Do you think schools should close in extreme cold??

[Snowysmom]

With the cold that we are supposed to be getting here in Massachusetts tomorrow, I believe it is a good idea to close the schools. The school buses will probably be having problems and kids can't wait at the bus stop in this cold. Some kids don't have any other way to get to school. I don't even want to go out in the cold tomorrow morning and since school has been canceled in our town, I will be home with DS. However, I do have to let the dog out in the morning. She better be quick about it!

 

[iNTeNSeBLue98]

YES. DD's school has a two hour delay today (Friday) which means she will have to walk to school. I guess they think that it will be warm at 10am as opposed to at 8am.
I usually drop her off since it coincides with my schedule, but DH is home in the mornings now so he will be here with her and I will leave at the regular time. We're 3-4 blocks from her school and only have the one car. I wish she didn't have to walk .

 

[Serena]

Here in Indy, the only time school was closed was when the buses wouldn't start, or the extreme cold temps. When they tell people to stay home because of the bad weather, they close the schools.

 

[CEDmom]

Yesterday schools were closed more for the cold than the snow. Today most schools in the area have a delayed opening (90min-2hrs). I don't think these actions will result in kids becoming lazy etc (many other factors can be credited with that ).

I know in many areas we are hitting 80+ year temperature lows. Obviously then closing schools because of the extreme cold will not be a regular occurance.

 

[tinksgirl]

school is closed for my kids today due to the cold,i am glad because being a 1 car family my 14 year old would have to walk home and i would have to wait outside in the am and afternoon for my second grader.Its just not safe to be out in these temps.

 

[C.Ann]

All of the schools in our area are closed today.. Right in my own neighborhood the most recent report is 40 below zero - outer lying areas at 50 below zero - and it's expected to get colder as the morning goes on, not warmer..

When the pediatricians come on the morning news and say that children should not go out in this weather, I really think it's best to heed their advice.. At 30 below zero frost bite will occur in 5 minutes - how fast do you think it will occur at 40 or 50 below zero? According to the doctors interviewed this morning, it will occur so fast you won't even know it - until it's too late.. One of the weathermen squirted some water on an outdoor surface and it froze solid in a half a second - basically as soon as it hit the surface..

It's impossible to cover every bit of your skin - especially for eye glass wearers such as myself.. If you put a face mask (with a nose covering) on a child - or wrap a scarf around their mouth and nose - and they're unfortunate enough to be eye glass wearers - it will create a steam factor (which in this weather will immediately turn to ice on the glasses) and you then have a situation where a child can't see where they're walking.. Good idea? I don't think so.. Considering the tip of the nose is often the very first area to suffer from frost bite, that would certainly cause a serious problem..

Not all children have the luxury of parents who can drive them to school - many children walk as far as a mile to a bus stop or a mile and a half to the school itself.. To send a child out in this weather is cruel, can result in permanent disfigurement, and could very well be deadly..

If the schools choose to stay open for children who have a safe way of getting to and from school, that's fine - but for the children who don't, they should be excused from attending - with no penalty..

 

[Nutsy]

I say yes, but that is just going on reason...............how can you expect kids to have to face freezing cold conditions just so they can get an education?


I kind of agree with DoeWDW that perhaps less holidays & back to school sooner in the Summer to make up for the snow days & too cold days.

 

[SeaSpray]

I think it's relative. For example, here on the south shore of Boston, our schools do NOT close for 6" of snow. They don't close for 10" of snow! In fact, my DSs have had school with close to 2 feet of snow on the ground. In some states that are not used to dealing with snow, they close after the 10th snow flake! LOL However, THESE temperatures are NOT the norm, even for New England. These are record-breaking temperatures. As one principal on the news said "Children do not have sub-zero clothing and accessories, in order to stay warm while at the bus stop, or walking to school, in these kinds of temperatures". He's right!! Even all bundled up in parkas, hats, coats, etc. that's just not enough. Also, most school buses use diesel fuel which coagulates and would make the buses difficult, if not impossible, to start up.


So MY opinion is that the schools did the right thing in closing the schools for today (Friday). I had already decided that if the schools weren't going to be closed today, then DH would drop the boys off on his way to work.

 

[debster812]

ITA with SeaSpray. This is the first time in just about everyone's recollection around here that the schools have closed due to the extreme cold. Know why??? It has not been this cold for close to 100 years!!! And, most kids do not have the right clothing to be out in this. Regardless of layers. 3 of our busses were out of service on Monday due to fuel problems, and it was not NEARLY this cold.

Raising wimps?? Nope, don't think so. Keeping our children safe? Yes, absolutely.

 

[Raysplus1]

I believe a 2hr late start is more appropiate. This gives time for the sun to rise and warm things up and everyone time to get buses started.

Not that this matters but with a late start this does not extend the school year into the summer.

 

[Disney Doll]

I think there's a difference between cold and record-breaking cold. Normal winter cold is one thing, but -40 or -50 degrees in an area of the country that is not used to having THAT kind of cold is another. The folks in Alaska are prepared for those kind of temps. They have the proper clothing, and I assume they make whatever modifications to their automobiles etc that allow them to operate in that kind of cold. I am guessing that most of the folks who live in New england and other areas of the US where sub-zero temps are not the the norm don't have sub-zero clothing. I know I don't. I have a warm winter coat, I have long johns etc, but I don't have sub-zero clothing.I also think that, at least in my area, the kids had a snow day Thursday, they have Monday off for Martin Luther King day. If they closed school on Fridya, it would be a 5 day weekend of not having to have the heat blasting to keep the school adequately warm.

As far as raising a nation of wimps...well, we are, but that's a whole other story and closing school to day doesn't contribute to it.

 

[always quiet]

Well, my kids school didn't close...so I kept them all home! I might possibly understand needing to open, despite -15, BUT seeing how the kids haven't even had one snow day this year, I think they should of kept them closed. I could of driven them all in, but I think if enough parents kept their kids home today, maybe the district will re-think it if it ever happens again. The only reason I was thinking about sending them in today is that my son had a big math test. When he came home yesterday and told me that his math teacher re-scheduled the test for Tues., it was like a 'sign'!!

I was talking to my neighbor a little bit ago...after standing at the bus stop for 15 min., the bus never came!! She had to drive her DD in regardless!

 

[C.Ann]

Originally posted by Raysplus1
I believe a 2hr late start is more appropiate. This gives time for the sun to rise and warm things up and everyone time to get buses started.

Not that this matters but with a late start this does not extend the school year into the summer.

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In some situations that might be viable - but not this one.. Our temperatures are getting colder as the morning goes on - not warmer.. They expect it to reach the coldest temperature around noon - or a little later..