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Brighton, Colorado, 23,139 students in 33 schools

School District 27J Snow Day Predictor

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in School District 27J, measured against School District 27J's own big snow morning of 4.2 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will School District 27J close tomorrow?

Reading the National Weather Service forecast for the overnight and the bus hours in Brighton.
The School District 27J playbook

How School District 27J calls a snow day

A 2 hour delay

On a delay morning every school starts 2 hours late.

“Bus pickup and school starting time will be approximately two hours later than usual.”
Delay schedule

The 2026 to 2027 calendar

  • First day August 20, 2026
  • Winter break Dec 21 to Jan 1
  • Last day June 3, 2027
District calendar

The board policy

“The superintendent is empowered to close the schools or to dismiss them early in event of hazardous weather or other emergencies which threaten the safety, health, or welfare of students or staff members.”
Board policy

Read from School District 27J’s own pages on October 8, 2026; the district site is sd27j.org.

Ten winters of school mornings

School District 27J’s snow record

27inches of snow a winter
2.4school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more
0.9with 4 in or more
4.2 ina big snow morning in School District 27J: the top tenth of snowy school mornings
3.4Nov
2.9Dec
4.9Jan
6.4Feb
5.9Mar
Average snowfall by month, inches
  • Biggest day 12.4 in on March 15, 2021
  • Snowiest winter 2020 to 2021, 49.9 in
  • 6 in mornings 0.5 a winter
  • 1 in mornings 4.3 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 1.4 miles 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 School District 27J

DistrictSnow a winter4 in mornings
Adams 12 Five Star SchoolsThornton51.1 in1.6
Adams County School District 14Commerce City47.8 in1.8
Mapleton School District 1Denver46 in1.3
Westminster Public School DistrictWestminster50.7 in2.3
Adams-Arapahoe School District 28JAurora40.6 in1.1
Denver County School District 1Denver46.3 in2
The schools

33 schools

Every school in School District 27J follows the district’s call: one closing covers them all.

High

  • Prairie View High School, Henderson
  • Brighton High School
  • Riverdale Ridge High School, Thornton
  • Eagle Ridge Academy
  • 27J Online Academy
  • Innovations & Options

Middle

  • Rodger Quist Middle School, Thornton
  • Otho E Stuart Middle School, Commerce City
  • Prairie View Middle School, Henderson
  • Vikan Middle School
  • Overland Trail Middle School

Elementary

  • Bromley East Charter School
  • Landmark Academy at Reunion, Commerce City
  • Foundations Academy
  • Turnberry Elementary, Commerce City
  • Reunion Elementary School, Commerce City
  • West Ridge Elementary, Thornton
  • Second Creek Elementary School, Commerce City
  • Discovery Magnet School, Thornton
  • Mary E Pennock Elementary School
  • Elaine S. Padilla Elementary School
  • Belle Creek Charter School, Henderson
  • Brantner Elementary School, Thornton
  • Southlawn Elementary School, Commerce City
  • Southeast Elementary School
  • John W Thimmig Elementary School, Henderson
  • Northeast Elementary School
  • Henderson Elementary School, Henderson
  • South Elementary School

Other schools

  • Colorado Connections @ 27J, Englewood
  • The STEAD School, Commerce City
  • Bright Beginnings
  • Prairie Vista Youth Service Center
Questions

School District 27J 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.