DCPS asks parents to "create your own calendar proposal" for SY 26-29

[Anonymous]

You got to be kidding me. How is this even meeting ADA compliance as a way to seek feedback?

Website here....it involves download an Excel template, filling it out, and sending back to the Central Office. WTF.

https://dcps.dc.gov/page/sy-26-29-calendar-engagement

[Anonymous]

Why do they continuously make things so difficult? They could have made it a simple survey, do you want 1/1/26 off, yes or no. Do you want 1/2/26 off, yes or no, etc etc.

[Anonymous]

Y'all, this is a direct response to people constantly complaining about every single aspect of the calendar and how "it's so easy" to create a calendar that meets all legal requirements for days of instruction, union requirements for PD days, builds in make-up days for school cancellation, and navigates around all federal and municipal holidays plus stuff like Election Day.

No one is going to submit a calendar that is magically better than whatever DCPS comes up with, and that's the point. This is an exercise in people learning a lesson about why whining constantly about stuff like school ending on a Tuesday or "why did you get rid of February break" or "why do we have a February break" or whatever.

ADA compliance, good lord. Some of you have made complaining about schools one of your core personality traits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why do they continuously make things so difficult? They could have made it a simple survey, do you want 1/1/26 off, yes or no. Do you want 1/2/26 off, yes or no, etc etc.

LOL, yes, so simple to just put every single day up for a vote and then put a calendar together based on the results. What could go wrong.

[Anonymous]

Well this new way is a great non example of equity that DCPS goes on and on about. Don’t have a computer? Too bad. Can’t figure out excel? Too bad. Who outside highly educated people are going to mess with this? Definitely not the engagement DCPS claimed to care so much about.

[Anonymous]

Should we all rally together to make a DCUM-approved calendar? If a bunch of us submit the same calendar, it will likely have an outsized influence on the results.

Personally? My big rock issues are:
-Bring back February full week holiday
-Last day of school on a Friday
-Move up spring break by a week or two, its so damn late with Emancipation Day.

Next year has lots of random 4 day weekends for no discernable reason other than because they messed with the traditional February holiday week. It's really hard to get any care or coverage for random 4-day weekends. We do much better with just a full week in February - lots of commercial camp/childcare options filled the void.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well this new way is a great non example of equity that DCPS goes on and on about. Don’t have a computer? Too bad. Can’t figure out excel? Too bad. Who outside highly educated people are going to mess with this? Definitely not the engagement DCPS claimed to care so much about.

Good thing it is not a requirement to fill out...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Should we all rally together to make a DCUM-approved calendar? If a bunch of us submit the same calendar, it will likely have an outsized influence on the results.

Personally? My big rock issues are:
-Bring back February full week holiday
-Last day of school on a Friday
-Move up spring break by a week or two, its so damn late with Emancipation Day.

Next year has lots of random 4 day weekends for no discernable reason other than because they messed with the traditional February holiday week. It's really hard to get any care or coverage for random 4-day weekends. We do much better with just a full week in February - lots of commercial camp/childcare options filled the void.

Hear, hear.

(And after that, lets propose a better budget and restructure DCIAA. And I'm only half joking.)

[Anonymous]

My understanding is that they did away with the four half days for report card prep (which counted as full days toward the 180) in response to caregiver feedback, so the year goes on longer. I’m a teacher and a parent and frankly I think it’s easier for me to take leave for a half day than find and pay for camp on a random Wednesday and end on a Monday in late June. I won’t speak for the majority of teachers, but I know I’m not the only one who thinks most PD days are an epic waste of time and I would happily do away with them if it meant ending earlier and/or not having two-day weeks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well this new way is a great non example of equity that DCPS goes on and on about. Don’t have a computer? Too bad. Can’t figure out excel? Too bad. Who outside highly educated people are going to mess with this? Definitely not the engagement DCPS claimed to care so much about.

Good thing it is not a requirement to fill out...

Absolutely. Hopefully this ends all the equity talk in DCPS. Since they obviously don’t care themselves

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well this new way is a great non example of equity that DCPS goes on and on about. Don’t have a computer? Too bad. Can’t figure out excel? Too bad. Who outside highly educated people are going to mess with this? Definitely not the engagement DCPS claimed to care so much about.

This is not the only way to provide feedback on the calendar. It is simply a new way to do it, in addition to the way it's always been done, which is that they will put out a proposed calendar and there will be a period for comments/feedback before they finalize. You can still provide comments/feedback during the review period.

But now ALSO if you are so convinced you can put together a calendar that works, go ahead and do it. The number of people who do this will be quite small, not for equity reasons, but because the vast majority of people don't actually want to deal with the logistical nightmare that is trying to compose a school year calendar. I also bet that 100% of the calendars that do get submitted will be impossible to implement because they will lack adequate in-service days, PD days, raise major objections from the teachers union, or otherwise have fundamental issues making them unworkable. Even if some submitted schedules meet all those requirements, the people who complain about schedules will also complain about those schedules (there are simply divisions within the district on certain aspects of scheduling, especially the timing, duration, and frequency of breaks).

There is no equity issue here. The people claiming there is one are like Twitter bots and will scream equity about literally everything.

[Anonymous]

The amount of bloat in central office and they can’t even design a calendar?! They truly suck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well this new way is a great non example of equity that DCPS goes on and on about. Don’t have a computer? Too bad. Can’t figure out excel? Too bad. Who outside highly educated people are going to mess with this? Definitely not the engagement DCPS claimed to care so much about.

This is not the only way to provide feedback on the calendar. It is simply a new way to do it, in addition to the way it's always been done, which is that they will put out a proposed calendar and there will be a period for comments/feedback before they finalize. You can still provide comments/feedback during the review period.

But now ALSO if you are so convinced you can put together a calendar that works, go ahead and do it. The number of people who do this will be quite small, not for equity reasons, but because the vast majority of people don't actually want to deal with the logistical nightmare that is trying to compose a school year calendar. I also bet that 100% of the calendars that do get submitted will be impossible to implement because they will lack adequate in-service days, PD days, raise major objections from the teachers union, or otherwise have fundamental issues making them unworkable. Even if some submitted schedules meet all those requirements, the people who complain about schedules will also complain about those schedules (there are simply divisions within the district on certain aspects of scheduling, especially the timing, duration, and frequency of breaks).

There is no equity issue here. The people claiming there is one are like Twitter bots and will scream equity about literally everything.

OP here:
Download the Excel template. It forces you to fill it out in such a way that meets requirements for service days (min 180, max 185), requisite PD and record days, PTC days, etc. It's pretty cool. But no way in hell does this meet any of DCPS's equity goals.

I'll post up my completed calendar if anyone else wants to download and submit it to DCPS.

My revised big rock issues:
-Return of February break
-Moving up spring break by a week or two
-Last day of school later in the week (either Thursday or Friday)

[Anonymous]

They are going to design their own calendar. They are not going to use any of the submitted calendars. This is purely to get feedback from parents and in particular to solicit feedback from the people how hate every calendar.

They'll wind up putting a calendar together the way they do every time. And then people will complain about it endlessly. But at least then they'll be able to say "you had a chance to submit a calendar of your own -- you either didn't do so or the calander you submitted couldn't get consensus support."

Central office has a ton of problems but as someone who has worked in city/state government and dealt with the people who complain about stuff that is always, by necessity, a compromise, I kind of respect this. Everyone thinks they can design a better calendar. Okay then -- do it. I bet you can't.

[Anonymous]

Now I get why they are seeking feedback - Labor Day is not until September 7 in 2026. People will go nuts if school doesn't start until Aug 31.

Other option is kids have two full weeks of school before Labor Day. I'm OK with that.