Communications

What is CORA?
The Colorado Open Records Act, or CORA, allows anyone to request access to public records. Public records include, but are not limited to, writings made, maintained or kept by the school district or its employees, except as otherwise prohibited by law.

How can I make a CORA request?
The process for requesting records is included in School Board Policy KDB-R
 

Please click here to submit your request using a Google Form.

How much does it cost to make a CORA request?
The request is free, but you can be charged if it takes district staff longer than one hour to compile the information you have requested, and/or if there are multiple copies that need to be made to fulfill a request. Charges and other information is available in School Board Policy KDB-R.

Where should I send a CORA request?
If you are seeking items that can be obtained by the public through CORA, such as salary information, certain emails and documents, and recordings, please use the online form to submit your request. Requests can also be mailed to Mesa County Valley School District 51, Attn: Communications, 2115 Grand Ave., Grand Junction, CO 81501. Mailed requests must specify that they are CORA requests.

Please remember that there are items that are NOT open to public inspection through CORA, including:
* Student records (see how to request those below)
* Personnel File information
* Directory information, such as student or staff addresses or cell phone numbers
* Items exempt by HIPAA or FERPA

Looking for Student Records?
CORA requests are typically for documents and recordings, such as emails, voicemail messages, and existing charts, lists, and policies. If you're seeking a current or former student's school records, instead please contact studentrecords@d51schools.org

Resources

• Board Policy KDB - Public's Right to Know/Freedom of Information
• Board Policy KDB-R - Public's Right to Know/Freedom of Information

Our Communications Department works hard to foster support and establish connections with the broader Grand Valley community. We are committed to engaging our community on district initiatives and events and encouraging active participation through collaboration with community organizations, groups, business partners, and industry leaders. 

Advertising in D51

Working with our Safety and Security Department and School Leadership, the Communications Department communicates school and district incidents for families via text and email notifications, website alerts, and social media. 

Most district communications will be sent through SchooMessenger via text and email. We regularly send notifications about district and school information, closures, delayed starts, early releases, power outages, or incidents regarding your child's school. Please ensure the contact information you have for your child is updated in your ParentVUE account. 
Text Alerts: To sign up to receive text messages from your school or district, you must have an active SMS number on file in Synergy and Opt-In to receive messages via your mobile carrier. Sign up for text alerts and communications by texting "YES" to 67587.

When temperatures drop, snowflakes fall, and ice is in the forecast, it does not take long for the questions to start flooding in – can we have a Snow Day tomorrow? If we have a delay, should I go to my first-period class or a later class? What about after-school programs? Here are answers to common questions about delays, early dismissals, and cancellations.

For Parents and Students

Where should I look for updates about cancellations, delays, and early releases?
If there's a delay or cancellation, there are multiple places to check, including:

• The district's home page at d51schools.org
• The district’s Facebook, Twitter (@district51), and Instagram pages 
• Local media outlets

In addition, the district will send you an email and text you using the contact information you provide at school registration time. To opt in for texts as well, text “Yes” to 67587.

Please remember that a notification will be posted and sent via call/text/email ONLY if there is a delay or cancellation. If no information is posted, it means that school will continue as scheduled. 

How does D51 decide to cancel school?
Weather delay and cancellation decisions are based on current road conditions and the weather forecast for the rest of the day. When bad weather is predicted, District 51 leaders, safety officers, and grounds crews work with Student Transportation of America drivers to test road conditions all over the district starting at 4 a.m. They determine whether the roads should be passable – not perfect – so please drive carefully.

When does the district make the decision?
The district tries to make a decision by 5 or 5:30 a.m. and, if needed, notify parents as soon as possible. If a two-hour delay turns into a Snow Day, the decision may come a little later than that, but a decision usually will be made no later than 6 a.m. on the day of the cancelation. Rarely, a sudden change in the weather forecast and road conditions may necessitate a later call. Please be patient and keep your phone handy – the auto dialer system can take time to cycle through large reams of numbers.

What do I do if I don’t feel the roads are safe?
Parents and guardians have the final say on their child’s safety. If you would prefer to keep your child home for the day, please call the school office and the absence will be excused.

When do classes let out if there is an early release due to weather?
Schools will let out as soon as the district and bus crews determine there’s a need to let out early and can give families notice that they’ll need to pick up children early. The release time will be announced in a call, text, and email from your child’s school.

Elementary schools and middle and high schools will get out at different times, as most buses take both an elementary and a secondary route each day.

What happens to high school class schedules when there’s a delayed start?
Every high school has the choice to do it their own way, but most will follow an assembly bell schedule if there’s a delayed start. That means students go to all of the classes they normally attend in the same order, just for shorter periods. School will release at the usual time.

How do Snow Days, delays, and early releases affect kindergarten and preschool students?
Cancellations that apply to all District 51 schools apply to all District 51 preschools as well. If there is a delayed start, stay tuned to District 51 social media accounts and the District 51 website. It's very likely that a delayed start will result in preschool and morning kindergarten being cancelled altogether. But please keep checking https://mesak12cous.finalsite.com/ for the most up to date information. 

In the case of an early release, check social media and d51schools.org to see if afternoon preschool and afternoon kindergarten are canceled or letting out early. Extended Hours will release its own information about operations on bad weather days.

For D51 Staff

Please be sure to read the attached documents to see how these events and procedure changes might impact you.

• Hazardous Weather and Emergency Closing Procedures
• Hazardous Weather and Emergency Closing FAQ's

Notification
In the months that follow, Mesa County Valley Schools may need to delay, close, or dismiss school early due to weather conditions. Please keep a watchful eye on weather conditions throughout the winter to anticipate potential changes in our collective work schedule. Our goal is to make decisions about closures or delayed starts by 5:00 AM, and decisions to dismiss early by noon. A variety of communications will go out as a way to increase the likelihood of reaching the entire community about changes to our normal operating schedule. We will only notify of changes; operations are normal if no notification is made. 

Please bookmark our website, and follow us on Facebook and Twitter as these will be the first places an announcement will appear.

• Website
• Facebook
• Instagram
• Twitter/X

After posting to our website and social media accounts, we will initiate contact through SchoolMessenger, which reaches parents and staff via voice, email, and text.Following these updates, we will notify the primary television and radio news stations in the valley.

Announcements
Key phrases will be consistently used:

1. Schools and administrative offices are closed, only designated emergency response staff and/or essential personnel are required to report.
2. Schools will start two hours late (staff should arrive early enough to receive students).
3. Schools will dismiss two hours early (staff should stay late enough to dismiss students)

Hazardous Weather Emergency Response Staff
In the event buildings are closed or on a late start due to snow, the following employees may be required to report to work to help prepare facilities for opening. If you are required to work you will be notified by your supervisor.

• Groundworkers
• Maintenance (if requested by supervisor)
• Custodians
• Principals
• Superintendent
• Chief Academic Officer
• Chief Operations Officer
• All Executive Directors
• Director of Safety
• Public Information Officer
• School Secretaries (if requested by the principal)

Flyer Distribution Procedure:

Instructions for organizations external to the school district (does not apply to schools or PTAs)

District 51 works with non-profit 501(c)3 organizations that sponsor activities of an educational or enrichment nature for students. Notification of those activities is now distributed electronically via Peachjar.

District 51 no longer sends non-district paper flyers home with students or staff. All flyers are distributed electronically. Please submit all requests to distribute flyers to www.peachjar.com.

Posters for display at school remain at the discretion of school principals, please schedule an appointment with the principals at the schools of your choice to review and discuss your poster. Posters can only be displayed in common areas, not classrooms.

Besides lessening the paper and labor load on schools, this is a more environmentally friendly method and embraces the growing use of electronic devices and apps.

Read the full announcement here.

Here's how to submit your request to distribute a flyer

Please read the District 51 flyer approval requirements on the Distribution FAQ page. Once approved by District 51, your flyer will be emailed to all parents who have provided us an email address. Your flyer will also be posted online.

Getting started with Peachjar is as easy as 1, 2, 3:

1. Visit www.peachjar.com.
2. Register as an Enrichment Provider (under "account type"). From the main page, click on the orange "Register" button in the top right-hand corner.
3. Upload your flyer for approval (directions).

Your flyer will automatically be submitted to the district office. District staff will review the material and approve or deny based on the standards described in Board policy KHB-R. Peachjar charges outside organizations a fee for this service that is typically much less than the cost to copy and deliver paper flyers to each school.

Most district communications will be sent through SchooMessenger via text and email. We regularly send notifications about district and school information, closures, delayed starts, early releases, power outages, or incidents regarding your child's school. Please ensure the contact information you have for your child is updated in your ParentVUE account. 

Text Alerts: To sign up to receive text messages from your school or district, you must have an active SMS number on file in Synergy and Opt-In to receive messages via your mobile carrier. Sign up for text alerts and communications by texting "YES" to 67587.

Media Guidelines

District 51 welcomes members of the media into our schools and strives to provide the most accurate and timely information available.

Interviews with District Personnel

If you are interested in conducting a media interview at a District 51 school or with District 51 students, educators, or administrators, please contact the Public Information Officer. We are happy to connect you with the correct person and/or resource for your story and can help arrange an interview time.

School Visits

If you want to visit a school, please contact the Public Information Officer. We will happily escort you to any school for the interview or story or make appropriate arrangements for you with the school. We try our best to accommodate schedules and times but we cannot guarantee same-day interviews, especially with requests made after 1 p.m. We ask that you please offer a few available dates for your visit in case a school has a conflict on a particular day.

Photographing Students and Staff

Some students can not be photographed. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) allows students and parents to opt out of releasing certain information about students, including photographs. School District operates in compliance with this law. Before you take any photos, videos, and/or interviews with our students, a building administrator must verify that these individuals have the proper release information on file. Please contact the Public Information Officer if you have questions about whether or not a student has a media release.

The Communications Department works with multiple local media outlets to share the good news, events, and stories of our D51 schools. We support all campuses with requests for media interactions and inquiries. For any media inquiries or releases, please contact Callie Berkson, Public Information Officer. For our media guidelines, click here.

Take our 2024 Annual Communications Survey

A key initiative of the district's Communications Department is to ensure every family, no matter their native language, feels connected and engaged through district communications, leading to empowered students whose families play an active role in their educational journey. Many of our families are non-English speakers, and we work hard to ensure they are equipped, engaged, and empowered with the tools and resources to help their child succeed.

The D51 Office of Translation & Interpretation provides language support to assist in communicating academic information between schools and parents, increasing engagement in school activities and district-wide functions. 

We offer various translation & interpretation services that ensure meaningful language access for students and parents so they may actively participate in their student’s education.

Visit our D51 Translation Services to learn more!