School? Are they crazy!?

[StormFury]

I heard that Miami is sending kids back to school on Thursday. There are still so many schools and people without people and there are tons of intersections that are missing traffic lights!!!

http://fpl.com/storm/pdf/wilma_miamidade.pdf

Some people in Miami are not going to have power back for another week or so! Why didn't Miami follow what Broward did...cancel school for the rest of the week?

I think it has to do with Rudy Crew, the superintendent of Miami schools. The NY Times called him an "Iron Chancellor who failed to improve NYC public schools".
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference ... offset=40&

[StormFury]

Oh, and he is thinking about removing 1 week from Christmas vacation and even imposing Saturday school!

[Ivanhater]

we were out for over 3 weeks after ivan

[Ivanhater]

Oh, and he is thinking about removing 1 week from Christmas vacation and even imposing Saturday school!

well they extended the semester a week here at the university in mobile after katrina into christmas...just something we have to deal with

[O Town]

Our kids missed a a week and a half for Charley, and 2 days for Frances they ended up taking days from winter break and also adding a hour to the normally early days on Wednedsay. Our kids here get out an hour early on wednesdays at 2:00 instead of 3:00. So they just made them stay till 3 everyday starting in Feburary I think it was. They didn't like it but again something they had to deal with. It worked out well though I think. Saturday school is a little over the top, but maybe removing a few days from winter break I don't think is to bad. And we still had no power when my kids returned after Charley, just the major stores and schools and such had power. It was still a mess. Kinda hard to kids ready for school with no power, but we did it.

[Brent]

Oh, and he is thinking about removing 1 week from Christmas vacation and even imposing Saturday school!

You have to make it up... everyday you miss has to be made up. We almost had a Saturday schoolday back in 1995-1996. We were out 3 or 4 days after Hurricane Opal and then had a bunch of days due to snow and ice. One more day and we would have gone on a Saturday.

Or maybe you want to go to school in June.

How exactly can you shorten Christmas break though??? Maybe shave a couple days off, but you would still need the 22nd through the 3rd off.

[StormFury]

Well I'm a senior, so I don't mind if school is added in June. I just won't go those days. When you're a senior, the last 2 weeks of school don't matter that much.

According to what my friend heard in the news, Rudy Crew is thinking about taking 1 full week from Xmas break. What an idiot! I guess all he cares about is Kwanza.

And by the way, the kids in Port Charlotte loss 4 weeks of school after Charley, yet they did not have to make up a single day. I guess I should move there to finish up my last year of high school.

[tropicana]

If he takes a full week from the Christmas break, what happens to the plans of the families who may have already booked holidays or made plans for the Christmas holidays..what are they supposed to do?

Messing with the Christmas vacation is just not a good idea in order to make up *their* school year.

-justin-

[jkt21787]

Most major school districts, as Miami-Dade would be, have to meet requirements of school days, thus, they are forced to make up whatever time was missed because of inclement weather or otherwise.

Now, there is of course going to be controversy over extending time into the Christmas Break and even Summer Break. Of course, by law, they would not be allowed to hold schools on those federal holidays within the break time.

At any rate, and I'm not sure what the Miami-Dade school district is like, but you will have to make up the time. There is no doubt about that. What they could do is extend the school day by an hour or two for the remainder of the year, or hold half-day Saturday classes. That is the policy of Memphis City Schools when there is an extended closure that goes beyond the reserved one week makeup period attached at the end of the school year.

[T'Bonz]

Jeb could wave the 180 day requirement if needs be.

My baby is a senior. She's at home waiting for school to resume in Broward. We'll be lucky to be back Monday, if then.

At this rate, she might finish school the day before she heads off to college. :/

[NC George]

Of course, by law, they would not be allowed to hold schools on those federal holidays within the break time.

School employees are employees of the state or local government. Therefore, federal holiday laws do not apply. We never got Memorial Day off in my school district when I was growing up, it was the first makeup day, and we always lost at least one day in the school year to inclement weather.

As to college - we lost at least a couple of weeks at ECU due to hurricane Floyd. We didn't have to make up the days at all.

[weathermom]

Is the 180 days required only by state law or is it federal? I seem to remember that the schools lose their funding if they don't have the 180 days or equivilant amount of hours. They also have to contend with teacher contracts that limit the days the teachers can work. We nearly had a problem here in NJ after Floyd. The kids were out of school for about a week, and this was before we even knew how many snow days were going to be used. Our system budgets 4 days for inclement weather. They shortened vacations, but still were near coming up short and the teachers contract wouldn't allow them to work in July. (our kids go to the end of June normally)

[CajunMama]

Vermilion Parish is having to fit 2 high schools into one high school because of Rita. Abbeville High and Erath High alternate full days of school. Example, AHS will go MWF all day like i think till 5 or later and EHS will attend TTS and they will flip the schedule the following week.

Stormfury...if your school is extended, you'd better check out your schools absentee policy. They could and can keep you from graduating if you miss too many days...regardless if you're a senior or not.

[JQ Public]

If he takes a full week from the Christmas break, what happens to the plans of the families who may have already booked holidays or made plans for the Christmas holidays..what are they supposed to do?

Messing with the Christmas vacation is just not a good idea in order to make up *their* school year.

-justin-

Thats just one of the risks you take living down there. It'll always effect someones schedule if you know what i mean.

[Scorpion]

So far we have been out for 2 weeks due to Wilma. I can't really remember being in school, its been so long. I've gotten pretty used to it, almost like a second summer vacation . If school is extended into June I just won't go(unless the exams are those days too).

[StormFury]

I think the decision to open schools in Dade County has been influenced by 2 factors:

1) Most of the schools have power (although many have had damage)
2) Rudy Crew, the superintendent, is a bureacratic knucklehead who places his interests ahead of the safety of students.

IMO, Dade and Broward should not have school the rest of this week and possibly next week on Monday. The worst damage from Wilma was on her Southeastern Eyewall, which ripped through Dade and Broward. Although I feel happy for you Scorpion, I do not see why Palm Beach County does not have school. After all, there are fewer power outages and less damage in Palm Beach than what has occured in Dade and Broward.

[jkt21787]

So far we have been out for 2 weeks due to Wilma. I can't really remember being in school, its been so long. I've gotten pretty used to it, almost like a second summer vacation . If school is extended into June I just won't go(unless the exams are those days too).

School districts are too smart to allow everyone to stay home, not only will they place exams on those days (and they will stretch it out as long as possible) but they could also threaten failures for those who don't show up on make up days (even seniors). They do that here, and if this superintendent in Miami is really like he sounds, he will probably do that too (of course you are not in Miami ).

[beachbum_al]

It is just part of life when you live in an area that could have hurricanes. During Ivan we were out for two weeks and we lost part of our Thanksgiving break, 2 days at Christmas, one day at Mardi Gras, and add a week unto the end of the year. Just part of it. This year they got smart and added a three day fall break. We lost it though but we don't have to make up a life time of days.

As for starting school maybe they feel the children need some type of fun and routine that is familiar to them. They can see their friends, teachers, and talk and have fun.

[weathermom]

I think you may be on to something there. Getting back to a routine is very important for children. I think it is a stabilizing factor for children who have had their world turned upside down.

[Persepone]

I agree with Weathermom. For many, school may be the only routine and stability to hang on to. Going to school from a homeless shelter, etc. may be the absolute pits, but at least it is something...

As people have said elsewhere on the board, there is a lot of depression, anger, anxiety, etc. among those who go through disasters--and children are sort of "caught in the middle." Having the schools open means that parents don't have to worry about where their kids are and what they are doing and whether they are safe while they are haggling with insurance companies, trying to deal with everyday life stuff that has suddenly become extraordinarily difficult, etc. Also, for some (and in some schools) the school may be able to provide for some of the needs of the children--replacing lost school supplies, books, clothing, etc.--or perhaps just providing "hot lunch."

My daughter once went to a school where there was a "clothes closet." A sort of "no questions asked" clothes closet. If you had good children's clothes to give away, you could wash them, put them on a hanger or in a box and take them there. If you needed something, you could take it.

I think that a lot of schools could benefit (and not just in the aftermath of disasters) from such a closet. For the little kids, the clothes closet was a godsend for the kid who wet his/her pants, for example--they could get clean, dry clothing to get through the day. But for other kids, it was a major source of needed clothing. Sometimes entire outfits--sometimes just a new pair of socks or shoes that fit or something... And you could also put outgrown toys, books etc. there--as well as school supplies, etc.

Perhaps some of those schools will establish clothes closets in the wake of the disasters...

And of course school is a place where kids are known--and where there is stuff like counseling available. In the wake of disasters, dysfunctional or borderline dysfunctional families don't do very well--I know from experience. And the school can be a refuge from the nightmare of home hell...

So while it seems tough for those of you who are old enough to be in high school, etc. realize that for the little kids it may make a great deal of difference! And while you could probably be "helpful at home" realize that the littlies can't be--they probably feel they are part of the problem and feel helpless to contribute to the solutions--but they can't very well say, "well, we'll only open the elementary and junior high schools and leave the high schools closed--so yeah, you have to go to school. But perhaps those of you for whom this is a burden and a hassle could volunteer to help with kids in the lower grades--some may need tutoring to help them over the hump, some may just need a little attention and affection; others may have lost access to after schoolplay spaces, sports fields, etc. So perhaps you could help coach soccer or baseball or monitor some playground after school and help out that way and it would make having to schlep yourself to school less painful. You guys are old enough to organize something valuable to your community. So if the impact on your was not so dramatic as to leave you homeless, peniless, with your possessions destroyed, etc. perhaps you can help some of those for whom it did just that.