Damascus closed

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's on the Damascus High School website.

FINALLY. MCPS is understanding that they need to adjust according to location. I know it's complicated for students who are bussed to special programs, and I hope everyone was adequately warned...

It's not about students, it's about staff who live in these areas. Were all staff who live in Damascus able to stay home too? What happens when there is zero administrators who show up to work in a Silver Spring school? Or there's not a single kindergarten teacher who is able to come in? Or their kids are home from school today?

There has always been a lower bar for closing schools vs. closing workplaces. It's about student safety. MCPS staff can do what other adult workers do- get up early to allow extra time for cleaning the car/walkways and driving to work. If they can't make it out of their street (was there this much snow anywhere?) they call in and say they can't make it. If their kids attend Damascus and they don't have a backup childcare plan, same. The DMV is filled with people who live somewhere different than they work- we do as well- and you have to adjust accordingly.

But the point you are missing is the safety issue.

When office workers call out, meetings may be canceled but it isn’t a safety issue. Nobody has to guard a desk.

When teachers call out, someone has to now monitor those students. If multiple teachers call out, then situations can get tricky very fast. I’ve had to watch over 70 children by myself before because of short staffing. I’d rather not do that again. Bad memories.

So did that happen yesterday? Did you have to watch 70 kids by yourself?

I've lived here over 20 years but I'm still sometimes surprised by the fragility of people in the DMV.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's on the Damascus High School website.

FINALLY. MCPS is understanding that they need to adjust according to location. I know it's complicated for students who are bussed to special programs, and I hope everyone was adequately warned...

It's not about students, it's about staff who live in these areas. Were all staff who live in Damascus able to stay home too? What happens when there is zero administrators who show up to work in a Silver Spring school? Or there's not a single kindergarten teacher who is able to come in? Or their kids are home from school today?

There has always been a lower bar for closing schools vs. closing workplaces. It's about student safety. MCPS staff can do what other adult workers do- get up early to allow extra time for cleaning the car/walkways and driving to work. If they can't make it out of their street (was there this much snow anywhere?) they call in and say they can't make it. If their kids attend Damascus and they don't have a backup childcare plan, same. The DMV is filled with people who live somewhere different than they work- we do as well- and you have to adjust accordingly.

But the point you are missing is the safety issue.

When office workers call out, meetings may be canceled but it isn’t a safety issue. Nobody has to guard a desk.

When teachers call out, someone has to now monitor those students. If multiple teachers call out, then situations can get tricky very fast. I’ve had to watch over 70 children by myself before because of short staffing. I’d rather not do that again. Bad memories.

So did that happen yesterday? Did you have to watch 70 kids by yourself?

I've lived here over 20 years but I'm still sometimes surprised by the fragility of people in the DMV.

No, but yesterday.

My point is that it isn’t so simple to say “open schools and those who can’t make it in just take leave.” Those of us who make it in have to cover, which is fine. That’s our job. But when too many people can’t make it in, things get disastrous quickly. I’ve been there, when we didn’t have enough staff to adequately cover classes. It is 100% a safety issue.

The safety issue isn’t simply the roads. It’s the staffing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's on the Damascus High School website.

FINALLY. MCPS is understanding that they need to adjust according to location. I know it's complicated for students who are bussed to special programs, and I hope everyone was adequately warned...

It's not about students, it's about staff who live in these areas. Were all staff who live in Damascus able to stay home too? What happens when there is zero administrators who show up to work in a Silver Spring school? Or there's not a single kindergarten teacher who is able to come in? Or their kids are home from school today?

There has always been a lower bar for closing schools vs. closing workplaces. It's about student safety. MCPS staff can do what other adult workers do- get up early to allow extra time for cleaning the car/walkways and driving to work. If they can't make it out of their street (was there this much snow anywhere?) they call in and say they can't make it. If their kids attend Damascus and they don't have a backup childcare plan, same. The DMV is filled with people who live somewhere different than they work- we do as well- and you have to adjust accordingly.

But the point you are missing is the safety issue.

When office workers call out, meetings may be canceled but it isn’t a safety issue. Nobody has to guard a desk.

When teachers call out, someone has to now monitor those students. If multiple teachers call out, then situations can get tricky very fast. I’ve had to watch over 70 children by myself before because of short staffing. I’d rather not do that again. Bad memories.

So did that happen yesterday? Did you have to watch 70 kids by yourself?

I've lived here over 20 years but I'm still sometimes surprised by the fragility of people in the DMV.

No, but yesterday.

My point is that it isn’t so simple to say “open schools and those who can’t make it in just take leave.” Those of us who make it in have to cover, which is fine. That’s our job. But when too many people can’t make it in, things get disastrous quickly. I’ve been there, when we didn’t have enough staff to adequately cover classes. It is 100% a safety issue.

The safety issue isn’t simply the roads. It’s the staffing.

DP and I get that (I work in the medical field and we also have issues when too many staff don't come in), but FWIW the icy conditions yesterday really only affected a small area of the county. There are tradeoffs to shutting an entire school system to accomodate a small percentage of staff. When it affects are larger area, then sure.

[Anonymous]

Also if closing the entire county is the preferred scenario on days like yesterday, then way more snow days need to be built into the calendar to accomodate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's on the Damascus High School website.

FINALLY. MCPS is understanding that they need to adjust according to location. I know it's complicated for students who are bussed to special programs, and I hope everyone was adequately warned...

It's not about students, it's about staff who live in these areas. Were all staff who live in Damascus able to stay home too? What happens when there is zero administrators who show up to work in a Silver Spring school? Or there's not a single kindergarten teacher who is able to come in? Or their kids are home from school today?

There has always been a lower bar for closing schools vs. closing workplaces. It's about student safety. MCPS staff can do what other adult workers do- get up early to allow extra time for cleaning the car/walkways and driving to work. If they can't make it out of their street (was there this much snow anywhere?) they call in and say they can't make it. If their kids attend Damascus and they don't have a backup childcare plan, same. The DMV is filled with people who live somewhere different than they work- we do as well- and you have to adjust accordingly.

But the point you are missing is the safety issue.

When office workers call out, meetings may be canceled but it isn’t a safety issue. Nobody has to guard a desk.

When teachers call out, someone has to now monitor those students. If multiple teachers call out, then situations can get tricky very fast. I’ve had to watch over 70 children by myself before because of short staffing. I’d rather not do that again. Bad memories.

So did that happen yesterday? Did you have to watch 70 kids by yourself?

I've lived here over 20 years but I'm still sometimes surprised by the fragility of people in the DMV.

Then you haven't lived in the county long enough. Try....want to sleep in, not be rushed, not sit in traffic. Etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also if closing the entire county is the preferred scenario on days like yesterday, then way more snow days need to be built into the calendar to accomodate.

They shouldn't have had to close, or even delay, anywhere. They need to fire whoever is in charge of facilities. There's no reason they shouldn't have been able to clear schools before Monday morning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also if closing the entire county is the preferred scenario on days like yesterday, then way more snow days need to be built into the calendar to accomodate.

+1 People have been saying this for a decade. MCPS does not have sufficient days built into its schedule for weather issues. Only 1 if I understand correctly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also if closing the entire county is the preferred scenario on days like yesterday, then way more snow days need to be built into the calendar to accomodate.

+1 People have been saying this for a decade. MCPS does not have sufficient days built into its schedule for weather issues. Only 1 if I understand correctly.

Yes, only 1 this year, and next year. But they used to have 2, and before that, 4. So they've been decreasing over the past decade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also if closing the entire county is the preferred scenario on days like yesterday, then way more snow days need to be built into the calendar to accomodate.

+1 People have been saying this for a decade. MCPS does not have sufficient days built into its schedule for weather issues. Only 1 if I understand correctly.

Yes, only 1 this year, and next year. But they used to have 2, and before that, 4. So they've been decreasing over the past decade.

Which is totally stupid. It's mid-december, and we've had 3 snow delays already. Usually January and February are the worst months.

[Anonymous]

MCPS used to have 5 snow days built into the calendar. For some reason over the past few years they've decided to reduce that to one day. That's ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MCPS used to have 5 snow days built into the calendar. For some reason over the past few years they've decided to reduce that to one day. That's ridiculous.

It would be less of a problem if they'd actually use the make-up days that are in the calendar. But instead they add half days to the end of the year, ensuring that they'll be useless.

The worst of all worlds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS used to have 5 snow days built into the calendar. For some reason over the past few years they've decided to reduce that to one day. That's ridiculous.

It would be less of a problem if they'd actually use the make-up days that are in the calendar. But instead they add half days to the end of the year, ensuring that they'll be useless.

The worst of all worlds.

But that's a MCPS specific decision. The school I grew up with had 3 snow days formally tacked onto the calendar in June. If we had 3 snow days, we'd go til the last day on the calendar. If not, school let out a few days early.

[Anonymous]

Surprise Taylor. Redemption arc!

Regionalize weather handling!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also if closing the entire county is the preferred scenario on days like yesterday, then way more snow days need to be built into the calendar to accomodate.

They shouldn't have had to close, or even delay, anywhere. They need to fire whoever is in charge of facilities. There's no reason they shouldn't have been able to clear schools before Monday morning.

I agree with you, but a PP was trying to make the case that whenever there are icy conditions anywhere in the county, there is a risk to not enough staff being able to come in countywide, which in turn affects school safety. So if there truly is a significant trickle-down safety affect, then the district needs to plan accordingly.