Will voting out the school board make the school calendar sane again?

[Anonymous]

Yes. Vote out the extreme left/liberal school board for some moderates or Republicans. The school year is way too long, there are too many days off for religious holidays, too many teacher workdays and professional development days. The school board prioritizes politics over what is best for students. Vote them out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Create your own calendar. What do you remove (25/26 version)? Italicized are federal holidays (plus the two embedded in Winter Break). Total of 39 days.

Labor Day (x2) - dictated by law, unable to be removed
Sept. 9th - special election, teacher workday
Rosh Hashanah
Yom Kippur
Columbus/Indigenous - staff development
Diwali
Nov. 3 - School planning day (end of Q1)
Nov. 4 - Election and teacher workday (end of Q1)
Veteran's Day
Thanksgiving (x3)
Winter Break (x10)
MLK day
Jan. 29 - Staff Development (end of Q2)
Jan. 30 - Teacher Workday (end of Q2)
President's Day
Lunar New Year - Teacher Workday
Eid al-Fitr
Spring Break (x5)
Apr. 6 - Teacher Workday (end of Q3)
Orthodox Good Friday - School Planning Day
Memorial Day
May. 26 - Teacher Workday
May. 27 - Eid al-Adha

Off the top of my head? The day before Election Day, Veterans Day (historically HAS been a school day in FCPS), Wednesday before Thanksgiving, Lunar New Year (sorry, hard to justify as this isn’t even a religious holiday), and whatever hot mess they have going on at the end of the school year with Memorial Day leading into Eid - maybe make it known that there will be a larger number of absences that day that may affect staffing. That’s 5 days, a whole school week right there. We could be getting out June 10th instead of the 17th.

Winter break is hard this year because of when Christmas falls (and new years, a week later). But in 2027, Christmas will be on a Saturday. And they should be in school Monday-Wednesday before Christmas and then go back Monday 1/3.

Also, the Special Election Day. With early voting, not nearly as many people at the polls. We were in and out in five minutes --maybe five other voters there at the time--and our precinct has strong voting.

That just canceled one day of school-went from 180 days to 179. Although snow days aren't usually given back if not used, they should make the exception this year. End the year by June 10th if not June 5th.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What's so insane about the school year calendar? I think it's great that we're observing religious holidays beyond the Christian ones.

We don't observe the Christian holidays.

Easter is on a sunday. So it is never observed by FCPS.

Christmas is a federal holdiay, on a week that every industry in our area including most of the federal government shuts down.

Christmas would be off no matter what, for secular reasons.

The schools don’t have to close for a federal holiday. They chose to do so, in this case because they’re observing Christmas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes. Vote out the extreme left/liberal school board for some moderates or Republicans. The school year is way too long, there are too many days off for religious holidays, too many teacher workdays and professional development days. The school board prioritizes politics over what is best for students. Vote them out.

Get the moderate republicans to run and it might happen. Run on normal school calendars.

[Anonymous]

The calendars are a disgrace because they’re not pedagogically supported— it’s 100% about the adults (teachers clamoring for more time off, board members clamoring for THEIR religious holidays) and not about the students or families public institutions should serve. The hypocrisy of combining a calendar like this with the constant harping about attendance is nauseating— FCPS doesn’t want kids in school, but they really want to scold.

So my calendar of preference: no religious holidays, even Christmas, are school-wide closures. There is a week long winter break at New Year which may or may not include Christmas depending on the way the calendar falls.

BUT any absence for religious observance is excused. No one is penalized for being out, for example, Christmas Eve or Diwali.

Teacher work days are on less important Federal holidays (no a teacher shouldn’t have to work Labor Day but Columbus Day seems fair) or Election Day.

[Anonymous]

Election Day is not a federal holiday.

FCPS used to have school on Veterans Day when I was a kid. My parents loved it because they had a day off without the kids. Generally back then, FCPS gave federal holidays, major election days, plus the teacher workdays, that’s it. Schools remained open for minor election days. They opened a “specials” classroom by the front door for voting while school continued on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What's so insane about the school year calendar? I think it's great that we're observing religious holidays beyond the Christian ones.

Well, Christian holidays weren't recognized (until they added the Orthodox ones with all the others), so you're just wrong.

If you want religious holidays, go private.

I’ve been saying this! Agree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What's so insane about the school year calendar? I think it's great that we're observing religious holidays beyond the Christian ones.

We don't observe the Christian holidays.

Easter is on a sunday. So it is never observed by FCPS.

Christmas is a federal holdiay, on a week that every industry in our area including most of the federal government shuts down.

Christmas would be off no matter what, for secular reasons.

It’s no coincidence that spring break always falls the week before Easter, or that winter break aligns with Christmas. The fact that many Christian holidays already fall on weekends, and are still widely observed, shows how deeply our western calendars are structured around Christian traditions. And I understand why; the country was founded on those roots. But centuries later, we’ve become a diverse population, and it’s time our schedules reflected that.

Winter break aligns with Christmas because Christmas is one of our original national holidays, where the entire nation closes, followed 7 days later by another major national holiday, new years, where everything in the country closes again.

Between the 9 days from Christmas Eve through New Years Day, there are 4 out of the 9 days closed for the federal holiday, plus at least 2 weekend days in the mix.

This means that even if we only took off 24th/25th and 31st/1st, there are only 3 possible days this week when school could occur, and no ine but you would show up.

Christmas is a national holiday because it’s rooted in Christianity. It was designated as such long before our population became as diverse as it is today. The argument that schools couldn’t possibly hold classes between Christmas and New Year’s doesn’t really hold up; we often have school or work days that fall between holidays at other times of the year. The reason we don’t during this stretch isn’t logistical. It’s cultural tradition. And that tradition reflects how our national calendar has historically centered around Christian observances.

I think Christmas is more a tradition and culture versus religious.
I don’t believe in god but still celebrate Christmas because it is fun. It is a federal holiday and like others of have country is shut down. Anyway - I’d be fine with the 24th-2nd off. I don’t need two weeks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please tell me how to vote to get any improvement to this horrific school calendar that is a complete atrocity to working families and disservice too kids trying to learn. I don’t care if I have to vote blue, red or purple - it just needs to change for next year.

The calendars are planned out for the next three years. Take a look at them now and start planning ahead for childcare. Here are some ideas.

(When I had a school-aged child, my husband and I took turns taking days off. Or we would partner with another family and take turns that way. You're going to need to start working with other families as your kids get older anyway. Having a parent carpool saved us when our daughter was in high school sports and didn't have her license yet. She had to be picked up after school every day.)

1. Community and Local Program Options

Park Authority Day Camps: Fairfax County Park Authority often offers one-day “Schools Out” camps or workshops at recreation centers. These usually run 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. and include sports, crafts, and games.

Local YMCAs or JCCs: Many host “Schools Out” programs with flexible drop-off and pickup times.

STEM or Art Centers: Look for one-day workshops at places like Code Ninjas, iCode, ArtSpace, or local pottery/painting studios.

Sports Clubs: Soccer, basketball, and gymnastics facilities sometimes offer day clinics during school breaks.

2. Parent-Organized Solutions

Childcare Swap: Partner with a few trusted families to rotate childcare duties on teacher workdays. Each parent takes one day off work to host a small group of kids.

Shared Sitter/Nanny Pool: Team up with neighbors to hire one sitter for a group of children—lowering costs and adding built-in playmates.

High School Helpers: Many responsible high school students are available for daytime babysitting on no-school days. Ask through neighborhood groups or school parent chats.

3. Flexible Work Options

Adjust Work Hours: If possible, shift hours earlier or later to accommodate a partial day at home.

Remote Work Day: Some parents coordinate with their managers to work from home when schools close.

Split Schedule with a Partner or Friend: One parent covers the morning, another covers the afternoon—so neither has to take a full day off.

Clearly written by someone not dealing with this.

It is also just about child care. Consistency is better for learning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Create your own calendar. What do you remove (25/26 version)? Italicized are federal holidays (plus the two embedded in Winter Break). Total of 39 days.

Labor Day (x2) - dictated by law, unable to be removed
Sept. 9th - special election, teacher workday
Rosh Hashanah
Yom Kippur
Columbus/Indigenous - staff development
Diwali
Nov. 3 - School planning day (end of Q1)
Nov. 4 - Election and teacher workday (end of Q1)
Veteran's Day
Thanksgiving (x3)
Winter Break (x10)
MLK day
Jan. 29 - Staff Development (end of Q2)
Jan. 30 - Teacher Workday (end of Q2)
President's Day
Lunar New Year - Teacher Workday
Eid al-Fitr
Spring Break (x5)
Apr. 6 - Teacher Workday (end of Q3)
Orthodox Good Friday - School Planning Day
Memorial Day
May. 26 - Teacher Workday
May. 27 - Eid al-Adha

We only started having Veteran's Day off two years ago. We should also remove Eid - it's ridiculous to have a holiday that changes a few weeks before the day. We can't plan for it. It should be an excused absence.

They can’t remove Eid. The last year we had school on Eid, it was very dicey in special education with so many IAs and bus drivers out. That’s a liability that the county just can’t tolerate. I was so grateful we made it through that day safely.

There are clearly operational issues with some of the holidays. I've asked this before and didn't receive a response - what do you think that the response would be if only the Eids were off and not Yom Kippur/Rosh Hashahana?

[Anonymous]

Question:

Are Diwali and Lunar New Year religious holidays--or just cultural holidays?

As for Eid. I guess I was okay with it until they messed around with the AP tests. It is a moving target and I don't think it is a good idea for that reason.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Create your own calendar. What do you remove (25/26 version)? Italicized are federal holidays (plus the two embedded in Winter Break). Total of 39 days.

Labor Day (x2) - dictated by law, unable to be removed
Sept. 9th - special election, teacher workday
Rosh Hashanah
Yom Kippur
Columbus/Indigenous - staff development
Diwali
Nov. 3 - School planning day (end of Q1)
Nov. 4 - Election and teacher workday (end of Q1)
Veteran's Day
Thanksgiving (x3)
Winter Break (x10)
MLK day
Jan. 29 - Staff Development (end of Q2)
Jan. 30 - Teacher Workday (end of Q2)
President's Day
Lunar New Year - Teacher Workday
Eid al-Fitr
Spring Break (x5)
Apr. 6 - Teacher Workday (end of Q3)
Orthodox Good Friday - School Planning Day
Memorial Day
May. 26 - Teacher Workday
May. 27 - Eid al-Adha

We only started having Veteran's Day off two years ago. We should also remove Eid - it's ridiculous to have a holiday that changes a few weeks before the day. We can't plan for it. It should be an excused absence.

They can’t remove Eid. The last year we had school on Eid, it was very dicey in special education with so many IAs and bus drivers out. That’s a liability that the county just can’t tolerate. I was so grateful we made it through that day safely.

There are clearly operational issues with some of the holidays. I've asked this before and didn't receive a response - what do you think that the response would be if only the Eids were off and not Yom Kippur/Rosh Hashahana?

There are absolutely operational issues with some of the religious holidays. But people on here will swear up and down that the reason we have the Jewish holidays and the Muslim holidays and Diwali and Lunar New Year is because there was such a demand for them and isn’t it great that we’re multi-cultural. When really, it’s because they couldn’t get enough IA’s on Eid, but giving just the Eid holidays as days off school but nothing else, would be horrible optics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What's so insane about the school year calendar? I think it's great that we're observing religious holidays beyond the Christian ones.

We don't observe the Christian holidays.

Easter is on a sunday. So it is never observed by FCPS.

Christmas is a federal holdiay, on a week that every industry in our area including most of the federal government shuts down.

Christmas would be off no matter what, for secular reasons.

It’s no coincidence that spring break always falls the week before Easter, or that winter break aligns with Christmas. The fact that many Christian holidays already fall on weekends, and are still widely observed, shows how deeply our western calendars are structured around Christian traditions. And I understand why; the country was founded on those roots. But centuries later, we’ve become a diverse population, and it’s time our schedules reflected that.

If you want religious holidays, then go private. If you want a different calendar, feel free to move to another country.

FCPS tried to move Spring Break from Easter but if failed horribly. Christmas is one day and not a specific school holiday. Feel free to advocate for a shorter or different Winter Break.

-Incorrect. At the non secular private schools they have breaks into between quarter with the standard "winter break" being around a Christian holiday. Spring break was 2 weeks and always in March, school year finished up late May. Great schedule!
You were probably thinking only religious schools.

Religious schools don't schedule spring break in Holy Week. That is a week for fasting, prayer, and attending church, not partying on the beach.

Spring break tied to Easter is a uniquely northern Virginia public school thing.

False. It is not a NOVA public school thing. I grew up five states away, and my school system always tied spring break to Easter. So did my university.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Create your own calendar. What do you remove (25/26 version)? Italicized are federal holidays (plus the two embedded in Winter Break). Total of 39 days.

Labor Day (x2) - dictated by law, unable to be removed
Sept. 9th - special election, teacher workday
Rosh Hashanah
Yom Kippur
Columbus/Indigenous - staff development
Diwali
Nov. 3 - School planning day (end of Q1)
Nov. 4 - Election and teacher workday (end of Q1)
Veteran's Day
Thanksgiving (x3)
Winter Break (x10)
MLK day
Jan. 29 - Staff Development (end of Q2)
Jan. 30 - Teacher Workday (end of Q2)
President's Day
Lunar New Year - Teacher Workday
Eid al-Fitr
Spring Break (x5)
Apr. 6 - Teacher Workday (end of Q3)
Orthodox Good Friday - School Planning Day
Memorial Day
May. 26 - Teacher Workday
May. 27 - Eid al-Adha

Off the top of my head? The day before Election Day, Veterans Day (historically HAS been a school day in FCPS), Wednesday before Thanksgiving, Lunar New Year (sorry, hard to justify as this isn’t even a religious holiday), and whatever hot mess they have going on at the end of the school year with Memorial Day leading into Eid - maybe make it known that there will be a larger number of absences that day that may affect staffing. That’s 5 days, a whole school week right there. We could be getting out June 10th instead of the 17th.

Winter break is hard this year because of when Christmas falls (and new years, a week later). But in 2027, Christmas will be on a Saturday. And they should be in school Monday-Wednesday before Christmas and then go back Monday 1/3.

Also, the Special Election Day. With early voting, not nearly as many people at the polls. We were in and out in five minutes --maybe five other voters there at the time--and our precinct has strong voting.

That just canceled one day of school-went from 180 days to 179. Although snow days aren't usually given back if not used, they should make the exception this year. End the year by June 10th if not June 5th.

They are counting hours. I don’t think they can just lop a week or two off the end of the student calendar, although they seem to be able to do it at the HS level every year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What's so insane about the school year calendar? I think it's great that we're observing religious holidays beyond the Christian ones.

Do you have a job? If I have to explain this to you, you clearly do not have younger children and work full time.

NP, but don't you have childcare if you have a job? We are a dual parents working outside the home family and used SACC and they were almost always open on the single days off. The local martial arts places do the same. What kind of childcare are you using that you don't have coverage for these days?

I will agree, though, that I don't like how short the summers have gotten. Makes it hard for high school kids to get jobs, attend camps, etc.

WRONG. SACC is closed on most of those days now. https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/neighborhood-community-services/sites/neighborhood-community-services/files/Assets/documents/sacc/pdfs/sacc-calendar.pdf

Oh wow. No, I did not realize that SACC was closed on so many school holidays. Is SACC closed just for the religious holidays but open on the school workdays?