Another snow day!

[Anonymous]

Predictions for tomorrow?

[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.

Ok, then don't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Predictions for tomorrow?

Closed. They'll say they lost the keys to the buildings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Predictions for tomorrow?

Closed. They'll say they lost the keys to the buildings.

[Anonymous]

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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.

We actually don't, but we believe we do.

https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/M/bo21571969.html

[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.

Anonymous wrote: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.

But remember, if we bake in too many and still go over then you have to add more before you could get a state waiver. That’s what happened several years ago when we had tons of snow. Maybe 2018-2019? Meanwhile for MD districts that didn’t have the 4 baked in days, they only had to add like 2 and the state waived the rest.

We should lengthen the current quarter and then add up to 3 asynchronous virtual makeup days toward the end of the year. Then I guess they still just excuse any students who don’t do the work. Or grade it but have no late penalties. Teachers could have classroom cleanup time during the asynch virtual days. Any teachers with young children could just bring them into the classroom and have them help clean up or color or whatever. Only trick would be making sure kids bring chromebooks back and don’t just skip out early for the summer, so I don’t think it should be too close to the last day of the year. Should it be before high school graduations?

[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.

It’s the law. MCPS is required by the state to have 180 days of school.

[Anonymous]

Ooo or had 3 asynch days to the end of spring break?!?!

[Anonymous]

Our neighborhood streets still weren't drivable this morning, so glad they made the call.

[Anonymous]

They just announced they'd be open tomorrow with no delay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Anonymous wrote: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.

But remember, if we bake in too many and still go over then you have to add more before you could get a state waiver. That’s what happened several years ago when we had tons of snow. Maybe 2018-2019? Meanwhile for MD districts that didn’t have the 4 baked in days, they only had to add like 2 and the state waived the rest.

We should lengthen the current quarter and then add up to 3 asynchronous virtual makeup days toward the end of the year. Then I guess they still just excuse any students who don’t do the work. Or grade it but have no late penalties. Teachers could have classroom cleanup time during the asynch virtual days. Any teachers with young children could just bring them into the classroom and have them help clean up or color or whatever. Only trick would be making sure kids bring chromebooks back and don’t just skip out early for the summer, so I don’t think it should be too close to the last day of the year. Should it be before high school graduations?

That makes no sense. As you seem to acknowledge, virtual days-- especially "asynchronous" virtual days-- provide no educational benefit. They're just a loophole around meeting the state law on instructional days.

If you really don't care, then lobby to get rid of the instructional day requirement.

The reality is, though, if conditions like this force MCPS to close for 2 days, then we need to add many more days to the calendar each year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They just announced they'd be open tomorrow with no delay.

I'll believe it when I see it. I'm still betting on a closure after high school students start getting on the busses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our neighborhood streets still weren't drivable this morning, so glad they made the call.

What happened when you attempted to drive on them? Otherwise, how do you know they weren't drivable?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They just announced they'd be open tomorrow with no delay.

I'll believe it when I see it. I'm still betting on a closure after high school students start getting on the busses.

Is this a joke?? They’ll open on time and then everyone will be mad that they didn’t close, so they’ll close on Friday. I don’t see why we can’t just have a delay tomorrow

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

It’s the law. MCPS is required by the state to have 180 days of school.

So then why is our school always 185 days PLUS the days that can be used for makeups