Anonymous wrote:Coastal areas have flood warnings, but at the risk of pointing out the obvious, MCPS doesn’t have any coastal areas at risk of flooding.

Not that they're really one to pass up any opportunity to close early.

PG county just announced they are closing one hour early….

Procedures are procedures until they aren't. I was in MCPS HS on 9/11/01 and I remember them announcing during lunch, which was about 45 minutes after the "deadline," that we would be closing 1.5 hours early. A 1.5-hour early dismissal was not even a thing. It was 2.5 or nothing. Until that day it was.

We've had a couple of 2-hour delays in recent years when they suddenly decided at the last second to close, after some buses had already picked up students and had to turn around. But then the rest of the day was filled with stories of school buses in VA that hadn't closed sliding into ditches and having accidents.

Their #1 responsibility is safety. If they get new information at the last second that makes them genuinely think they will be putting students at more risk by not acting than by acting, they have to act, even if it's 20 minutes "too late" and inconvenient. Expecting perfection and clairvoyance isn't fair.

Anonymous wrote:How late can the decide to make a decision?

we never know. It used to be 10am. But the first week of school they did it at 1145. Just stay tuned, they send texts, emails, etc if it’s happening.

How late can the decide to make a decision?

Clearly we are not closing early.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They would need to announce by 10 AM. I doubt it is going to happen.

unless it’s the first week of school. Then they can announce it at 1145…….mcps changes the rules when they feel like it.

It's not a "rule". It's practice, based on what they have to do to get all of the bus drivers in and all of the buses out.

it was always “ practice” that they would let us know by 10am. We relied on this being fact. Then all of a sudden they decide at 1145 to close early. I had 45 mins to get my HS kid. No idea how working parents managed it.

Fortunately, your HS kid was prepared with rain gear (based on the forecast) and would have known how to get themselves home if you had not been able to pick your kid up and drive them home. Right?

My HS kid, who takes the school bus, took the school bus home and let themselves in with their key.

It's always good to be prepared for the weather and have back-up plans.

Great. Now tell me what my kinder kid was supposed to do when I got 45 minutes notice of early pickup and I work an hour away.

I will wait.

How did you get 45 minutes notice of early pick-up, when the high school PP also get 45 minutes notice of early pick-up, and high schools let out 55-80 minutes before elementary schools?

Not PP, but I'm pretty sure I had an hour notice to get my kindergartener that day. They normally attend aftercare, which was also closing, and hadn't taken the bus yet so I was hesitant to just send them on the bus like that. It was fine because I am still teleworking, and the line to get into the school was so long that I would have had an extra half hour, but the short notice would have been problematic had I been working downtown as usual. Not to mention we only got email/text from the school, which was weird because I can't tell you how many random robo-calls the principal has made this year about PTA meetings, random testing, etc. DH has terrible cell service at work and has the calls go to his office phone for that reason. He had no idea schools were letting out early until I called him.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They would need to announce by 10 AM. I doubt it is going to happen.

unless it’s the first week of school. Then they can announce it at 1145…….mcps changes the rules when they feel like it.

It's not a "rule". It's practice, based on what they have to do to get all of the bus drivers in and all of the buses out.

it was always “ practice” that they would let us know by 10am. We relied on this being fact. Then all of a sudden they decide at 1145 to close early. I had 45 mins to get my HS kid. No idea how working parents managed it.

Fortunately, your HS kid was prepared with rain gear (based on the forecast) and would have known how to get themselves home if you had not been able to pick your kid up and drive them home. Right?

My HS kid, who takes the school bus, took the school bus home and let themselves in with their key.

It's always good to be prepared for the weather and have back-up plans.

Great. Now tell me what my kinder kid was supposed to do when I got 45 minutes notice of early pickup and I work an hour away.

I will wait.

How did you get 45 minutes notice of early pick-up, when the high school PP also get 45 minutes notice of early pick-up, and high schools let out 55-80 minutes before elementary schools?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They would need to announce by 10 AM. I doubt it is going to happen.

unless it’s the first week of school. Then they can announce it at 1145…….mcps changes the rules when they feel like it.

It's not a "rule". It's practice, based on what they have to do to get all of the bus drivers in and all of the buses out.

it was always “ practice” that they would let us know by 10am. We relied on this being fact. Then all of a sudden they decide at 1145 to close early. I had 45 mins to get my HS kid. No idea how working parents managed it.

Fortunately, your HS kid was prepared with rain gear (based on the forecast) and would have known how to get themselves home if you had not been able to pick your kid up and drive them home. Right?

My HS kid, who takes the school bus, took the school bus home and let themselves in with their key.

It's always good to be prepared for the weather and have back-up plans.

Great. Now tell me what my kinder kid was supposed to do when I got 45 minutes notice of early pickup and I work an hour away.

I will wait.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They would need to announce by 10 AM. I doubt it is going to happen.

unless it’s the first week of school. Then they can announce it at 1145…….mcps changes the rules when they feel like it.

It's not a "rule". It's practice, based on what they have to do to get all of the bus drivers in and all of the buses out.

it was always “ practice” that they would let us know by 10am. We relied on this being fact. Then all of a sudden they decide at 1145 to close early. I had 45 mins to get my HS kid. No idea how working parents managed it.

Fortunately, your HS kid was prepared with rain gear (based on the forecast) and would have known how to get themselves home if you had not been able to pick your kid up and drive them home. Right?

My HS kid, who takes the school bus, took the school bus home and let themselves in with their key.

It's always good to be prepared for the weather and have back-up plans.

The wimpefication of America.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You shut your face. My two kids' teachers are having covert parties this afternoon, and my kids are crazy excited for it.

Oooh subversive! LOL

LOL from me, too. I haven’t heard a good “you shut your face“ in decades.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They would need to announce by 10 AM. I doubt it is going to happen.

unless it’s the first week of school. Then they can announce it at 1145…….mcps changes the rules when they feel like it.

It's not a "rule". It's practice, based on what they have to do to get all of the bus drivers in and all of the buses out.

it was always “ practice” that they would let us know by 10am. We relied on this being fact. Then all of a sudden they decide at 1145 to close early. I had 45 mins to get my HS kid. No idea how working parents managed it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They would need to announce by 10 AM. I doubt it is going to happen.

unless it’s the first week of school. Then they can announce it at 1145…….mcps changes the rules when they feel like it.

It's not a "rule". It's practice, based on what they have to do to get all of the bus drivers in and all of the buses out.

Anonymous wrote:They would need to announce by 10 AM. I doubt it is going to happen.

unless it’s the first week of school. Then they can announce it at 1145…….mcps changes the rules when they feel like it.