Winter Weather Update: Cleanup Progress and Important Reminders
Code Red for Friday, January 30 – Schools and offices remain closed
Some Child Care Sites Available | Expanded Emergency Meal Distribution Sites
For Planning Purposes: At this time, MCPS also anticipates a Two-Hour Delay for Monday, February 2. This could change depending on county and state crews continuing to clear roads and students having safe walking routes to school. Additional updates about Monday’s operational status will be shared on Sunday, February 1 after 4 p.m.
For the full message shared earlier this afternoon, visit this link.
Some have asked: Why not move into Virtual Learning?
We are not shifting to virtual learning during this closure for several reasons. MCPS does not have one-to-one remote devices for every student, which would limit equitable access to instruction. In addition, this closure coincides with the start of a new semester, when many high school students are beginning new courses with new teachers, making a short-term transition to virtual learning impractical and disruptive. Finally, MCPS does not currently have a state-approved virtual learning plan in place, which prevents us from shifting to virtual instruction at this time.
MCPS continues to recover from Sunday’s significant snow and ice storm. While our teams are working tirelessly, the sustained frigid temperatures have created unique challenges for reopening.
Safety is our absolute priority. For a safe reopening, we must ensure that roads, bus stops, school facilities, and walking paths are clear and navigable.
The extreme cold has limited the effectiveness of standard road treatments, leading to a high risk of refreezing on sidewalks and parking lots—even after they have been plowed. We are monitoring the conditions closely as we move into the weekend.
While many of us have been hunkered down, our dedicated facilities and maintenance crews have been out in the elements since Sunday. From clearing parking lots to hand-salting walkways, they are working tirelessly to make our schools safe for a return to the classroom. We want to extend a sincere thank you to our teams along with our county partners. They have been working around the clock in brutal conditions to get our community back on its feet. We appreciate the patience and understanding of our families and staff as this work continues.
View our photo gallery of the cleanup efforts.
Child Care Availability
At this time, some MCPS facilities may be able to support child care services. Availability varies by site and is dependent on snow and ice removal, safe access to the building, fully functioning building systems, and staff availability, both MCPS staff and child care provider staff. Families MUST contact their individual child care provider directly to confirm whether services are operating and to verify hours of operation.
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