Weather & Emergency Notifications

SSA uses School Messenger to inform families of weather-related delays/closures and school emergencies. School Messenger allows SSA to send a recorded phone call, text alert and email message to all SSA families within minutes. SSA School Messenger phone calls display the caller ID 412-968-3000, while text alerts usually come from the sender number 67587.

Weather Notifications

SSA makes every effort to announce weather delays or closures by 6 a.m. The decision is made by the Academy president, taking into account local school districts’ decisions and area road conditions. Typically, all four campuses will follow the same procedure on a given day. No announcement is made if the Academy is opening on a normal schedule. Families will be notified either by 11 p.m. the night before or after 5 a.m. the day of a delay/closure. Notifications are made in this order:

  1. A School Messenger phone call, text alert and email is sent to families.
  2. Information is posted on the SSA Facebook and Instagram pages.
  3. Information is posted in a pop-up on the SSA website.
  4. Information is posted to the KDKA, WTAE and WPXI school closings lists, which appear on air and on the TV station's websites.

No one notification method is foolproof, so please do not rely on only one method. If you do not receive a phone call or text alert, and the weather appears to be bad, please check one of the other notification sources as a backup before leaving home.

School District Busing

For families who use public school district buses, please note that your buses follow the schedule of your local school district, not of SSA. It is up to families to check their school district's schedule on inclement weather days. If your district is on a two-hour delay, your bus will run two hours late; if your district is canceled, your bus will not run. If your district schedule differs from SSA, you may need to make alternate arrangements to get your child to school. SSA has a liberal attendance/arrival policy when our schedule conflicts with your school district. For example, if your school district is canceled (no buses) and SSA is open, we would not penalize your child for arriving late or being absent due to lack of transportation or hazardous road conditions in your area. Simply notify your child's school office that he/she will be late or absent due to transportation or weather issues.

Safety First!

We recognize that SSA students come from all over the region, and that weather and road conditions can vary widely from place to place. The safety of our students and families is our primary concern. Please take a “safety first” approach when deciding whether or not to attempt to get your child to school.

Emergency Notifications

In the case of a school emergency, such as a water main break, campus lockdown or evacuation, School Messenger will be used to notify affected families. If the emergency affects only one campus, only families of children attending that campus will be notified. School Messenger notifications will include a phone call, text alert and email message. Emergency information may also be posted on the SSA website, Facebook and Twitter accounts if appropriate, depending on the nature of the emergency.