Should school be closed when it's too cold

[Anonymous]

Well, tomorrow morning it will be about 60. My DD saw this thread, and thinks school should close for that.

[Anonymous]

A couple years ago we cancelled here in NoVa for 9 degree weather. The next year, it was below 0 at 6am and not even a delay. I guess they learned their lesson.

[Anonymous]

No. Don't all Canadian kids, Norwegian, etc. kids walk to school when it's way colder than it will ever get here?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Should school be closed when it's too cold? . If yes, what it's "Too cold?


IMO This is silly....

Is that you Karen Garza?

[Anonymous]

Only if you want to cancel school often enough in a consecutive years to quality for a waiver to start school before Labor Day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In my title one school 35 percent of my kids walk. It rises to about 75 percent as we reach 5th grade because the bus becomes "uncool". So I have lots of kids walking 4 and 5 miles instead of the normal 1 or 2. These kids also don't have proper winter attire. I had one student about 3 years ago who got frost bite on the bottom of his nostril. His snot froze and 35 minutes later when he got to school it starting "burning" and "pricking" him. Im not sure of a cut off temp but I dont think its an absurd concept at least at my school. No one is giving these kids rides either. No one in their household will go "man its super cold today we better take Larla".

At least some of those kids will get their only two meals that day at school so they will suffer if school is closed. Have a drive for coats, mittens, socks, and boots.

Following your argument we better cancel summer vacation etc, so they don't suffer

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In my title one school 35 percent of my kids walk. It rises to about 75 percent as we reach 5th grade because the bus becomes "uncool". So I have lots of kids walking 4 and 5 miles instead of the normal 1 or 2. These kids also don't have proper winter attire. I had one student about 3 years ago who got frost bite on the bottom of his nostril. His snot froze and 35 minutes later when he got to school it starting "burning" and "pricking" him. Im not sure of a cut off temp but I dont think its an absurd concept at least at my school. No one is giving these kids rides either. No one in their household will go "man its super cold today we better take Larla".

At least some of those kids will get their only two meals that day at school so they will suffer if school is closed. Have a drive for coats, mittens, socks, and boots.

Following your argument we better cancel summer vacation etc, so they don't suffer

Thy have summer lunch programs you nit wit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In my title one school 35 percent of my kids walk. It rises to about 75 percent as we reach 5th grade because the bus becomes "uncool". So I have lots of kids walking 4 and 5 miles instead of the normal 1 or 2. These kids also don't have proper winter attire. I had one student about 3 years ago who got frost bite on the bottom of his nostril. His snot froze and 35 minutes later when he got to school it starting "burning" and "pricking" him. Im not sure of a cut off temp but I dont think its an absurd concept at least at my school. No one is giving these kids rides either. No one in their household will go "man its super cold today we better take Larla".

Many of these families don't have cars. It's not necessarily about wanting to drive Larla, it's about having the means to do so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In my title one school 35 percent of my kids walk. It rises to about 75 percent as we reach 5th grade because the bus becomes "uncool". So I have lots of kids walking 4 and 5 miles instead of the normal 1 or 2. These kids also don't have proper winter attire. I had one student about 3 years ago who got frost bite on the bottom of his nostril. His snot froze and 35 minutes later when he got to school it starting "burning" and "pricking" him. Im not sure of a cut off temp but I dont think its an absurd concept at least at my school. No one is giving these kids rides either. No one in their household will go "man its super cold today we better take Larla".

Too uncool to to take the bus? If its cold enough kids will ride the bus. I grew up dirt poor in a snow belt in PA. We had buses. We rode the bus.


How cold does it have to get before a bus won't start? I haven't seen temps in MoCo or FCPS get low enough that they couldn't start.

[Anonymous]

When it drops to -40C. Which is the same in F, I think. And even then it could be moved to start at 1pm, or only upper grades should come, or make it optional attendance depending on how far the kid lives and can they make it to school on their own. People here need to realize that kids in many countries go to school even at -35C and stop being such wusies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In my title one school 35 percent of my kids walk. It rises to about 75 percent as we reach 5th grade because the bus becomes "uncool". So I have lots of kids walking 4 and 5 miles instead of the normal 1 or 2. These kids also don't have proper winter attire. I had one student about 3 years ago who got frost bite on the bottom of his nostril. His snot froze and 35 minutes later when he got to school it starting "burning" and "pricking" him. Im not sure of a cut off temp but I dont think its an absurd concept at least at my school. No one is giving these kids rides either. No one in their household will go "man its super cold today we better take Larla".

Too uncool to to take the bus? If its cold enough kids will ride the bus. I grew up dirt poor in a snow belt in PA. We had buses. We rode the bus.


How cold does it have to get before a bus won't start? I haven't seen temps in MoCo or FCPS get low enough that they couldn't start.

Buses seem to have trouble starting when it gets into low teens and single digits. It's apparently not an issue of engine block heaters or parking the buses outside but is due more to the age of the bus fleet. Fairfax has lots of buses that are 15 years old and older.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When it drops to -40C. Which is the same in F, I think. And even then it could be moved to start at 1pm, or only upper grades should come, or make it optional attendance depending on how far the kid lives and can they make it to school on their own. People here need to realize that kids in many countries go to school even at -35C and stop being such wusies.

Why?

[Anonymous]

If the schools are heated and over 50% of the buses run, then schools should be open. If you kid's bus doesn't run and school is open, then either your kid gets a day off or you find or your kid finds another way to get to school. Good that you are thinking about this now so you have time to plan for the contingency.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If the schools are heated and over 50% of the buses run, then schools should be open. If you kid's bus doesn't run and school is open, then either your kid gets a day off or you find or your kid finds another way to get to school. Good that you are thinking about this now so you have time to plan for the contingency.

Are you on the school board? Are you the new superintendent?

That's not FCPS policy. If you're in charge, then you can change the policy.

[Anonymous]

It rarely gets that cold here. So this a lot of hand-wringing over something that rarely happens.

When it does happen, I'm not sure . . . I grew up in the Midwest and we were outdoors in FRIGID conditions in improper clothing (by choice as we got older). We survived. School was heated and kids got meals (the ones that needed that assistance.) Those that couldn't make it, didn't and made up the work.

But if 50% of the kids can't make it? Cancel.