WRDSB

[nms]

Whenever there are breaks, parents will still need to arrange for child care for the time when they have used up their vacation time. I can imagine that it would be a challenge for some camps and programs to staff accordingly. It's easier to hire staff for a 10-week summer stretch than to hire them for a couple weeks at a time.

In addition to the challenge of hot schools, there is also the challenge of hot houses. A lot of families don't have the benefit of living in climate controlled spaces. It's hard enough to get students to focus during the June and September heat waves. Now imagine that you're trying to get students to focus on homework (or sleep) in a hot house.

[Spokes]

Bus cancellations a judgment call, Waterloo Region school trustees told

When it's really cold outside, schools want to keep children safe. But schools also don't want to lose a day of teaching.

And so a decision to cancel buses or close schools is about temperature, but also about forecasts and consultations around road conditions, snowclearing, and school bus operations, education trustees heard Monday.

"All of our school days are precious to us," education superintendent Bill Lemon said in an interview. A lost teaching day can't be recovered, he told Waterloo Region District School Board trustees.

"We want to take great lengths to make each day a meaningful instructional day for our students."

Trustees discussed weather policy after hearing from upset parents following extreme cold last Thursday.

"People have strong opinions on this," trustee Scott Piatkowski said.

The practice of local school boards is to cancel buses if wind chill is forecast to fall to -35 C by 7 a.m. (Wind chill combines the effect of temperature and wind.)

Last Thursday the wind chill at 7 a.m. was -34 C. The school board ran buses at the edge of cancellation. Then it got colder, falling to -36 C at 9 a.m. while kids waited at the curb for many delayed buses.

Up to 98 schools experienced bus delays between 6:57 a.m. and 10:09 a.m. Parents tweeted their outrage.

https://www.therecord.com/news-story/916...tees-told/

[MidTowner]

It's hard to imagine how parents could be upset reading well-reasoned explanations like that. The school board can't predict the future, and can only make an educated guess what to do based on weather forecasts and what roads and temperatures are likely to be.

Outhit doesn't actually identify what the outraged tweets were about. Is it because buses were delayed? Delays can be expected: most things move slower in the cold. Do parents think they should have been cancelled because it was so cold? The outraged parents themselves could have kept their kids home from school- or walked them to school instead of busing- if they didn't want them waiting for the bus. Again, with the expectation that unusual weather could result in bus delays.

[robdrimmie]

My (12yo) son waited for 20 minutes for his bus to come last Thursday. That's a failing in a couple of ways, mostly on us for not reiterating to him that if the bus doesn't show up he shouldn't just stand there, and for not checking the schedule while he was out there. I am upset about it, and some portion of that is with the board for not cancelling busses that day but ultimately I'm the one responsible for not making sure my kid understood how to handle the situation.

It's extremely difficult and I agree that the onus rests on parents. It would be fantastic if the bus companies sensed and published data but it seems very difficult for them to get there while maintaining a very tight budget.

It seems very likely to me that the people most vocally upset with the board or schools in this situation are also the most vocally upset about taxation. That's rather uncharitable I know.

[robdrimmie]

I will say his texts from that day once he got to school (notably not while he was outside waiting or even actually on the bus!) are hilarious. It's the most aggravated he's ever expressed himself in written word.

[Viewfromthe42]

I wonder how many people who complained about bus delays are those who tell pedestrians and cyclists to "suck it up" when it comes to lights timed to ignore us, or walking/cycling routes which are so indirect so as to add more than their wait to every single day's commute.

[robdrimmie]

For the same reason I suspect they're blowhards about taxes, I'd expect them to be blowhards (of the opposing viewpoint I suppose, since I consider myself a blowhard as well) about active transportation. It's entirely unfair, and in reality I suspect there's very little correlation, but I'm indulging anyway.

[jeffster]

It's hard to imagine how parents could be upset reading well-reasoned explanations like that. The school board can't predict the future, and can only make an educated guess what to do based on weather forecasts and what roads and temperatures are likely to be.

Outhit doesn't actually identify what the outraged tweets were about. Is it because buses were delayed? Delays can be expected: most things move slower in the cold. Do parents think they should have been cancelled because it was so cold? The outraged parents themselves could have kept their kids home from school- or walked them to school instead of busing- if they didn't want them waiting for the bus. Again, with the expectation that unusual weather could result in bus delays.

My kid doesn't qualify for bussing, he's about 3,170 meters from school (closest route, but not a safe route), which is 30M short of receiving a bus (despite the safe route being closer to 3600 meters). Anyway, I see this as a health issue; if they're saying it's not safe to be outside for more than 10 minutes, let's say, then perhaps they need to revise their policy.

Problem last week was for high school students, and those that half to walk far. It was exam week and my kid missed his exam, as did many others, as it simply was too cold to walk, and every service out there was running late. The teacher gave him a 'pass' for the credit, but 50% isn't a great mark for a report card, when he was at an 85%.

The board needs to keep in mind that this is Southern Ontario, not the prairies, and therefore record low temperatures should trigger school closures. Now what happens is that if parents the decide to keep (or allow) their children home, only those kids miss the learning, which puts them behind the other students. It's not like the teachers can't compress the information due to missed days, they can. But for kids that are bussed and end up at school an hour late, or parents that keep their children from walking to school due to the cold, they're screwed.

[MidTowner]

The fact that the route to school is not safe is another issue, and a big one. I don't know the ins and outs of bus eligibility, or whether that could be factored in to it to any degree, but I know it's not currently.

It was not too cold to walk (to school or anywhere else) per se last week. The humans on the prairies are the same as in southern Ontario, and if one dresses for it, one can get around.

My kids walk. Not three kilometres, admittedly! Though they're not high school aged, either. If a child can't walk for whatever reason, I think I can understand the reasoning the parents might be using, but I don't think it's reasonable for the whole system should be shut down. The vast majority of kids did get to school when it was open last week, so in retrospect keeping them open seemed reasonable.

Schools are closed today, because of freezing rain. I was just walking, and sidewalks were reasonable where I was. Looking at the traffic map, roads don't seem too bad. But the call must have been made a while ago, based on forecasts, so I can't expect it to be perfect. I guess sometimes schools close.

[jeffster]

The fact that the route to school is not safe is another issue, and a big one. I don't know the ins and outs of bus eligibility, or whether that could be factored in to it to any degree, but I know it's not currently.

It was not too cold to walk (to school or anywhere else) per se last week. The humans on the prairies are the same as in southern Ontario, and if one dresses for it, one can get around.

My kids walk. Not three kilometres, admittedly! Though they're not high school aged, either. If a child can't walk for whatever reason, I think I can understand the reasoning the parents might be using, but I don't think it's reasonable for the whole system should be shut down. The vast majority of kids did get to school when it was open last week, so in retrospect keeping them open seemed reasonable.

Schools are closed today, because of freezing rain. I was just walking, and sidewalks were reasonable where I was. Looking at the traffic map, roads don't seem too bad. But the call must have been made a while ago, based on forecasts, so I can't expect it to be perfect. I guess sometimes schools close.

Eligibility for WRDSB is set to this:

JK-SK: 800 meters
1-8: 1.6 KM
9-12: 3.2 KM

It was weird too, when he was in grade 6 and my daughter was in grade 7, his distance was 1500 meters, so he walked. My daughter was 1900 meters, so she was bussed.

Anyway, it doesn't seem that they consider safest route, they consider closest route. This is what I can't figure out.

He could use public transportation, but apparently there are some kids on that morning bus that he doesn't want to be around (not bullying, but too long of a story). Obviously too public transportation sucks because bus times are horrible.

Also, the closest high school (public) is 1900 meters, but we're not mapped to go there.

[robdrimmie]

Obviously too public transportation sucks because bus times are horrible.

I do have to note that this is not at all obvious. I commute by bus pretty much every week day from November through the end of February (and most of October and March) and the bus times are fantastic. That is equally not obvious, because it's very dependant on where we live and where we are going. I am sorry it's such a non-starter for your son though, that is true for a lot of folks, and really does stink.

[tomh009]

It was not too cold to walk (to school or anywhere else) per se last week. The humans on the prairies are the same as in southern Ontario, and if one dresses for it, one can get around.

This. It might be unpleasantly cold, but that doesn't mean it's unsafe.

[Spokes]

It's hard to imagine how parents could be upset reading well-reasoned explanations like that. The school board can't predict the future, and can only make an educated guess what to do based on weather forecasts and what roads and temperatures are likely to be.

Outhit doesn't actually identify what the outraged tweets were about. Is it because buses were delayed? Delays can be expected: most things move slower in the cold. Do parents think they should have been cancelled because it was so cold? The outraged parents themselves could have kept their kids home from school- or walked them to school instead of busing- if they didn't want them waiting for the bus. Again, with the expectation that unusual weather could result in bus delays.

My kid doesn't qualify for bussing, he's about 3,170 meters from school (closest route, but not a safe route), which is 30M short of receiving a bus (despite the safe route being closer to 3600 meters).  Anyway, I see this as a health issue; if they're saying it's not safe to be outside for more than 10 minutes, let's say, then perhaps they need to revise their policy.

Problem last week was for high school students, and those that half to walk far. It was exam week and my kid missed his exam, as did many others, as it simply was too cold to walk, and every service out there was running late. The teacher gave him a 'pass' for the credit, but 50% isn't a great mark for a report card, when he was at an 85%.

The board needs to keep in mind that this is Southern Ontario, not the prairies, and therefore record low temperatures should trigger school closures. Now what happens is that if parents the decide to keep (or allow) their children home, only those kids miss the learning, which puts them behind the other students. It's not like the teachers can't compress the information due to missed days, they can. But for kids that are bussed and end up at school an hour late, or parents that keep their children from walking to school due to the cold, they're screwed.

As an aside, if your kid was at an 85% and missed the exam the teacher CANNOT drop the mark to a 50, or really at all.  If you need more info PM me.

[Spokes]

Kitchener’s Huron Heights Secondary School overcrowded

Local boards are now seeking up to $64 million in provincial funding to build two new high schools, one Catholic and one public, both in south Kitchener. Public school planners may request a third new high school.

The former Liberal government said no last year. The Progressive Conservative government hasn't said when it will invite boards to ask again.

Local boards predict they'll have up to 7,100 more high school students by 2031. It's unclear if this projection will hold, based on actual growth, which has been slower.

https://www.therecord.com/news-story/916...ercrowded/

[KevinL]

I thought that school was a bit under-built when they opened it. Not too surprising that they need another.