As the harsh winter season goes on, DePaul College Prep carefully continues to prepare the school’s facilities to ensure safety and comfort for students and staff. From managing the heating systems, to ensuring walkways are clear of ice and snow, these important steps are major in ensuring safety for the school.
To prepare for the freezing temperatures, winter storms and anticipated ice, DePaul Prep faces challenges that reach beyond academic schedules. Starting in the summer to prepare for the winter seasons that the school year holds, Katie Buino, Manager of the Facilities at DePaul Prep, takes charge of all the behind the scenes work that DePaul Prep provides during the winter.
The facilities team works hard to ensure that every part of the school building and area around the school is prepared for the winter season. Their dedication and attention play a very crucial role in preventing accidents and maintaining a productive learning space.
“When it snowed on Monday, right before students were arriving at school, our team called our snow removal vendors at 5:15 am just to make sure that the timing was good so that you guys had nice clear walkways,” said Buino.
Not only does the school initiate proper and safe outside environments for students and staff, there are eco friendly measures set in place to ensure an even safer environment.
“Some ways to ensure eco-friendly measurements is, shoveling instead of using salt. If everything is melted our team is sweeping up any salt left because it isn’t safe for garden beds.” Buino said.
With arising signs of snow and snowstorms, the DePaul Prep facilities team ensures that their safety impact on students and staff isn’t just benefiting them but the entire ecosystem.
“Another significant eco-friendly measure is the HVAC system we use. It’s a computer system that helps to maintain eco-friendly situations and is according to what the outside air temperature is and what the demand is inside of the building, which helps us to keep our energy costs down,” Buino said.
Unlike many HVAC systems, the one at DePaul Prep is efficient since it is cost effective and high tech, ensuring environmental sustainability. These approaches that the team takes to ensure safety during the winter for DePaul Prep prove the true dedication and commitment this team has to create the best environment possible.
Winter weather makes the dailey commute to and from school much more challenging for students. The snow and the ice create slippery roads and sidewalks increase lots of risk in accidents and delays. These weather conditions can also disrupt extracurricular activities, as after school events may be delayed or canceled due to poor visibility or safety concerns.
Senior, Ciara Mason shared her experiences as a student whose daily routine as a student and athlete gets interrupted by the harsh winter weather conditions.
“As a student athlete, my energy levels are lower in the winter because of the cold weather and it makes me feel less motivated. Since I am in the off season for my sport, my extra practices and training get canceled in the winter times if it’s too cold to commute and for other reasons like unsafe roads,” Mason said.
Assistant Dean Cotton shares that of the most noticeable trends during the colder months is the increase in the number of students driving to school or using public transit.
“As the weather turned colder, we started to see more congestion on the road, with more students driving to school, less parking on the streets, which leads to an increase in tardies.” Cotto said
A common affect of tardies during the winter time is due to weather delays. Commutes are disrupted if a bus line isnt running, if theres an accident, and causes students to struggle to get to school on time.
Weather delays we know are not students fault and we do take into considerations and it does affect the larger students and we will make our adjustments based on what happened ” Cotto said.
At DePaul Prep, there are rare occasions where those who are tardy due to their arrival to school, are let off without a warning, which causes frustration among students.
“I find myself getting to school later, as I have to heat my car up and find a parking spot on the road, which I have to be extra cautious of when the roads are icy. I think that our school should allow students extra time to get to school to ensure safety, to allow students to get on time in class without a tardy,” Mason said.
Preparing and surviving the harsh Chicago winter weather conditions is a vital part of keeping students, staff and the school community safe. Through the proactive and thoughtful measures that the facilities team members take to provide DePaul Prep ensure strong preparation for the winter conditions. By planning ahead and staying consistent, the facilities team fosters security allowing all members of DePaul College Prep to maintain focus and stay alert during the winter.
