School closure in bad weather

[~Alan~]

Here in the UK, as soon as we get the slightest bit of snow, there is a mass closure of schools.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21071608

The excuses being.

Schools will get sued if children have accidents:
I think this has turned out to be an urban myth, as far as I know it's never happened.

Teachers can't get to school:
If kids can make it, why not teachers ?

Schools never used to close due to the weather when I was at school (many many years ago)
Unless the heating broke down

What happens in the US when it snows ?

 

[rizar33]

Well just the other day we had the "Threat" of some sleet and maybe some ice for about the first hours of the morning and our entire school district was on a two hour delay. It just rained. Of course MANY parents missed two hours of work because of it!!

 

[Milhaus]

Modern education follows metrics closely. Let's say it is "extreme" weather for a particular area. If 10% of the kids can't make it then that hits the schools attendance record at the end of the year. So instead of absorbing the bad numbers they call a snow day and then have an extra day of school at the end, or shave a day off of Christmas break etc.

It's driven by standards for the most part.

 

[~Alan~]

That seems like a good idea. Perhaps if they know it will meaning losing a day from a holiday, they will make more of an effort to attend ?

 

[Milhaus]

Well, attendance is a legal obligation of the parents so schools will balance what is best for the school with what can be reasonably expected from parents in terms of transportation.
Most parents don't have the option to miss work just because a school decides to have a snow day, and they understand that.
I haven't heard of a law in the U.S. that protects parents from missing work.

 

[~Alan~]

Common sense prevails

 

[MClever]

Common sense prevails

Yea it's pretty good here. All the schools here are in town, but have to account for worse weather out in the country/along the mountains. The last storm we had brought us 1" of sleet along the mountain, 1/2" in town, and nothing on the west side of town. The school districts here called a 2-hour delay. The kids really only get a snow day if the storm is/will be active during school hours and the forecast is calling for more.

 

[~Alan~]

As an example. In the area I live, we had snow all day on Sunday.
Very fine snow which only accumulated to about 2" - 3". All of the main
roads were clear, and our local airport only had a few minor delays.

Monday saw dozens of local schools closed, with the authorities coming
out with the usual mantra "we have to make sure the schools are safe".

Strange though, if the kids aren't at school, they are often seen to be out
playing in the snow and ice.

 

[Dirt Nuker]

Depends on where you live and your school's administration I guess. This morning I'm monitoring our school closure system closely since I know I'll be getting loads of phone calls soon with places closed due to the freezing temps. Many of the "farm schools" in smaller towns close or run on a delay since drifting snow is an issue with the roads in small towns.

Larger towns like the one I live in have over 30,000 kids in the schools. Any decision about cancelling schools is a major decision. If you cancel school for the day, you have to do it early enough so the bus drivers don't show up for work and early enough so people don't start sending their small kids to the bus stops only to have school cancelled. Normally school is cancelled here about three hours before a school's start time. Sometimes a little more than that.

Usually it takes at least 6" of snow to even be an issue here. With the bitter cold this morning (wind chill is -18) I'm expecting at least a few small schools to cancel or be delayed due to bus issues.

 

[Detector Nut]

They hardly close schools here in snow country until last Friday where we got 2 feet of the white stuff. Most counties were closed, kids were happy and lucky I was home. When I was going to school, 40 yrs ago, schools in VA. would close all the time.

 

[~Alan~]

.................>>>>>>>>> When I was going to school, 40 yrs ago, schools in VA. would close all the time.

It's the opposite here. When I was at school, back in the long and distant past, it was rare
for a school to close, unless perhaps the heating had broken down.
The main difference then being, virtually all children went to their nearest school so could walk.
Teachers normally lived close by as well, so also walked to school.

Now parents often get a choice of school, which may be some miles away.
Although many of them drive their little darlings to school, even if it's a mile or less away.
Many teachers also live some distance from schools now, so have to drive.

 

[gameoftag]

Here in Wisconsin, It's -9 outside today, and the kids have school. Got a foot of snow last month and they closed for the day, but that is the only school closing we have had this year. All depends where you live. Here, we are used to the snow, so it's not normally a problem. Last year, the schools never closed for snow.

 

[SkiWhiz]

Its not funny but I get a kick out of folks down south when they get snow. A dusting of snow and they don't know what to do .

 

[~Alan~]

Its not funny but I get a kick out of folks down south when they get snow. A dusting of snow and they don't know what to do .

Thats what the people in Scotland say about those in southern England.
Although to be fair, it's only the last three winters that we've had any significant snowfall.
Last time must have been around ten or more years ago.

 

[351maverick]

here in Erie anything LESS than a FOOT is a dusting

 

[coindog1]

closings due to extreme heat or cold....

well....BACK IN MY DAY....we never had a closing because it was too hot or too cold, i cant believe they do this now...the first time my sons school closed due to extreme cold i couldnt believe it ,i actually called the school to confirm and ask why?...their response was that it was danderously cold out and they didnt want the kids to freeze at the bus stops, that caused me to explain that BACK IN MY DAY we didnt have any of the mamsi pamsi cold days..you went to the bus stop with wet hair and it would freeze whle you were waiting...no such thing as a 'cold day" jeese!!!

 

[Longhair]

Its not funny but I get a kick out of folks down south when they get snow. A dusting of snow and they don't know what to do .

But those occurrances are scarce. They only happen if Al Gore is scheduled to show up for some global warming event.