our administrators and a team of dedicated staff members and volunteers immediately activated our emergency plan to help mitigate this situation. We set up a command center at the high school campus where we were able to provide shelter and food to our students until they were reunited with their parents.  We were happy to reunite the last of these students with their parents at approximately 11:45 last night.

I want to thank our amazingly dedicated bus drivers, administrators, medical professionals, parent volunteers and our awesome students and parents for helping us to keep our students safe and comfortable. Your determination and commitment to each other and this community is truly amazing.  I am proud of the work that our team did to ensure the safety of every child under our care.

Today is a snow day. We’ve earned it, EC! Please enjoy some time off of our normal schedule and stay safe in this weather. We look forward to seeing you back at school on Monday morning.

Sincerely,

Thomas G. Dykhouse
Executive Director & Head of School