Closed Tuesday?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:There will be a revolt if they turn back on the delay for tomorrow!

A revolt on DCUM, let's get the facts straight.

Literally all of the parents I know are PISSED school is closed today. I don’t think yall are the majority you think you are.

I’m not, and neither are any of the parents you know. Your little group of four isn’t the voice of FCPS parents.

Get ready to go back tomorrow...or don't. Nobody cares.

I care. I don’t want half-empty classrooms.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:This question might be off topic, but if we do open this week, won’t we need to do 2 hour delays everyday - since there’s a danger that Middle Schoolers who walk in the early morning could be hit by cars?

Yes and that’s fine by me. It feels like the right amount of risk tolerance.

Whole problem here is the terrible decision making by folks being paid 300-400k year. You cannot reasonably claim, if conditions were so “unsafe” that entire school system had to close, that conditions tomorrow will be materially any better tomorrow (or Wed/Thurs for that matter). So leadership is either OK with another full week of no school (which is terrible ninny timid leadership) OR will hypocritically move the goal posts later this week.

What upsets me is that the people making these decisions are so far removed from the life blood of the school community, that they are thinking of their own reputations, liability status, and popularity rather than the welfare of children. If they want to open, they should at least make an effort to be proactive — start initiating community carpool drives, recruit volunteers to supervise children at the bus stop, create a list of contact information for folks willing to remove ice for a fee… they don’t have to be 100 percent successful, but they should TRY. I don’t have access to all the information they do, I know, but I am disheartened by their, I don’t know, uselessness. They should be working and thinking and planning like someone lit fires under their butts, but I don’t see that.

Its's been 4 days....

Yeah, I know. I’m okay if we open or close, but so many people posting here seem so anguished. FCPS could at least reassure them with updates and better communication. I think not knowing is making people anxious.

This is so spot on. So much of this is 100 percent a comms problem.

Have a plan for storm follow up (I don't think they have this but they have one!), publicize the plan, communicate your progress on the plan. Tell us where we need to get to in the plan to open.

[Anonymous]

They should come up with a policy like after 3 consecutive snow days, there is a pivot to on-line learning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They should come up with a policy like after 3 consecutive snow days, there is a pivot to on-line learning.

no, they should not.

on-line learning is purely performative.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This question might be off topic, but if we do open this week, won’t we need to do 2 hour delays everyday - since there’s a danger that Middle Schoolers who walk in the early morning could be hit by cars?

Yes and that’s fine by me. It feels like the right amount of risk tolerance.

Whole problem here is the terrible decision making by folks being paid 300-400k year. You cannot reasonably claim, if conditions were so “unsafe” that entire school system had to close, that conditions tomorrow will be materially any better tomorrow (or Wed/Thurs for that matter). So leadership is either OK with another full week of no school (which is terrible ninny timid leadership) OR will hypocritically move the goal posts later this week.

What upsets me is that the people making these decisions are so far removed from the life blood of the school community, that they are thinking of their own reputations, liability status, and popularity rather than the welfare of children. If they want to open, they should at least make an effort to be proactive — start initiating community carpool drives, recruit volunteers to supervise children at the bus stop, create a list of contact information for folks willing to remove ice for a fee… they don’t have to be 100 percent successful, but they should TRY. I don’t have access to all the information they do, I know, but I am disheartened by their, I don’t know, uselessness. They should be working and thinking and planning like someone lit fires under their butts, but I don’t see that.

Its's been 4 days....

Yeah, I know. I’m okay if we open or close, but so many people posting here seem so anguished. FCPS could at least reassure them with updates and better communication. I think not knowing is making people anxious.

This is so spot on. So much of this is 100 percent a comms problem.

Have a plan for storm follow up (I don't think they have this but they have one!), publicize the plan, communicate your progress on the plan. Tell us where we need to get to in the plan to open.

And have some pre-defined objective measurement criteria that frames your decision making. Does every bus stop need to be clear? Does every sidewalk? Is there percentage threshold? It's the pearl clutching uncertainty that's frustrating - you're paid to plan ahead for this (very likely) occurrence. Not figure it out on the fly (regardless of specific conditions). It's the same thing every year.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Why aren't they doing virtual?

Originally a couple years ago there was a plan to do virtual on all snow days. Then a group complained and said kids deserved the days to play in the snow, so they changed it. While I agree that on the first day it’s fun to play in the snow, that doesn’t account for weeks like this where it’s closed for piles of ice.

I know virtual doesn’t work for the young elementary school students, but it could be done for MS and HS.

I mean, my kid didn't bring a computer home so I have absolutely no clue how they'd do virtual. Definitely isn't something they can just decide mid snow days.

Exactly. A plan would really need to been in place to switch to virtual instruction.

So I will be lobbying for a plan to be in place next year when this happens again.

With the number of days off and half days already in this insane calendar, we really do the kids a huge disservice but not pushing for more actual educating.

Yes. That’s fair.

Sure go ahead but really you should lobby for upper elementary middle and high schools to go virtual. Most sane people don’t want to have to watch their little kids during virtual grade 1 Prek and kindergarten instruction. It is a waste of actual teaching time to teach logging on to those kids. Not to mention the budget will be horrible this round so to give all of those kids devices to a once every 10-15 year storm is ridiculous.

Use some calm down techniques and place this storm historically so you can take it in stride rather than start advocating for something that wastes time and money.

Love a virtual kindergarten and first grade parent during Covid

Ok, so maybe for K-3, it'll just be some pre-printed worksheets that they do on their own. The teacher can still log on, if parents want to help with logging in, for a 30 min morning meeting, attendance optional. Done.

See. It's all hypothetical at this point. It needs to be planned. It's not so simple as, "Maybe do this. Done."

This whole thread has been about planning it.

Except for responses to those who say, "Why aren't we doing virtual?" and "Virtual is a must! Start it tomorrow."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This question might be off topic, but if we do open this week, won’t we need to do 2 hour delays everyday - since there’s a danger that Middle Schoolers who walk in the early morning could be hit by cars?

Yes and that’s fine by me. It feels like the right amount of risk tolerance.

Whole problem here is the terrible decision making by folks being paid 300-400k year. You cannot reasonably claim, if conditions were so “unsafe” that entire school system had to close, that conditions tomorrow will be materially any better tomorrow (or Wed/Thurs for that matter). So leadership is either OK with another full week of no school (which is terrible ninny timid leadership) OR will hypocritically move the goal posts later this week.

This....so much money being wasted at Gatehouse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, I've been so disappointed in my broader neighborhood. There are so many houses with pristine, cleared driveways and untouched sidewalks. The worst are the corner lots, where people just decided that it was too much work to break up the ice.

As part of this, a big problem has been the lack of help for the older folks. But I understand it. It is normally a 10-15 minute job to shovel someone's sidewalk in a normal 1/4 acre residential neighborhood. In these conditions it ends up being an hour-plus.

There's nothing that FCPS can do to make this better. They just have to decide what is the tipping point where the kids have missed enough school that it is ok to send them out in potentially dangerous conditions.

Everyone here is disappointed.....disappointed in neighbors(maybe they were sick or injured and couldn't help)....disappointed in school systems....no one seems to want to say that this is not a normal storm and VA does not have the resources to clean up they way up north does. Kids safety matters-all kids not just yours. Everyone will have to be disappointed-we have the snow days and we never use them all. This was a big and intense storm. It is what it is~stop with the teacher hate they don't make the calls.

Our neighborhood had people posting that they were available to help if people needed help and then did so when people reached out. My neighbor who cleared their driveway and din’t touch their sidewalk didn’t need help to do that, they just didn’t want to so they didn’t. Pretty much everyone in my neighborhood has clear drive ways, half didn’t touch their sidewalks. That is a choice they made that we all pay for.

I don’t care about using snow days, although they are not actual snow days but hours that are counted. That includes things that have nothing to do with being in class, like passing periods and lunch time, so these are not actual instructional minutes and not really snow days. FCPS plans for hte legally required 180 days, it doesn’t build in snow days. It switches to hours after the first snow days. This notion that there are 10 built in snow days is BS.

k

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They should come up with a policy like after 3 consecutive snow days, there is a pivot to on-line learning.

no, they should not.

on-line learning is purely performative.

Most things in FCPS are purely performative.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There will be a revolt if they turn back on the delay for tomorrow!

A revolt on DCUM, let's get the facts straight.

Literally all of the parents I know are PISSED school is closed today. I don’t think yall are the majority you think you are.

I’m pissed schools are closed. I also know and understand why they are closed.

[Anonymous]

Let’s go with 2hr delay. Hope they call it before 4pm. Gives working parents a little heads up.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Why aren’t we doing virtual?

What do you picture when you say “virtual”? Are you thinking purely asynchronous work? Synchronous instruction?

People keep bringing this up. If you are going to do virtual instruction it needs to be planned ahead of time. You can’t just flip a switch and do it. Students and teachers both need to be prepped on expectations, especially if any type of synchronous instruction is going to happen. You’d have to make sure to send their laptops and Chromebooks home before the storm.

Not the person you are responding to, but I think if you warned students in advance that they need to have laptops in case of virtual and you remind them then of rules, then it can be done. You remind them again when the virtual session starts of rules. You don't even need to use all the class time. Just have a check in, teach something so when you revisit it, it is not the first time they heard it, but if people don't join they don't completely lose out. Then have a little asynchronous work that they can self-check. Sure some will just cheat, but quite a few won't and it will only help them when they return to schol. In the case of AP classes I would definitely have some zoom classes.

Exactly. In advance. That hasn’t been done. Keep in mind that what you are suggesting probably won’t be so simple with ES students. Maybe the expectations will be different for those in ES, but that all has to be understood beforehand. You can’t just say, “Online instruction begins tomorrow”.

Yes virtual learning is not a simple thing at all, as everyone should remember. We're at, what, day 3.5? This seems like a massive overreaction.

I probably wouldn’t be so put off by this if a five day week was the standards and not exception. For a lot of working parents, the calendar is such a mess and we do everything we can to make it work. But when things like this happen and there’s no apparent effort to problem solve, it feels like a bridge too far for me. I’m glad you might not feel like this, it’s not a nice feeling to fear that my kids aren’t getting the education I thought they would when we chose to live here. Not based on a couple of snow days but on the culmination of a lot of factors.

It's this.

[Anonymous]

Even my HS who prefer not to be in school have expressed frustration at the calendar this year. "I can't get into a rhythm to lock in" is what they have said.

Enough is enough with the nonsense of 4 day school weeks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There will be a revolt if they turn back on the delay for tomorrow!

A revolt on DCUM, let's get the facts straight.

Literally all of the parents I know are PISSED school is closed today. I don’t think yall are the majority you think you are.

I’m pissed schools are closed. I also know and understand why they are closed.

You're so blessed to be above the frustration! Bless your soul.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Even my HS who prefer not to be in school have expressed frustration at the calendar this year. "I can't get into a rhythm to lock in" is what they have said.

Enough is enough with the nonsense of 4 day school weeks.

Agree with this. Also understand the safety concerns of this storm. But yes this year has been a joke and a half.