Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One irony of course is that the Superintendent says that this will be a "valuable day of instruction" knowing full well that lots of students and teachers will not be present and that it was just an after the fact rationalization. Surely last Friday's Professional Day would have been more desirable since teachers would have been present and few families presumably had set sail. State should have denied this.

The state should have denied the county's waiver application, and required MCPS to hold several non-valuable days of instruction at the end of the year, on grounds that MCPS should have had school on last Friday's professional day, which MCPS couldn't do now without a time machine? What is your goal here -- getting the best practicable solution for the problems caused by this winter's weather, or punishing MCPS?

Not the PP but so many other districts went on Presidents' Day and professional days. MCPS waited because they assumed it would get their one and only waiver approval. When the state denied us because we didn't try, they only has Spring Break to do with. I would have denied everything.

The only professional days that MCPS had scheduled prior to this most recent one were 11/1 and 1/21. On 11/1, there had been no snow yet. On 1/21, we still had 1 allotted day left and, if you'll remember, it snowed 8 inches that day and they would have had to close anyway (and in fact had to close on 1/22). I agree that this past Friday would have been a decent option, but I think having to think about MCEA probably made it extremely difficult--these professional days are mandated in the union contract, which is a separate argument entirely.

As for Presidents' Day, yes, some districts did go (Fairfax being the main one, along with some outlying counties like Stafford and St. Mary's), but just as many did not, like Howard, PGCPS, Frederick, DCPS, Anne Arundel, etc. And prior to the Feb. 13-14 storm (by which it would have been too late to suddenly announce that school was open that Monday), MCPS was only over the allotment by one day, which would have been easily covered by June 13 on the regular contingency calendar. Yes, the pattern of horrible weather could have been correctly assumed to continue, but that's hindsight.

I guess what I'm saying is, I can see why it's worked out the way it has. Maybe a better contingency plan would be to arrange it so the regular last day of school is on a Wednesday, which would buy you 2 easier makeup days without having to carry over into the next week. Or negotiate with the union so that a professional day can be more easily used as a snow makeup.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Not the PP but so many other districts went on Presidents' Day and professional days. MCPS waited because they assumed it would get their one and only waiver approval. When the state denied us because we didn't try, they only has Spring Break to do with. I would have denied everything.

Fortunately, you weren't the one who was making the decision. The State Superintendent of Schools was. And she presumably realized that her job is to superintend the schools, not to teach school districts a lesson.

This.

Anonymous wrote:

Not the PP but so many other districts went on Presidents' Day and professional days. MCPS waited because they assumed it would get their one and only waiver approval. When the state denied us because we didn't try, they only has Spring Break to do with. I would have denied everything.

Fortunately, you weren't the one who was making the decision. The State Superintendent of Schools was. And she presumably realized that her job is to superintend the schools, not to teach school districts a lesson.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One irony of course is that the Superintendent says that this will be a "valuable day of instruction" knowing full well that lots of students and teachers will not be present and that it was just an after the fact rationalization. Surely last Friday's Professional Day would have been more desirable since teachers would have been present and few families presumably had set sail. State should have denied this.

The state should have denied the county's waiver application, and required MCPS to hold several non-valuable days of instruction at the end of the year, on grounds that MCPS should have had school on last Friday's professional day, which MCPS couldn't do now without a time machine? What is your goal here -- getting the best practicable solution for the problems caused by this winter's weather, or punishing MCPS?

Not the PP but so many other districts went on Presidents' Day and professional days. MCPS waited because they assumed it would get their one and only waiver approval. When the state denied us because we didn't try, they only has Spring Break to do with. I would have denied everything.

Anonymous wrote:One irony of course is that the Superintendent says that this will be a "valuable day of instruction" knowing full well that lots of students and teachers will not be present and that it was just an after the fact rationalization. Surely last Friday's Professional Day would have been more desirable since teachers would have been present and few families presumably had set sail. State should have denied this.

The state should have denied the county's waiver application, and required MCPS to hold several non-valuable days of instruction at the end of the year, on grounds that MCPS should have had school on last Friday's professional day, which MCPS couldn't do now without a time machine? What is your goal here -- getting the best practicable solution for the problems caused by this winter's weather, or punishing MCPS?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well next years calendar will say the same thing. If they never extend the week, who cares?

How do you know this?

Next years calendar is already out.
http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedFiles/0807.14_2014-2015_SchoolCalendar.pdf

The draft version of next year's calendar, you mean. Not the final version.

Does the draft ever change? Not since my kids have started 8 years ago.

Do you think that nothing ever happens for the first time?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well next years calendar will say the same thing. If they never extend the week, who cares?

How do you know this?

Next years calendar is already out.
http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedFiles/0807.14_2014-2015_SchoolCalendar.pdf

The draft version of next year's calendar, you mean. Not the final version.

Does the draft ever change? Not since my kids have started 8 years ago.

Exactly. This will get swept under the rug until another year or so when the same problem arises.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well next years calendar will say the same thing. If they never extend the week, who cares?

How do you know this?

Next years calendar is already out.
http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedFiles/0807.14_2014-2015_SchoolCalendar.pdf

The draft version of next year's calendar, you mean. Not the final version.

Does the draft ever change? Not since my kids have started 8 years ago.

One irony of course is that the Superintendent says that this will be a "valuable day of instruction" knowing full well that lots of students and teachers will not be present and that it was just an after the fact rationalization. Surely last Friday's Professional Day would have been more desirable since teachers would have been present and few families presumably had set sail. State should have denied this.

Really?? chill women!!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well next years calendar will say the same thing. If they never extend the week, who cares?

How do you know this?

Next years calendar is already out.
http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedFiles/0807.14_2014-2015_SchoolCalendar.pdf

The draft version of next year's calendar, you mean. Not the final version.

Anonymous wrote:I am so happy with this decision!

Ha! Me too!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone think work will actually be done on that Monday. Don't sweat it if your kid will miss. If it is anything like the day before Thanksgiving or Winter Break, all my kids do is watch movies.

No, not much will be accomplished that day (I expect a high number of absences), and as for the last day of school, it will be a waste of time, like most other final days of school. When my kids were in middle school, they said half the kids didn't even show up on the last day, and in high school, they never have to attend the last day, because it's exam makeup day.

MCPS made the gesture they needed to in order to get the state to make the waiver. Mission accomplished.

So what is the mission? Movies and nothing to be done in school. Wonderful.

I am so happy with this decision!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well next years calendar will say the same thing. If they never extend the week, who cares?

How do you know this?

Next years calendar is already out.
http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedFiles/0807.14_2014-2015_SchoolCalendar.pdf