| Author |
Message |
    
sac
Citizen
Username: Sac
Post Number: 903
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 27, 2004 - 6:30 pm: |     |
One of my (middle school) daughter's friends has an older sibling at CHS who came home with the news that an announcement was made today at the high school that there would DEFINITELY be a delayed opening tomorrow. Does anyone know any more about this? I haven't received any phone chain calls, and I do have an elementary kid, so that would be expected. I would think that those should have been activated by now if such a decision had been made in time to announce it during school. |
viva
Citizen
Username: Viva
Post Number: 346
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 27, 2004 - 6:52 pm: | |
i wouldn't count on school being open at all.
http://www.weather.com/weather/local/07040 |
sac
Citizen
Username: Sac
Post Number: 904
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 27, 2004 - 6:54 pm: | |
viva - I don't disagree at all. However, I would like to know the status of any official decisions ... if for no other reason than to avoid being awakened by a phone chain at 5:30 in the morning if it could have been accomplished this evening. |
soresident
Citizen
Username: Soresident
Post Number: 103
Registered: 10-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 27, 2004 - 7:22 pm: | |
My high schooler says that at CHS today they just attempted to make clear what the procedure would be if there were to be a delayed opening (ie - what time school would start and what period would begin the day). No announcement was made that this would definitely be happening; it was just informational.
I get the feeling that the district, having already used up all its snow days, just wants to preserve the option of having a delayed opening (an option that I can't recall them ever using in the last 10 years, though my memory may be faulty). We also got a lengthy notice this week from the elementary school setting out procedures for delayed opening, where to get info, etc.
Metro traffic and weather just said 5 - 9 inches of snow for northern NJ. |
sac
Citizen
Username: Sac
Post Number: 905
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 27, 2004 - 7:25 pm: | |
That definitely seems more consistent with what I would have expected. Thanks for the clarification. |
Cynicalgirl
Citizen
Username: Cynicalgirl
Post Number: 359
Registered: 9-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 27, 2004 - 7:26 pm: | |
I sure wouldn't mind if they cut into that silly week off in Feb! I find it weird to have a week in Dec, one in Feb and then one in April. Seems awfully broken up. What's up with that? Use them all for snow days.... |
sac
Citizen
Username: Sac
Post Number: 906
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 27, 2004 - 7:31 pm: | |
They won't cut into February break, but the policy says that any excess snow days (starting tomorrow, if we have one then) will come out of the April break, starting with Friday and moving backwards. |
soresident
Citizen
Username: Soresident
Post Number: 105
Registered: 10-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 27, 2004 - 7:32 pm: | |
There has been constant discussion about the calendar in recent years. Teachers like the February break, arguing that it breaks the cold and flu season. Many surrounding districts have gone to a 4 day weekend off in February instead of a full week. I would guess this will be revisited again if we end up with additional snow days this year, necessitating our kids going to school during part of the scheduled April break. |
Cynicalgirl
Citizen
Username: Cynicalgirl
Post Number: 360
Registered: 9-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 27, 2004 - 7:34 pm: | |
What's so sacred about the Feb one? Some convention or other? Really, I'm unfamiliar with a break at the point in the year. It's sure not about Spring! And the kids are recently off the Christmas-y one through New Year's... |
sac
Citizen
Username: Sac
Post Number: 907
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 27, 2004 - 7:41 pm: | |
The policy about cutting into the April break was put into place a year or two after the severe winter of 1993-94, when there were numerous excess snow days, delays, etc. That year, they had to go extra days in June to make up for it and, as a result (as best I can recall), set the current policy. I believe that the April days have only been invoked once since then (for one day out of the week-long break.) There wasn't a move to change things after that, so I think I would be surprised if that would happen this time. If the February break was reduced to a long weekend, I would speculate that would result in a slightly earlier finish in June rather than building more snow days into the schedule. Up until a few years ago, we did have 3 built-in days rather than 2, so I suppose they might revert back that far, but I wouldn't expect any more than that. There have been many winters when we didn't use any at all.
I do recall that last year, the January teacher development day was changed to a 4-hour session in order to make up the early snowday we had that December. If that had not happened, we would have used an extra snow day last year also. I wondered about whether they should just plan for that workday to be flexible in that manner every year - but I also think that it should be scheduled later in the year (perhaps March, when there are no other holidays), to better facilitate that as well as to avoid having a day off just one week after the kids come back from the December holidays.
Food for thought for the next round of calendar discussions, but since the calendar is already set for next year, I doubt that any such changes would occur before 2005-06, if at all. |
soresident
Citizen
Username: Soresident
Post Number: 106
Registered: 10-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 27, 2004 - 7:58 pm: | |
NYC public schools already announced that they are closed for tomorrow. Channel 4 now showing us at "only" 4- 8 inches. |
ffof
Citizen
Username: Ffof
Post Number: 1859
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 27, 2004 - 8:31 pm: | |
Cyn- Feb week off started in the 70's as an energy conservation measure. THis was common across the country (cold climates). Most people I know would like the break to be in March with just a long weekend around pres. day and Good Friday off for Easter weekend.
UNFORTUNATELY, the teachers' union likes it the way it is. The reasoning is so bogus - something like, oh, the teachers couldn't possibly go from March thru June with no break at all. Holy school into summer, batman! Every private school I know has March vacation and plenty of publ schools and they seem to be doing fine (and get off by mid-June, not end of June)
About 3 or 4 years ago, the presidents council convinced the district to do a survey to find out if there might be a consensus to when an ideal break would be. Well, most wanted a break in March except for the teachers union. Go figure. |
cody
Citizen
Username: Cody
Post Number: 464
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 27, 2004 - 9:04 pm: | |
I wouldn't be so quick to say the teachers are the cause of the February break. As a parent, I've always voted to shorten it to allow for an earlier end to the school year, but many, many parents insist that they like that week for ski vacations or trips to the warmer parts of the world. I always felt that being locked in the house in February with small kids was cruel and unusual punishment.
I know quite a few teachers who would rather sacrifice part of the February break to eliminate the loss of part of the April break (which is nice weather, a time when many kids are involved in sports tournaments and high school kids are making college visits).
I believe the last questionnaire that was circulated a few years ago to get feedback on which vacations should be eliminated showed many parents in favor of retaining the February break. I wasn't one of them. |
lizzyr
Citizen
Username: Lizzyr
Post Number: 94
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 27, 2004 - 11:45 pm: | |
As someone who suffers from SAD (seasonal affective disorder), I need the early winter break to let myself absord the sunshine. Waiting until April is too long & NJ weather is usually pretty good by then. When the discussion came up a few years ago I submitted a letter to the Administration to change the full week to late Feb/early March and spoke to several members in the Central Office. It seems that nothing will change unless enough people make this an issue. A few teachers I have spoken to are in favor of a winter break, but don't seem to be wedded to President's Week. (Most agree that the large premium for flights and resorts that week make a vacation out of reach for many families). |
spw784
Citizen
Username: Spw784
Post Number: 456
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 28, 2004 - 5:47 am: | |
Just got the call . Schools are closed today - Wed. jan 28, 2004. |
ffof
Citizen
Username: Ffof
Post Number: 1862
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 28, 2004 - 7:50 am: | |
lizzy, cody, et al - The Presidents Council did make this a huge issue a few years ago, thus the questionaire. In the end it was shot down by the teachers union (not that all individual teachers agreed). They probably also used the excuse that there was not enough consensus among the questionaire responses. IMO, the questionaire was too complicated. It should have just asked if you would give up 2 week-long breaks for one week plus a long weekend here or there so that we could get out earlier in June......but Nooooooo! |
Cynicalgirl
Citizen
Username: Cynicalgirl
Post Number: 362
Registered: 9-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 28, 2004 - 7:57 am: | |
I'd prefer getting out earlier in June. I can usually take off one of these two week-long breaks, but given my husband and I both work, one of the weeks just ends up seeing our daughter at the Y all week and not some kind of quality family time thing. Hard to arrange childcare for isolated weeks like that... |
cody
Citizen
Username: Cody
Post Number: 465
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 28, 2004 - 10:46 am: | |
I would certainly like to get out of school earlier in June. A 4-day Presidents Week break and the April week would be fine for me.
I'd like to know what happens if not enough kids come to school on the Friday of April break to make the date "legal" (a certain percentage of the District population has to come to school on a given day for the day to count as an "in session" day - I can't recall the exact percentage), do we then have to make up ANOTHER day?
No one I've asked at school seems to know.
I am quite sure that families with firm vacation plans for April break are not going to shorten them for one day. The last time this happened, many kids were not in school on the April make-up day, but enough were for the day to count.
The teachers will have to adjust their plans, as taking off the make-up day will require jumping through many hoops and submitting all kinds of documentation and getting prior approval, but that's not the case for the students.
Does anyone know anything firm on this? |
sac
Citizen
Username: Sac
Post Number: 911
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 28, 2004 - 11:10 am: | |
Hindsight is 20-20 and I'm sure that in the wee hours this morning, they made the best decision they could with the available info. But I think that many people now wish that this had been a delayed opening rather than complete closure.
Is it out of the question to institutionalize a practice of calling for a delayed opening if it is questionable and then (if necessary) changing it to a closing (say by 8:00 AM or so) if conditions merit? I know that seems to happen in other districts from time to time (i.e. Millburn on 1/16), but I don't know if it is an intentional policy or a last resort when it is realized too late that doing a delay was not sufficient for the situation. It has been so long since there has been a delayed opening in SO/M (before my current 7th grader entered kindergarten), that we really don't have any precedents for this here. |
suzanneng
Citizen
Username: Suzanneng
Post Number: 73
Registered: 3-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 28, 2004 - 7:58 pm: | |
Please note this is not an official statement, but I think the decision has to be made by 5:30 - 6 am, otherwise teachers who live a distance away, and other early AM employees, may already be on the road attempting to get to work. |
usmale78
Citizen
Username: Usmale78
Post Number: 62
Registered: 6-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 28, 2004 - 8:57 pm: | |
ffof - the vacation week in February had been initiated prior to my kindergarden year 1957-1958 at Montrose School and has been so since then. |
sac
Citizen
Username: Sac
Post Number: 914
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 28, 2004 - 9:48 pm: | |
suzanne,
It would seem that if a delay had already been called, then folks would be delaying their departures by (nearly) the two hours, which is why I thought that a change in status could potentially be made a bit later with a second round of notification. Not that this is at all desirable, but it would take a little pressure off making the decision for a delay rather than a closing at 4:00 in the morning (or whenever that happens.) How early would people be on the road in the event of a delay (I suggested 8:00 AM, but perhaps that is too late??)
I only suggest this because I'm speculating that a decision to close may be made just due to lack of 100% confidence in the ability to open on the delay schedule. But, in cases like today, it seems that it would have been possible to have the shortened day and avoid the excess snow day and it is unfortunate that didn't happen.
If that early morning decision has to be considered "final", then there probably is no other choice, but then I wonder how we would ever have a delay rather than a closing. (Maybe that's why we never seem to have them here.)
How do other districts handle this? I certainly hear about lots of delayed openings in other towns on the radio. |
suzanneng
Citizen
Username: Suzanneng
Post Number: 74
Registered: 3-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 28, 2004 - 11:40 pm: | |
Right, sac... I wasn't thinking... I guess i was thinking of a delay vs a closing... not a delay turning into a closing. As for the time -- which school has the earliest opening - CHS? If they started at 7:45, a 2 hours delay would open them at 9:45, teachers get there by 9-9:15 , an 8 am decision might be a bit late - maybe 7 am, as a final cut off time to change from delay to closing? When did Millburn make their decision last time, to change from a delay to closing?
(these are personal observations, not an official district statement) |
ffof
Citizen
Username: Ffof
Post Number: 1866
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, January 29, 2004 - 9:21 am: | |
interesting usmale78 - good memory for a kindergartener! Was there an April break too and did you get out of school at the very end of June?
Where I grew up in western Pennsylvania and during the oil crisis of the early 70's, schools across the country started a Feb closing.
Anyway, for whatever reason there is a feb break and then an April break (hello!! not even tied with Easter), just cause it's been that way should not make it unchangeable. Times change. |
sac
Citizen
Username: Sac
Post Number: 916
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, January 29, 2004 - 7:11 pm: | |
Down south, at least in Texas where I grew up, we did not have any such breaks at all in my early school years (in the 60s.) Then, about the time all of our schools were air conditioned, they added one Spring Break (in March) because, with a/c, they could justify extending the length of the school year. However, they extended it by starting earlier, in August, rather than by going later in June. We were always done with school by Memorial Day, but started in the middle of August. |
Closed: New threads not accepted on this page