MCPS updated calendar is insane

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here's 2018-2019: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://teacherquality.nctq.org/dmsView/0285_18_2018-19_SchoolCalendar&ved=2ahUKEwjQ7LaSmeiSAxVXFlkFHR48GuQQFnoECBAQAQ&usg=AOvVaw2Bv9-dJpYrnJ4juwux-MaD

Looks like they used to have half days for end of quarter grading/planning instead of full.

They need to go back to that.

Yes, we can't have BOTH full-day grading days and take off every single religious holiday. I don't care which we get rid of, but it has to be one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here's 2018-2019: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://teacherquality.nctq.org/dmsView/0285_18_2018-19_SchoolCalendar&ved=2ahUKEwjQ7LaSmeiSAxVXFlkFHR48GuQQFnoECBAQAQ&usg=AOvVaw2Bv9-dJpYrnJ4juwux-MaD

Looks like they used to have half days for end of quarter grading/planning instead of full.

They need to go back to that.

Yes, we can't have BOTH full-day grading days and take off every single religious holiday. I don't care which we get rid of, but it has to be one.

Or you start one week earlier in August like FCPS dose, and which also has a lot of religious holidays built in (and 3 snow days, unlike stupid MCPS which only puts in 1). There are a lot of options here that are preferrable to this annual chaos around MCPS snow days.

Where I grew up we had 3 snow days. If they weren't used, school ended earlier. If there were more than 3 snow days, they were added on in June. There wasn't this drama and constantly shifting calendars like MCPS does.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:March 20 and April 15 are not planned as religious holidays, are workdays for teachers, and are literally listed as "Designated Make-up Day" in their own calendar:
https://publisher.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/pdf/2025-2026%20Traditional%20and%20Innovative%20School%20Year%20Calendars.pdf

Why didn't MCPS use April 15? They preferred the optics of taking away the Muslim's community single holiday to dealing with the teacher's union?

Listen, I get why Muslims would be irritated that their holiday would be used as a make up day, although the better time to speak up should have been back when it was identified as a make up day in the first place. And I get why they didn’t want to claw back the professional day on 4/15, although they should’ve thought of that ahead of time, too. All that being said, in preventing irritation over these two days and a difficult choice, they’ve now pretty much irritated all families and staff, including Muslims & teachers, but also pretty much everyone else, who definitely do not want to extend to June 25.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Zero chance school will EVER start a week earlier than it already does.... UNLESS it ENDS a week earlier. Teachers unions are very strong and teachers DO NOT want to come back a week earlier. I'm trying to figure out how when Hogan was in office, we managed to start after Labor Day and end by June 15 while still going 180 days??? I think the BOE and Taylor need to review the old calendars from those 8 years.

Actually I think a lot of the HS teachers support an earlier start date due to the AP issues, graduations, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I love it, the people who complained about having their kids home are now complaining that they have to go to school.

We were complaining that they were home BECAUSE it would mean they have to go to school until the end of June.

[Anonymous]

I wonder if we could start a week earlier and have a flexible end date. Build the schedule for 185 school days. If theres no closures by March 1st, then allow for schools to close a week early.

[Anonymous]

And if we get a few flakes Sunday, are they going to close Monday? What happens then?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And if we get a few flakes Sunday, are they going to close Monday? What happens then?

Probably turn the last two half days into full days and hope nobody cares

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:By using religious holidays as contingency days, they are setting themselves up for problems. They either need to use non-religious days or plan to go til end of June.

If we only use non-religious days as the contingency plan, it would require using spring break as the contingency days. I am ok with that, but lots of people are not. The bottom line is that there is no way to fit in all the days that everyone wants to have off without going earlier at the start of the year or later at the end of the year. It is time to make some hard decisions for future years.

They could start earlier in the year and add more days into the calendar. And they could use the PD days like the end-of-quarter planning days, although some of these are already contingency days and MCPS refuses to use them too.

I guarantee the county would be upset if schools opened up while the Agricultural Fair is in session. They invest a TON of money into the fair and the fairgrounds and if everyone is in school they will lose a ton

So what? MCPS is not the county gov't.

They do not work independently of each other for the most part.

Sure they do. I was required to go to jury duty on the Thursday after the Sunday storm. County offices were open. Just not MCPS. If MCPS wants to be special, it shouldn’t care about the ag fair…

The county uses like 40 school busses for fair operation from like 10 am -10 pm. Thats going to go over well with school in session

The fair ends by like the 15th. MCPS can start earlier and not interfere with the fair.

I agree one week earlier could work. Any earlier than that and there are just too many issues

With this new extension, we are already down to an 8 week summer. It used to be 10. A 7 week summer is not ok.

It wouldn't be a 7 week summer, it would br shifting to a 9 week summer rather than 10. It's only 8 this year because 1) labor day was so late they needed a "reset" to shift the start date earlier, leading to a 9 week summer this year in particular, and 2) because they didn't build in snow days and so needed to add an extra week at the end. 2) will not be the case in future years because the whole point of starting a week earlier is to build in the snow days, and 1) won't be the case either most years, just every once in a while.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It was an fing state of emergency for 2 if not 3 of those days! Wtf do they expect???

yet the Mall, five guys, starbucks, Cava was packed with kids for most of those days of kids who could not get to school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:March 20 and April 15 are not planned as religious holidays, are workdays for teachers, and are literally listed as "Designated Make-up Day" in their own calendar:
https://publisher.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/pdf/2025-2026%20Traditional%20and%20Innovative%20School%20Year%20Calendars.pdf

Why didn't MCPS use April 15? They preferred the optics of taking away the Muslim's community single holiday to dealing with the teacher's union?

Listen, I get why Muslims would be irritated that their holiday would be used as a make up day, although the better time to speak up should have been back when it was identified as a make up day in the first place. And I get why they didn’t want to claw back the professional day on 4/15, although they should’ve thought of that ahead of time, too. All that being said, in preventing irritation over these two days and a difficult choice, they’ve now pretty much irritated all families and staff, including Muslims & teachers, but also pretty much everyone else, who definitely do not want to extend to June 25.

Ash Wed school was open so what. My kids school non MCPS canceled Presidents day to make up days. They are not extending school year just canceled BS holidays.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:By using religious holidays as contingency days, they are setting themselves up for problems. They either need to use non-religious days or plan to go til end of June.

If we only use non-religious days as the contingency plan, it would require using spring break as the contingency days. I am ok with that, but lots of people are not. The bottom line is that there is no way to fit in all the days that everyone wants to have off without going earlier at the start of the year or later at the end of the year. It is time to make some hard decisions for future years.

They could start earlier in the year and add more days into the calendar. And they could use the PD days like the end-of-quarter planning days, although some of these are already contingency days and MCPS refuses to use them too.

I guarantee the county would be upset if schools opened up while the Agricultural Fair is in session. They invest a TON of money into the fair and the fairgrounds and if everyone is in school they will lose a ton

So what? MCPS is not the county gov't.

They do not work independently of each other for the most part.

Sure they do. I was required to go to jury duty on the Thursday after the Sunday storm. County offices were open. Just not MCPS. If MCPS wants to be special, it shouldn’t care about the ag fair…

The county uses like 40 school busses for fair operation from like 10 am -10 pm. Thats going to go over well with school in session

The fair ends by like the 15th. MCPS can start earlier and not interfere with the fair.

I agree one week earlier could work. Any earlier than that and there are just too many issues

With this new extension, we are already down to an 8 week summer. It used to be 10. A 7 week summer is not ok.

It wouldn't be a 7 week summer, it would br shifting to a 9 week summer rather than 10. It's only 8 this year because 1) labor day was so late they needed a "reset" to shift the start date earlier, leading to a 9 week summer this year in particular, and 2) because they didn't build in snow days and so needed to add an extra week at the end. 2) will not be the case in future years because the whole point of starting a week earlier is to build in the snow days, and 1) won't be the case either most years, just every once in a while.

The 26-27 calendar ends 6/17/27. So if you start a week earlier (8/16/27 instead of 8/23/27 which matches the start date this year of 8/24/26 for the transition day), you would have an 8 week summer in 2027, not 9. That would mean a preservice week starting August 9, sports starting August 2? and very limited time for summer school, building repairs/improvements that cannot be done while school is in session, etc.). School systems that start that early tend to end in early June or even the end of May. Few school systems have such a short summer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who is sending their kids from June 22-25??? But with a day off on June 23? Who comes up with these idiotic decisions??

More to the point, where are they going to get the money to pay staff to work then. And don't start with that "they got paid with the snow days" bullshit. They're going to have to be paid. For Juneteenth, too.

MCPS employee here.... If I remember correctly, we got paid for make-up days last year. And this poster is correct. They probably will have to pay for Juneteenth and election day. Taylor said in the meeting that for each additional day that schools are open, it costs 2 million TAXPAYER dollars per day (that was his quote).

I don't think that's accurate. We were paid for days we did not work when the schools were closed, and so we have to work them at the end instead, but it doesn't change our contracted days worked and salary. In 2023-24 there was an MOU that stated that dealt with virtual instruction and extending the school year, but that MOU is expired.

[Anonymous]

While most teachers would probably not mind working on April 15th as opposed to the days in June, it's a very dangerous and slippery slope to cave so easily on union negotiated terms. If the union gives this day up, it will set a precedent for the future that MCPS can continue to renege and deny union negotiated terms.

It's nothing personal it's just smart labor negotiation that any union in any job field would do the same.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Zero chance school will EVER start a week earlier than it already does.... UNLESS it ENDS a week earlier. Teachers unions are very strong and teachers DO NOT want to come back a week earlier. I'm trying to figure out how when Hogan was in office, we managed to start after Labor Day and end by June 15 while still going 180 days??? I think the BOE and Taylor need to review the old calendars from those 8 years.

Actually I think a lot of the HS teachers support an earlier start date due to the AP issues, graduations, etc.

And some teachers would be happy to have a more well planned calendar where start in August but don’t have to worry about an extra week in June added to their employment in February when they have already made other plans.