Friday's "snow?"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I drove my kid to school Friday and it was slippery even on the main roads (I’m in the DCC). But I drove more slowly and kept a longer following distance and we got there fine. It just took 5-10 minutes longer than normal. I did slide a couple of times when I was turning a little too quickly.

I would have preferred a delay and that would have been more consistent with Tuesday but I don’t think this was a disaster.

This thread demonstrates that there are a lot of people that don't think they should ever have to drive slower. Earlier in the thread some teachers were saying they wouldn't leave home earlier than their normal time, despite knowing that it would (or should) take longer than usual.

If MCPS doesn’t make the call the night before, you have to wake up to find out what their decision is. Historically, they would have a delay when there’s wintry mix during morning rush hour. I can understand why people didn’t set their alarms extra early. If you didn’t get up earlier than usual, how much earlier could you leave?

This is an awfully weak excuse. If they don't make the call the night before, then you should assume they're going to open. Your refusal to wake up early is a terrible reason to close or delay. Grow up and act like a professional.

I’m not an MCPS employee. I’m a parent who didn’t get up extra in early in case roads were unsafe and school was still open on time. We only had to drive to our neighborhood school, so we were able to leave 10 minutes earlier than normal, drive slower while slipping and sliding, leave more distance between us and the car ahead of us, sit through more traffic light cycles, and make it on time. 10 minutes earlier than usual doesn’t help teachers who live in other counties though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Safety was NOT of upmost importance in making the decision Friday

Of course it was. Road safety just wasn't the *only* issue considered. If it was, then we'd never open.

No it wasnt and you know it.

I drove on the roads in the morning. They were fine and it was obvious they would be fine. Things went reasonably smoothly and there weren't majors accidents resulting in serious injuries. It went well.

Except the bus that did have an accident and another that got stuck

No serious injuries. Minor accidents happen all the time. And serious accidents can happen on warm, nice days.

My friend’s son’s bus ended up in a ditch. Another at that school crashed. I don’t consider that minor.

Just because you drove a few roads doesn’t mean you had the big picture of the rest of the county.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I drove my kid to school Friday and it was slippery even on the main roads (I’m in the DCC). But I drove more slowly and kept a longer following distance and we got there fine. It just took 5-10 minutes longer than normal. I did slide a couple of times when I was turning a little too quickly.

I would have preferred a delay and that would have been more consistent with Tuesday but I don’t think this was a disaster.

This thread demonstrates that there are a lot of people that don't think they should ever have to drive slower. Earlier in the thread some teachers were saying they wouldn't leave home earlier than their normal time, despite knowing that it would (or should) take longer than usual.

If MCPS doesn’t make the call the night before, you have to wake up to find out what their decision is. Historically, they would have a delay when there’s wintry mix during morning rush hour. I can understand why people didn’t set their alarms extra early. If you didn’t get up earlier than usual, how much earlier could you leave?

Yes, this decision was very incongruous with both what we experienced on Tuesday, the messaging after Tuesday, and the weather closures MCPS has made every other time in the last 10 years. I did not own an AWD vehicle until this year. My previous vehicle handled very poorly in snow and ice, and not once did I need to drive my kids to school on an iffy day because school was always delayed or closed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Safety was NOT of upmost importance in making the decision Friday

Of course it was. Road safety just wasn't the *only* issue considered. If it was, then we'd never open.

No it wasnt and you know it.

I drove on the roads in the morning. They were fine and it was obvious they would be fine. Things went reasonably smoothly and there weren't majors accidents resulting in serious injuries. It went well.

Except the bus that did have an accident and another that got stuck

No serious injuries. Minor accidents happen all the time. And serious accidents can happen on warm, nice days.

My friend’s son’s bus ended up in a ditch. Another at that school crashed. I don’t consider that minor.

Just because you drove a few roads doesn’t mean you had the big picture of the rest of the county.

My young grandchildren’s bus got stuck on a Damascus residential street and they were finally taken to school by a neighbor parent. They said most of the young kids on the bus were scared and crying.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I drove my kid to school Friday and it was slippery even on the main roads (I’m in the DCC). But I drove more slowly and kept a longer following distance and we got there fine. It just took 5-10 minutes longer than normal. I did slide a couple of times when I was turning a little too quickly.

I would have preferred a delay and that would have been more consistent with Tuesday but I don’t think this was a disaster.

This thread demonstrates that there are a lot of people that don't think they should ever have to drive slower. Earlier in the thread some teachers were saying they wouldn't leave home earlier than their normal time, despite knowing that it would (or should) take longer than usual.

If MCPS doesn’t make the call the night before, you have to wake up to find out what their decision is. Historically, they would have a delay when there’s wintry mix during morning rush hour. I can understand why people didn’t set their alarms extra early. If you didn’t get up earlier than usual, how much earlier could you leave?

This is an awfully weak excuse. If they don't make the call the night before, then you should assume they're going to open. Your refusal to wake up early is a terrible reason to close or delay. Grow up and act like a professional.

I’m not an MCPS employee. I’m a parent who didn’t get up extra in early in case roads were unsafe and school was still open on time. We only had to drive to our neighborhood school, so we were able to leave 10 minutes earlier than normal, drive slower while slipping and sliding, leave more distance between us and the car ahead of us, sit through more traffic light cycles, and make it on time. 10 minutes earlier than usual doesn’t help teachers who live in other counties though.

Thousands of kids got to spend the day learning. My kid had, in her words, "the best day ever". If some teachers were late and they had to keep kids in the gym while they got there, that seems completely worth it. If we want no chance of bus accidents or injuries on any given day, it would be impossible to open schools ever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I drove my kid to school Friday and it was slippery even on the main roads (I’m in the DCC). But I drove more slowly and kept a longer following distance and we got there fine. It just took 5-10 minutes longer than normal. I did slide a couple of times when I was turning a little too quickly.

I would have preferred a delay and that would have been more consistent with Tuesday but I don’t think this was a disaster.

This thread demonstrates that there are a lot of people that don't think they should ever have to drive slower. Earlier in the thread some teachers were saying they wouldn't leave home earlier than their normal time, despite knowing that it would (or should) take longer than usual.

If MCPS doesn’t make the call the night before, you have to wake up to find out what their decision is. Historically, they would have a delay when there’s wintry mix during morning rush hour. I can understand why people didn’t set their alarms extra early. If you didn’t get up earlier than usual, how much earlier could you leave?

I managed to order snow boots three days earlier and woke up early on Friday because I knew my kid would be excited to play in the snow before we drove very slowly to school. You don't need to have a crystal ball to plan ahead a little bit. But I guess it's different for me because I don't associate a chance of 1 inch of snow with getting to go to work late or not having to work at all. It often means scrambling in the morning to figure out child care coverage with my DH and reschedule meetings if needed.

I am really confused. You often have to scramble to figure out childcare on snowy mornings, and often do so by rescheduling meetings, because you don’t plan ahead for weather.

But a teacher who didn’t have childcare arranged that let them leave early should have predicted and planned in advance?

I have been in education, or parenting schoolage kids, or both in this area for 20+ years. Based on those years I went to sleep assuming that either the predicted snow would turn to rain, or that the would call a delay. If I still had little kids, I wouldn’t have planned for too much snow to get from daycare to school on time, because that hasn’t been the pattern before. I also didn’t plan for having to cover colleagues who didn’t make it on time due to similar reasons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Safety was NOT of upmost importance in making the decision Friday

Of course it was. Road safety just wasn't the *only* issue considered. If it was, then we'd never open.

No it wasnt and you know it.

I drove on the roads in the morning. They were fine and it was obvious they would be fine. Things went reasonably smoothly and there weren't majors accidents resulting in serious injuries. It went well.

Except the bus that did have an accident and another that got stuck

No serious injuries. Minor accidents happen all the time. And serious accidents can happen on warm, nice days.

My friend’s son’s bus ended up in a ditch. Another at that school crashed. I don’t consider that minor.

Just because you drove a few roads doesn’t mean you had the big picture of the rest of the county.

My young grandchildren’s bus got stuck on a Damascus residential street and they were finally taken to school by a neighbor parent. They said most of the young kids on the bus were scared and crying.

It's good for children to encounter slight adversity even if they are scared at the time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I drove my kid to school Friday and it was slippery even on the main roads (I’m in the DCC). But I drove more slowly and kept a longer following distance and we got there fine. It just took 5-10 minutes longer than normal. I did slide a couple of times when I was turning a little too quickly.

I would have preferred a delay and that would have been more consistent with Tuesday but I don’t think this was a disaster.

This thread demonstrates that there are a lot of people that don't think they should ever have to drive slower. Earlier in the thread some teachers were saying they wouldn't leave home earlier than their normal time, despite knowing that it would (or should) take longer than usual.

If MCPS doesn’t make the call the night before, you have to wake up to find out what their decision is. Historically, they would have a delay when there’s wintry mix during morning rush hour. I can understand why people didn’t set their alarms extra early. If you didn’t get up earlier than usual, how much earlier could you leave?

I managed to order snow boots three days earlier and woke up early on Friday because I knew my kid would be excited to play in the snow before we drove very slowly to school. You don't need to have a crystal ball to plan ahead a little bit. But I guess it's different for me because I don't associate a chance of 1 inch of snow with getting to go to work late or not having to work at all. It often means scrambling in the morning to figure out child care coverage with my DH and reschedule meetings if needed.

I am really confused. You often have to scramble to figure out childcare on snowy mornings, and often do so by rescheduling meetings, because you don’t plan ahead for weather.

But a teacher who didn’t have childcare arranged that let them leave early should have predicted and planned in advance?

I have been in education, or parenting schoolage kids, or both in this area for 20+ years. Based on those years I went to sleep assuming that either the predicted snow would turn to rain, or that the would call a delay. If I still had little kids, I wouldn’t have planned for too much snow to get from daycare to school on time, because that hasn’t been the pattern before. I also didn’t plan for having to cover colleagues who didn’t make it on time due to similar reasons.

I don't cancel meetings ahead of time because they are important meetings that are a pain to reschedule. I don't tell teachers how to do their jobs, and you clearly don't know how to do mine.

The fact you have an expectation of a delay for maybe an inch of snow is bizarre. You literally can't envision the mere possibility of having to drive more carefully in bad weather? That's completely bonkers and if that's the standard MCPS really, really needs to build in more days into the calendar.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Safety was NOT of upmost importance in making the decision Friday

Of course it was. Road safety just wasn't the *only* issue considered. If it was, then we'd never open.

No it wasnt and you know it.

I drove on the roads in the morning. They were fine and it was obvious they would be fine. Things went reasonably smoothly and there weren't majors accidents resulting in serious injuries. It went well.

Except the bus that did have an accident and another that got stuck

No serious injuries. Minor accidents happen all the time. And serious accidents can happen on warm, nice days.

My friend’s son’s bus ended up in a ditch. Another at that school crashed. I don’t consider that minor.

Just because you drove a few roads doesn’t mean you had the big picture of the rest of the county.

My young grandchildren’s bus got stuck on a Damascus residential street and they were finally taken to school by a neighbor parent. They said most of the young kids on the bus were scared and crying.

It's good for children to encounter slight adversity even if they are scared at the time.

MCPS got lucky that nothing serious happened. I don’t want them gambling when they make future decisions based on one lucky morning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Safety was NOT of upmost importance in making the decision Friday

Of course it was. Road safety just wasn't the *only* issue considered. If it was, then we'd never open.

No it wasnt and you know it.

I drove on the roads in the morning. They were fine and it was obvious they would be fine. Things went reasonably smoothly and there weren't majors accidents resulting in serious injuries. It went well.

Except the bus that did have an accident and another that got stuck

No serious injuries. Minor accidents happen all the time. And serious accidents can happen on warm, nice days.

My friend’s son’s bus ended up in a ditch. Another at that school crashed. I don’t consider that minor.

Just because you drove a few roads doesn’t mean you had the big picture of the rest of the county.

My young grandchildren’s bus got stuck on a Damascus residential street and they were finally taken to school by a neighbor parent. They said most of the young kids on the bus were scared and crying.

It's good for children to encounter slight adversity even if they are scared at the time.

MCPS got lucky that nothing serious happened. I don’t want them gambling when they make future decisions based on one lucky morning.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I drove my kid to school Friday and it was slippery even on the main roads (I’m in the DCC). But I drove more slowly and kept a longer following distance and we got there fine. It just took 5-10 minutes longer than normal. I did slide a couple of times when I was turning a little too quickly.

I would have preferred a delay and that would have been more consistent with Tuesday but I don’t think this was a disaster.

This thread demonstrates that there are a lot of people that don't think they should ever have to drive slower. Earlier in the thread some teachers were saying they wouldn't leave home earlier than their normal time, despite knowing that it would (or should) take longer than usual.

If MCPS doesn’t make the call the night before, you have to wake up to find out what their decision is. Historically, they would have a delay when there’s wintry mix during morning rush hour. I can understand why people didn’t set their alarms extra early. If you didn’t get up earlier than usual, how much earlier could you leave?

I managed to order snow boots three days earlier and woke up early on Friday because I knew my kid would be excited to play in the snow before we drove very slowly to school. You don't need to have a crystal ball to plan ahead a little bit. But I guess it's different for me because I don't associate a chance of 1 inch of snow with getting to go to work late or not having to work at all. It often means scrambling in the morning to figure out child care coverage with my DH and reschedule meetings if needed.

I am really confused. You often have to scramble to figure out childcare on snowy mornings, and often do so by rescheduling meetings, because you don’t plan ahead for weather.

But a teacher who didn’t have childcare arranged that let them leave early should have predicted and planned in advance?

I have been in education, or parenting schoolage kids, or both in this area for 20+ years. Based on those years I went to sleep assuming that either the predicted snow would turn to rain, or that the would call a delay. If I still had little kids, I wouldn’t have planned for too much snow to get from daycare to school on time, because that hasn’t been the pattern before. I also didn’t plan for having to cover colleagues who didn’t make it on time due to similar reasons.

I don't cancel meetings ahead of time because they are important meetings that are a pain to reschedule. I don't tell teachers how to do their jobs, and you clearly don't know how to do mine.

The fact you have an expectation of a delay for maybe an inch of snow is bizarre. You literally can't envision the mere possibility of having to drive more carefully in bad weather? That's completely bonkers and if that's the standard MCPS really, really needs to build in more days into the calendar.

It has been the historical standard that wintry mix during morning rush hour has lead to delays. We used to have more snow days built in. MCPS has decided to build in fewer snow days to give us more non instructional days — most recently, the day before Thanksgiving and the transition day. They can’t have this many non instructional days, meet the 180 day requirement, and honor staff contracts, and still have 4 built in snow days, so something has to give. Had they not had to apologize for their before care fiasco on Tuesday, we would have had a delay. Instead, they pivoted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Safety was NOT of upmost importance in making the decision Friday

Of course it was. Road safety just wasn't the *only* issue considered. If it was, then we'd never open.

No it wasnt and you know it.

I drove on the roads in the morning. They were fine and it was obvious they would be fine. Things went reasonably smoothly and there weren't majors accidents resulting in serious injuries. It went well.

Except the bus that did have an accident and another that got stuck

No serious injuries. Minor accidents happen all the time. And serious accidents can happen on warm, nice days.

My friend’s son’s bus ended up in a ditch. Another at that school crashed. I don’t consider that minor.

Just because you drove a few roads doesn’t mean you had the big picture of the rest of the county.

My young grandchildren’s bus got stuck on a Damascus residential street and they were finally taken to school by a neighbor parent. They said most of the young kids on the bus were scared and crying.

It's good for children to encounter slight adversity even if they are scared at the time.

FU.
-DP not grandma

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Safety was NOT of upmost importance in making the decision Friday

Of course it was. Road safety just wasn't the *only* issue considered. If it was, then we'd never open.

No it wasnt and you know it.

I drove on the roads in the morning. They were fine and it was obvious they would be fine. Things went reasonably smoothly and there weren't majors accidents resulting in serious injuries. It went well.

Except the bus that did have an accident and another that got stuck

No serious injuries. Minor accidents happen all the time. And serious accidents can happen on warm, nice days.

My friend’s son’s bus ended up in a ditch. Another at that school crashed. I don’t consider that minor.

Just because you drove a few roads doesn’t mean you had the big picture of the rest of the county.

My young grandchildren’s bus got stuck on a Damascus residential street and they were finally taken to school by a neighbor parent. They said most of the young kids on the bus were scared and crying.

It's good for children to encounter slight adversity even if they are scared at the time.

MCPS got lucky that nothing serious happened. I don’t want them gambling when they make future decisions based on one lucky morning.

An irresponsible decision. Someone else should be making the calls to decide on students' safety and employees' too

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I drove my kid to school Friday and it was slippery even on the main roads (I’m in the DCC). But I drove more slowly and kept a longer following distance and we got there fine. It just took 5-10 minutes longer than normal. I did slide a couple of times when I was turning a little too quickly.

I would have preferred a delay and that would have been more consistent with Tuesday but I don’t think this was a disaster.

This thread demonstrates that there are a lot of people that don't think they should ever have to drive slower. Earlier in the thread some teachers were saying they wouldn't leave home earlier than their normal time, despite knowing that it would (or should) take longer than usual.

If MCPS doesn’t make the call the night before, you have to wake up to find out what their decision is. Historically, they would have a delay when there’s wintry mix during morning rush hour. I can understand why people didn’t set their alarms extra early. If you didn’t get up earlier than usual, how much earlier could you leave?

I managed to order snow boots three days earlier and woke up early on Friday because I knew my kid would be excited to play in the snow before we drove very slowly to school. You don't need to have a crystal ball to plan ahead a little bit. But I guess it's different for me because I don't associate a chance of 1 inch of snow with getting to go to work late or not having to work at all. It often means scrambling in the morning to figure out child care coverage with my DH and reschedule meetings if needed.

I am really confused. You often have to scramble to figure out childcare on snowy mornings, and often do so by rescheduling meetings, because you don’t plan ahead for weather.

But a teacher who didn’t have childcare arranged that let them leave early should have predicted and planned in advance?

I have been in education, or parenting schoolage kids, or both in this area for 20+ years. Based on those years I went to sleep assuming that either the predicted snow would turn to rain, or that the would call a delay. If I still had little kids, I wouldn’t have planned for too much snow to get from daycare to school on time, because that hasn’t been the pattern before. I also didn’t plan for having to cover colleagues who didn’t make it on time due to similar reasons.

Most things were open like normal on Friday. You didn't need to do much other than wake up a little early.

If your child care arrangements only work for ideal weather conditions, without leaving any soon for longer driving times for any reason, then you should already have backup plans.

[Anonymous]

MCPS got lucky that nothing serious happened. I don’t want them gambling when they make future decisions based on one lucky morning.

I'm not sure they did. I heard of a staff injury - slipped on ice and needed to call an ambulance.