Another snow day!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just want to know how there wasn't enough time to plow the lots.

Budget cuts and inexperience due to lack of real snow in several years.

Are you really saying that 24 hours isn't enough time to plow?

If MCPS's incompetence has risen to that level, then we're in a world of hurt.

MCPS has pretty much admitted that, haven't they?

I know! McKnight should be out there driving a plow to get these schools open. If not, what are we paying her for!?!?

The question is whether 24 hrs was enough time to plow for the amount of snow received. In some area districts it was sufficient, in MCPS it was not. Now we know what to expect going forward. Seems they should bake in some more snow days though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:17 pages on this so far. Never change, DCUM. It’s going to be a very long winter.

Some of you are completely insufferable. I want to be mad at MCPS but then I look at this cesspool of a forum and feel like they should just completely ignore parents because there’s no winning or rationality anyway.

Why do you read DCUM? I think you might feel better if you stop. IME DCUM is not remotely representative of parents IRL.

NP. In real life every MCPS parent I know thinks this is a joke. And DC coworkers were just (gently) making fun of us on my last Zoom. I seriously only think it is DCUM that is supportive of the decision to shut down school because there are two back alleys in Gaithersburg with some "black ice."

So you meet on Zoom to make fun of people who aren't in a school building right now? Your coworkers sound hilarious.

Hahaha, exactly this. Are they making fun of Loudoun and Anne Arundel parents too? ($100 bucks says this never happened in the first place)

Huh? There is a work call, when it becomes apparent some of us are dealing with kids on a second “snow” day, DC folks become smug (unfortunately for good cause this time).

DP,but the PP was clear. Other schools in the area are off today too-did your coworkers mock them? I've worked in DC for 25 years. No one I've ever worked with would make fun of other districts for having snow days off. Seems like you either imagined this or you work with extremely immature people. Either way, most MCPS parents I know don't think this is a joke. The ones in conditions that were driveable this morning are sympathetic to the people whose areas hadn't been plowed/icy. They realize their conditions aren't the same as other peoples and care about other's safety. I guess it's that little thing called maturity that you seem to be lacking in.

While not mocking, but I had several co-workers from DC/VA/WV express surprise when I had to leave early last week to pick up my kid for the rain because even aftercare was closing at 2pm. I just said that MCPS really prioritizes student and staff safety more than their districts do. They slinked back to their offices.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just want to know how there wasn't enough time to plow the lots.

Budget cuts and inexperience due to lack of real snow in several years.

Are you really saying that 24 hours isn't enough time to plow?

If MCPS's incompetence has risen to that level, then we're in a world of hurt.

MCPS has pretty much admitted that, haven't they?

I know! McKnight should be out there driving a plow to get these schools open. If not, what are we paying her for!?!?

.... that's an odd reply! We were not talking about McKnight. Just a timeline.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just received an email to update my zoom link for a possible virtual day. No specifics about if/when.

That's good to know. IMO, virtual is not ideal, but beats no school.

Those aren't the two options, though. They could use one of the make-up days to add back another in-person instruction day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just received an email to update my zoom link for a possible virtual day. No specifics about if/when.

That's good to know. IMO, virtual is not ideal, but beats no school.

Those aren't the two options, though. They could use one of the make-up days to add back another in-person instruction day.

But I already have plans on the makeup days!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just received an email to update my zoom link for a possible virtual day. No specifics about if/when.

That's good to know. IMO, virtual is not ideal, but beats no school.

Those aren't the two options, though. They could use one of the make-up days to add back another in-person instruction day.

But I already have plans on the makeup days!

That’s exactly what parents will say.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:17 pages on this so far. Never change, DCUM. It’s going to be a very long winter.

Some of you are completely insufferable. I want to be mad at MCPS but then I look at this cesspool of a forum and feel like they should just completely ignore parents because there’s no winning or rationality anyway.

Why do you read DCUM? I think you might feel better if you stop. IME DCUM is not remotely representative of parents IRL.

NP. In real life every MCPS parent I know thinks this is a joke. And DC coworkers were just (gently) making fun of us on my last Zoom. I seriously only think it is DCUM that is supportive of the decision to shut down school because there are two back alleys in Gaithersburg with some "black ice."

And then everyone applauded, right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just received an email to update my zoom link for a possible virtual day. No specifics about if/when.

That's good to know. IMO, virtual is not ideal, but beats no school.

Those aren't the two options, though. They could use one of the make-up days to add back another in-person instruction day.

But I already have plans on the makeup days!

OK. Then have your kids skip it.

But April 10th and June 14th are both pretty easy options for make-up days.

[Anonymous]

What is the point of makeup days. One third to half the kids don’t come. The kids who do come are annoyed to be dragged in and in no mood to learn. It is pointless and just for show. There is already so much wasted time in schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There should be school. Since it is canceled it is time to cancel some of the contingency days and add back meaningful instruction time. No adding days in June after AP tests. Add them earlier. People who have plans can have excused absences.

I teach AP classes and we do real work after the exams. If your teacher doesn't, complain. The whole "but the kids need a break" is a joke. Learning is precious, kids are lacking in basic skills (even in AP classes) and the people who waste kids' time showing movies or "West Wing" really make me upset.

Thank you for your service. Wish more were like you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is the point of makeup days. One third to half the kids don’t come. The kids who do come are annoyed to be dragged in and in no mood to learn. It is pointless and just for show. There is already so much wasted time in schools.

This. HS teacher here. If you are concerned about learning loss, you should focus your energy on MCPS instituting a stricter cell phone policy.
Cell phones have negatively impacted learning in a big way. Y’all would be shocked if you spent some time in random high school classrooms and saw how much time kids spend on their phones

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is the point of makeup days. One third to half the kids don’t come. The kids who do come are annoyed to be dragged in and in no mood to learn. It is pointless and just for show. There is already so much wasted time in schools.

In practice, they serve to incentivize schools to build in enough extra days into their calendars to offset their level of incompetence at dealing with winter conditions. If they didn't require make-up days at all, then school districts wouldn't include any extra days in their calendars, and wouldn't hesitate to close at the slightest amount of precipitation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just received an email to update my zoom link for a possible virtual day. No specifics about if/when.

That's good to know. IMO, virtual is not ideal, but beats no school.

We will not do any zoom school. Nothing was learned and I do not support my kids doing nothing in front of a screen just so mcps can claim they had school in session. HS or college kids can handle zoom, but not ES or MS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just received an email to update my zoom link for a possible virtual day. No specifics about if/when.

That's good to know. IMO, virtual is not ideal, but beats no school.

We will not do any zoom school. Nothing was learned and I do not support my kids doing nothing in front of a screen just so mcps can claim they had school in session. HS or college kids can handle zoom, but not ES or MS.

And I say this as a parent of 99 percentile students. I do not condone a waste of time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:17 pages on this so far. Never change, DCUM. It’s going to be a very long winter.

Some of you are completely insufferable. I want to be mad at MCPS but then I look at this cesspool of a forum and feel like they should just completely ignore parents because there’s no winning or rationality anyway.

Why do you read DCUM? I think you might feel better if you stop. IME DCUM is not remotely representative of parents IRL.

NP. In real life every MCPS parent I know thinks this is a joke. And DC coworkers were just (gently) making fun of us on my last Zoom. I seriously only think it is DCUM that is supportive of the decision to shut down school because there are two back alleys in Gaithersburg with some "black ice."

So you meet on Zoom to make fun of people who aren't in a school building right now? Your coworkers sound hilarious.

Hahaha, exactly this. Are they making fun of Loudoun and Anne Arundel parents too? ($100 bucks says this never happened in the first place)

Huh? There is a work call, when it becomes apparent some of us are dealing with kids on a second “snow” day, DC folks become smug (unfortunately for good cause this time).

DP,but the PP was clear. Other schools in the area are off today too-did your coworkers mock them? I've worked in DC for 25 years. No one I've ever worked with would make fun of other districts for having snow days off. Seems like you either imagined this or you work with extremely immature people. Either way, most MCPS parents I know don't think this is a joke. The ones in conditions that were driveable this morning are sympathetic to the people whose areas hadn't been plowed/icy. They realize their conditions aren't the same as other peoples and care about other's safety. I guess it's that little thing called maturity that you seem to be lacking in.

While not mocking, but I had several co-workers from DC/VA/WV express surprise when I had to leave early last week to pick up my kid for the rain because even aftercare was closing at 2pm. I just said that MCPS really prioritizes student and staff safety more than their districts do. They slinked back to their offices.

NP but it’s not prioritizing safety. It’s that we live in a very litigious society and don’t want to get sued.