MCPS closing/delaying on Monday?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Offices being closed tomorrow is a sign to make contingency plans for at least a delay Wednesday. I don't think I've ever seen it happen that offices were closed one day and then the schools started up on time the following day.

More reason to begin planning for a school day on 1/29

LOL

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What I am loving about this thread is that it shows MCPS cannot please everyone. We have people complaining that the school is closed, that there is not virtual option, and kids are missing a day of school work. And we have people complaining that teachers emails work assignments to students on a snow day—“contact the principal” someone suggested.

DCUM posters never fail to disappoint.

The consensus from parents seems to be that schools should quickly schedule a meaningful make-up day that occurs as soon as possible.

Really? OK, try getting a consensus on when the make up day should be. It is always the same. People complaining that the way things are being done is wrong, but so solutions offered.

We already picked the days. If people don't like them, take it up on next year's calendar. 1/29 is the obvious choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some of you are unhinged. Nothing is being learned in school on makeup days. Half the kids don’t even come to school. The 180 day rule is stupid. So what if the school year becomes less. Advocate for quality rather than quantity

Because it’s not about learning. It’s about the maximum number of days, hours and minutes the district can warehouse their kids for them.

If it were just about childcare it would be much cheaper for taxpayers. If you think the number of required days is too high, perhaps we should only pay teachers for 4-6 months instead of 10. We don't need to pay six figures and a pension for babysitters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What I am loving about this thread is that it shows MCPS cannot please everyone. We have people complaining that the school is closed, that there is not virtual option, and kids are missing a day of school work. And we have people complaining that teachers emails work assignments to students on a snow day—“contact the principal” someone suggested.

DCUM posters never fail to disappoint.

The consensus from parents seems to be that schools should quickly schedule a meaningful make-up day that occurs as soon as possible.

For AP, a student doesn’t need to sit in the classroom to have a meaningful learning session today.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why are y’all so desperate to have school on 1/29. End of quarter grading + report cards takes several hours for most teachers. It usually takes me 6 hours or so to get everything done correctly. It is not as easy as it looks. There are always several kids with special situations that need to be figured out. I also go through all the grades and adjust them upwards if needed. Tons of kids turn in a whole bunch of stuff on the last day. It is hard to refuse to accept their assignments because these are kids who have Es and Ds. Same with some special education students.

1. Because it’s another day to get their kids out of their hair.
2. Because they’ve convinced themselves it “punishes” teachers for having snow days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a makeup day on Friday June 6th. They should use that before taking away from spring break or adding on to the end of the year.

I hope they will add make-up days before then. HS kids could use the time for their AP classes.

The earlier makeup days are 1/29 and 3/31.

1/29 is too early to be used as a makeup days. 3/31 is Eid al-Fitr. Let’s not take away the Muslim holiday again.

1/29 is plenty far away. The Board could approve it this week.

Keep dreaming.

Yes. Teachers should teach on Jan 29th instead of doing the work they are scheduled to do on the 29th, which they can do on their own time at night or over the weekend.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:January 29 is an in-service day for support staff; lots of training for paras and other staff members is scheduled. I’d hate to see that day become a makeup day.

That’s why they should have built in more days!

Agreed. I find the way this area responds (or doesn't respond) to snow to be ridiculous. But the school system should be aware that even a little snow has the potential to close school for a day, and build in enough days to account for that.

The union wants it both ways. They don’t want to build in extra days because if they don’t use them, they still have to work. But they also don’t want the makeup days that make the most sense from a learning perspective, earlier in the year, used.

The union needs to wake up and realize they're not the "customers" of the school system. The worst that happens with extra days is that the kids get some more learning in. The horror!

Yawn.

[Anonymous]

I don't see why they can't let child care providers in schools make their own call on whether to be open tomorrow based on local conditions? Or at least wait a little longer before deciding they're not allowed to?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What I am loving about this thread is that it shows MCPS cannot please everyone. We have people complaining that the school is closed, that there is not virtual option, and kids are missing a day of school work. And we have people complaining that teachers emails work assignments to students on a snow day—“contact the principal” someone suggested.

DCUM posters never fail to disappoint.

The consensus from parents seems to be that schools should quickly schedule a meaningful make-up day that occurs as soon as possible.

For AP, a student doesn’t need to sit in the classroom to have a meaningful learning session today.

And that's a small fraction of MCPS students. There aren't a lot of AP classes in elementary school, for example.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't see why they can't let child care providers in schools make their own call on whether to be open tomorrow based on local conditions? Or at least wait a little longer before deciding they're not allowed to?

Because MCPS doesn't want to have to clear the sidewalks. MCPS has to staff the building, too, if a child care provider is going to operate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are y’all so desperate to have school on 1/29. End of quarter grading + report cards takes several hours for most teachers. It usually takes me 6 hours or so to get everything done correctly. It is not as easy as it looks. There are always several kids with special situations that need to be figured out. I also go through all the grades and adjust them upwards if needed. Tons of kids turn in a whole bunch of stuff on the last day. It is hard to refuse to accept their assignments because these are kids who have Es and Ds. Same with some special education students.

1. Because it’s another day to get their kids out of their hair.
2. Because they’ve convinced themselves it “punishes” teachers for having snow days.

No one disputes that days added to the very end of the year end up being jokes. Same for spring break. That leaves 1/29 and 3/31.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What I am loving about this thread is that it shows MCPS cannot please everyone. We have people complaining that the school is closed, that there is not virtual option, and kids are missing a day of school work. And we have people complaining that teachers emails work assignments to students on a snow day—“contact the principal” someone suggested.

DCUM posters never fail to disappoint.

The consensus from parents seems to be that schools should quickly schedule a meaningful make-up day that occurs as soon as possible.

For AP, a student doesn’t need to sit in the classroom to have a meaningful learning session today.

And that's a small fraction of MCPS students. There aren't a lot of AP classes in elementary school, for example.

Then only a small fraction of students need to make up the missed day by 1/29 and the rest can wait until June.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some of you are unhinged. Nothing is being learned in school on makeup days. Half the kids don’t even come to school. The 180 day rule is stupid. So what if the school year becomes less. Advocate for quality rather than quantity

We don’t get quality either. The state sets the 180 rule. Our hs teachers sent out emails with assignments due tomorrow. Kids should get credit.

You had teachers email today with work that must be completed on a snow day?

DP - yes, my kids are in HS. I remember reading all these fights about storms over the years and didn’t really understand how much pressure is on HS kids until I had one.

+1 My 10th grade DD has been working on her assignments all afternoon. Her teachers sent them yesterday and will again tomorrow for the second snow day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some of you are unhinged. Nothing is being learned in school on makeup days. Half the kids don’t even come to school. The 180 day rule is stupid. So what if the school year becomes less. Advocate for quality rather than quantity

We don’t get quality either. The state sets the 180 rule. Our hs teachers sent out emails with assignments due tomorrow. Kids should get credit.

You had teachers email today with work that must be completed on a snow day?

DP - yes, my kids are in HS. I remember reading all these fights about storms over the years and didn’t really understand how much pressure is on HS kids until I had one.

It’s a snow day. Not virtual. I would send those emails to their principal

Why? AP tests are not moving. The kids need to know the material.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't see why they can't let child care providers in schools make their own call on whether to be open tomorrow based on local conditions? Or at least wait a little longer before deciding they're not allowed to?

Because MCPS doesn't want to have to clear the sidewalks. MCPS has to staff the building, too, if a child care provider is going to operate.

They only grudgingly allow childcare providers to operate. They have disdain for families that use child care and will certainly not inconvenience themselves so it can be offered.