It looks like MCPS students will be going to school for quite a while this summer, as frequent school closures due to weather conditions have wreaked havoc on the traditional school calendar.
The first hit to schools was a major winter storm that struck the DMV on January 25th, which led to MCPS closing schools and activities from the 26th of January to February 2nd, resulting in one of the district’s longest weather-related shutdowns in years.
Although the storm arrived over the weekend, its impact carried into the following week as snow, ice, and freezing temperatures continued to create unsafe conditions throughout the county. MCPS announced school closures beginning Sunday night, with schools eventually being closed to students from January 26th through January 30th to allow for cleanup efforts.
In multiple announcements, MCPS officials stated that the unsafe road conditions, blocked sidewalks, and limited visibility were all key reasons for the continued closures. On January 28th and 29th, a code red was issued in which officials stated that the freezing temperatures slowed snow and ice removal and increased the risk of refreezing, even after plowing and treatment.
“To open schools safely requires roads, school facilities, bus stops, and walking paths to school to be safe enough for passage,” MCPS stated in a message to families. The closures extended into the following week. On Monday, February 2nd, schools remained closed to students despite facilities being reopened. MCPS explained that while buildings were operational, many neighborhood roads and sidewalks were still not passable for buses or safe for students walking.
Many students supported the decision to prioritize safety. “I think MCPS closing down schools was the best option in terms of safety, especially since they did not give us at least a two-hour delay on the previous snow days, which caused a lot of accidents throughout the county,” said Jessica Nguyen, a senior.
Schools and offices returned to normal operations under Code Green on Thursday, February 5th, after issuing two days of two-hour delays on February 3rd and 4th. On February 19th, MCPS announced that, as a result of the closures, changes to the school calendar had to be made in order to meet state instructional requirements. These changes mean that the last day of school is now June 25 instead of June 17. They also noted that June 18th and June 22nd are now full instructional days, and June 24th and 25th are early release days.
MCPS emphasizes that at this time, this is the only option that ensures MCPS meets state instructional requirements. In a recent public announcement made on February 19th, “Montgomery County state legislative delegation in the State General Assembly is working on a bill that would provide relief by allowing school systems to meet a minimum number of instructional hours instead of having to make up all the days..… We currently meet the required learning hours as set forth by the State Department of Education…..If the bill passes successfully, we will readjust the end of the school year.”
Looking forward, MCPS made an announcement regarding future closures, “We are developing an extended closure learning plan (that may involve virtual learning), where your children have academic engagement during prolonged closures. This plan will have to meet some state requirements before being approved as a substitution for losing a school day without it counting against our required number of school days/hours.”
An additional school closure due to weather was made on February 23, which led to MCPS announcing that it would need to add yet another day to the end of the school year. This means that the new end of the year will be a half day on June 26 with June 24 being converted from a half to a full day.
