School board "snow days"

[bright sparks]

This makes so much more sense to me! I always found it odd that if it was too unsafe for buses to be on the road then teacher's shouldn't be on the road either! When I was teaching there would be 1-2 teachers per school that didn't make it in, since numbers were a bit lower in each class due to no buses we'd shuffle kids around to stay in ratio. Also, since not all kids were present regular teaching wouldn't take place but "snow day activities" instead, fun games and extra learning activities.

Funny how different provinces do things...and how easily we forget that 'our; way isn't everyone's way!

Maybe it's a board thing not a province thing. Snow day in Halton and Niagara board means the schools are closed. Buses are cancelled all the time but that's seperate and is not something the schools have any control over. It's the bus companies call. If it's a snow day don't drop your child off, at the most there will be administrators there. Schools are officially closed!

I've had teachers kids who worked in both boards and I've had my own kids in both too so clarified the actual true meaning

[momofnerds]

My rule is that I'm open BUT if your not going to work because of weather conditions DO NOT risk the lives of your children to bring them to daycare. Plain stupid if you do so you can have the day off.

[mickyc]

For myself when there are big storms I always seem to have all the daycare kids no matter what. My husband always finds it odd that he can't make it to work sometimes (he drives 1.5 hours to work) but I always have all the daycare kids no matter what. Parents still have to work and when they don't have a great deal of driving to do to get there then so be it. I usually find most parents pick up early those days just to make sure they aren't late. I guess we'll see how this winter goes as I have a couple different families.

[Busy ECE mommy]

I'm in Halton, and I was referring to complete school closures, not buses being cancelled and schools still open. When I worked in a centre, all the licensed daycares were closed if the school board was closed, so I wondered if I should put the same policy in place, that I close if the schools are closed. My street is treacherous, due to lack of plowing, sometimes with 2 or more feet of snow high(for days) I know the teachers will be at home. I also find that on bad weather days, my parents are always late-they don't plan to leave early or send an emergency person for pickup, so I'm always stuck with a bunch of late kids-it drives me crazy!

[bright sparks]

I'm in Halton, and I was referring to complete school closures, not buses being cancelled and schools still open. When I worked in a centre, all the licensed daycares were closed if the school board was closed, so I wondered if I should put the same policy in place, that I close if the schools are closed. My street is treacherous, due to lack of plowing, sometimes with 2 or more feet of snow high(for days) I know the teachers will be at home. I also find that on bad weather days, my parents are always late-they don't plan to leave early or send an emergency person for pickup, so I'm always stuck with a bunch of late kids-it drives me crazy!

That sounds pretty awful!! The thing with closing is that for those parents who can get to work, they can not go to work if you close. You can't please everyone I know, but by closing when your ability to offer care is not impaired, I'd be pretty frustrated if I was a parent. It could potentially cause financial hardship for a parent which may not be your problem, but in my opinion, you have no reason to close of your own. Whether a parent chooses to come to daycare or not is their choice. Some people will have that choice taken away from them if they are snowed in or have a long commute on dangerous unplowed routes but by closing you are penalizing those who can go to work and need to work. Reinforce your policies for late pick up and on bad weather days verbally and to their face remind them to allow extra time because should they be late, you are still charging regardless of the weather. We live in Canada and should prepare for these things. Fortunately in the last 10 years in Halton, there haven't been even a handful of these situations causing mass closures, but it sounds like your location is a real issue when it comes to road clearing.

Just to add as well, I wouldn't be looking to lose over $200 of income due to a snow day that does not in any shape or form restrict my ability to do my job. It may be thoughtful to a parent's circumstances, but that doesn't pay my bills and is a no brainer to me.