When Montgomery County parents woke up Wednesday morning, they looked out the window and were not surprised by what they saw — snow falling and coating the ground. Around an inch all together, which was in the forecast. They were surprised, though, by their school district’s reaction to the weather.

At first, Montgomery County Public Schools announced a two-hour delay. Then, just after 7 a.m., it announced that the district would close for the day because of “unsafe road conditions.”

Parents on Twitter vented their frustration, less at the closure than at how late the notice came.

“It’s pathetic @MCPS waited so late to announce when kids already are getting dropped off. Do we live in @fcpsnews now?!” one person tweeted, referring to Fairfax County Public Schools, which have also been criticized for what parents decided were bad calls on snow days.

Indeed, it was somewhat of a reversal Wednesday morning when Montgomery schools were closed and yet Fairfax, which often closes in inclement weather because of its complicated terrain and an abundance of caution, stayed open.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can I just say, as an FCPS parent, that I am cracking up reading this thread on the MD board? This is usually us! I feel your pain, MCPS families!

When FCPS looks down on us re: snow days, we've truly hit bottom.

I didn't think she was looking down; thought she seemed sweet.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MoCo needs to step up its salting and plowing operation. This is happening too frequently for people to complain "MoCo isn't set up for snow events." Kids shouldn't be losing a day of schooling to a tiny bit of snow and ice.

+1 Sometimes it feels like MoCo only has one plow for the whole county.

This forecast has been around for days. They should have salted the roads better.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can I just say, as an FCPS parent, that I am cracking up reading this thread on the MD board? This is usually us! I feel your pain, MCPS families!

When FCPS looks down on us re: snow days, we've truly hit bottom.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

They had much more snow in Massachusetts! Maybe schools were closed in Alaska too--want to post those schools as well?

But schools never close in the Northeast! Or so I read on DCUM.

You have some reading comprehension issues (maybe due to too many snow days). No one on this thread said that schools never close in the Northeast. But they typically close for more substantial snowfall than 1 inch that occurred hours before the start of school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

They had much more snow in Massachusetts! Maybe schools were closed in Alaska too--want to post those schools as well?

But schools never close in the Northeast! Or so I read on DCUM.

Anonymous wrote:

They had much more snow in Massachusetts! Maybe schools were closed in Alaska too--want to post those schools as well?

Anonymous wrote:Can I just say, as an FCPS parent, that I am cracking up reading this thread on the MD board? This is usually us! I feel your pain, MCPS families!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Indubitably a mistake on the part of MCPS.

A 2 hour delay made sense, to allow everyone to drive in daylight hours. But closing today was stupid and ridiculous.
Drivers, even high schoolers, should know to be careful with icy patches.

With the amount of snow we had, there is no reason to blame snow management (or lack thereof).

What we can vote for, is an extended school calendar, with a shorter summer break, to prevent brain drain, allow for longer breaks during the year, which are important for middle and high schoolers to recharge, and to maintain adequate flexibility when weather events force schools to delay or close.

Lots of people should do lots of stuff that they don't actually do. If people had gotten into bad crashes because of the slippery roads, and MCPS had said, "It's not our fault, they should have been more careful on the icy patches!", how would that have gone over?

Yup. Plus today they didn't even do the robo phone calls--I know parents who don't have email access who brought their kids to school after the 2 hour delay and were shocked to see the schools were closed.

PP you responded to. Not well, I agree, but people should take a small measure of responsibility for themselves. I'm a worry-wart. I wouldn't want students out and about on sheets of ice. But today was ridiculous. There was hardly any ice at all, even in the areas that HAD ice.
And while we're at it, I wish MCPS and all other school systems had more rigid systems to decide on closures and delays, because the current system is non-transparent and leaves parents guessing until the last minute. A rigid system will not be as flexible, but it will help parents who need to plan care for their children.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The same way every other state in the North East does-the kids go to school. You don't cancel school because you fear some teenage driver might slip. If you are that worried, drive your kid to school.

The following Massachusetts schools have announced closures or delays.

Abby Kelley Foster Charter Public School -- Closed Wednesday
Acton-Boxborough Regional School District -- Closed Wednesday
Advanced Math & Science Charter School -- Closed Wednesday
Adams-Cheshire Regional School District -- Closed Wednesday
Agawam Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
American International College -- Opening delayed until 10:30 a.m.
Amherst College -- Opening delayed until 11 a.m.
Amherst Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
Andover Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
Anna Maria College -- Delayed opening Wednesday
Ashburnham-Westminster Regional School District -- Closed Wednesday
Assabet Valley Regional Vocational School -- Closed Wednesday
Assumption College -- Two-hour delay Wednesday
Athol-Royalston School District -- Closed Wednesday
Auburn Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
Ayer-Shirley Regional School District -- Closed Wednesday
Bay Path Regional Vocational Technical High School -- Closed Wednesday
Bay Path University -- Closed Wednesday
Baystate Academy Charter Public School -- Closed Wednesday
Becker College -- Closed Wednesday
Belchertown Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
Bellingham Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
Berkshire Arts & Technology Charter -- Closed Wednesday
Berkshire Community College -- Closed Wednesday
Berkshire Country Day School -- Closed Wednesday
Billerica Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
Blackstone-Millville Public -- Closed Wednesday
Blackstone Valley Regional Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
Central Berkshire Regional School District -- Closed Wednesday
Blue Hills Regional Technical School -- Delayed 90-min. Wednesday
Chelmsford Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
Chicopee Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
Clinton Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
Carlisle Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
Concord Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
Diman Regional Vocational Tech High -- 90 minute delay
Douglas Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
Dracut Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
Dudley-Charlton Regional School District -- Closed Wednesday
Easthampton Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
East Longmeadow Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
Elms College -- Closed Wednesday
Emma L. Miller Memorial School -- Closed Wednesday
Erving Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
Fall River Public Schools -- Two-hour delay Wednesday
Farmington River Regional School District -- Closed Wednesday
Fitchburg Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
Fitchburg State University -- Closed Wednesday
Four Rivers Charter School -- Closed Wednesday
Francis W. Parker Charter Essential School -- Closed Wednesday
Franklin County Technical School -- Closed Wednesday
Frontier Regional School District -- Closed Wednesday
Gabriel Abbott Memorial School -- Closed Wednesday
Gardner Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
Gateway Regional School District -- Closed Wednesday
Gill-Montague Regional School District -- Closed Wednesday
Grafton Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
Granby Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
Greater Lowell Technical -- Closed Wednesday
Greenfield Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
Groton Dunstable Regional School District -- Closed Wednesday
Hampden Charter School of Science -- Closed Wednesday
Hadley Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
Hampden-Wilbraham Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
Hampshire College -- Closed Wednesday
Hampshire Regional School District -- Closed Wednesday
Hancock Regional School District -- Closed Wednesday
Harvard Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
Hatfield Schools -- Closed Wednesday
Haverhill Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
Hilltown Coop. Charter Public School -- Closed Wednesday
Housatonic Academy -- Closed Wednesday
Holyoke Community Charter School -- Closed Wednesday
Holyoke Community College -- Closed Wednesday
Holyoke Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
Hopedale Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
Hopkins Academy -- Closed Wednesday
Hudson Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
Lanesborough Regional School District -- Closed Wednesday
Lawrence Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
Lee Public Schools -- Two-hour delay Wednesday
Leicester Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
Lenox Public Schools -- Two-hour delay Wednesday
Leominster Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
Leverett Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
Lexington Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
Littleton Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
Longmeadow Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
Lowell Community Charter Public School -- Closed Wednesday
Lowell Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
Ludlow Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
Lunenburg Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
Mahar Regional School District -- Closed Wednesday
Martin Luther King Charter School -- Closed Wednesday
Mendon-Upton Regional School District -- Closed Wednesday
Methuen Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
Middlesex Community College -- Closed Wednesday
Milford Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
Millbury Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
Minuteman Regional Vocational Technical School -- Closed Wednesday
Mohawk Trail Regional School District -- Closed Wednesday
Monson Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School -- Closed Wednesday
Mount Greylock Regional School District -- Closed Wednesday
Mount Holyoke College -- Opening delayed until noon
Narragansett Regional School District -- Closed Wednesday
Nashoba Brooks School -- Closed Wednesday
Nashoba Valley Technical High School -- Closed Wednesday
New Salem-Wendell Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
North Adams Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
North Andover Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
North Brookfield Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
North Middlesex Regional School District -- Closed Wednesday
Northampton Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
Northbridge Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
Northern Berkshire Vocational School District -- Closed Wednesday
Orange Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
Oxford Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
Palmer Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
Pathfinder Vocational Technical School -- Closed Wednesday
Paulo Freire Social Justice Charter -- Closed Wednesday
Peabody Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
Pentucket Regional School District -- Closed Wednesday
Petersham Center School -- Closed Wednesday
Phoenix Charter Academy -- Closed Wednesday
Pine Cobble School -- Two-hour delay Wednesday
Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School -- Closed Wednesday
Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter Public School -- Closed Wednesday
Pioneer Valley Regional School District -- Closed Wednesday
Pittsfield Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
Quabbin Regional School District -- Closed Wednesday
Quaboag Regional School District -- Closed Wednesday
Quinsigamond Community College -- Closed Wednesday
Richmond Consolidated -- Two-hour delay
Shawseen Valley Technical High School -- Closed Wednesday
Shrewsbury Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
Shutesbury Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
Smith College -- Closed Wednesday
Smith Vocational High School -- Closed Wednesday
South Hadley Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
Southbridge Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
Southwick-Tolland-Granville Schools -- Closed Wednesday
Spencer-East Brookfield Regional School District -- Closed Wednesday
Springfield Prep Charter School -- Closed Wednesday
Springfield Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
Springfield Technical Community College -- Closed Wednesday
Sutton Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
Tantasqua & Union 61 School Districts -- Closed Wednesday
Tewksbury Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
Tri-County School -- Closed Wednesday
Tyngsborough Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
UMass Amherst -- Opening delayed until 11:30 a.m.
UMass Lowell -- Closed Wednesday
Union 38 School District -- Closed Wednesday
Valley Collaborative -- Closed Wednesday
Wachusett Regional School District -- Closed Wednesday
Wakefield Public School -- Closed Wednesday
Ware Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
Webster Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
West Boylston Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
West Springfield Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
Westfield Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
Wilmington Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
Williamstown Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
Winchendon Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
Whittier Vocational School -- Closed Wednesday
Woburn Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
Worcester Public Schools -- Closed Wednesday
Worcester State University -- Closed Wednesday

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Indubitably a mistake on the part of MCPS.

A 2 hour delay made sense, to allow everyone to drive in daylight hours. But closing today was stupid and ridiculous.
Drivers, even high schoolers, should know to be careful with icy patches.

With the amount of snow we had, there is no reason to blame snow management (or lack thereof).

What we can vote for, is an extended school calendar, with a shorter summer break, to prevent brain drain, allow for longer breaks during the year, which are important for middle and high schoolers to recharge, and to maintain adequate flexibility when weather events force schools to delay or close.

Lots of people should do lots of stuff that they don't actually do. If people had gotten into bad crashes because of the slippery roads, and MCPS had said, "It's not our fault, they should have been more careful on the icy patches!", how would that have gone over?

Anonymous wrote:

The same way every other state in the North East does-the kids go to school. You don't cancel school because you fear some teenage driver might slip. If you are that worried, drive your kid to school.