School delayed and no sports or activities for 3 days straight just for cold weather?!?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When MCPS doesn't allow childcare providers to operate, parents lose access to childcare they have already paid for and providers lose revenue from kids that drop in. MCPS should pay that money back since the decision is their fault. These decisions are a huge middle finger to working parents.

Should the money be a higher consideration, do you think?

Over what? Literally everyone else is going to work on time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When MCPS doesn't allow childcare providers to operate, parents lose access to childcare they have already paid for and providers lose revenue from kids that drop in. MCPS should pay that money back since the decision is their fault. These decisions are a huge middle finger to working parents.

Should the money be a higher consideration, do you think?

CUPF makes that decision not MCPS. Definitely complain to CUPF.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just saw on the news that the wind chill temps tomorrow at 7 am are supposed to be -5 in Gaithersburg. There are many, many high schoolers in my neighborhood who have to walk a mile or more to get to school. Can you not see that the school delay is a sensible decision?

In no universe is it sensible for MCPS to prohibit childcare providers from operating when no other employer in Montgomery County is telling employees to come in late.

Not a MCPS decision. CUPF decision.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What a bunch of whiners. It happens rarely. Just deal with it.

Not really. Just look at how many closures and delays there will be in January 2025 alone.

Sigh. It's called weather. MCPS has always closed for low temps, it's just that we don't have them every year, on a school day.

I am posting with years of experience as an MCPS parent. School districts in this area, including MCPS, generally err on the side of caution. Some districts are smaller and don't have buses or parking lots (DCPS) and can stay open. Some are large and deal with a ton of terrain and snow/ice variability (MCPS and FCPS) and need to close even when a good number of school properties are perfectly fine.

Now you know this! In five years, when we have the exact same scenario, there is a minuscule but non-negligible change you might even remember it!!!

And you'll be telling some other irate, dumbass parent who has kittens all over DCUM, exactly what I've told you.

Consistently making stupid decisions is not a reason to keep making them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am sorry but this is getting out of hand. So many musicals, concerts, after school clubs, school events, sports just cancelled after missing so much time already.

Overall everyday feels like a fluff day and kids are out of sync.

We never had delays for cold weather. It’s not even that bad out. What are we doing here?!?

Iceland is warmer than DC right now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just saw on the news that the wind chill temps tomorrow at 7 am are supposed to be -5 in Gaithersburg. There are many, many high schoolers in my neighborhood who have to walk a mile or more to get to school. Can you not see that the school delay is a sensible decision?

Get a coat, moron.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just saw on the news that the wind chill temps tomorrow at 7 am are supposed to be -5 in Gaithersburg. There are many, many high schoolers in my neighborhood who have to walk a mile or more to get to school. Can you not see that the school delay is a sensible decision?

In no universe is it sensible for MCPS to prohibit childcare providers from operating when no other employer in Montgomery County is telling employees to come in late.

Not a MCPS decision. CUPF decision.

False, stop lying. You can't defend it so you blame someone else? Girl please.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When MCPS doesn't allow childcare providers to operate, parents lose access to childcare they have already paid for and providers lose revenue from kids that drop in. MCPS should pay that money back since the decision is their fault. These decisions are a huge middle finger to working parents.

That's a good one. I'm guessing that you really don't give a darn about the providers losing revenue; you probably complain about how much you have to pay for child care.

Here's an idea: coordinate with another parent who has a child at Bar-T or wherever you take your kids, have them drop off their kids at your house tomorrow morning, and you stay home for the additional two hours, then it will be the other parent's turn on Thursday. Be resourceful and come up with a solution to not have to take off from work every time your kids are out of school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just saw on the news that the wind chill temps tomorrow at 7 am are supposed to be -5 in Gaithersburg. There are many, many high schoolers in my neighborhood who have to walk a mile or more to get to school. Can you not see that the school delay is a sensible decision?

Get a coat, moron.

Wow, you're a great parent. I pity your children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just saw on the news that the wind chill temps tomorrow at 7 am are supposed to be -5 in Gaithersburg. There are many, many high schoolers in my neighborhood who have to walk a mile or more to get to school. Can you not see that the school delay is a sensible decision?

Get a coat, moron.

Wow, you're a great parent. I pity your children.

My kids have coats, so they're fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am sorry but this is getting out of hand. So many musicals, concerts, after school clubs, school events, sports just cancelled after missing so much time already.

Overall everyday feels like a fluff day and kids are out of sync.

We never had delays for cold weather. It’s not even that bad out. What are we doing here?!?

Omg you mean you have to take care of your children for three whole days omg omg omg

Omg you have to be a parent omg

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just saw on the news that the wind chill temps tomorrow at 7 am are supposed to be -5 in Gaithersburg. There are many, many high schoolers in my neighborhood who have to walk a mile or more to get to school. Can you not see that the school delay is a sensible decision?

Get a coat, moron.

Wow, you're a great parent. I pity your children.

My kids have coats, so they're fine.

It's all about you, isn't it? Your kids probably drive themselves or ride in a nice, warm car. Why don't you pick up some of the less fortunate kids who have no choice but to walk?

[Anonymous]

Let’s not forget the unintended harm that these ongoing delays and closures cause. Kids who are food insecure go hungry and miss meals they are used to getting at school. Families - especially working families -experience significant stress and are forced to scramble for child care or are forced to take unplanned PTO or get penalized at work, increasing work stress and reducing their financial security and ability to provide for their families, with a significantly worse impact on the most vulnerable - adults who don’t work jobs that provide PTO and gave to lose wages or jeopardize their jobs. Kids being at home when parents are supposed to be working increases marital strain and adds more demands to working parents, many of whom are already struggling with their mental health. Some kids are fine with extra time home but many are not - kids with autism and other disabilities can get extremely thrown off by the disruption to their schedule and routines and kids with behavior challenges can worsen their behavior. Kids whose families are dealing with addiction and domestic violence suffer more by being at home for longer under stress. That’s not even accounting for learning loss.

There needs to be a higher bar for closure and delay. Somehow kids in Canada, Maine, Alaska, Montana, and the rest of world manage to get to school in the cold, and we can learn a bit from their resilience. If there is concern for safety, the county needs to do a better job clearing roads and sidewalks. If the concern is the cold, the PTA can focus on drives for making sure all kids get warm coats, boots, hats, gloves, and snow pants.

I’ve seen dozens of plows driving around with their plows up doing nothing in my neighborhood while our school parking lot and blacktop have been untouched for weeks and side streets are still not fully cleared. It’s an embarrassment that this county can’t get its act together and continues to perpetuate harm by pretending they are prioritizing safety.

It’s a risk to let kids walk to school on icy sidewalks in the cold, and it’s also risky to perpetuate family stress on thousands of families - most of them working - and keep them at home, esp. they are dealing abuse, food insecurity, an unstable home, family stress, mental health challenges, and more. There needs to be a balanced discussion on this and right now the safety concerns are completely winning the day and the unintended harms are being ignored.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When MCPS doesn't allow childcare providers to operate, parents lose access to childcare they have already paid for and providers lose revenue from kids that drop in. MCPS should pay that money back since the decision is their fault. These decisions are a huge middle finger to working parents.

That's a good one. I'm guessing that you really don't give a darn about the providers losing revenue; you probably complain about how much you have to pay for child care.

Here's an idea: coordinate with another parent who has a child at Bar-T or wherever you take your kids, have them drop off their kids at your house tomorrow morning, and you stay home for the additional two hours, then it will be the other parent's turn on Thursday. Be resourceful and come up with a solution to not have to take off from work every time your kids are out of school.

How about MCPS stops wasting the billions of dollars it takes from taxpayers and does what it is paid to do, or at least lets childcare providers use the buildings taxpayers paid for?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just saw on the news that the wind chill temps tomorrow at 7 am are supposed to be -5 in Gaithersburg. There are many, many high schoolers in my neighborhood who have to walk a mile or more to get to school. Can you not see that the school delay is a sensible decision?

Get a coat, moron.

Wow, you're a great parent. I pity your children.

My kids have coats, so they're fine.

It's all about you, isn't it? Your kids probably drive themselves or ride in a nice, warm car. Why don't you pick up some of the less fortunate kids who have no choice but to walk?

My kids walk every day. Why don't you raise kids that aren't wimps?