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FCPS Closes Schools Monday and Tuesday

Hurricane Sandy's impending arrival causes county school system to make the call Sunday afternoon.

 

Fairfax County Public Schools acted early in preparing for Hurricane Sandy when the school system announced Sunday afternoon that schools will be closed Monday and Tuesday.

The latest weather forecasts have Sandy impacting Fairfax County with heavy rain, strong winds and potential flooding Monday afternoon through Tuesday.

FCPS offices will also be closed on Monday. An assessment for office re-opening will be made on Monday afternoon, FCPS said.

The following activities in schools and on school grounds will be canceled on Monday and Tuesday:

  • extracurricular activities
  • interscholastic contests
  • team practices
  • field trips
  • middle school after-school programs
  • professional learning and training courses
  • all adult and community education classes
  • recreation programs and community use by outside groups not affiliated with FCPS

School Age Child Care (SACC) centers will be closed.

FCPS often faces criticism (acting too soon or too late) from parents when making weather-related decisions. Take our poll to chime in how you feel about the storm cancellations.

  • Sandy's FCPS School Closure

    (Voting has been closed for this question)
    • It's early, but the right call
        69 (82%)
    • Acting too soon. Why not wait and see?
        15 (17%)
    Total votes: 84
  • Your vote will only count once. This is not a scientific poll. View Results Vote!
Related Topics: Fairfax County Public Schools, Hurricane Sandy, and School Closures

VAMom

3:25 pm on Sunday, October 28, 2012

Id rather safety over accuracy. I applaud the county.

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Rebecca E

3:27 pm on Sunday, October 28, 2012

I'm glad they made the call about Monday so I can make arrangements for tomorrow now. But calling Off school for Tuesday may be a little pre-emptive.

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Phuong Hoang

3:41 pm on Sunday, October 28, 2012

Decision about Monday is fine . Would be better to wait and decide about Tuesday.

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Lianne Abare

3:46 pm on Sunday, October 28, 2012

I don't have any school aged children, but glad they did so others that do can make arrangements. Especially the SACC Program.

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Deanna

3:55 pm on Sunday, October 28, 2012

you will appreciate the tuesday school closing when we're left without power...school system made an A+ decision early for all to make plans!

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GB

3:56 pm on Sunday, October 28, 2012

Call off Monday? Fine. Tuesday? Ridiculous.

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Laurie Dodd

4:01 pm on Sunday, October 28, 2012

With the end of the grading period coming on Friday, Nov.2, I hope teachers will push some tests and projects into the second grading period. My daughter planned to ask her teacher to review some important topics before the calculus test sceduled for the end of the week!

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Nancy Boothe Beavers

4:04 pm on Sunday, October 28, 2012

Good call, but hope we don't have to use any snow days this year.

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Huey

4:11 pm on Sunday, October 28, 2012

I'm all for closing schools on Monday but Tuesday? If anything, they should wait to see how Monday plays out before calling Tuesday. This is what FCPS always likes to do. They close ahead 2 days earlier, and then it turns out certain days weren't even needed, then they have to make up a day over an idiotic decision.

Lets see how this one plays out.

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Deanna

4:12 pm on Sunday, October 28, 2012

with 2 days used for this emergency, there is a predicted heavy snow/ice activity which as in the past may easily reach a 10-day total school closing which in the past the superintentent has requested and received a "10-day" waiver for "make-ups"--perhaps a repeat scenario or we just go longer in June.

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Deanna

4:18 pm on Sunday, October 28, 2012

You're right--most business situations we decide day by day, but this is a different storm--power outage is a major issue--it's too "after the fact" for decisions to be made. For students of all ages, FCPS made the best professional decision for the safety of all ages of school students. It's not even daylight till after 7 am.

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Ruth Tatlock

4:27 pm on Sunday, October 28, 2012

All I can say is that I'm darn glad I'm not the one to make the call in a situation like this. No matter what happens, there'll be complaints. Trust me!
Seems to me that. if Monday afternoon is really bad, Tuesday morning is not going to be a good day for school buses to be on the roads.

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Joleane Dutzman

4:37 pm on Sunday, October 28, 2012

I think closing the schools is a great decision. I notice that people are questioning whether the schools should have been closed Tuesday but I agree with that decision. The storm is predicted to be worse Monday night into Tuesday. Streets could be flooded, power out, trees down. Why risk it?

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iltschi

4:59 pm on Sunday, October 28, 2012

I am a school bus driver for FCPS and can tell you from experience that the county made a good decision. Areas such as Great Falls, McLean, Clifton, Centreville, etc are tough to drive on a regular basis without the added problems that torrential rain and downed branches and trees present, not to mention the people who cannot drive with common sense in such conditions. On a normal day school bus drivers don't get any respect from most commuters, but it is totally ridiculous in bad weather. I realize this is NOT ALL commuters; To the people who do respect us...Thank you.

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Karen Goff

5:03 pm on Sunday, October 28, 2012

Thanks, itschi. Good to hear a bus driver's perspective!

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Nancy Boothe Beavers

12:38 am on Monday, October 29, 2012

Hats off to all bus drivers, I couldn't do it. Yes there are a few who could use some more training but so far my experiance has been ok with the drivers.

Stephanie oliver

5:09 pm on Sunday, October 28, 2012

It's the best option. They say the worst of it will be from 8am mon til 8pm tues. Who would want to risk their children being out in that weather. We get massive power outages from weaker storms let alone hurricanes which are a rarity. Better safe than sorry. Good call.

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FairfaxDewey

5:10 pm on Sunday, October 28, 2012

As a former bus driver, I can attest that in heavy wind or rain, it's not safe to operate a large vehicle. The most intense part of the storm is predicted to begin Monday evening, and hit us hard through Tuesday. Canceling schools in anticipation of heavy rain and wind is a must, at least for students who ride a bus.

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FairfaxDewey

5:10 pm on Sunday, October 28, 2012

Shouldn't the city cancel garbage collection, too? If leaves will clog the storm sewers, imagine what all of this garbage will do!

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Karen Goff

5:12 pm on Sunday, October 28, 2012

Fairfax Dewey - different places have different methods of trash collection - city, private contract, housing association contract. So check with whomever is in charge of pickup in your jurisdiction.

FairfaxDewey

5:33 pm on Sunday, October 28, 2012

eMas email from City of Fairfax announces regular trash and recycling pickup will take place Monday.

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Beth Lawton

5:54 pm on Sunday, October 28, 2012

From the Office of Personnel Management:
Non-emergency employees (including employees on pre-approved paid leave) will be granted excused absence (administrative leave) for the number of hours they were scheduled to work unless they are: required to telework, on official travel outside of the Washington, DC, area, on leave without pay, or on an alternative work schedule (AWS) day off.

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Shelly

8:51 pm on Sunday, October 28, 2012

With all off he leaves that have come down and have blown into the street, the storm sewers would be overwhelmed with a normal rainfall. With the expected rainfall in the next couple days, the roads will be a mess, so the fewer vehicles on them, the better--especially school busses.

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Pam Dores

10:05 pm on Sunday, October 28, 2012

Nicely played FCPS! Great decision to close the schools Monday and Tuesday! With a storm such as the one heading our way the schools have many other things to worry about besides the safety of the kids! They need to make sure the schools are secure not to mention their own homes and children. Good call FCPS, br safe!

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FairfaxDewey

10:41 pm on Sunday, October 28, 2012

City just called for closure of city offices Monday (excepting general registrar, who is open for early voting). Also GARBAGE COLLECTION CANCELLED MONDAY. Bring your cans back in!

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Amelie Krikorian

9:43 am on Monday, October 29, 2012

There are plenty of people in FCPS who live in areas prone to flooding. Closing school for two days gives them the ability to be able to evacuate without worrying about their kids missing school. I know our school gets flooding, especially in the library, so there will be other schools with flooding I am sure. Plus the power outages - remember Isabel nine years ago? Parts of Vienna lost power for four or five days and that was not as powerful a storm. FCPS made the right call. I am guessing many of you saying they did not don't even have kids, otherwise you wouldbe more concerned about the safety of the kids in a storm like this.

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