Schools closed for students Monday Feb 2

[Anonymous]

Does anyone know why MCPS doesn't have a plan on file? It's obvious that a virtual learning plan needs to demonstrate how it will help all students, including special needs kids. But if half of the counties in the state figured out how to get that done, then shouldn't MCPS have done so as well? It's just BS that every child does not have access to a chromebook, or couldn't, given what the county has spent. Or materials could have been sent home in advance if children do not have digital access or that type of learning doesn't work for them. The Board of Education needs to be held to account.
This is a killer for those of us who have sophomores and juniors in high school who will now have a week and a half (the way it's looking) of less preparation for AP exams and other standard national tests. and melt for younger students is real, too. I hope someone out there does a study on comparing how MCPS students did on these tests compared with schools that started virtual learning or went back to school in person last week.

[Anonymous]

Fairfax co schools are also closed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Don't forget AP exams are in May, and many APs cannot be self-studied. High schoolers need to learn their entire AP curriculum before May - extending the school year is useless for them.

Stop being ridiculous. My freshman self-studied APUSH, AP Bio, AP Physics C Mechanics, AP Human Geo, and AP Psychology last year without any teacher support (he is extremely gifted but the county refuses to accept that) and got 5s on all five exams. He goes out of his way to take all advanced classes at Whitman, and didn't struggle at all with balancing his workload. In fact, if your student needs a class to get a five, consider yourself a failed parent.

Wow. You are absolutely unhinged. If your kid is capable of getting a 5 through self-study, then that means he’s exceptionally gifted and that AP probably isn’t rigorous enough for him.

But that absolutely does not invalidate the PP’s point that instruction for AP classes has to keep pace with the exam schedules for the majority of kids.

No one gives a care about that poster and their kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The message said all schools are ready.

So then why the closure?

Because kids can't safely walk to school and they can't pick up students with disabilities. They lay that out in the message. The problem is this is unlikely to change any time soon.

You left off the top reason they gave us that many streets are too narrow for buses to drive or turn?

[Anonymous]

also in the amount of time we have been working onthis we could have put together emergency pickup routes. Pick up the kids who can make it, open a zoom call online for those who cannot. It seems like the district should exercise emergency authority at this point. the ice is going nowhere and no one is doing anything further to plow it away.

[Anonymous]

So what’s the plan. The snow/ice isn’t melting anytime soon. Are they planning to just stay closed??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The message said all schools are ready.

So then why the closure?

Because kids can't safely walk to school and they can't pick up students with disabilities. They lay that out in the message. The problem is this is unlikely to change any time soon.

Are the kids in Frederick County and the other MD counties that are open magically safer than the MoCo kids?

Other counties are not as densely populated as MCPS and it leads to much fewer walkers and less small neighborhood streets. Picking kids up at the end of their rural driveways is not an issue. Navigating a bus through Silver Spring is.

Those are often in walk zones. People have been walking all week.

We are not rural and no sidewalks. Streets are hit or miss but all are basically one lane. It’s impossible to get to some buses and walking to school is dangerous. Driving is hard as not all streets are passable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The message said all schools are ready.

So then why the closure?

Because kids can't safely walk to school and they can't pick up students with disabilities. They lay that out in the message. The problem is this is unlikely to change any time soon.

Are the kids in Frederick County and the other MD counties that are open magically safer than the MoCo kids?

Other counties are not as densely populated as MCPS and it leads to much fewer walkers and less small neighborhood streets. Picking kids up at the end of their rural driveways is not an issue. Navigating a bus through Silver Spring is.

Those are often in walk zones. People have been walking all week.

We are not rural and no sidewalks. Streets are hit or miss but all are basically one lane. It’s impossible to get to some buses and walking to school is dangerous. Driving is hard as not all streets are passable.

Have you gone anywhere this weekend? How did you get there?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The message said all schools are ready.

So then why the closure?

Because kids can't safely walk to school and they can't pick up students with disabilities. They lay that out in the message. The problem is this is unlikely to change any time soon.

You left off the top reason they gave us that many streets are too narrow for buses to drive or turn?

busses cannot get on our streets especially with no sidewalks and everyone walking in the street.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The message said all schools are ready.

So then why the closure?

Because kids can't safely walk to school and they can't pick up students with disabilities. They lay that out in the message. The problem is this is unlikely to change any time soon.

Are the kids in Frederick County and the other MD counties that are open magically safer than the MoCo kids?

Other counties are not as densely populated as MCPS and it leads to much fewer walkers and less small neighborhood streets. Picking kids up at the end of their rural driveways is not an issue. Navigating a bus through Silver Spring is.

Those are often in walk zones. People have been walking all week.

We are not rural and no sidewalks. Streets are hit or miss but all are basically one lane. It’s impossible to get to some buses and walking to school is dangerous. Driving is hard as not all streets are passable.

Have you gone anywhere this weekend? How did you get there?

Unlike you and the rest of the Partridge family, I don't travel by bus. I drive a Ford Maverick. It's slightly easier to maneuver.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe the expectation is that teachers & other school based staff are going in to shovel sidewalks and clear the roads? Those were the reasons that Dr Taylor gave for MCPS to be closed tomorrow for students.

Our grading was done over the snow days because we were told it was due when we came back and nobody expected teachers to come back but not students. I’m sure most of our planning is also done.

I have no problems going back, but can’t see the reasons for school not opening for students going away anytime soon. Exactly when are we supposed to have a long stretch of non-freezing weather to melt the ice?

I’d rather teachers do prep or teach from home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The message said all schools are ready.

So then why the closure?

Because kids can't safely walk to school and they can't pick up students with disabilities. They lay that out in the message. The problem is this is unlikely to change any time soon.

You left off the top reason they gave us that many streets are too narrow for buses to drive or turn?

busses cannot get on our streets especially with no sidewalks and everyone walking in the street.

Lots of neighborhoods have walkers but no sidewalks all the time. Our buses manage the kids in the street.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The message said all schools are ready.

So then why the closure?

Because kids can't safely walk to school and they can't pick up students with disabilities. They lay that out in the message. The problem is this is unlikely to change any time soon.

Are the kids in Frederick County and the other MD counties that are open magically safer than the MoCo kids?

Other counties are not as densely populated as MCPS and it leads to much fewer walkers and less small neighborhood streets. Picking kids up at the end of their rural driveways is not an issue. Navigating a bus through Silver Spring is.

I also think Silver Spring is a problem spot.

With Purple line construction zones one lane streets in half as wide. Not everyone live on Gude Drive

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The message said all schools are ready.

So then why the closure?

Because kids can't safely walk to school and they can't pick up students with disabilities. They lay that out in the message. The problem is this is unlikely to change any time soon.

Are the kids in Frederick County and the other MD counties that are open magically safer than the MoCo kids?

Other counties are not as densely populated as MCPS and it leads to much fewer walkers and less small neighborhood streets. Picking kids up at the end of their rural driveways is not an issue. Navigating a bus through Silver Spring is.

Those are often in walk zones. People have been walking all week.

We are not rural and no sidewalks. Streets are hit or miss but all are basically one lane. It’s impossible to get to some buses and walking to school is dangerous. Driving is hard as not all streets are passable.

Then walk through yards. This isn't rocket science.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So what’s the plan. The snow/ice isn’t melting anytime soon. Are they planning to just stay closed??

Yes. If MoCo doesn’t want to invest in more plows, doesn’t want any child to walk on an icy sidewalk (which is totally common in other parts of the country where snow is managed better), then they just need to open a week or two earlier in August.

And then they can have 8 or 9 snow days and have a policy that no special snowflake of MCPS shall have their feet touch ice.