Only a few bus delays so far, but if you don't have the bus app, be sure to check so your kid isn’t standing out there longer than needed.

https://busdelay.fcps.edu/

My kid rides one of the electric busses and I guess it didn’t start as I got a message from the bus app that there was a bus substitution.

Anonymous wrote:How is it outside on side walks?

I took a two-mile walk this morning, 100% on sidewalks and bike trails.

The majority of sidewalks looked better than people's driveways, but the sidewalks right in front of people's driveways were slick where cars had driven on the snow. The long stretches between homes, however, were dry as a bone.

It is brutally cold, though. Two layers of pants, three layers of tops (including a coat), warm socks and shoes, gloves, and a hat were not enough to keep me warm. It is extremely cold.

I'm going to drive my middle school kid to school this morning. She just got over a respiratory infection that landed her in the ER three times in seven days, so I don't want her in the cold more than necessary.

Anonymous wrote:How is it outside on side walks?

Not good. I'm a teacher and just went outside to warm up my car. Sidewalks are very icy. I don't care what other people do but I'm not sending my kid to school today. He's in HS and has all his non-AP classes today. I see no reason for him to risk him driving or risk someone else plowing into him at the bus stop.

How is it outside on side walks?

https://www.fcps.edu/alerts

"No current alerts."

In the future, the crack team in the communications office may need to use AI to come up with something to say. They seem to be at a total loss for words this time around.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reid just sent her weekly email. Here is the first paragraph:

I trust this note finds each of you well, especially as we deal with really cold temperatures this weekend. I want to share that staff have been driving our roads this afternoon and evening and all looks ready for school tomorrow. I trust that you each will dress warmly and travel safely in the morning. Please give yourselves plenty of time to drive given our winter conditions.

As a former teacher and school administrator, she must know what a demoralizing message it is to students and educators as counties all around us close in the interest of safety. Better to not say anything. But here we are.

Which counties? Arlington, Alex City, Prince William, Falls Church City all surround Fairfax and have not called for a closure. Hell, they haven’t even called for a delay. Loudoun is the only one who’s called a delay.

You can't compare city schools with FCPS. It's urban VS rural (sorry, Fairfax County, but we have rural areas)
PWC wasn't hit hard this time, and they usually do whatever FC does.

Correct. The post was in response to the “former teacher and administrator” saying that “counties all around us” were closed. That simply wasn’t true.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know how you people manage to survive on a day to day basis. It's going to be 20, not -20.

It will be 16 in the morning, and it will feel like 1. This is Virginia, not Alaska, so yes, this is cold for us.

I’m a transplant from a colder state and for every year of the 15 years I’ve lived here, there has been some cold weather. Polar vortex, snowmaggedon, etc. It doesn’t last all winter but there are always a few days.

Have the proper equipment to clear your driveway *early* so the sun can melt any residue and you don’t get ice, buy some wool socks for your kids (and you) to wear on cold days, and have proper footwear. It’s not an emergency.

It’s not the cold or the sidewalk ice, it’s the ice on the streets. There wasn’t enough snow to plow and secondary roads weren’t treated. It didn’t get above freezing yesterday, so there are many patches of ice on the secondary roads where the bus stops are. I was out driving yesterday and saw it for myself.

I also grew up in a colder climate than here, and I think not having a delay today was irresponsible.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know how you people manage to survive on a day to day basis. It's going to be 20, not -20.

It will be 16 in the morning, and it will feel like 1. This is Virginia, not Alaska, so yes, this is cold for us.

I’m a transplant from a colder state and for every year of the 15 years I’ve lived here, there has been some cold weather. Polar vortex, snowmaggedon, etc. It doesn’t last all winter but there are always a few days.

Have the proper equipment to clear your driveway *early* so the sun can melt any residue and you don’t get ice, buy some wool socks for your kids (and you) to wear on cold days, and have proper footwear. It’s not an emergency.

I hope Ms. Reid is at a bus depot right now helping the drivers get their buses ready to go and that you are walking the 1.5 miles with a middle schooler today at 7:00!

It is tiring when people who sit in warm houses direct other people to “get out there” and wait for late buses and walk on ice.

Anonymous wrote:I support opening schools on Monday. Students have already missed a lot of in-person learning in past years, especially during the 2019–2020 school year. Keeping schools open helps students stay on track, and I’m glad we’re not having a snow day.

MOVE ON. Stop perseverating on Covid.

Anonymous wrote:But would FCPS be legally liable?

No, good grief.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know how you people manage to survive on a day to day basis. It's going to be 20, not -20.

It will be 16 in the morning, and it will feel like 1. This is Virginia, not Alaska, so yes, this is cold for us.

I’m a transplant from a colder state and for every year of the 15 years I’ve lived here, there has been some cold weather. Polar vortex, snowmaggedon, etc. It doesn’t last all winter but there are always a few days.

Have the proper equipment to clear your driveway *early* so the sun can melt any residue and you don’t get ice, buy some wool socks for your kids (and you) to wear on cold days, and have proper footwear. It’s not an emergency.

Anonymous wrote:Do they do one hour delays in FCPS? I think a one hour delay would be reasonable so middle schoolers wait for the bus when the sun is out.

No, they don’t. Not really much of a point to have a one hour delay and wouldn’t make sense with most schedules.

Do they do one hour delays in FCPS? I think a one hour delay would be reasonable so middle schoolers wait for the bus when the sun is out.

As a TJ teacher, this is going to be very annoying if FCPS is on time and Loudoun has a two hour delay. I understand that they can’t accommodate off of one school though. Not the worst thing ever, just annoying.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Delaying simply for cold isn't going to happen unless the busses won't start. The temp at 8:30 am (when the middle school buses would be out in a 2 hour delay) is only projected to be 3 degrees warmer than the temp at 6:30 am, they aren't going to cut 2 hours from the school day for 3 degrees of warmth. Similarly, the roads aren't going to be any less icy than they are now at 8:30 am when it's a whole 22°. The choice here really is between a closure and nothing and if the majority of roads are looking good, they're going to go for a regular day of school.

Yes, but visibility will be better. It is dark at 6:30 and you can't spot the ice.

People are claiming their roads and sidewalks are sheets of ice. Visibility doesn't matter if you can't avoid the ice, it only helps if the roads are mostly clear with small patches here and there.