Schools closed for students Monday Feb 2

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are very few school districts that are completely closed tomorrow or not doing virtual learning. MCPS should be ashamed.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2026/02/01/school-delays-dc-maryland-virginia-snow-storm/

Alexandria City Public Schools: Virtual learning
Anne Arundel County Public Schools: Two-hour delay Monday and Tuesday.
Arlington County Public Schools: Closed; two-hour delay Tuesday
Calvert County Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Charles County Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Culpeper County Public Schools: Two-hour delay
D.C. Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Fairfax County Public Schools: Closed
Falls Church City Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Fauquier County Public Schools: Closed
Howard County Public Schools: Two-hour delay Monday and Tuesday
Loudoun County Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Montgomery County Public Schools: Closed
Pr. George’s County Public Schools: Two-hour delay; Code Orange
Prince William County Public Schools: Closed
Spotsylvania County Public Schools: Remote learning Monday and Tuesday; 12-month employees to report on time.
Stafford County Public Schools: Closed

Nah, but thanks for posting info we all already knew?

If you already knew this, why are people constantly posting that it's impossible to open or offer virtual learning because of kids with IEPs or equity or snow? Nearly every other school district is open or virtual tomorrow.

BLAME YOURSELF. PARENTS are why MCPS won't pivot to virtual.

Where did parents say they would prefer to have their kids shortchanged with well under the required 180 days instead of having virtual instruction?

Where did parents tell the MCPS central office not to submit a contingency virtual learning plan like so many other Maryland school districts did?

McPS should blame itself for its inability to function..

Parents don't want virtual. They want real school days.

That's what you want. We want our kids to get an education - in person or virtual, but virtual with live teaching.

You wouldn't get it. Not enough students would show up. Even fewer would participate. No new material could be covered.

You don't know that. All we have is last year's example where MCPS added half days in end June and showed videos and few kids showed up because MCPS encouraged them now to show up because "they knew people had already made other plans".

Of course we know kids wouldn't join and participate.

And that's putting aside the fact that no one has come up with a plausible way to either provide special education supports and services during those days, or provide compensatory services after the fact. You just want to forget about those students, just like you did during covid.

We get it. So you'd rather everyone have zero instruction and lose out on instructional time. MCPS can apply for a waiver to offer 177 days of instruction rather than 180, add in some half days in June and encourage parents not to send their kids, and unlike the other DC area schools that were open last week and are open next week, MCPS staff can get some extra days off.

You're not getting virtual. You know that. If you actually cared about instructional time, then you'd pressure the BoE and Taylor to use the contingency days we have. The real ones.

That you're not interested in doing that suggests education is not what's really motivating you.

You have no idea what is motivating an anonymous poster. And no, I don't agree with you that virtual learning is not an option-- my kids did almost a year of virtual learning during the COVID years, and I know MCPS can do it.

I don't work for MCPS, and only learned that MCPS failed to submit a virtual learning plan for approval to the state of Maryland yesterday, unlike many other Maryland schools. MCPS central office could do its job and try to submit it now, because there are two months of winter left and it's probable that there are more snow days.

We know it isn't an option this year. There isn't time to put together a plan and seek public comment. That would take at least a couple of months for a real plan and a meaningful public comment period.

So if education is your priority, you'd be advocating for March 20, April 15, and June 18 make up days. Ideally Presidents' Day too.

But the pp already said the quiet part out loud by admitting she just doesn't want make up days.

I'm not sure what you're babbling about, because there are multiple people posting on this thread, yet you seem to think you're talking to a single person and know their motivations. I am happy to have makeup days. I have read that the teachers union won't allow the makeup days you're suggesting to occur (other than June 18).

I'm also not going to give MCPS a pass for not having a plan for virtual learning after they had that mess with snow days less year. Other Maryland school districts prepared one. Let MCPS start preparing now and seek public comment. It doesn't need to take months if Taylor makes it a priority, which he should because parents are pissed at how incompetently MCPS is being run.

We'll have more snow days before March is out, and MCPS shouldn't continue to act like a teenager who forgot to do their homework.

The union doesn't have to agree to make up days. They're already in the calendar.

No one has even been able to provide a plausible plan for lower elementary or special education. Putting together a plan, even hastily, would take weeks. Another month for public comment and a hearing. That puts us at the end of March. Implementing the plan would also cost money for equipment, supporting services, and compensatory services. We'd also need to make sure those supporting and compensatory services were even available. There simply isn't time.

Real make-up days are the only option for this year.

There was a lengthy thread last week about using the 2 Presidents' days holidays as makeup days, on a different thread, and people who said they were teachers had said they had already made plans to be out of town, and that there was no way they would teach and that the union would never allow it.

Fine with me if they use those make up days. I just don't think it is going to happen, because as one teacher posted "they have Broadway tickets they've paid for, and there's no way they're cancelling their day off."

And putting together a virtual learning plan is something MCPS should be doing anyway, like other school districts, starting now. You may not like virtual learning, but I suspect for weeks like this one, most parents would much rather their =kid get some instruction, than be part of an unfortunate year where MCPS sought a waiver to allow 175 days of instruction, because they couldn't be bothered to do a virtual learning plan.

They can copy paste the virtual learning plan from the ones that Baltimore or Anne Arundel submitted and change the name. It would probably be better written than most of the stuff MCPS produces.

Presidents' Day isn't a contingency day. Between that and the short turnaround time, it would be hard to use it. The union probably could kill it by demanding impact bargaining. The same isn't true of the real contingency days.

I suspect there's a big divide between high school and elementary school families when it comes to virtual. Special education, too. How are kids in child care going to participate in virtual? Neither has a chromebook. At least, not one they're able to bring home.

They can have class during child care - they had pods and other child care during covid. Or, they can make up the work at home with parents or guardians.

This is one of the many reasons virtual was terrible during covid. How do you expect virtual to work with a set 30-50 kids? How parents cover lessons with only a few waking hours left in the day and no lesson plans? How do you expect kids with special needs to learn when their needs aren't being met?

Virtual might work for some, but in-person works for all. You just don't care about everyone else.

Ok, explain to us how we're going to make up four in-person days with the remainder of the school calendar. What makeup days would you use?

Three real make-up days is far superior to virtual.

We can't do virtual this year anyway, so it's a moot point. We should modify the calendar next year to build more days in. We should also institute a policy of automatically using the next available contingency day.

If you really want to push for virtual, you should at least come up with a plan that addresses lower elementary, kids in child care, and kids with special needs.

I don't work for MCPS. I am a parent with a job that pays taxes to pay to pay MCPS salaries and for MCPS's $3bn budget. I am not coming up with a plan to address lower elementary, kids in child care and kids with special needs.

But if you really think it's beyond the capabilities of MCPS to come up with such a plan, I'm sure you can copy paste it from the ones that Anne Arundel and Baltimore submitted to the state so they could hold virtual learning last week.

Or I'm sure MCPS could use their Metro Cards and travel to Alexandria public schools and see how they've been doing it for the last three days. Or take the bus to NYC and see how NYC public schools did virtual learning for a school district 10x the size of MCPS.

There's no shortage of examples that MCPS could use. Don't ask us to do the job of paid staffers who were too lazy to submit a virtual learning plan to the State.

Their plans appear to be a repeat of the covid-era plan of "screw 'em."

If you want to push for virtual, you're going to need to come up with something better than that.

What element of the Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Alexandria, and NYC virtual learning plans appear to say "screw em"? Did you read them? Why do you conclude that virtual learning is better than no learning at all?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are very few school districts that are completely closed tomorrow or not doing virtual learning. MCPS should be ashamed.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2026/02/01/school-delays-dc-maryland-virginia-snow-storm/

Alexandria City Public Schools: Virtual learning
Anne Arundel County Public Schools: Two-hour delay Monday and Tuesday.
Arlington County Public Schools: Closed; two-hour delay Tuesday
Calvert County Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Charles County Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Culpeper County Public Schools: Two-hour delay
D.C. Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Fairfax County Public Schools: Closed
Falls Church City Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Fauquier County Public Schools: Closed
Howard County Public Schools: Two-hour delay Monday and Tuesday
Loudoun County Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Montgomery County Public Schools: Closed
Pr. George’s County Public Schools: Two-hour delay; Code Orange
Prince William County Public Schools: Closed
Spotsylvania County Public Schools: Remote learning Monday and Tuesday; 12-month employees to report on time.
Stafford County Public Schools: Closed

Nah, but thanks for posting info we all already knew?

If you already knew this, why are people constantly posting that it's impossible to open or offer virtual learning because of kids with IEPs or equity or snow? Nearly every other school district is open or virtual tomorrow.

BLAME YOURSELF. PARENTS are why MCPS won't pivot to virtual.

Where did parents say they would prefer to have their kids shortchanged with well under the required 180 days instead of having virtual instruction?

Where did parents tell the MCPS central office not to submit a contingency virtual learning plan like so many other Maryland school districts did?

McPS should blame itself for its inability to function..

Parents don't want virtual. They want real school days.

That's what you want. We want our kids to get an education - in person or virtual, but virtual with live teaching.

You wouldn't get it. Not enough students would show up. Even fewer would participate. No new material could be covered.

You don't know that. All we have is last year's example where MCPS added half days in end June and showed videos and few kids showed up because MCPS encouraged them now to show up because "they knew people had already made other plans".

Of course we know kids wouldn't join and participate.

And that's putting aside the fact that no one has come up with a plausible way to either provide special education supports and services during those days, or provide compensatory services after the fact. You just want to forget about those students, just like you did during covid.

We get it. So you'd rather everyone have zero instruction and lose out on instructional time. MCPS can apply for a waiver to offer 177 days of instruction rather than 180, add in some half days in June and encourage parents not to send their kids, and unlike the other DC area schools that were open last week and are open next week, MCPS staff can get some extra days off.

You're not getting virtual. You know that. If you actually cared about instructional time, then you'd pressure the BoE and Taylor to use the contingency days we have. The real ones.

That you're not interested in doing that suggests education is not what's really motivating you.

You have no idea what is motivating an anonymous poster. And no, I don't agree with you that virtual learning is not an option-- my kids did almost a year of virtual learning during the COVID years, and I know MCPS can do it.

I don't work for MCPS, and only learned that MCPS failed to submit a virtual learning plan for approval to the state of Maryland yesterday, unlike many other Maryland schools. MCPS central office could do its job and try to submit it now, because there are two months of winter left and it's probable that there are more snow days.

We know it isn't an option this year. There isn't time to put together a plan and seek public comment. That would take at least a couple of months for a real plan and a meaningful public comment period.

So if education is your priority, you'd be advocating for March 20, April 15, and June 18 make up days. Ideally Presidents' Day too.

But the pp already said the quiet part out loud by admitting she just doesn't want make up days.

I'm not sure what you're babbling about, because there are multiple people posting on this thread, yet you seem to think you're talking to a single person and know their motivations. I am happy to have makeup days. I have read that the teachers union won't allow the makeup days you're suggesting to occur (other than June 18).

I'm also not going to give MCPS a pass for not having a plan for virtual learning after they had that mess with snow days less year. Other Maryland school districts prepared one. Let MCPS start preparing now and seek public comment. It doesn't need to take months if Taylor makes it a priority, which he should because parents are pissed at how incompetently MCPS is being run.

We'll have more snow days before March is out, and MCPS shouldn't continue to act like a teenager who forgot to do their homework.

The union doesn't have to agree to make up days. They're already in the calendar.

No one has even been able to provide a plausible plan for lower elementary or special education. Putting together a plan, even hastily, would take weeks. Another month for public comment and a hearing. That puts us at the end of March. Implementing the plan would also cost money for equipment, supporting services, and compensatory services. We'd also need to make sure those supporting and compensatory services were even available. There simply isn't time.

Real make-up days are the only option for this year.

There was a lengthy thread last week about using the 2 Presidents' days holidays as makeup days, on a different thread, and people who said they were teachers had said they had already made plans to be out of town, and that there was no way they would teach and that the union would never allow it.

Fine with me if they use those make up days. I just don't think it is going to happen, because as one teacher posted "they have Broadway tickets they've paid for, and there's no way they're cancelling their day off."

And putting together a virtual learning plan is something MCPS should be doing anyway, like other school districts, starting now. You may not like virtual learning, but I suspect for weeks like this one, most parents would much rather their =kid get some instruction, than be part of an unfortunate year where MCPS sought a waiver to allow 175 days of instruction, because they couldn't be bothered to do a virtual learning plan.

They can copy paste the virtual learning plan from the ones that Baltimore or Anne Arundel submitted and change the name. It would probably be better written than most of the stuff MCPS produces.

Presidents' Day isn't a contingency day. Between that and the short turnaround time, it would be hard to use it. The union probably could kill it by demanding impact bargaining. The same isn't true of the real contingency days.

I suspect there's a big divide between high school and elementary school families when it comes to virtual. Special education, too. How are kids in child care going to participate in virtual? Neither has a chromebook. At least, not one they're able to bring home.

They can have class during child care - they had pods and other child care during covid. Or, they can make up the work at home with parents or guardians.

This is one of the many reasons virtual was terrible during covid. How do you expect virtual to work with a set 30-50 kids? How parents cover lessons with only a few waking hours left in the day and no lesson plans? How do you expect kids with special needs to learn when their needs aren't being met?

Virtual might work for some, but in-person works for all. You just don't care about everyone else.

Ok, explain to us how we're going to make up four in-person days with the remainder of the school calendar. What makeup days would you use?

Three real make-up days is far superior to virtual.

We can't do virtual this year anyway, so it's a moot point. We should modify the calendar next year to build more days in. We should also institute a policy of automatically using the next available contingency day.

If you really want to push for virtual, you should at least come up with a plan that addresses lower elementary, kids in child care, and kids with special needs.

I don't work for MCPS. I am a parent with a job that pays taxes to pay to pay MCPS salaries and for MCPS's $3bn budget. I am not coming up with a plan to address lower elementary, kids in child care and kids with special needs.

But if you really think it's beyond the capabilities of MCPS to come up with such a plan, I'm sure you can copy paste it from the ones that Anne Arundel and Baltimore submitted to the state so they could hold virtual learning last week.

Or I'm sure MCPS could use their Metro Cards and travel to Alexandria public schools and see how they've been doing it for the last three days. Or take the bus to NYC and see how NYC public schools did virtual learning for a school district 10x the size of MCPS.

There's no shortage of examples that MCPS could use. Don't ask us to do the job of paid staffers who were too lazy to submit a virtual learning plan to the State.

Their plans appear to be a repeat of the covid-era plan of "screw 'em."

If you want to push for virtual, you're going to need to come up with something better than that.

What element of the Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Alexandria, and NYC virtual learning plans appear to say "screw em"? Did you read them? Why do you conclude that virtual learning is better than no learning at all?

Please explain to me then how they accomodate the needs of those students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are very few school districts that are completely closed tomorrow or not doing virtual learning. MCPS should be ashamed.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2026/02/01/school-delays-dc-maryland-virginia-snow-storm/

Alexandria City Public Schools: Virtual learning
Anne Arundel County Public Schools: Two-hour delay Monday and Tuesday.
Arlington County Public Schools: Closed; two-hour delay Tuesday
Calvert County Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Charles County Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Culpeper County Public Schools: Two-hour delay
D.C. Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Fairfax County Public Schools: Closed
Falls Church City Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Fauquier County Public Schools: Closed
Howard County Public Schools: Two-hour delay Monday and Tuesday
Loudoun County Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Montgomery County Public Schools: Closed
Pr. George’s County Public Schools: Two-hour delay; Code Orange
Prince William County Public Schools: Closed
Spotsylvania County Public Schools: Remote learning Monday and Tuesday; 12-month employees to report on time.
Stafford County Public Schools: Closed

Nah, but thanks for posting info we all already knew?

If you already knew this, why are people constantly posting that it's impossible to open or offer virtual learning because of kids with IEPs or equity or snow? Nearly every other school district is open or virtual tomorrow.

BLAME YOURSELF. PARENTS are why MCPS won't pivot to virtual.

Where did parents say they would prefer to have their kids shortchanged with well under the required 180 days instead of having virtual instruction?

Where did parents tell the MCPS central office not to submit a contingency virtual learning plan like so many other Maryland school districts did?

McPS should blame itself for its inability to function..

Parents don't want virtual. They want real school days.

That's what you want. We want our kids to get an education - in person or virtual, but virtual with live teaching.

You wouldn't get it. Not enough students would show up. Even fewer would participate. No new material could be covered.

You don't know that. All we have is last year's example where MCPS added half days in end June and showed videos and few kids showed up because MCPS encouraged them now to show up because "they knew people had already made other plans".

Of course we know kids wouldn't join and participate.

And that's putting aside the fact that no one has come up with a plausible way to either provide special education supports and services during those days, or provide compensatory services after the fact. You just want to forget about those students, just like you did during covid.

We get it. So you'd rather everyone have zero instruction and lose out on instructional time. MCPS can apply for a waiver to offer 177 days of instruction rather than 180, add in some half days in June and encourage parents not to send their kids, and unlike the other DC area schools that were open last week and are open next week, MCPS staff can get some extra days off.

You're not getting virtual. You know that. If you actually cared about instructional time, then you'd pressure the BoE and Taylor to use the contingency days we have. The real ones.

That you're not interested in doing that suggests education is not what's really motivating you.

You have no idea what is motivating an anonymous poster. And no, I don't agree with you that virtual learning is not an option-- my kids did almost a year of virtual learning during the COVID years, and I know MCPS can do it.

I don't work for MCPS, and only learned that MCPS failed to submit a virtual learning plan for approval to the state of Maryland yesterday, unlike many other Maryland schools. MCPS central office could do its job and try to submit it now, because there are two months of winter left and it's probable that there are more snow days.

We know it isn't an option this year. There isn't time to put together a plan and seek public comment. That would take at least a couple of months for a real plan and a meaningful public comment period.

So if education is your priority, you'd be advocating for March 20, April 15, and June 18 make up days. Ideally Presidents' Day too.

But the pp already said the quiet part out loud by admitting she just doesn't want make up days.

I'm not sure what you're babbling about, because there are multiple people posting on this thread, yet you seem to think you're talking to a single person and know their motivations. I am happy to have makeup days. I have read that the teachers union won't allow the makeup days you're suggesting to occur (other than June 18).

I'm also not going to give MCPS a pass for not having a plan for virtual learning after they had that mess with snow days less year. Other Maryland school districts prepared one. Let MCPS start preparing now and seek public comment. It doesn't need to take months if Taylor makes it a priority, which he should because parents are pissed at how incompetently MCPS is being run.

We'll have more snow days before March is out, and MCPS shouldn't continue to act like a teenager who forgot to do their homework.

The union doesn't have to agree to make up days. They're already in the calendar.

No one has even been able to provide a plausible plan for lower elementary or special education. Putting together a plan, even hastily, would take weeks. Another month for public comment and a hearing. That puts us at the end of March. Implementing the plan would also cost money for equipment, supporting services, and compensatory services. We'd also need to make sure those supporting and compensatory services were even available. There simply isn't time.

Real make-up days are the only option for this year.

There was a lengthy thread last week about using the 2 Presidents' days holidays as makeup days, on a different thread, and people who said they were teachers had said they had already made plans to be out of town, and that there was no way they would teach and that the union would never allow it.

Fine with me if they use those make up days. I just don't think it is going to happen, because as one teacher posted "they have Broadway tickets they've paid for, and there's no way they're cancelling their day off."

And putting together a virtual learning plan is something MCPS should be doing anyway, like other school districts, starting now. You may not like virtual learning, but I suspect for weeks like this one, most parents would much rather their =kid get some instruction, than be part of an unfortunate year where MCPS sought a waiver to allow 175 days of instruction, because they couldn't be bothered to do a virtual learning plan.

They can copy paste the virtual learning plan from the ones that Baltimore or Anne Arundel submitted and change the name. It would probably be better written than most of the stuff MCPS produces.

Presidents' Day isn't a contingency day. Between that and the short turnaround time, it would be hard to use it. The union probably could kill it by demanding impact bargaining. The same isn't true of the real contingency days.

I suspect there's a big divide between high school and elementary school families when it comes to virtual. Special education, too. How are kids in child care going to participate in virtual? Neither has a chromebook. At least, not one they're able to bring home.

They can have class during child care - they had pods and other child care during covid. Or, they can make up the work at home with parents or guardians.

This is one of the many reasons virtual was terrible during covid. How do you expect virtual to work with a set 30-50 kids? How parents cover lessons with only a few waking hours left in the day and no lesson plans? How do you expect kids with special needs to learn when their needs aren't being met?

Virtual might work for some, but in-person works for all. You just don't care about everyone else.

Ok, explain to us how we're going to make up four in-person days with the remainder of the school calendar. What makeup days would you use?

Three real make-up days is far superior to virtual.

We can't do virtual this year anyway, so it's a moot point. We should modify the calendar next year to build more days in. We should also institute a policy of automatically using the next available contingency day.

If you really want to push for virtual, you should at least come up with a plan that addresses lower elementary, kids in child care, and kids with special needs.

I don't work for MCPS. I am a parent with a job that pays taxes to pay to pay MCPS salaries and for MCPS's $3bn budget. I am not coming up with a plan to address lower elementary, kids in child care and kids with special needs.

But if you really think it's beyond the capabilities of MCPS to come up with such a plan, I'm sure you can copy paste it from the ones that Anne Arundel and Baltimore submitted to the state so they could hold virtual learning last week.

Or I'm sure MCPS could use their Metro Cards and travel to Alexandria public schools and see how they've been doing it for the last three days. Or take the bus to NYC and see how NYC public schools did virtual learning for a school district 10x the size of MCPS.

There's no shortage of examples that MCPS could use. Don't ask us to do the job of paid staffers who were too lazy to submit a virtual learning plan to the State.

+1 You say that "only in-person works for all." But that you don't want those in-person days to be the 180 required by law, because you can't find any makeup days to suggest and you'd rather kids just do nothing at all.

And you want people on this forum to make the MCPS plan for Virtual Learning during Weather events even though MCPS has a massive central office?

We have make up days in the calendar. We just need to use them.

You're the one pushing for virtual. If you think it's such a good idea, then explain how it would work for young kids and students with special needs. Otherwise, why do you think it's such a good idea?

Sure go ahead and tell us which 4 days you would use. Because all I'm seeing is people here saying we should suck it up and lose a few days of required instruction time, because MCPS can't figure it out.

MCPS CAN figure it out. Their staff just don't want to change their schedules to work the extra days, when it's easier for them to ask the State for a waiver that allows them to cheat MCPS kids out of the 180 days required by law.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are very few school districts that are completely closed tomorrow or not doing virtual learning. MCPS should be ashamed.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2026/02/01/school-delays-dc-maryland-virginia-snow-storm/

Alexandria City Public Schools: Virtual learning
Anne Arundel County Public Schools: Two-hour delay Monday and Tuesday.
Arlington County Public Schools: Closed; two-hour delay Tuesday
Calvert County Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Charles County Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Culpeper County Public Schools: Two-hour delay
D.C. Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Fairfax County Public Schools: Closed
Falls Church City Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Fauquier County Public Schools: Closed
Howard County Public Schools: Two-hour delay Monday and Tuesday
Loudoun County Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Montgomery County Public Schools: Closed
Pr. George’s County Public Schools: Two-hour delay; Code Orange
Prince William County Public Schools: Closed
Spotsylvania County Public Schools: Remote learning Monday and Tuesday; 12-month employees to report on time.
Stafford County Public Schools: Closed

https://www.thebanner.com/education/k-12-schools/updated-list-baltimore-region-school-closings-delays-CCL4HU2CGZARVMWHPUHLYH5SYI/

Anne Arundel County Public Schools will open two hours late Monday and Tuesday.
Baltimore County Public Schools will open two hours late Monday.
Caroline County Public Schools will open two hours late Monday.
Cecil County Public Schools will open two hours late Monday.
Charles County Public Schools will open two hours late Monday.
Howard County Public Schools will open two hours late Monday and Tuesday.
Kent County Public Schools will open two hours late Monday.
Montgomery County Public Schools will be closed Monday. Offices will open on time, and staff should report as on a regular noninstructional day
Prince George’s County Public Schools will open two hours late Monday. .
Queen Anne’s County Public Schools will open 90 minutes late Monday.

^^Always great to see MCPS highlighted in a newspaper article as the only school district that can't manage to operate.

It will be interesting to see how MCPS's waiver request to offer only 177 days rather than 180 is seen by the state, since most other schools opened. Hopefully the state doesn't reward them for their failures--MCPS didn't even bother to submit a virtual learning plan.

The state isn’t going to grant the waiver and MCPS officials know that. The request for the waiver is merely a formality so that MCPS can explain to parents why they have to convert some non instructional days to instructional days. They’re going to explain that you’re losing a 3 day weekend or part of spring break or days are being added to the end of the year because the state won’t grant a waiver and is requiring us to make up those days. This is always done.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are very few school districts that are completely closed tomorrow or not doing virtual learning. MCPS should be ashamed.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2026/02/01/school-delays-dc-maryland-virginia-snow-storm/

Alexandria City Public Schools: Virtual learning
Anne Arundel County Public Schools: Two-hour delay Monday and Tuesday.
Arlington County Public Schools: Closed; two-hour delay Tuesday
Calvert County Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Charles County Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Culpeper County Public Schools: Two-hour delay
D.C. Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Fairfax County Public Schools: Closed
Falls Church City Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Fauquier County Public Schools: Closed
Howard County Public Schools: Two-hour delay Monday and Tuesday
Loudoun County Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Montgomery County Public Schools: Closed
Pr. George’s County Public Schools: Two-hour delay; Code Orange
Prince William County Public Schools: Closed
Spotsylvania County Public Schools: Remote learning Monday and Tuesday; 12-month employees to report on time.
Stafford County Public Schools: Closed

Nah, but thanks for posting info we all already knew?

If you already knew this, why are people constantly posting that it's impossible to open or offer virtual learning because of kids with IEPs or equity or snow? Nearly every other school district is open or virtual tomorrow.

BLAME YOURSELF. PARENTS are why MCPS won't pivot to virtual.

Where did parents say they would prefer to have their kids shortchanged with well under the required 180 days instead of having virtual instruction?

Where did parents tell the MCPS central office not to submit a contingency virtual learning plan like so many other Maryland school districts did?

McPS should blame itself for its inability to function..

Parents don't want virtual. They want real school days.

That's what you want. We want our kids to get an education - in person or virtual, but virtual with live teaching.

You wouldn't get it. Not enough students would show up. Even fewer would participate. No new material could be covered.

You don't know that. All we have is last year's example where MCPS added half days in end June and showed videos and few kids showed up because MCPS encouraged them now to show up because "they knew people had already made other plans".

Of course we know kids wouldn't join and participate.

And that's putting aside the fact that no one has come up with a plausible way to either provide special education supports and services during those days, or provide compensatory services after the fact. You just want to forget about those students, just like you did during covid.

We get it. So you'd rather everyone have zero instruction and lose out on instructional time. MCPS can apply for a waiver to offer 177 days of instruction rather than 180, add in some half days in June and encourage parents not to send their kids, and unlike the other DC area schools that were open last week and are open next week, MCPS staff can get some extra days off.

You're not getting virtual. You know that. If you actually cared about instructional time, then you'd pressure the BoE and Taylor to use the contingency days we have. The real ones.

That you're not interested in doing that suggests education is not what's really motivating you.

You have no idea what is motivating an anonymous poster. And no, I don't agree with you that virtual learning is not an option-- my kids did almost a year of virtual learning during the COVID years, and I know MCPS can do it.

I don't work for MCPS, and only learned that MCPS failed to submit a virtual learning plan for approval to the state of Maryland yesterday, unlike many other Maryland schools. MCPS central office could do its job and try to submit it now, because there are two months of winter left and it's probable that there are more snow days.

We know it isn't an option this year. There isn't time to put together a plan and seek public comment. That would take at least a couple of months for a real plan and a meaningful public comment period.

So if education is your priority, you'd be advocating for March 20, April 15, and June 18 make up days. Ideally Presidents' Day too.

But the pp already said the quiet part out loud by admitting she just doesn't want make up days.

I'm not sure what you're babbling about, because there are multiple people posting on this thread, yet you seem to think you're talking to a single person and know their motivations. I am happy to have makeup days. I have read that the teachers union won't allow the makeup days you're suggesting to occur (other than June 18).

I'm also not going to give MCPS a pass for not having a plan for virtual learning after they had that mess with snow days less year. Other Maryland school districts prepared one. Let MCPS start preparing now and seek public comment. It doesn't need to take months if Taylor makes it a priority, which he should because parents are pissed at how incompetently MCPS is being run.

We'll have more snow days before March is out, and MCPS shouldn't continue to act like a teenager who forgot to do their homework.

The union doesn't have to agree to make up days. They're already in the calendar.

No one has even been able to provide a plausible plan for lower elementary or special education. Putting together a plan, even hastily, would take weeks. Another month for public comment and a hearing. That puts us at the end of March. Implementing the plan would also cost money for equipment, supporting services, and compensatory services. We'd also need to make sure those supporting and compensatory services were even available. There simply isn't time.

Real make-up days are the only option for this year.

There was a lengthy thread last week about using the 2 Presidents' days holidays as makeup days, on a different thread, and people who said they were teachers had said they had already made plans to be out of town, and that there was no way they would teach and that the union would never allow it.

Fine with me if they use those make up days. I just don't think it is going to happen, because as one teacher posted "they have Broadway tickets they've paid for, and there's no way they're cancelling their day off."

And putting together a virtual learning plan is something MCPS should be doing anyway, like other school districts, starting now. You may not like virtual learning, but I suspect for weeks like this one, most parents would much rather their =kid get some instruction, than be part of an unfortunate year where MCPS sought a waiver to allow 175 days of instruction, because they couldn't be bothered to do a virtual learning plan.

They can copy paste the virtual learning plan from the ones that Baltimore or Anne Arundel submitted and change the name. It would probably be better written than most of the stuff MCPS produces.

Presidents' Day isn't a contingency day. Between that and the short turnaround time, it would be hard to use it. The union probably could kill it by demanding impact bargaining. The same isn't true of the real contingency days.

I suspect there's a big divide between high school and elementary school families when it comes to virtual. Special education, too. How are kids in child care going to participate in virtual? Neither has a chromebook. At least, not one they're able to bring home.

They can have class during child care - they had pods and other child care during covid. Or, they can make up the work at home with parents or guardians.

This is one of the many reasons virtual was terrible during covid. How do you expect virtual to work with a set 30-50 kids? How parents cover lessons with only a few waking hours left in the day and no lesson plans? How do you expect kids with special needs to learn when their needs aren't being met?

Virtual might work for some, but in-person works for all. You just don't care about everyone else.

Ok, explain to us how we're going to make up four in-person days with the remainder of the school calendar. What makeup days would you use?

Three real make-up days is far superior to virtual.

We can't do virtual this year anyway, so it's a moot point. We should modify the calendar next year to build more days in. We should also institute a policy of automatically using the next available contingency day.

If you really want to push for virtual, you should at least come up with a plan that addresses lower elementary, kids in child care, and kids with special needs.

I don't work for MCPS. I am a parent with a job that pays taxes to pay to pay MCPS salaries and for MCPS's $3bn budget. I am not coming up with a plan to address lower elementary, kids in child care and kids with special needs.

But if you really think it's beyond the capabilities of MCPS to come up with such a plan, I'm sure you can copy paste it from the ones that Anne Arundel and Baltimore submitted to the state so they could hold virtual learning last week.

Or I'm sure MCPS could use their Metro Cards and travel to Alexandria public schools and see how they've been doing it for the last three days. Or take the bus to NYC and see how NYC public schools did virtual learning for a school district 10x the size of MCPS.

There's no shortage of examples that MCPS could use. Don't ask us to do the job of paid staffers who were too lazy to submit a virtual learning plan to the State.

+1 You say that "only in-person works for all." But that you don't want those in-person days to be the 180 required by law, because you can't find any makeup days to suggest and you'd rather kids just do nothing at all.

And you want people on this forum to make the MCPS plan for Virtual Learning during Weather events even though MCPS has a massive central office?

We have make up days in the calendar. We just need to use them.

You're the one pushing for virtual. If you think it's such a good idea, then explain how it would work for young kids and students with special needs. Otherwise, why do you think it's such a good idea?

Sure go ahead and tell us which 4 days you would use. Because all I'm seeing is people here saying we should suck it up and lose a few days of required instruction time, because MCPS can't figure it out.

March 20, April 15, and June 18.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are very few school districts that are completely closed tomorrow or not doing virtual learning. MCPS should be ashamed.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2026/02/01/school-delays-dc-maryland-virginia-snow-storm/

Alexandria City Public Schools: Virtual learning
Anne Arundel County Public Schools: Two-hour delay Monday and Tuesday.
Arlington County Public Schools: Closed; two-hour delay Tuesday
Calvert County Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Charles County Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Culpeper County Public Schools: Two-hour delay
D.C. Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Fairfax County Public Schools: Closed
Falls Church City Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Fauquier County Public Schools: Closed
Howard County Public Schools: Two-hour delay Monday and Tuesday
Loudoun County Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Montgomery County Public Schools: Closed
Pr. George’s County Public Schools: Two-hour delay; Code Orange
Prince William County Public Schools: Closed
Spotsylvania County Public Schools: Remote learning Monday and Tuesday; 12-month employees to report on time.
Stafford County Public Schools: Closed

Nah, but thanks for posting info we all already knew?

If you already knew this, why are people constantly posting that it's impossible to open or offer virtual learning because of kids with IEPs or equity or snow? Nearly every other school district is open or virtual tomorrow.

BLAME YOURSELF. PARENTS are why MCPS won't pivot to virtual.

Where did parents say they would prefer to have their kids shortchanged with well under the required 180 days instead of having virtual instruction?

Where did parents tell the MCPS central office not to submit a contingency virtual learning plan like so many other Maryland school districts did?

McPS should blame itself for its inability to function..

Parents don't want virtual. They want real school days.

That's what you want. We want our kids to get an education - in person or virtual, but virtual with live teaching.

You wouldn't get it. Not enough students would show up. Even fewer would participate. No new material could be covered.

You don't know that. All we have is last year's example where MCPS added half days in end June and showed videos and few kids showed up because MCPS encouraged them now to show up because "they knew people had already made other plans".

Of course we know kids wouldn't join and participate.

And that's putting aside the fact that no one has come up with a plausible way to either provide special education supports and services during those days, or provide compensatory services after the fact. You just want to forget about those students, just like you did during covid.

We get it. So you'd rather everyone have zero instruction and lose out on instructional time. MCPS can apply for a waiver to offer 177 days of instruction rather than 180, add in some half days in June and encourage parents not to send their kids, and unlike the other DC area schools that were open last week and are open next week, MCPS staff can get some extra days off.

You're not getting virtual. You know that. If you actually cared about instructional time, then you'd pressure the BoE and Taylor to use the contingency days we have. The real ones.

That you're not interested in doing that suggests education is not what's really motivating you.

You have no idea what is motivating an anonymous poster. And no, I don't agree with you that virtual learning is not an option-- my kids did almost a year of virtual learning during the COVID years, and I know MCPS can do it.

I don't work for MCPS, and only learned that MCPS failed to submit a virtual learning plan for approval to the state of Maryland yesterday, unlike many other Maryland schools. MCPS central office could do its job and try to submit it now, because there are two months of winter left and it's probable that there are more snow days.

We know it isn't an option this year. There isn't time to put together a plan and seek public comment. That would take at least a couple of months for a real plan and a meaningful public comment period.

So if education is your priority, you'd be advocating for March 20, April 15, and June 18 make up days. Ideally Presidents' Day too.

But the pp already said the quiet part out loud by admitting she just doesn't want make up days.

I'm not sure what you're babbling about, because there are multiple people posting on this thread, yet you seem to think you're talking to a single person and know their motivations. I am happy to have makeup days. I have read that the teachers union won't allow the makeup days you're suggesting to occur (other than June 18).

I'm also not going to give MCPS a pass for not having a plan for virtual learning after they had that mess with snow days less year. Other Maryland school districts prepared one. Let MCPS start preparing now and seek public comment. It doesn't need to take months if Taylor makes it a priority, which he should because parents are pissed at how incompetently MCPS is being run.

We'll have more snow days before March is out, and MCPS shouldn't continue to act like a teenager who forgot to do their homework.

The union doesn't have to agree to make up days. They're already in the calendar.

No one has even been able to provide a plausible plan for lower elementary or special education. Putting together a plan, even hastily, would take weeks. Another month for public comment and a hearing. That puts us at the end of March. Implementing the plan would also cost money for equipment, supporting services, and compensatory services. We'd also need to make sure those supporting and compensatory services were even available. There simply isn't time.

Real make-up days are the only option for this year.

There was a lengthy thread last week about using the 2 Presidents' days holidays as makeup days, on a different thread, and people who said they were teachers had said they had already made plans to be out of town, and that there was no way they would teach and that the union would never allow it.

Fine with me if they use those make up days. I just don't think it is going to happen, because as one teacher posted "they have Broadway tickets they've paid for, and there's no way they're cancelling their day off."

And putting together a virtual learning plan is something MCPS should be doing anyway, like other school districts, starting now. You may not like virtual learning, but I suspect for weeks like this one, most parents would much rather their =kid get some instruction, than be part of an unfortunate year where MCPS sought a waiver to allow 175 days of instruction, because they couldn't be bothered to do a virtual learning plan.

They can copy paste the virtual learning plan from the ones that Baltimore or Anne Arundel submitted and change the name. It would probably be better written than most of the stuff MCPS produces.

Presidents' Day isn't a contingency day. Between that and the short turnaround time, it would be hard to use it. The union probably could kill it by demanding impact bargaining. The same isn't true of the real contingency days.

I suspect there's a big divide between high school and elementary school families when it comes to virtual. Special education, too. How are kids in child care going to participate in virtual? Neither has a chromebook. At least, not one they're able to bring home.

They can have class during child care - they had pods and other child care during covid. Or, they can make up the work at home with parents or guardians.

This is one of the many reasons virtual was terrible during covid. How do you expect virtual to work with a set 30-50 kids? How parents cover lessons with only a few waking hours left in the day and no lesson plans? How do you expect kids with special needs to learn when their needs aren't being met?

Virtual might work for some, but in-person works for all. You just don't care about everyone else.

Ok, explain to us how we're going to make up four in-person days with the remainder of the school calendar. What makeup days would you use?

Three real make-up days is far superior to virtual.

We can't do virtual this year anyway, so it's a moot point. We should modify the calendar next year to build more days in. We should also institute a policy of automatically using the next available contingency day.

If you really want to push for virtual, you should at least come up with a plan that addresses lower elementary, kids in child care, and kids with special needs.

I don't work for MCPS. I am a parent with a job that pays taxes to pay to pay MCPS salaries and for MCPS's $3bn budget. I am not coming up with a plan to address lower elementary, kids in child care and kids with special needs.

But if you really think it's beyond the capabilities of MCPS to come up with such a plan, I'm sure you can copy paste it from the ones that Anne Arundel and Baltimore submitted to the state so they could hold virtual learning last week.

Or I'm sure MCPS could use their Metro Cards and travel to Alexandria public schools and see how they've been doing it for the last three days. Or take the bus to NYC and see how NYC public schools did virtual learning for a school district 10x the size of MCPS.

There's no shortage of examples that MCPS could use. Don't ask us to do the job of paid staffers who were too lazy to submit a virtual learning plan to the State.

Their plans appear to be a repeat of the covid-era plan of "screw 'em."

If you want to push for virtual, you're going to need to come up with something better than that.

What element of the Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Alexandria, and NYC virtual learning plans appear to say "screw em"? Did you read them? Why do you conclude that virtual learning is better than no learning at all?

Please explain to me then how they accomodate the needs of those students.

Please explain to me what you find problematic of those plans, and why you think they disregard the needs of those students. Did you read them?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are very few school districts that are completely closed tomorrow or not doing virtual learning. MCPS should be ashamed.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2026/02/01/school-delays-dc-maryland-virginia-snow-storm/

Alexandria City Public Schools: Virtual learning
Anne Arundel County Public Schools: Two-hour delay Monday and Tuesday.
Arlington County Public Schools: Closed; two-hour delay Tuesday
Calvert County Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Charles County Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Culpeper County Public Schools: Two-hour delay
D.C. Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Fairfax County Public Schools: Closed
Falls Church City Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Fauquier County Public Schools: Closed
Howard County Public Schools: Two-hour delay Monday and Tuesday
Loudoun County Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Montgomery County Public Schools: Closed
Pr. George’s County Public Schools: Two-hour delay; Code Orange
Prince William County Public Schools: Closed
Spotsylvania County Public Schools: Remote learning Monday and Tuesday; 12-month employees to report on time.
Stafford County Public Schools: Closed

Nah, but thanks for posting info we all already knew?

If you already knew this, why are people constantly posting that it's impossible to open or offer virtual learning because of kids with IEPs or equity or snow? Nearly every other school district is open or virtual tomorrow.

BLAME YOURSELF. PARENTS are why MCPS won't pivot to virtual.

Where did parents say they would prefer to have their kids shortchanged with well under the required 180 days instead of having virtual instruction?

Where did parents tell the MCPS central office not to submit a contingency virtual learning plan like so many other Maryland school districts did?

McPS should blame itself for its inability to function..

Parents don't want virtual. They want real school days.

That's what you want. We want our kids to get an education - in person or virtual, but virtual with live teaching.

You wouldn't get it. Not enough students would show up. Even fewer would participate. No new material could be covered.

You don't know that. All we have is last year's example where MCPS added half days in end June and showed videos and few kids showed up because MCPS encouraged them now to show up because "they knew people had already made other plans".

Of course we know kids wouldn't join and participate.

And that's putting aside the fact that no one has come up with a plausible way to either provide special education supports and services during those days, or provide compensatory services after the fact. You just want to forget about those students, just like you did during covid.

We get it. So you'd rather everyone have zero instruction and lose out on instructional time. MCPS can apply for a waiver to offer 177 days of instruction rather than 180, add in some half days in June and encourage parents not to send their kids, and unlike the other DC area schools that were open last week and are open next week, MCPS staff can get some extra days off.

You're not getting virtual. You know that. If you actually cared about instructional time, then you'd pressure the BoE and Taylor to use the contingency days we have. The real ones.

That you're not interested in doing that suggests education is not what's really motivating you.

You have no idea what is motivating an anonymous poster. And no, I don't agree with you that virtual learning is not an option-- my kids did almost a year of virtual learning during the COVID years, and I know MCPS can do it.

I don't work for MCPS, and only learned that MCPS failed to submit a virtual learning plan for approval to the state of Maryland yesterday, unlike many other Maryland schools. MCPS central office could do its job and try to submit it now, because there are two months of winter left and it's probable that there are more snow days.

We know it isn't an option this year. There isn't time to put together a plan and seek public comment. That would take at least a couple of months for a real plan and a meaningful public comment period.

So if education is your priority, you'd be advocating for March 20, April 15, and June 18 make up days. Ideally Presidents' Day too.

But the pp already said the quiet part out loud by admitting she just doesn't want make up days.

I'm not sure what you're babbling about, because there are multiple people posting on this thread, yet you seem to think you're talking to a single person and know their motivations. I am happy to have makeup days. I have read that the teachers union won't allow the makeup days you're suggesting to occur (other than June 18).

I'm also not going to give MCPS a pass for not having a plan for virtual learning after they had that mess with snow days less year. Other Maryland school districts prepared one. Let MCPS start preparing now and seek public comment. It doesn't need to take months if Taylor makes it a priority, which he should because parents are pissed at how incompetently MCPS is being run.

We'll have more snow days before March is out, and MCPS shouldn't continue to act like a teenager who forgot to do their homework.

The union doesn't have to agree to make up days. They're already in the calendar.

No one has even been able to provide a plausible plan for lower elementary or special education. Putting together a plan, even hastily, would take weeks. Another month for public comment and a hearing. That puts us at the end of March. Implementing the plan would also cost money for equipment, supporting services, and compensatory services. We'd also need to make sure those supporting and compensatory services were even available. There simply isn't time.

Real make-up days are the only option for this year.

There was a lengthy thread last week about using the 2 Presidents' days holidays as makeup days, on a different thread, and people who said they were teachers had said they had already made plans to be out of town, and that there was no way they would teach and that the union would never allow it.

Fine with me if they use those make up days. I just don't think it is going to happen, because as one teacher posted "they have Broadway tickets they've paid for, and there's no way they're cancelling their day off."

And putting together a virtual learning plan is something MCPS should be doing anyway, like other school districts, starting now. You may not like virtual learning, but I suspect for weeks like this one, most parents would much rather their =kid get some instruction, than be part of an unfortunate year where MCPS sought a waiver to allow 175 days of instruction, because they couldn't be bothered to do a virtual learning plan.

They can copy paste the virtual learning plan from the ones that Baltimore or Anne Arundel submitted and change the name. It would probably be better written than most of the stuff MCPS produces.

Presidents' Day isn't a contingency day. Between that and the short turnaround time, it would be hard to use it. The union probably could kill it by demanding impact bargaining. The same isn't true of the real contingency days.

I suspect there's a big divide between high school and elementary school families when it comes to virtual. Special education, too. How are kids in child care going to participate in virtual? Neither has a chromebook. At least, not one they're able to bring home.

They can have class during child care - they had pods and other child care during covid. Or, they can make up the work at home with parents or guardians.

This is one of the many reasons virtual was terrible during covid. How do you expect virtual to work with a set 30-50 kids? How parents cover lessons with only a few waking hours left in the day and no lesson plans? How do you expect kids with special needs to learn when their needs aren't being met?

Virtual might work for some, but in-person works for all. You just don't care about everyone else.

Ok, explain to us how we're going to make up four in-person days with the remainder of the school calendar. What makeup days would you use?

Three real make-up days is far superior to virtual.

We can't do virtual this year anyway, so it's a moot point. We should modify the calendar next year to build more days in. We should also institute a policy of automatically using the next available contingency day.

If you really want to push for virtual, you should at least come up with a plan that addresses lower elementary, kids in child care, and kids with special needs.

I don't work for MCPS. I am a parent with a job that pays taxes to pay to pay MCPS salaries and for MCPS's $3bn budget. I am not coming up with a plan to address lower elementary, kids in child care and kids with special needs.

But if you really think it's beyond the capabilities of MCPS to come up with such a plan, I'm sure you can copy paste it from the ones that Anne Arundel and Baltimore submitted to the state so they could hold virtual learning last week.

Or I'm sure MCPS could use their Metro Cards and travel to Alexandria public schools and see how they've been doing it for the last three days. Or take the bus to NYC and see how NYC public schools did virtual learning for a school district 10x the size of MCPS.

There's no shortage of examples that MCPS could use. Don't ask us to do the job of paid staffers who were too lazy to submit a virtual learning plan to the State.

+1 You say that "only in-person works for all." But that you don't want those in-person days to be the 180 required by law, because you can't find any makeup days to suggest and you'd rather kids just do nothing at all.

And you want people on this forum to make the MCPS plan for Virtual Learning during Weather events even though MCPS has a massive central office?

We have make up days in the calendar. We just need to use them.

You're the one pushing for virtual. If you think it's such a good idea, then explain how it would work for young kids and students with special needs. Otherwise, why do you think it's such a good idea?

Sure go ahead and tell us which 4 days you would use. Because all I'm seeing is people here saying we should suck it up and lose a few days of required instruction time, because MCPS can't figure it out.

March 20, April 15, and June 18.

I hope you don't teach math, because those are only 3 days. We need to make up 4.

[Anonymous]

MCPS had a virtual education plan for 2024. Did they forget to do one for 2025? Why would it take months to do another one--this 2024 one isn't particularly complicated looking--it just says the Superintendent can authorize virtual learning in the case of severe inclement weather.
https://www.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Board.nsf/files/D5QU3H7A16AC/$file/FY2024-2025%20SY%20Virtual%20Education%20Plan%20240523%20PPT.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are very few school districts that are completely closed tomorrow or not doing virtual learning. MCPS should be ashamed.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2026/02/01/school-delays-dc-maryland-virginia-snow-storm/

Alexandria City Public Schools: Virtual learning
Anne Arundel County Public Schools: Two-hour delay Monday and Tuesday.
Arlington County Public Schools: Closed; two-hour delay Tuesday
Calvert County Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Charles County Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Culpeper County Public Schools: Two-hour delay
D.C. Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Fairfax County Public Schools: Closed
Falls Church City Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Fauquier County Public Schools: Closed
Howard County Public Schools: Two-hour delay Monday and Tuesday
Loudoun County Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Montgomery County Public Schools: Closed
Pr. George’s County Public Schools: Two-hour delay; Code Orange
Prince William County Public Schools: Closed
Spotsylvania County Public Schools: Remote learning Monday and Tuesday; 12-month employees to report on time.
Stafford County Public Schools: Closed

Nah, but thanks for posting info we all already knew?

If you already knew this, why are people constantly posting that it's impossible to open or offer virtual learning because of kids with IEPs or equity or snow? Nearly every other school district is open or virtual tomorrow.

BLAME YOURSELF. PARENTS are why MCPS won't pivot to virtual.

Where did parents say they would prefer to have their kids shortchanged with well under the required 180 days instead of having virtual instruction?

Where did parents tell the MCPS central office not to submit a contingency virtual learning plan like so many other Maryland school districts did?

McPS should blame itself for its inability to function..

Parents don't want virtual. They want real school days.

That's what you want. We want our kids to get an education - in person or virtual, but virtual with live teaching.

You wouldn't get it. Not enough students would show up. Even fewer would participate. No new material could be covered.

You don't know that. All we have is last year's example where MCPS added half days in end June and showed videos and few kids showed up because MCPS encouraged them now to show up because "they knew people had already made other plans".

Of course we know kids wouldn't join and participate.

And that's putting aside the fact that no one has come up with a plausible way to either provide special education supports and services during those days, or provide compensatory services after the fact. You just want to forget about those students, just like you did during covid.

We get it. So you'd rather everyone have zero instruction and lose out on instructional time. MCPS can apply for a waiver to offer 177 days of instruction rather than 180, add in some half days in June and encourage parents not to send their kids, and unlike the other DC area schools that were open last week and are open next week, MCPS staff can get some extra days off.

You're not getting virtual. You know that. If you actually cared about instructional time, then you'd pressure the BoE and Taylor to use the contingency days we have. The real ones.

That you're not interested in doing that suggests education is not what's really motivating you.

You have no idea what is motivating an anonymous poster. And no, I don't agree with you that virtual learning is not an option-- my kids did almost a year of virtual learning during the COVID years, and I know MCPS can do it.

I don't work for MCPS, and only learned that MCPS failed to submit a virtual learning plan for approval to the state of Maryland yesterday, unlike many other Maryland schools. MCPS central office could do its job and try to submit it now, because there are two months of winter left and it's probable that there are more snow days.

We know it isn't an option this year. There isn't time to put together a plan and seek public comment. That would take at least a couple of months for a real plan and a meaningful public comment period.

So if education is your priority, you'd be advocating for March 20, April 15, and June 18 make up days. Ideally Presidents' Day too.

But the pp already said the quiet part out loud by admitting she just doesn't want make up days.

I'm not sure what you're babbling about, because there are multiple people posting on this thread, yet you seem to think you're talking to a single person and know their motivations. I am happy to have makeup days. I have read that the teachers union won't allow the makeup days you're suggesting to occur (other than June 18).

I'm also not going to give MCPS a pass for not having a plan for virtual learning after they had that mess with snow days less year. Other Maryland school districts prepared one. Let MCPS start preparing now and seek public comment. It doesn't need to take months if Taylor makes it a priority, which he should because parents are pissed at how incompetently MCPS is being run.

We'll have more snow days before March is out, and MCPS shouldn't continue to act like a teenager who forgot to do their homework.

The union doesn't have to agree to make up days. They're already in the calendar.

No one has even been able to provide a plausible plan for lower elementary or special education. Putting together a plan, even hastily, would take weeks. Another month for public comment and a hearing. That puts us at the end of March. Implementing the plan would also cost money for equipment, supporting services, and compensatory services. We'd also need to make sure those supporting and compensatory services were even available. There simply isn't time.

Real make-up days are the only option for this year.

There was a lengthy thread last week about using the 2 Presidents' days holidays as makeup days, on a different thread, and people who said they were teachers had said they had already made plans to be out of town, and that there was no way they would teach and that the union would never allow it.

Fine with me if they use those make up days. I just don't think it is going to happen, because as one teacher posted "they have Broadway tickets they've paid for, and there's no way they're cancelling their day off."

And putting together a virtual learning plan is something MCPS should be doing anyway, like other school districts, starting now. You may not like virtual learning, but I suspect for weeks like this one, most parents would much rather their =kid get some instruction, than be part of an unfortunate year where MCPS sought a waiver to allow 175 days of instruction, because they couldn't be bothered to do a virtual learning plan.

They can copy paste the virtual learning plan from the ones that Baltimore or Anne Arundel submitted and change the name. It would probably be better written than most of the stuff MCPS produces.

Presidents' Day isn't a contingency day. Between that and the short turnaround time, it would be hard to use it. The union probably could kill it by demanding impact bargaining. The same isn't true of the real contingency days.

I suspect there's a big divide between high school and elementary school families when it comes to virtual. Special education, too. How are kids in child care going to participate in virtual? Neither has a chromebook. At least, not one they're able to bring home.

They can have class during child care - they had pods and other child care during covid. Or, they can make up the work at home with parents or guardians.

This is one of the many reasons virtual was terrible during covid. How do you expect virtual to work with a set 30-50 kids? How parents cover lessons with only a few waking hours left in the day and no lesson plans? How do you expect kids with special needs to learn when their needs aren't being met?

Virtual might work for some, but in-person works for all. You just don't care about everyone else.

Ok, explain to us how we're going to make up four in-person days with the remainder of the school calendar. What makeup days would you use?

Three real make-up days is far superior to virtual.

We can't do virtual this year anyway, so it's a moot point. We should modify the calendar next year to build more days in. We should also institute a policy of automatically using the next available contingency day.

If you really want to push for virtual, you should at least come up with a plan that addresses lower elementary, kids in child care, and kids with special needs.

I don't work for MCPS. I am a parent with a job that pays taxes to pay to pay MCPS salaries and for MCPS's $3bn budget. I am not coming up with a plan to address lower elementary, kids in child care and kids with special needs.

But if you really think it's beyond the capabilities of MCPS to come up with such a plan, I'm sure you can copy paste it from the ones that Anne Arundel and Baltimore submitted to the state so they could hold virtual learning last week.

Or I'm sure MCPS could use their Metro Cards and travel to Alexandria public schools and see how they've been doing it for the last three days. Or take the bus to NYC and see how NYC public schools did virtual learning for a school district 10x the size of MCPS.

There's no shortage of examples that MCPS could use. Don't ask us to do the job of paid staffers who were too lazy to submit a virtual learning plan to the State.

+1 You say that "only in-person works for all." But that you don't want those in-person days to be the 180 required by law, because you can't find any makeup days to suggest and you'd rather kids just do nothing at all.

And you want people on this forum to make the MCPS plan for Virtual Learning during Weather events even though MCPS has a massive central office?

We have make up days in the calendar. We just need to use them.

You're the one pushing for virtual. If you think it's such a good idea, then explain how it would work for young kids and students with special needs. Otherwise, why do you think it's such a good idea?

Sure go ahead and tell us which 4 days you would use. Because all I'm seeing is people here saying we should suck it up and lose a few days of required instruction time, because MCPS can't figure it out.

March 20, April 15, and June 18.

I hope you don't teach math, because those are only 3 days. We need to make up 4.

We can request a waiver after 3. If not, my preference would be to use President's Day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are very few school districts that are completely closed tomorrow or not doing virtual learning. MCPS should be ashamed.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2026/02/01/school-delays-dc-maryland-virginia-snow-storm/

Alexandria City Public Schools: Virtual learning
Anne Arundel County Public Schools: Two-hour delay Monday and Tuesday.
Arlington County Public Schools: Closed; two-hour delay Tuesday
Calvert County Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Charles County Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Culpeper County Public Schools: Two-hour delay
D.C. Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Fairfax County Public Schools: Closed
Falls Church City Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Fauquier County Public Schools: Closed
Howard County Public Schools: Two-hour delay Monday and Tuesday
Loudoun County Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Montgomery County Public Schools: Closed
Pr. George’s County Public Schools: Two-hour delay; Code Orange
Prince William County Public Schools: Closed
Spotsylvania County Public Schools: Remote learning Monday and Tuesday; 12-month employees to report on time.
Stafford County Public Schools: Closed

Nah, but thanks for posting info we all already knew?

If you already knew this, why are people constantly posting that it's impossible to open or offer virtual learning because of kids with IEPs or equity or snow? Nearly every other school district is open or virtual tomorrow.

BLAME YOURSELF. PARENTS are why MCPS won't pivot to virtual.

Where did parents say they would prefer to have their kids shortchanged with well under the required 180 days instead of having virtual instruction?

Where did parents tell the MCPS central office not to submit a contingency virtual learning plan like so many other Maryland school districts did?

McPS should blame itself for its inability to function..

Parents don't want virtual. They want real school days.

That's what you want. We want our kids to get an education - in person or virtual, but virtual with live teaching.

You wouldn't get it. Not enough students would show up. Even fewer would participate. No new material could be covered.

You don't know that. All we have is last year's example where MCPS added half days in end June and showed videos and few kids showed up because MCPS encouraged them now to show up because "they knew people had already made other plans".

Of course we know kids wouldn't join and participate.

And that's putting aside the fact that no one has come up with a plausible way to either provide special education supports and services during those days, or provide compensatory services after the fact. You just want to forget about those students, just like you did during covid.

We get it. So you'd rather everyone have zero instruction and lose out on instructional time. MCPS can apply for a waiver to offer 177 days of instruction rather than 180, add in some half days in June and encourage parents not to send their kids, and unlike the other DC area schools that were open last week and are open next week, MCPS staff can get some extra days off.

You're not getting virtual. You know that. If you actually cared about instructional time, then you'd pressure the BoE and Taylor to use the contingency days we have. The real ones.

That you're not interested in doing that suggests education is not what's really motivating you.

You have no idea what is motivating an anonymous poster. And no, I don't agree with you that virtual learning is not an option-- my kids did almost a year of virtual learning during the COVID years, and I know MCPS can do it.

I don't work for MCPS, and only learned that MCPS failed to submit a virtual learning plan for approval to the state of Maryland yesterday, unlike many other Maryland schools. MCPS central office could do its job and try to submit it now, because there are two months of winter left and it's probable that there are more snow days.

We know it isn't an option this year. There isn't time to put together a plan and seek public comment. That would take at least a couple of months for a real plan and a meaningful public comment period.

So if education is your priority, you'd be advocating for March 20, April 15, and June 18 make up days. Ideally Presidents' Day too.

But the pp already said the quiet part out loud by admitting she just doesn't want make up days.

I'm not sure what you're babbling about, because there are multiple people posting on this thread, yet you seem to think you're talking to a single person and know their motivations. I am happy to have makeup days. I have read that the teachers union won't allow the makeup days you're suggesting to occur (other than June 18).

I'm also not going to give MCPS a pass for not having a plan for virtual learning after they had that mess with snow days less year. Other Maryland school districts prepared one. Let MCPS start preparing now and seek public comment. It doesn't need to take months if Taylor makes it a priority, which he should because parents are pissed at how incompetently MCPS is being run.

We'll have more snow days before March is out, and MCPS shouldn't continue to act like a teenager who forgot to do their homework.

The union doesn't have to agree to make up days. They're already in the calendar.

No one has even been able to provide a plausible plan for lower elementary or special education. Putting together a plan, even hastily, would take weeks. Another month for public comment and a hearing. That puts us at the end of March. Implementing the plan would also cost money for equipment, supporting services, and compensatory services. We'd also need to make sure those supporting and compensatory services were even available. There simply isn't time.

Real make-up days are the only option for this year.

There was a lengthy thread last week about using the 2 Presidents' days holidays as makeup days, on a different thread, and people who said they were teachers had said they had already made plans to be out of town, and that there was no way they would teach and that the union would never allow it.

Fine with me if they use those make up days. I just don't think it is going to happen, because as one teacher posted "they have Broadway tickets they've paid for, and there's no way they're cancelling their day off."

And putting together a virtual learning plan is something MCPS should be doing anyway, like other school districts, starting now. You may not like virtual learning, but I suspect for weeks like this one, most parents would much rather their =kid get some instruction, than be part of an unfortunate year where MCPS sought a waiver to allow 175 days of instruction, because they couldn't be bothered to do a virtual learning plan.

They can copy paste the virtual learning plan from the ones that Baltimore or Anne Arundel submitted and change the name. It would probably be better written than most of the stuff MCPS produces.

Presidents' Day isn't a contingency day. Between that and the short turnaround time, it would be hard to use it. The union probably could kill it by demanding impact bargaining. The same isn't true of the real contingency days.

I suspect there's a big divide between high school and elementary school families when it comes to virtual. Special education, too. How are kids in child care going to participate in virtual? Neither has a chromebook. At least, not one they're able to bring home.

They can have class during child care - they had pods and other child care during covid. Or, they can make up the work at home with parents or guardians.

This is one of the many reasons virtual was terrible during covid. How do you expect virtual to work with a set 30-50 kids? How parents cover lessons with only a few waking hours left in the day and no lesson plans? How do you expect kids with special needs to learn when their needs aren't being met?

Virtual might work for some, but in-person works for all. You just don't care about everyone else.

Ok, explain to us how we're going to make up four in-person days with the remainder of the school calendar. What makeup days would you use?

Three real make-up days is far superior to virtual.

We can't do virtual this year anyway, so it's a moot point. We should modify the calendar next year to build more days in. We should also institute a policy of automatically using the next available contingency day.

If you really want to push for virtual, you should at least come up with a plan that addresses lower elementary, kids in child care, and kids with special needs.

I don't work for MCPS. I am a parent with a job that pays taxes to pay to pay MCPS salaries and for MCPS's $3bn budget. I am not coming up with a plan to address lower elementary, kids in child care and kids with special needs.

But if you really think it's beyond the capabilities of MCPS to come up with such a plan, I'm sure you can copy paste it from the ones that Anne Arundel and Baltimore submitted to the state so they could hold virtual learning last week.

Or I'm sure MCPS could use their Metro Cards and travel to Alexandria public schools and see how they've been doing it for the last three days. Or take the bus to NYC and see how NYC public schools did virtual learning for a school district 10x the size of MCPS.

There's no shortage of examples that MCPS could use. Don't ask us to do the job of paid staffers who were too lazy to submit a virtual learning plan to the State.

+1 You say that "only in-person works for all." But that you don't want those in-person days to be the 180 required by law, because you can't find any makeup days to suggest and you'd rather kids just do nothing at all.

And you want people on this forum to make the MCPS plan for Virtual Learning during Weather events even though MCPS has a massive central office?

We have make up days in the calendar. We just need to use them.

You're the one pushing for virtual. If you think it's such a good idea, then explain how it would work for young kids and students with special needs. Otherwise, why do you think it's such a good idea?

Sure go ahead and tell us which 4 days you would use. Because all I'm seeing is people here saying we should suck it up and lose a few days of required instruction time, because MCPS can't figure it out.

March 20, April 15, and June 18.

I hope you don't teach math, because those are only 3 days. We need to make up 4.

Doesn’t the state require us to use 3 contingency days before it will grant a waiver? Start with those days, ask again for a waiver, add a day to the end of the year if they won’t grant one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MCPS had a virtual education plan for 2024. Did they forget to do one for 2025? Why would it take months to do another one--this 2024 one isn't particularly complicated looking--it just says the Superintendent can authorize virtual learning in the case of severe inclement weather.
https://www.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Board.nsf/files/D5QU3H7A16AC/$file/FY2024-2025%20SY%20Virtual%20Education%20Plan%20240523%20PPT.pdf

That isn't a plan. That was just a presentation about what they would have to do. They never adopted a plan.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are very few school districts that are completely closed tomorrow or not doing virtual learning. MCPS should be ashamed.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2026/02/01/school-delays-dc-maryland-virginia-snow-storm/

Alexandria City Public Schools: Virtual learning
Anne Arundel County Public Schools: Two-hour delay Monday and Tuesday.
Arlington County Public Schools: Closed; two-hour delay Tuesday
Calvert County Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Charles County Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Culpeper County Public Schools: Two-hour delay
D.C. Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Fairfax County Public Schools: Closed
Falls Church City Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Fauquier County Public Schools: Closed
Howard County Public Schools: Two-hour delay Monday and Tuesday
Loudoun County Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Montgomery County Public Schools: Closed
Pr. George’s County Public Schools: Two-hour delay; Code Orange
Prince William County Public Schools: Closed
Spotsylvania County Public Schools: Remote learning Monday and Tuesday; 12-month employees to report on time.
Stafford County Public Schools: Closed

Nah, but thanks for posting info we all already knew?

If you already knew this, why are people constantly posting that it's impossible to open or offer virtual learning because of kids with IEPs or equity or snow? Nearly every other school district is open or virtual tomorrow.

BLAME YOURSELF. PARENTS are why MCPS won't pivot to virtual.

Where did parents say they would prefer to have their kids shortchanged with well under the required 180 days instead of having virtual instruction?

Where did parents tell the MCPS central office not to submit a contingency virtual learning plan like so many other Maryland school districts did?

McPS should blame itself for its inability to function..

Parents don't want virtual. They want real school days.

That's what you want. We want our kids to get an education - in person or virtual, but virtual with live teaching.

You wouldn't get it. Not enough students would show up. Even fewer would participate. No new material could be covered.

You don't know that. All we have is last year's example where MCPS added half days in end June and showed videos and few kids showed up because MCPS encouraged them now to show up because "they knew people had already made other plans".

Of course we know kids wouldn't join and participate.

And that's putting aside the fact that no one has come up with a plausible way to either provide special education supports and services during those days, or provide compensatory services after the fact. You just want to forget about those students, just like you did during covid.

We get it. So you'd rather everyone have zero instruction and lose out on instructional time. MCPS can apply for a waiver to offer 177 days of instruction rather than 180, add in some half days in June and encourage parents not to send their kids, and unlike the other DC area schools that were open last week and are open next week, MCPS staff can get some extra days off.

You're not getting virtual. You know that. If you actually cared about instructional time, then you'd pressure the BoE and Taylor to use the contingency days we have. The real ones.

That you're not interested in doing that suggests education is not what's really motivating you.

You have no idea what is motivating an anonymous poster. And no, I don't agree with you that virtual learning is not an option-- my kids did almost a year of virtual learning during the COVID years, and I know MCPS can do it.

I don't work for MCPS, and only learned that MCPS failed to submit a virtual learning plan for approval to the state of Maryland yesterday, unlike many other Maryland schools. MCPS central office could do its job and try to submit it now, because there are two months of winter left and it's probable that there are more snow days.

We know it isn't an option this year. There isn't time to put together a plan and seek public comment. That would take at least a couple of months for a real plan and a meaningful public comment period.

So if education is your priority, you'd be advocating for March 20, April 15, and June 18 make up days. Ideally Presidents' Day too.

But the pp already said the quiet part out loud by admitting she just doesn't want make up days.

I'm not sure what you're babbling about, because there are multiple people posting on this thread, yet you seem to think you're talking to a single person and know their motivations. I am happy to have makeup days. I have read that the teachers union won't allow the makeup days you're suggesting to occur (other than June 18).

I'm also not going to give MCPS a pass for not having a plan for virtual learning after they had that mess with snow days less year. Other Maryland school districts prepared one. Let MCPS start preparing now and seek public comment. It doesn't need to take months if Taylor makes it a priority, which he should because parents are pissed at how incompetently MCPS is being run.

We'll have more snow days before March is out, and MCPS shouldn't continue to act like a teenager who forgot to do their homework.

The union doesn't have to agree to make up days. They're already in the calendar.

No one has even been able to provide a plausible plan for lower elementary or special education. Putting together a plan, even hastily, would take weeks. Another month for public comment and a hearing. That puts us at the end of March. Implementing the plan would also cost money for equipment, supporting services, and compensatory services. We'd also need to make sure those supporting and compensatory services were even available. There simply isn't time.

Real make-up days are the only option for this year.

There was a lengthy thread last week about using the 2 Presidents' days holidays as makeup days, on a different thread, and people who said they were teachers had said they had already made plans to be out of town, and that there was no way they would teach and that the union would never allow it.

Fine with me if they use those make up days. I just don't think it is going to happen, because as one teacher posted "they have Broadway tickets they've paid for, and there's no way they're cancelling their day off."

And putting together a virtual learning plan is something MCPS should be doing anyway, like other school districts, starting now. You may not like virtual learning, but I suspect for weeks like this one, most parents would much rather their =kid get some instruction, than be part of an unfortunate year where MCPS sought a waiver to allow 175 days of instruction, because they couldn't be bothered to do a virtual learning plan.

They can copy paste the virtual learning plan from the ones that Baltimore or Anne Arundel submitted and change the name. It would probably be better written than most of the stuff MCPS produces.

Presidents' Day isn't a contingency day. Between that and the short turnaround time, it would be hard to use it. The union probably could kill it by demanding impact bargaining. The same isn't true of the real contingency days.

I suspect there's a big divide between high school and elementary school families when it comes to virtual. Special education, too. How are kids in child care going to participate in virtual? Neither has a chromebook. At least, not one they're able to bring home.

They can have class during child care - they had pods and other child care during covid. Or, they can make up the work at home with parents or guardians.

This is one of the many reasons virtual was terrible during covid. How do you expect virtual to work with a set 30-50 kids? How parents cover lessons with only a few waking hours left in the day and no lesson plans? How do you expect kids with special needs to learn when their needs aren't being met?

Virtual might work for some, but in-person works for all. You just don't care about everyone else.

Ok, explain to us how we're going to make up four in-person days with the remainder of the school calendar. What makeup days would you use?

Three real make-up days is far superior to virtual.

We can't do virtual this year anyway, so it's a moot point. We should modify the calendar next year to build more days in. We should also institute a policy of automatically using the next available contingency day.

If you really want to push for virtual, you should at least come up with a plan that addresses lower elementary, kids in child care, and kids with special needs.

I don't work for MCPS. I am a parent with a job that pays taxes to pay to pay MCPS salaries and for MCPS's $3bn budget. I am not coming up with a plan to address lower elementary, kids in child care and kids with special needs.

But if you really think it's beyond the capabilities of MCPS to come up with such a plan, I'm sure you can copy paste it from the ones that Anne Arundel and Baltimore submitted to the state so they could hold virtual learning last week.

Or I'm sure MCPS could use their Metro Cards and travel to Alexandria public schools and see how they've been doing it for the last three days. Or take the bus to NYC and see how NYC public schools did virtual learning for a school district 10x the size of MCPS.

There's no shortage of examples that MCPS could use. Don't ask us to do the job of paid staffers who were too lazy to submit a virtual learning plan to the State.

Their plans appear to be a repeat of the covid-era plan of "screw 'em."

If you want to push for virtual, you're going to need to come up with something better than that.

What element of the Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Alexandria, and NYC virtual learning plans appear to say "screw em"? Did you read them? Why do you conclude that virtual learning is better than no learning at all?

Please explain to me then how they accomodate the needs of those students.

Please explain to me what you find problematic of those plans, and why you think they disregard the needs of those students. Did you read them?

I don't see their full plans, but the information on their websites make no reference to accommodations for children in child care or students with special needs. That sounds like disregarding them to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS had a virtual education plan for 2024. Did they forget to do one for 2025? Why would it take months to do another one--this 2024 one isn't particularly complicated looking--it just says the Superintendent can authorize virtual learning in the case of severe inclement weather.
https://www.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Board.nsf/files/D5QU3H7A16AC/$file/FY2024-2025%20SY%20Virtual%20Education%20Plan%20240523%20PPT.pdf

That isn't a plan. That was just a presentation about what they would have to do. They never adopted a plan.

That seems to be par for the course for MCPS. Truly embarrassing compared to other school districts and how they performed during this storm.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are very few school districts that are completely closed tomorrow or not doing virtual learning. MCPS should be ashamed.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2026/02/01/school-delays-dc-maryland-virginia-snow-storm/

Alexandria City Public Schools: Virtual learning
Anne Arundel County Public Schools: Two-hour delay Monday and Tuesday.
Arlington County Public Schools: Closed; two-hour delay Tuesday
Calvert County Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Charles County Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Culpeper County Public Schools: Two-hour delay
D.C. Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Fairfax County Public Schools: Closed
Falls Church City Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Fauquier County Public Schools: Closed
Howard County Public Schools: Two-hour delay Monday and Tuesday
Loudoun County Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Montgomery County Public Schools: Closed
Pr. George’s County Public Schools: Two-hour delay; Code Orange
Prince William County Public Schools: Closed
Spotsylvania County Public Schools: Remote learning Monday and Tuesday; 12-month employees to report on time.
Stafford County Public Schools: Closed

Nah, but thanks for posting info we all already knew?

If you already knew this, why are people constantly posting that it's impossible to open or offer virtual learning because of kids with IEPs or equity or snow? Nearly every other school district is open or virtual tomorrow.

BLAME YOURSELF. PARENTS are why MCPS won't pivot to virtual.

Where did parents say they would prefer to have their kids shortchanged with well under the required 180 days instead of having virtual instruction?

Where did parents tell the MCPS central office not to submit a contingency virtual learning plan like so many other Maryland school districts did?

McPS should blame itself for its inability to function..

Parents don't want virtual. They want real school days.

That's what you want. We want our kids to get an education - in person or virtual, but virtual with live teaching.

You wouldn't get it. Not enough students would show up. Even fewer would participate. No new material could be covered.

You don't know that. All we have is last year's example where MCPS added half days in end June and showed videos and few kids showed up because MCPS encouraged them now to show up because "they knew people had already made other plans".

Of course we know kids wouldn't join and participate.

And that's putting aside the fact that no one has come up with a plausible way to either provide special education supports and services during those days, or provide compensatory services after the fact. You just want to forget about those students, just like you did during covid.

We get it. So you'd rather everyone have zero instruction and lose out on instructional time. MCPS can apply for a waiver to offer 177 days of instruction rather than 180, add in some half days in June and encourage parents not to send their kids, and unlike the other DC area schools that were open last week and are open next week, MCPS staff can get some extra days off.

You're not getting virtual. You know that. If you actually cared about instructional time, then you'd pressure the BoE and Taylor to use the contingency days we have. The real ones.

That you're not interested in doing that suggests education is not what's really motivating you.

You have no idea what is motivating an anonymous poster. And no, I don't agree with you that virtual learning is not an option-- my kids did almost a year of virtual learning during the COVID years, and I know MCPS can do it.

I don't work for MCPS, and only learned that MCPS failed to submit a virtual learning plan for approval to the state of Maryland yesterday, unlike many other Maryland schools. MCPS central office could do its job and try to submit it now, because there are two months of winter left and it's probable that there are more snow days.

We know it isn't an option this year. There isn't time to put together a plan and seek public comment. That would take at least a couple of months for a real plan and a meaningful public comment period.

So if education is your priority, you'd be advocating for March 20, April 15, and June 18 make up days. Ideally Presidents' Day too.

But the pp already said the quiet part out loud by admitting she just doesn't want make up days.

I'm not sure what you're babbling about, because there are multiple people posting on this thread, yet you seem to think you're talking to a single person and know their motivations. I am happy to have makeup days. I have read that the teachers union won't allow the makeup days you're suggesting to occur (other than June 18).

I'm also not going to give MCPS a pass for not having a plan for virtual learning after they had that mess with snow days less year. Other Maryland school districts prepared one. Let MCPS start preparing now and seek public comment. It doesn't need to take months if Taylor makes it a priority, which he should because parents are pissed at how incompetently MCPS is being run.

We'll have more snow days before March is out, and MCPS shouldn't continue to act like a teenager who forgot to do their homework.

The union doesn't have to agree to make up days. They're already in the calendar.

No one has even been able to provide a plausible plan for lower elementary or special education. Putting together a plan, even hastily, would take weeks. Another month for public comment and a hearing. That puts us at the end of March. Implementing the plan would also cost money for equipment, supporting services, and compensatory services. We'd also need to make sure those supporting and compensatory services were even available. There simply isn't time.

Real make-up days are the only option for this year.

There was a lengthy thread last week about using the 2 Presidents' days holidays as makeup days, on a different thread, and people who said they were teachers had said they had already made plans to be out of town, and that there was no way they would teach and that the union would never allow it.

Fine with me if they use those make up days. I just don't think it is going to happen, because as one teacher posted "they have Broadway tickets they've paid for, and there's no way they're cancelling their day off."

And putting together a virtual learning plan is something MCPS should be doing anyway, like other school districts, starting now. You may not like virtual learning, but I suspect for weeks like this one, most parents would much rather their =kid get some instruction, than be part of an unfortunate year where MCPS sought a waiver to allow 175 days of instruction, because they couldn't be bothered to do a virtual learning plan.

They can copy paste the virtual learning plan from the ones that Baltimore or Anne Arundel submitted and change the name. It would probably be better written than most of the stuff MCPS produces.

Presidents' Day isn't a contingency day. Between that and the short turnaround time, it would be hard to use it. The union probably could kill it by demanding impact bargaining. The same isn't true of the real contingency days.

I suspect there's a big divide between high school and elementary school families when it comes to virtual. Special education, too. How are kids in child care going to participate in virtual? Neither has a chromebook. At least, not one they're able to bring home.

They can have class during child care - they had pods and other child care during covid. Or, they can make up the work at home with parents or guardians.

This is one of the many reasons virtual was terrible during covid. How do you expect virtual to work with a set 30-50 kids? How parents cover lessons with only a few waking hours left in the day and no lesson plans? How do you expect kids with special needs to learn when their needs aren't being met?

Virtual might work for some, but in-person works for all. You just don't care about everyone else.

Ok, explain to us how we're going to make up four in-person days with the remainder of the school calendar. What makeup days would you use?

Three real make-up days is far superior to virtual.

We can't do virtual this year anyway, so it's a moot point. We should modify the calendar next year to build more days in. We should also institute a policy of automatically using the next available contingency day.

If you really want to push for virtual, you should at least come up with a plan that addresses lower elementary, kids in child care, and kids with special needs.

I don't work for MCPS. I am a parent with a job that pays taxes to pay to pay MCPS salaries and for MCPS's $3bn budget. I am not coming up with a plan to address lower elementary, kids in child care and kids with special needs.

But if you really think it's beyond the capabilities of MCPS to come up with such a plan, I'm sure you can copy paste it from the ones that Anne Arundel and Baltimore submitted to the state so they could hold virtual learning last week.

Or I'm sure MCPS could use their Metro Cards and travel to Alexandria public schools and see how they've been doing it for the last three days. Or take the bus to NYC and see how NYC public schools did virtual learning for a school district 10x the size of MCPS.

There's no shortage of examples that MCPS could use. Don't ask us to do the job of paid staffers who were too lazy to submit a virtual learning plan to the State.

Their plans appear to be a repeat of the covid-era plan of "screw 'em."

If you want to push for virtual, you're going to need to come up with something better than that.

What element of the Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Alexandria, and NYC virtual learning plans appear to say "screw em"? Did you read them? Why do you conclude that virtual learning is better than no learning at all?

Please explain to me then how they accomodate the needs of those students.

Please explain to me what you find problematic of those plans, and why you think they disregard the needs of those students. Did you read them?

I don't see their full plans, but the information on their websites make no reference to accommodations for children in child care or students with special needs. That sounds like disregarding them to me.

Sounds like you're making a lot of conclusions without actually reading the plans (which fall under the jurisdiction of three different states). But you are ready to make the conclusion that these plans are out to "screw em" because you just don't like virtual learning. I hope you're not a teacher, because you seem to lack intellectual rigor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are very few school districts that are completely closed tomorrow or not doing virtual learning. MCPS should be ashamed.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2026/02/01/school-delays-dc-maryland-virginia-snow-storm/

Alexandria City Public Schools: Virtual learning
Anne Arundel County Public Schools: Two-hour delay Monday and Tuesday.
Arlington County Public Schools: Closed; two-hour delay Tuesday
Calvert County Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Charles County Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Culpeper County Public Schools: Two-hour delay
D.C. Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Fairfax County Public Schools: Closed
Falls Church City Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Fauquier County Public Schools: Closed
Howard County Public Schools: Two-hour delay Monday and Tuesday
Loudoun County Public Schools: Two-hour delay
Montgomery County Public Schools: Closed
Pr. George’s County Public Schools: Two-hour delay; Code Orange
Prince William County Public Schools: Closed
Spotsylvania County Public Schools: Remote learning Monday and Tuesday; 12-month employees to report on time.
Stafford County Public Schools: Closed

Nah, but thanks for posting info we all already knew?

If you already knew this, why are people constantly posting that it's impossible to open or offer virtual learning because of kids with IEPs or equity or snow? Nearly every other school district is open or virtual tomorrow.

BLAME YOURSELF. PARENTS are why MCPS won't pivot to virtual.

Where did parents say they would prefer to have their kids shortchanged with well under the required 180 days instead of having virtual instruction?

Where did parents tell the MCPS central office not to submit a contingency virtual learning plan like so many other Maryland school districts did?

McPS should blame itself for its inability to function..

Parents don't want virtual. They want real school days.

That's what you want. We want our kids to get an education - in person or virtual, but virtual with live teaching.

You wouldn't get it. Not enough students would show up. Even fewer would participate. No new material could be covered.

You don't know that. All we have is last year's example where MCPS added half days in end June and showed videos and few kids showed up because MCPS encouraged them now to show up because "they knew people had already made other plans".

Of course we know kids wouldn't join and participate.

And that's putting aside the fact that no one has come up with a plausible way to either provide special education supports and services during those days, or provide compensatory services after the fact. You just want to forget about those students, just like you did during covid.

We get it. So you'd rather everyone have zero instruction and lose out on instructional time. MCPS can apply for a waiver to offer 177 days of instruction rather than 180, add in some half days in June and encourage parents not to send their kids, and unlike the other DC area schools that were open last week and are open next week, MCPS staff can get some extra days off.

You're not getting virtual. You know that. If you actually cared about instructional time, then you'd pressure the BoE and Taylor to use the contingency days we have. The real ones.

That you're not interested in doing that suggests education is not what's really motivating you.

You have no idea what is motivating an anonymous poster. And no, I don't agree with you that virtual learning is not an option-- my kids did almost a year of virtual learning during the COVID years, and I know MCPS can do it.

I don't work for MCPS, and only learned that MCPS failed to submit a virtual learning plan for approval to the state of Maryland yesterday, unlike many other Maryland schools. MCPS central office could do its job and try to submit it now, because there are two months of winter left and it's probable that there are more snow days.

We know it isn't an option this year. There isn't time to put together a plan and seek public comment. That would take at least a couple of months for a real plan and a meaningful public comment period.

So if education is your priority, you'd be advocating for March 20, April 15, and June 18 make up days. Ideally Presidents' Day too.

But the pp already said the quiet part out loud by admitting she just doesn't want make up days.

I'm not sure what you're babbling about, because there are multiple people posting on this thread, yet you seem to think you're talking to a single person and know their motivations. I am happy to have makeup days. I have read that the teachers union won't allow the makeup days you're suggesting to occur (other than June 18).

I'm also not going to give MCPS a pass for not having a plan for virtual learning after they had that mess with snow days less year. Other Maryland school districts prepared one. Let MCPS start preparing now and seek public comment. It doesn't need to take months if Taylor makes it a priority, which he should because parents are pissed at how incompetently MCPS is being run.

We'll have more snow days before March is out, and MCPS shouldn't continue to act like a teenager who forgot to do their homework.

The union doesn't have to agree to make up days. They're already in the calendar.

No one has even been able to provide a plausible plan for lower elementary or special education. Putting together a plan, even hastily, would take weeks. Another month for public comment and a hearing. That puts us at the end of March. Implementing the plan would also cost money for equipment, supporting services, and compensatory services. We'd also need to make sure those supporting and compensatory services were even available. There simply isn't time.

Real make-up days are the only option for this year.

There was a lengthy thread last week about using the 2 Presidents' days holidays as makeup days, on a different thread, and people who said they were teachers had said they had already made plans to be out of town, and that there was no way they would teach and that the union would never allow it.

Fine with me if they use those make up days. I just don't think it is going to happen, because as one teacher posted "they have Broadway tickets they've paid for, and there's no way they're cancelling their day off."

And putting together a virtual learning plan is something MCPS should be doing anyway, like other school districts, starting now. You may not like virtual learning, but I suspect for weeks like this one, most parents would much rather their =kid get some instruction, than be part of an unfortunate year where MCPS sought a waiver to allow 175 days of instruction, because they couldn't be bothered to do a virtual learning plan.

They can copy paste the virtual learning plan from the ones that Baltimore or Anne Arundel submitted and change the name. It would probably be better written than most of the stuff MCPS produces.

Presidents' Day isn't a contingency day. Between that and the short turnaround time, it would be hard to use it. The union probably could kill it by demanding impact bargaining. The same isn't true of the real contingency days.

I suspect there's a big divide between high school and elementary school families when it comes to virtual. Special education, too. How are kids in child care going to participate in virtual? Neither has a chromebook. At least, not one they're able to bring home.

They can have class during child care - they had pods and other child care during covid. Or, they can make up the work at home with parents or guardians.

This is one of the many reasons virtual was terrible during covid. How do you expect virtual to work with a set 30-50 kids? How parents cover lessons with only a few waking hours left in the day and no lesson plans? How do you expect kids with special needs to learn when their needs aren't being met?

Virtual might work for some, but in-person works for all. You just don't care about everyone else.

Ok, explain to us how we're going to make up four in-person days with the remainder of the school calendar. What makeup days would you use?

Three real make-up days is far superior to virtual.

We can't do virtual this year anyway, so it's a moot point. We should modify the calendar next year to build more days in. We should also institute a policy of automatically using the next available contingency day.

If you really want to push for virtual, you should at least come up with a plan that addresses lower elementary, kids in child care, and kids with special needs.

I don't work for MCPS. I am a parent with a job that pays taxes to pay to pay MCPS salaries and for MCPS's $3bn budget. I am not coming up with a plan to address lower elementary, kids in child care and kids with special needs.

But if you really think it's beyond the capabilities of MCPS to come up with such a plan, I'm sure you can copy paste it from the ones that Anne Arundel and Baltimore submitted to the state so they could hold virtual learning last week.

Or I'm sure MCPS could use their Metro Cards and travel to Alexandria public schools and see how they've been doing it for the last three days. Or take the bus to NYC and see how NYC public schools did virtual learning for a school district 10x the size of MCPS.

There's no shortage of examples that MCPS could use. Don't ask us to do the job of paid staffers who were too lazy to submit a virtual learning plan to the State.

+1 You say that "only in-person works for all." But that you don't want those in-person days to be the 180 required by law, because you can't find any makeup days to suggest and you'd rather kids just do nothing at all.

And you want people on this forum to make the MCPS plan for Virtual Learning during Weather events even though MCPS has a massive central office?

We have make up days in the calendar. We just need to use them.

You're the one pushing for virtual. If you think it's such a good idea, then explain how it would work for young kids and students with special needs. Otherwise, why do you think it's such a good idea?

Sure go ahead and tell us which 4 days you would use. Because all I'm seeing is people here saying we should suck it up and lose a few days of required instruction time, because MCPS can't figure it out.

March 20, April 15, and June 18.

I hope you don't teach math, because those are only 3 days. We need to make up 4.

We can request a waiver after 3. If not, my preference would be to use President's Day.

Yeah, that's unlikely to happen. So then what? Just have kids lose a day of instruction? And what happens if it snows in February or March? Lose more days?