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Castle Rock, Colorado, 61,409 students in 89 schools

Douglas County School District RE-1 Snow Day Predictor

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Douglas RE-1, measured against Douglas RE-1's own big snow morning of 4.1 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Douglas RE-1 close tomorrow?

Reading the National Weather Service forecast for the overnight and the bus hours in Castle Rock.
The Douglas RE-1 playbook

How Douglas RE-1 calls a snow day

When the call comes

The superintendent decides by 5:00 a.m.; a night-before call is sent by 10:00 p.m.

“The superintendent reviews all available information and makes the final decision by 5:00 a.m.”
Source

How families hear

By the district website, social media, local TV, radio, email and text message.

“If a delay or cancellation is to be implemented, families will receive a text message and email no later than 5:00 a.m. (usually much earlier). Notifications will also be posted on the district website, social media channels, and local media agencies.”
Weather Delays and Closures - Douglas County School District

A 90 minute delay

On a delay morning every school starts 90 minutes late.

“When DCSD is on a 90-minute delay, all schools begin 90-minutes after regular start times.”
Delay schedule

Making up a lost day

The board may add days on Saturdays, during vacations or at the end of the year.

“If for any reason the school district must close schools, the calendar may be amended by the Board of Education to Provide additional school days on Saturdays, during vacations, or at the end of the present calendar.”
Source

The 2026 to 2027 calendar

  • First day August 12, 2026
  • Winter break Dec 21 to Jan 4
  • Last day May 27, 2027
District calendar

Read from Douglas RE-1’s own pages on October 8, 2026; the district site is dcsdk12.org.

Ten winters of school mornings

Douglas RE-1’s snow record

52inches of snow a winter
5.1school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more
1.6with 4 in or more
4.1 ina big snow morning in Douglas RE-1: the top tenth of snowy school mornings
3.1school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

More 4 inch school mornings than 62% of the 177 Colorado districts with a station record.

6.2Nov
4.8Dec
10.7Jan
9.6Feb
11.9Mar
Average snowfall by month, inches
  • Biggest day 17.3 in on March 14, 2024
  • Snowiest winter 2019 to 2020, 83.5 in
  • 6 in mornings 0.9 a winter
  • 1 in mornings 8 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station under a mile away. Mornings are the 7 am snow reading on a weekday from December 1 through March 31, over the ten winters from 2016 to 2017 through 2025 to 2026, from NOAA GHCN Daily.

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The Colorado rule

How Colorado counts a lost day

Colorado requires at least 160 days, with 1,080 scheduled hours in secondary school and 990 in elementary. The scheduled hours can drop to 1,056 (secondary), 968 (elementary), 870 (full-day kindergarten) or 435 (half-day kindergarten) to cover conferences, staff training and closings the board judges necessary for student health, safety or welfare.

The Colorado rules in the agency’s own words, and every Colorado district

Next door

Districts near Douglas RE-1

DistrictSnow a winter4 in mornings
Cherry Creek School District 5Greenwood Village43.3 in1.7
Littleton School District 6Littleton59.5 in2
Lewis-Palmer School District 38Monument83.8 in2.8
Adams-Arapahoe School District 28JAurora40.6 in1.1
Denver County School District 1Denver46.3 in2
Academy School District 20Colorado Springs59.5 in2.3
The schools

89 schools, the 40 largest here

Every school in Douglas RE-1 follows the district’s call: one closing covers them all.

High

  • Rock Canyon High School, Highlands Ranch
  • Mountain Vista High School, Highlands Ranch
  • Legend High School, Parker
  • Chaparral High School, Parker
  • Castle View High School
  • Thunderridge High School, Highlands Ranch
  • Douglas County High School
  • Ponderosa High School, Parker
  • Highlands Ranch High School, Highlands Ranch
  • HOPE Online Learning Academy High School, Englewood

Middle

  • Rocky Heights Middle School, Littleton
  • Cimarron Middle, Parker
  • Mesa Middle School
  • Mountain Ridge Middle School, Highlands Ranch
  • Sagewood Middle School, Parker
  • Ranch View Middle School, Highlands Ranch
  • Sierra Middle School, Parker
  • Castle Rock Middle School
  • Cresthill Middle School, Highlands Ranch

Elementary

  • American Academy, Castle Pines
  • Leman Classical Academy, Parker
  • Aspen View Academy
  • Ben Franklin Academy, Highlands Ranch
  • Pine Lane Elementary, Parker
  • World Compass Academy
  • Parker Core Knowledge Charter School, Parker
  • Clear Sky Elementary
  • North Star Academy, Parker
  • Gold Rush Elementary, Parker
  • Parker Performing Arts, Englewood
  • Prairie Crossing Elementary School, Parker
  • Mammoth Heights Elementary, Parker
  • Cherokee Trail Elementary School, Parker
  • Eagle Ridge Elementary School, Lone Tree
  • Academy Charter School
  • Northridge Elementary School, Highlands Ranch
  • Sage Canyon Elementary
  • Challenge to Excellence Charter School, Parker

Other schools

  • STEM School Highlands Ranch, Highlands Ranch
  • Skyview Academy, Highlands Ranch
Questions

Douglas RE-1 snow day questions

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More winter

More for Colorado snow days

Snow day predictorClosing and delay odds for any ZIP, with the snowiest districts in the country.Snow depth mapHow much snow is on the ground right now, measured, across the country.First snow datesWhen the first measurable snow usually lands where you live.Frozen pipesThe nights cold enough to freeze a pipe, and what to do before one.Snow plow trackerWhere the plows are during a storm, city by city.Colorado winter forecastThe season ahead for Colorado: snowfall, cold and the first snow.
A residential street under deep snow on a bright blue morning, cars parked along the curb buried into smooth white mounds, one set of tire tracks down the middle
The morning after a big one: cars buried to the mirrors and one set of tracks down the middle. A street like this is a closing, no debate. Photo, Fairfax, Virginia, January 2016: Jarek Tuszyński, CC BY 4.0

The odds are a forecast read, and the superintendent makes the call: the district’s own announcement is the one to follow.