MCPS closing/delaying on Monday?

[Anonymous]

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.

You are never going to please all the people, all the time. This is all the moreso with a school that has 160,000+ students.

[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.

You are never going to please all the people, all the time. This is all the moreso with a school that has 160,000+ students.

What is surprising is that anybody is surprised that parents are not a monolith. But I think many MCPS staff think they are and every year it's like "why don't all these people we hate have such different opinions!?!?"

[Anonymous]

Delay Wed.

[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.

You are never going to please all the people, all the time. This is all the moreso with a school that has 160,000+ students.

What is surprising is that anybody is surprised that parents are not a monolith. But I think many MCPS staff think they are and every year it's like "why don't all these people we hate have such different opinions!?!?"

This! Leaders aren't interested in people pleasing. They're interested in executing what's right.

[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.

You are never going to please all the people, all the time. This is all the moreso with a school that has 160,000+ students.

What is surprising is that anybody is surprised that parents are not a monolith. But I think many MCPS staff think they are and every year it's like "why don't all these people we hate have such different opinions!?!?"

This! Leaders aren't interested in people pleasing. They're interested in executing what's right.

Exactly. But MCPS leaders are like "we couldn't possibly do :insert correct course of action here: because people will complain!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

You are never going to please all the people, all the time. This is all the moreso with a school that has 160,000+ students.

What is surprising is that anybody is surprised that parents are not a monolith. But I think many MCPS staff think they are and every year it's like "why don't all these people we hate have such different opinions!?!?"

This! Leaders aren't interested in people pleasing. They're interested in executing what's right.

Exactly. But MCPS leaders are like "we couldn't possibly do :insert correct course of action here: because people will complain!

MCPS is paralyzed by what MIGHT happen if it makes the wrong decision. So it tries to avoid making decisions.

[Anonymous]

Has anybody said DAMN YOU JOSHUA STARR!!!!!!!!!111111111111 yet?

[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.

I don’t understand why this issue can’t be solved by MCPS’s agreeing to shave days off the end of the year so we only have 180 days of instruction, even if we initially scheduled 185 in case of inclement weather. Why don’t we just end the school year on the 180th day of instruction, whenever that is?

This makes perfect sense

[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.

Magnet school perhaps or W school?

[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.

Magnet school perhaps or W school?

No, but does it matter?

[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.

I didn't realize that. What MCPS staff must be in the building to allow childcares to operate? How do they ever have no-school, yes-childcare snow days at all, then? Do those staff get required to come in but paid overtime?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Those of you who are livid that school is closed today and tomorrow, what do you do for a living?

I ask because no stores seem to be open today and my medical appointment for tomorrow afternoon was canceled because the doctor wants his staff to stay safe.

Good point. We get mad at schools because it is kind of a nightmare to have little kids at home when it is unscheduled. That is the truth and everyone knows it. And we get frustrated with older kids sitting around on their phones. They may be on their phones at school but at least we get to pretend they are engaged and actively learning

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can someone explain why code purple can’t be used for future snow days. I thought I read that would be an option since MCPS has cut back on the padded in snow days but another poster said they won’t use virtual. Why not?

State law doesn't allow it (except under exceptional circumstances). Schools were abusing it. The allowance for virtual days wasn't intended to cover normal winter weather.

Virtual learning is pretty useless. All evidence points to kids not learning this way. Even adults struggle to stay focused when they are facing a screen

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Those of you who are livid that school is closed today and tomorrow, what do you do for a living?

I ask because no stores seem to be open today and my medical appointment for tomorrow afternoon was canceled because the doctor wants his staff to stay safe.

Good point. We get mad at schools because it is kind of a nightmare to have little kids at home when it is unscheduled. That is the truth and everyone knows it. And we get frustrated with older kids sitting around on their phones. They may be on their phones at school but at least we get to pretend they are engaged and actively learning

When the pandemic started my child was 1 yo and it was actually quite nice to have them home for a couple of months. But after 4 months of working remotely full time and caring for a toddler, I was going a little crazy. Unfortunately, MCPS refused to allow child care providers operating in schools to reopen until providers and families begged them to and the county council got involved.

[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.

When is the final grading and report card stuff supposed to happen? Do you have an answer for that? MCPS knows that teachers do real work on 1/29. If they make it a school day, schools will probably house kids in the auditorium and show movies so teachers can get their shit done. That might be just fine with some folks who are looking for free babysitting

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.