FCPS Closings/Who to contact about this issue/What can we do as parents to solve this problem

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Get rid of buses and put the onus on parents to take personal responsibility for getting their kids to and from school. Problem solved, millions of $ saved.

Our elementary school has over 900 kids. Not sure how they would manage the logistics of getting that many kids dropped off individually vs by bus.

That's a problem FCPS caused themselves. No elementary should have 900 kids. There are many schools that are under 700 kids though that would work fine to just allow parents to drop off. I even think certain schools would be willing to drive their kids on snow days and forgo busses those days just to keep the schools open.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FCPS has over 180,000 students.

The school system has more buses than Greyhound.

A couple days every year is not really a big deal in the grand scheme of things.

This is true when you have a major snowstorm or event that really would bring even the most durable folks to their knees like the year of Snowmageddon. This hasn't been that. This has been a year of interruptions -- this past one for a week when you didn't know from one minute to the next what was going to happen when the snow event fizzled and kids used high temperatures to snowboard outside in hoodies. There is no excuse for this kind of arbitrariness.

And I realize I am in the minority in high achieving FCPS, but these kind of weeks are murder for my kid, an honors high schooler who really gets off track when there is no school and his teachers check out as well. Getting him back in the groove after all the time off, let alone to stay in the groove during the downtime is murder. I realize I'm alone in this, as most kids are getting homework from their teachers and staying in close touch with them via email, not to mention doing their sports teams workouts on their own, coming up with extra service work and cooking for their families, but it is what it is.

???? Does your DS have trouble getting back in the groove after weekends as well?[/quote]

No. On a typical weekend, he's on a more organized schedule because he usually has a sports competition and/or a practice so he has to organize his work around that. Teachers are also pretty good about giving homework on weekends, as opposed to snow days where, this week, for example, he had an assignment (reading) in one class out of seven.

Last year, a couple of his grades fell to C's in the second quarter after all the snow days. I don't want that to happen again. The fact that you have such a superior attitude about this suggests your kids don't have these problems -- if you even have kids, or more than 1. You might consider yourself lucky as opposed to be so judgmental.

I have 2 teens and a tween. I do think it odd that a neurotypical teenager has difficulty rebounding from a snow day or two. Last winter was more than a day or two, a general clusterfuck, I agree.

Thanks for the diagnosis, doc. The fact that you'd even use a word like neurotypical in this discussion tells me all I need to know. Please go away now and resume your life in Pleansantville.

How does your son transition after summer & spring breaks PP?

If what you say is true, sounds like your son has bigger issues than snow days. You're deflecting. School closings are not the issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FCPS has over 180,000 students.

The school system has more buses than Greyhound.

A couple days every year is not really a big deal in the grand scheme of things.

This is true when you have a major snowstorm or event that really would bring even the most durable folks to their knees like the year of Snowmageddon. This hasn't been that. This has been a year of interruptions -- this past one for a week when you didn't know from one minute to the next what was going to happen when the snow event fizzled and kids used high temperatures to snowboard outside in hoodies. There is no excuse for this kind of arbitrariness.

And I realize I am in the minority in high achieving FCPS, but these kind of weeks are murder for my kid, an honors high schooler who really gets off track when there is no school and his teachers check out as well. Getting him back in the groove after all the time off, let alone to stay in the groove during the downtime is murder. I realize I'm alone in this, as most kids are getting homework from their teachers and staying in close touch with them via email, not to mention doing their sports teams workouts on their own, coming up with extra service work and cooking for their families, but it is what it is.

???? Does your DS have trouble getting back in the groove after weekends as well?[/quote]

No. On a typical weekend, he's on a more organized schedule because he usually has a sports competition and/or a practice so he has to organize his work around that. Teachers are also pretty good about giving homework on weekends, as opposed to snow days where, this week, for example, he had an assignment (reading) in one class out of seven.

Last year, a couple of his grades fell to C's in the second quarter after all the snow days. I don't want that to happen again. The fact that you have such a superior attitude about this suggests your kids don't have these problems -- if you even have kids, or more than 1. You might consider yourself lucky as opposed to be so judgmental.

I have 2 teens and a tween. I do think it odd that a neurotypical teenager has difficulty rebounding from a snow day or two. Last winter was more than a day or two, a general clusterfuck, I agree.

Thanks for the diagnosis, doc. The fact that you'd even use a word like neurotypical in this discussion tells me all I need to know. Please go away now and resume your life in Pleansantville.

How does your son transition after summer & spring breaks PP?

If what you say is true, sounds like your son has bigger issues than snow days. You're deflecting. School closings are not the issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am good with how they have handled this year other than the day they failed to close but should have.

Agree. Saw two buses in accidents that day. Safety first! Maybe some of you that are adamant they should be open should try drive a bus route in snow and ice one day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am good with how they have handled this year other than the day they failed to close but should have.

Agree. Saw two buses in accidents that day. Safety first! Maybe some of you that are adamant they should be open should try drive a bus route in snow and ice one day.

On a day like today or tomorrow, driving a bus in snow and ice would be problematic and school should be closed. However, snow/ice was not an issue Friday or Wednesday of last week. It was just cold. They could have had a delayed opening to provide them extra time to get their buses up and running.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FCPS has over 180,000 students.

The school system has more buses than Greyhound.

A couple days every year is not really a big deal in the grand scheme of things.

This is true when you have a major snowstorm or event that really would bring even the most durable folks to their knees like the year of Snowmageddon. This hasn't been that. This has been a year of interruptions -- this past one for a week when you didn't know from one minute to the next what was going to happen when the snow event fizzled and kids used high temperatures to snowboard outside in hoodies. There is no excuse for this kind of arbitrariness.

And I realize I am in the minority in high achieving FCPS, but these kind of weeks are murder for my kid, an honors high schooler who really gets off track when there is no school and his teachers check out as well. Getting him back in the groove after all the time off, let alone to stay in the groove during the downtime is murder. I realize I'm alone in this, as most kids are getting homework from their teachers and staying in close touch with them via email, not to mention doing their sports teams workouts on their own, coming up with extra service work and cooking for their families, but it is what it is.

???? Does your DS have trouble getting back in the groove after weekends as well?[/quote]

No. On a typical weekend, he's on a more organized schedule because he usually has a sports competition and/or a practice so he has to organize his work around that. Teachers are also pretty good about giving homework on weekends, as opposed to snow days where, this week, for example, he had an assignment (reading) in one class out of seven.

Last year, a couple of his grades fell to C's in the second quarter after all the snow days. I don't want that to happen again. The fact that you have such a superior attitude about this suggests your kids don't have these problems -- if you even have kids, or more than 1. You might consider yourself lucky as opposed to be so judgmental.

I have 2 teens and a tween. I do think it odd that a neurotypical teenager has difficulty rebounding from a snow day or two. Last winter was more than a day or two, a general clusterfuck, I agree.

Thanks for the diagnosis, doc. The fact that you'd even use a word like neurotypical in this discussion tells me all I need to know. Please go away now and resume your life in Pleansantville.

How does your son transition after summer & spring breaks PP?

If what you say is true, sounds like your son has bigger issues than snow days. You're deflecting. School closings are not the issue.

yes, perhaps he's too much typical teenage boy for this area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Get rid of buses and put the onus on parents to take personal responsibility for getting their kids to and from school. Problem solved, millions of $ saved.

Our elementary school has over 900 kids. Not sure how they would manage the logistics of getting that many kids dropped off individually vs by bus.

That's a problem FCPS caused themselves. No elementary should have 900 kids. There are many schools that are under 700 kids though that would work fine to just allow parents to drop off. I even think certain schools would be willing to drive their kids on snow days and forgo busses those days just to keep the schools open.

No school should be allowed the warehouse that many kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Get rid of buses and put the onus on parents to take personal responsibility for getting their kids to and from school. Problem solved, millions of $ saved.

Our elementary school has over 900 kids. Not sure how they would manage the logistics of getting that many kids dropped off individually vs by bus.

That's a problem FCPS caused themselves. No elementary should have 900 kids. There are many schools that are under 700 kids though that would work fine to just allow parents to drop off. I even think certain schools would be willing to drive their kids on snow days and forgo busses those days just to keep the schools open.

No school should be allowed the warehouse that many kids.

So what is the ideal size? And are wiling to pay for smaller schools? It's not enough to throw out statements about what you think is unacceptable. You have to be willing to pay for it. I'm willing to, but there are so many who are ready to weigh in about what schools should look like and then scream holy hell when ask to pay the taxes that support the schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Get rid of buses and put the onus on parents to take personal responsibility for getting their kids to and from school. Problem solved, millions of $ saved.

Our elementary school has over 900 kids. Not sure how they would manage the logistics of getting that many kids dropped off individually vs by bus.

That's a problem FCPS caused themselves. No elementary should have 900 kids. There are many schools that are under 700 kids though that would work fine to just allow parents to drop off. I even think certain schools would be willing to drive their kids on snow days and forgo busses those days just to keep the schools open.

No school should be allowed the warehouse that many kids.

So what is the ideal size? And are wiling to pay for smaller schools? It's not enough to throw out statements about what you think is unacceptable. You have to be willing to pay for it. I'm willing to, but there are so many who are ready to weigh in about what schools should look like and then scream holy hell when ask to pay the taxes that support the schools.

I would absolutely willing to pay more for smaller schools and class sizes. Maybe we can use the bus money to fund part of that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Get rid of buses and put the onus on parents to take personal responsibility for getting their kids to and from school. Problem solved, millions of $ saved.

Our elementary school has over 900 kids. Not sure how they would manage the logistics of getting that many kids dropped off individually vs by bus.

That's a problem FCPS caused themselves. No elementary should have 900 kids. There are many schools that are under 700 kids though that would work fine to just allow parents to drop off. I even think certain schools would be willing to drive their kids on snow days and forgo busses those days just to keep the schools open.

Where would the kids go if you decreased the size of the elementary schools?

[Anonymous]

NP, but I liked the 900 kid elementary school that my older child went to far more than the 400 kid elementary that my younger one now attends.

And then what about MS and HS? Are you going to make those smaller too? Our MS is 1000 kids and HS is 2200. They are close to each other. I can't imagine the traffic nightmare if students were driven/drove themselves vs. the majority of kids taking buses.

[Anonymous]

Will all of you who did not grow up here please move away!!

This is what you get when you raze the farms and build sub-divisions and have everyone get on old country roads.
Back in my days FCPS closed all the time because the buses couldn't drive on the rural roads. Nothing has changed - now we just have more cars on well paved roads (but, they are still rural - one accident and there is no way around it)

We have a county system, not a city system. You need to change that first. Arlington is a city, FCPS is a county.

Suck it up - you only have about 7 years when you really need to worry about it. (k-6, after that they are old enough to stay home)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Will all of you who did not grow up here please move away!!

This is what you get when you raze the farms and build sub-divisions and have everyone get on old country roads.
Back in my days FCPS closed all the time because the buses couldn't drive on the rural roads. Nothing has changed - now we just have more cars on well paved roads (but, they are still rural - one accident and there is no way around it)

We have a county system, not a city system. You need to change that first. Arlington is a city, FCPS is a county.

Suck it up - you only have about 7 years when you really need to worry about it. (k-6, after that they are old enough to stay home)

Okay then, I'll tell my boss I only have 7 more years of this and then my November through February will be more consistent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Will all of you who did not grow up here please move away!!

This is what you get when you raze the farms and build sub-divisions and have everyone get on old country roads.
Back in my days FCPS closed all the time because the buses couldn't drive on the rural roads. Nothing has changed - now we just have more cars on well paved roads (but, they are still rural - one accident and there is no way around it)

We have a county system, not a city system. You need to change that first. Arlington is a city, FCPS is a county.

Suck it up - you only have about 7 years when you really need to worry about it. (k-6, after that they are old enough to stay home)

which is also when they're the least controllable and most likely to get in trouble. but go on with that theory.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am good with how they have handled this year other than the day they failed to close but should have.

Agree. Saw two buses in accidents that day. Safety first! Maybe some of you that are adamant they should be open should try drive a bus route in snow and ice one day.

On a day like today or tomorrow, driving a bus in snow and ice would be problematic and school should be closed. However, snow/ice was not an issue Friday or Wednesday of last week. It was just cold. They could have had a delayed opening to provide them extra time to get their buses up and running.

Nobody's perfect and nobody has a crystal ball. I think FCPS has handled the closings well this year. Were they perfect? No, but they did their best and it was close enough for me.