MCPS closed tomorrow

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How does every thread become a reason to bash teachers.
This was a freak accident that had nothing to do with teachers.
I know it is frustrating that schools are closed today but again - it has nothing to do with teachers.

The accident had nothing to do with teachers. But I bet the decision to close schools had everything to do with teachers. There's no rational explanation for the early decision to close all schools other than wanting to give teachers an extra day off.

Thanks for the laugh. I needed that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Classroom teacher here. We ALL could use this ordained-opportunity not to gripe and groan about a most unfortunate and potentially, catastrophic incident; but to offer Grace and Grow. Even if it's not in the curriculum or the parent handbook, everyday we are faced with "Pivot and Turn" moments. This is one of them. For those folks who are so quick to move on from "Giving Thanks" Thursday:

1. Make a moment to check in with a family member
2. Prepare a meal for one of families in Gaithersburg who are still seeking shelter. PTA?? Boosters???
3. Gather some n⁵eighborhood kids and rake an elderly person's yard.
4. Create a learning pod for 2 of your kids friends
5. Library visit anyone?
6. Watch a neighbor's kids for 1 hr so they can go to the grocery store or pick up a prescription or even Go To Work.

Or how about unplug, decompress and just go outside an Breathe ......release from this whirlwind season and allow Our children to be THEIR BEST for the rest of this week?....just a thought. SEL starts at home, we're here to enhance what the children already know.

1 Father = 100 Teachers

It’s quite telling that it didn’t even occur to this teacher that other people actually have to work today.

So, if you work and have children in school, what is your emergency backup plan if they are sick and can't go to school? What is your emergency backup plan if there was a snow storm and they couldn't go to school?

All parents should have an emergency backup plan if school is not available. Just because you don't have one is not a reason to blame the school or teachers. They had nothing to do with this decision. The problem is that an accident happened that has caused an emergency in the eastern seaboard power grid. The power company has a lot of work to do and at some point will likely have to shut power down again and the schools have as little control over that scenario as you do. So, rather than getting all those kids into schools where the power, HVAC, telephones and all operating equipment in the facility may go out an any time today for an unpredictable amount of time, the school system is closing today to ensure all children are safe at home. It is easier for parents to take care of their own children at home if the power goes out again than trying to handle hundreds or thousands of students at school in that situation.

Oh no, another silly argument.where is the school's back up plan? So what if the power goes out? Power didn't even flicker in our cluster.

You live in a community that is bigger than your cluster. If you only want to have to worry about 5 schools, move to Pennsylvania.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids need to be in school. It's like you don't value education. I don't need a break. I can handle my kids, but I want them to get an education. Model resilience and maturity for your kids.

We have two emergency closure days built into the schedule. Take a breath.

Unfortunately, this isn't the first poor decision. You should take a breath. Just hoping that all these pathetic arguments are actually kids and not adults posting. Gonna hold on to that hope.

DP who is amazed at the frequency you check and reply on this site while claiming that this decision makes your day chaos

But when the attack goes personal...you know that the person on the other side is grasping for anything they can get t⁷heir hands on. Love it.

Nah, I’m a DP and amazed that you have the time and energy to be on DCUM right now. Aren’t you supposed to be trying to work and watch your kids?

So hiiarious.. you know nothing about me or the ages of my children, or about their needs. You're grasping. One thing you should know...they should be in school today.

No matter the ages of your children, they need you more than DCUM does.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can you imagine the outcry if at 5am they took back their message that schools were closed???

Yes, and that would have been wrong. The message last night could have said that schools would have been on 2-hour delay the following day, with an update by the following morning. Then this morning's update could have been: all schools will open 2 hours late as expected, or, all schools except the following: [list of still-closed schools].

are you the parent of a kindergartner or an early elementary student? You know there would be an outcry if last night they said 2 hour delay with an update the following morning. I do believe they tried that approach with snow closures and guess what...there were threads complaining about it.

I don't think their decisions should be made according to their likelihood of generating DCUM complaints. It is clear that DCUM will complain no matter what.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can you imagine the outcry if at 5am they took back their message that schools were closed???

Yes, and that would have been wrong. The message last night could have said that schools would have been on 2-hour delay the following day, with an update by the following morning. Then this morning's update could have been: all schools will open 2 hours late as expected, or, all schools except the following: [list of still-closed schools].

are you the parent of a kindergartner or an early elementary student? You know there would be an outcry if last night they said 2 hour delay with an update the following morning. I do believe they tried that approach with snow closures and guess what...there were threads complaining about it.

I don't think their decisions should be made according to their likelihood of generating DCUM complaints. It is clear that DCUM will complain no matter what.

This thread (and this entire toxic forum) is actually an argument against MCPS listening to anything parents say. It's almost comedy at this point, the level of bitterness and vitriol. Why should they bother? No matter what they decide, these vocal shrews will be unhappy and will froth at the mouth with complaints that are self-centered, short-sighted, apply double standards that assume the best of themselves and the worst of others, and contradict what they were complaining about last week. "The food at this restaurant sucks! And such small portions!"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Classroom teacher here. We ALL could use this ordained-opportunity not to gripe and groan about a most unfortunate and potentially, catastrophic incident; but to offer Grace and Grow. Even if it's not in the curriculum or the parent handbook, everyday we are faced with "Pivot and Turn" moments. This is one of them. For those folks who are so quick to move on from "Giving Thanks" Thursday:

1. Make a moment to check in with a family member
2. Prepare a meal for one of families in Gaithersburg who are still seeking shelter. PTA?? Boosters???
3. Gather some n⁵eighborhood kids and rake an elderly person's yard.
4. Create a learning pod for 2 of your kids friends
5. Library visit anyone?
6. Watch a neighbor's kids for 1 hr so they can go to the grocery store or pick up a prescription or even Go To Work.

Or how about unplug, decompress and just go outside an Breathe ......release from this whirlwind season and allow Our children to be THEIR BEST for the rest of this week?....just a thought. SEL starts at home, we're here to enhance what the children already know.

1 Father = 100 Teachers

It’s quite telling that it didn’t even occur to this teacher that other people actually have to work today.

So, if you work and have children in school, what is your emergency backup plan if they are sick and can't go to school? What is your emergency backup plan if there was a snow storm and they couldn't go to school?

All parents should have an emergency backup plan if school is not available. Just because you don't have one is not a reason to blame the school or teachers. They had nothing to do with this decision. The problem is that an accident happened that has caused an emergency in the eastern seaboard power grid. The power company has a lot of work to do and at some point will likely have to shut power down again and the schools have as little control over that scenario as you do. So, rather than getting all those kids into schools where the power, HVAC, telephones and all operating equipment in the facility may go out an any time today for an unpredictable amount of time, the school system is closing today to ensure all children are safe at home. It is easier for parents to take care of their own children at home if the power goes out again than trying to handle hundreds or thousands of students at school in that situation.

Oh no, another silly argument.where is the school's back up plan? So what if the power goes out? Power didn't even flicker in our cluster.

How often do you coordinate the schedule of 200 campuses, 22K employees and 165K students? The plan is what they did. They closed schools and had staff report and do safety and equipment checks on all facilities.

Trying to plan different schedules for 44 out of 200 schools becomes a logistical nightmare. Especially when the next major event and partial closing comes around and a different set of schools has conditions where some schools can open and some schools have to close. If they used these scenarios, then by the 3rd quarter, you'd have like 100 different plans in place and trying to juggle which school has this problem and which school has that schedule and so on. You can still open when you have only a few schools that have an issue, but by the time you get to 10 schools impacted, you close to avoid creating a huge logistical explosion.

It's not a logistical nightmare. It's been done multiple times. Planning makes anything possible. Planning got the plane down last night.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can you imagine the outcry if at 5am they took back their message that schools were closed???

Yes, and that would have been wrong. The message last night could have said that schools would have been on 2-hour delay the following day, with an update by the following morning. Then this morning's update could have been: all schools will open 2 hours late as expected, or, all schools except the following: [list of still-closed schools].

are you the parent of a kindergartner or an early elementary student? You know there would be an outcry if last night they said 2 hour delay with an update the following morning. I do believe they tried that approach with snow closures and guess what...there were threads complaining about it.

I don't think their decisions should be made according to their likelihood of generating DCUM complaints. It is clear that DCUM will complain no matter what.

This thread (and this entire toxic forum) is actually an argument against MCPS listening to anything parents say. It's almost comedy at this point, the level of bitterness and vitriol. Why should they bother? No matter what they decide, these vocal shrews will be unhappy and will froth at the mouth with complaints that are self-centered, short-sighted, apply double standards that assume the best of themselves and the worst of others, and contradict what they were complaining about last week. "The food at this restaurant sucks! And such small portions!"

Preach

[Anonymous]

You people need to get lives.
Anyway. Did today come out of the Snow Day bank?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You people need to get lives.
Anyway. Did today come out of the Snow Day bank?

You say this as you post to the same forum. “You all need to get a life. Oh, by the way…”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can you imagine the outcry if at 5am they took back their message that schools were closed???

Yes, and that would have been wrong. The message last night could have said that schools would have been on 2-hour delay the following day, with an update by the following morning. Then this morning's update could have been: all schools will open 2 hours late as expected, or, all schools except the following: [list of still-closed schools].

are you the parent of a kindergartner or an early elementary student? You know there would be an outcry if last night they said 2 hour delay with an update the following morning. I do believe they tried that approach with snow closures and guess what...there were threads complaining about it.

I don't think their decisions should be made according to their likelihood of generating DCUM complaints. It is clear that DCUM will complain no matter what.

This thread (and this entire toxic forum) is actually an argument against MCPS listening to anything parents say. It's almost comedy at this point, the level of bitterness and vitriol. Why should they bother? No matter what they decide, these vocal shrews will be unhappy and will froth at the mouth with complaints that are self-centered, short-sighted, apply double standards that assume the best of themselves and the worst of others, and contradict what they were complaining about last week. "The food at this restaurant sucks! And such small portions!"

Mic drop.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You people need to get lives.
Anyway. Did today come out of the Snow Day bank?

Yes. Yes, it did.

[Anonymous]

We all have Covid after our Thanksgiving super spreader so this day means one less day of absence from school for the kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am glad schools are closed. I think they made the right call. I am going hang my holiday lights outside while my kiddos sleep in.

Enjoy your paid day off. But understand this isn’t how MCPS rebuilds trust with parents. That’s going to come back to bite you as more and more parents realize they can’t count on the public school system.

No one cares if you trust MCPS or not.
Feel free to leave and move to PG or Frederick or to private school.
Some of you parents are the worst. Chill out a little.
I used to live in Indiana and man, this area is so uptight.
Everyone is constantly just complaining and whining about every little thing.
Maybe look in the mirror. Rant over now.

Like the teacher that complained that she couldn’t possibly be expected to go to work if she wasn’t able to blow dry her hair this morning?

I’m from the midwest, too. There’s absolutely no way this would have closed schools where I grew up.

+1
People in the midwest where I'm from would never tolerate half this bullshit and it wouldn't happen in the first place.

I’m from the Midwest. There was a rural school system in my county that ran buses on a foggy morning and one of the buses collided with a car, killing the car’s driver. After a huge lawsuit, that school system called a 2 hour delay for any fog for decades afterward. My childhood bff works under the superintendent in my hometown school system. The teachers were refusing to attend back to school night because they didn’t receive extra compensation for it. The superintendent had to offer for the first day of school to begin on a two hour delay in order to get the teachers to agree to attend back to school night one evening. One year they negotiated a delayed opening every Wednesday. If you think all Midwestern schools operate the same way they did when we were growing up, you’re mistaken.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

All parents should have an emergency backup plan if school is not available. Just because you don't have one is not a reason to blame the school or teachers. They had nothing to do with this decision. The problem is that an accident happened that has caused an emergency in the eastern seaboard power grid. The power company has a lot of work to do and at some point will likely have to shut power down again and the schools have as little control over that scenario as you do. So, rather than getting all those kids into schools where the power, HVAC, telephones and all operating equipment in the facility may go out an any time today for an unpredictable amount of time, the school system is closing today to ensure all children are safe at home. It is easier for parents to take care of their own children at home if the power goes out again than trying to handle hundreds or thousands of students at school in that situation.

I do have an emergency backup plan. But it's not easy and it's not cheap, and it is perfectly reasonable to be upset to have to activate an emergency plan when there is no emergency. Power has been restored. Pepco is not shutting the power down. This was a pointless closure.

You really have no idea what is involved when you take out one point of the eastern seaboard power grid, do you? The tower that was hit was a major point in the grid. They've diverted power around that tower so that they could shut it down. After they get the plane disentangled from the tower and the work crews repair all the damage to the tower and the power cables and ensure that the tower is safe to power on, they are going to have to put the tower back into the grid. Do you think they can do that without another major power outage? Unlikely. There is likely to be another scheduled power outage whenever they return to the power grid to the design configuration and they don't want to have the kids in school when that happens because they don't know when it will happen and for how long. Power, HVAC and phones will likely go out (mostly because not one uses phones that don't require power anymore). And transportation will be logistical nightmare if they have to cope with a power outage affected 20% of the schools in the system, even if it is scheduled. Most likely when it is scheduled there will be maybe an hour's notice, but that's not enough to get all students out of the building and on their way home.

So what you're saying is, schools are likely to close another day when they have to do this? Frankly the way you talk about this makes me way more concerned than kids sitting in the dark for an hour. This is huge. How are they going to get all the cars off the road to avoid mass pileups when the traffic lights go out?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You people need to get lives.
Anyway. Did today come out of the Snow Day bank?

Yes. Yes, it did.

So there is now just one snow day remaining in the bank.