School Closing Information

How do I know if school is canceled?

Ritenour schools close because of severe weather or other emergencies only when it is necessary for the safety of students and staff. Every effort is made to keep school in session according to the regular school schedules.

When school is closed, Ritenour families will receive a phone call with a recorded message, a text message and email through the district’s rapid telephone notification system. Messages can be replayed by calling toll free 1-855-4REPLAY (737529).

You have the option of opting out of phone calls and text messages by following the instructions at the end of each message. If you accidentally opted out and would like to opt back into phone calls, call (855) 502-7867 from the phone number that has been opted out. Then follow the prompts (Press 2 to opt back in to receiving phone calls).

The district also will use its website, the Ritenour App, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to spread the word.

Be sure your child’s school has your current phone numbers and contact information, “like” Ritenour School District on Facebook and follow @RitenourSchools on Twitter.
In addition, tune into the following radio and television stations to find out if Ritenour schools are closed:

Television: KTVI (Channel 2), KMOV and (Channel 4), KSDK (Channel 5). KDNL (Channel 30)

Make sure your family contact information is accurate:

Check your family's phone numbers and contact information on the Parent Portal of PowerSchool. If you do not have a PowerSchool account, find out how you can get one.
If you need to update this contact information, please call your school office personnel about any changes.
Ritenour's automatic notification system receives a nightly upload of student contact information from PowerSchool. Any new contact information we receive from parents is uploaded within 24 hours.

Remember to opt-in for text messages:
If you are not receiving text messages and would like to, please follow the instructions below.

Text the words START ALL (Note capital letters in each word) to 3144289099 from the cell phone/wireless device you wish to receive text messages from Ritenour and your children's schools.
(314) 428-9099 is Ritenour's number for text messaging. Please add this number to your phone contact list.
Make sure this cell phone number is included in your contact information in PowerSchool. Texts will only be sent to cell phones associated with your students' information in PowerSchool, so please contact your child’s school if this is a new number.

Ritenour sends out two types of messages:

Emergency: In case of a crisis situation, Ritenour will send out notifications to all phone numbers listed for our students - including the household, cell and work numbers for parents.
Outreach: The district and schools keep parents connected to news and information by calling parent(s) cell phones, as well as sending out emails and text messages to the email addresses/cell phone numbers on file with their child's contact information.

Remote Learning

Remote Learning

AMI Instructional Information - 2025-2026

View Frequently Asked Questions

Ritenour will not be required to make up days when school buildings are closed due to unexpected short-term closures such as inclement weather, illness or utility outages. Instead, the district will implement an Alternative Methods of Instruction (AMI) Plan on these days that will allow our teachers to provide instruction in a virtual format for all PreK-12 students.

Ritenour has built AMI learning days into the school calendar. On an AMI day, all after-school activities would be canceled and the district would not offer before- and after-school care for elementary school students.

If the district uses all AMI distance learning days Ritenour will go back to the old system of calling a snow day and adding the day to the end of the school year.

When there is a short-term closure such as inclement weather, families will receive communication from our district letting you know that all students will learn virtually. Students will connect virtually with their teachers for live, real-time learning during school closures.

Students should take home devices and other school supplies as needed if there is a potential for school closure due to inclement weather. Schools are working with students to identify who may need to borrow a WiFi Hotspot to use on an AMI day. Please see the school schedules on AMI days below:

AMI Closure Schedule:
Early Childhood: 9 - 9:45 a.m. (office hours 10 - 11 a.m.)
Elementary Schools: 8:40 - 11 a.m. (office hours 11 a.m. - Noon)
Middle Schools and IWC: 7:30 - 9:50 a.m. (office hours 11 a.m. - Noon)
Ritenour High School: 9:05 - 11:25 a.m. (office hours 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.)
Husky Academy: 9:05 - 11:25 a.m. (office hours 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.)

Please note: We will do our best to give families and staff significant advance notice of school closures due to inclement weather.

AMI Virtual Learning Attendance Information
Attendance will be based on completed assignments. Students must turn in completed work to be marked as present. Simply joining an online call with a teacher will not count as attendance. This requirement follows guidelines set by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE).