When will makeup days be announced?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All of you “lets start earlier in August” folks either don’t realize or don’t care that teachers have to report sometimes up to two weeks in advance of students. Sorry but I also have kids I would like to spend time with and take on vacation. I am not doing in-service reporting in late July just so AP kids can have an extra two weeks to prepare for an exam. Call me selfish but it’s no more selfish than you caring about your kids AP score more than everyone else.

You can always quit if you must have a full August off like a European. You're not being asked to work more days. I have younger kids who aren't of AP age, and I still think that makes more sense than having this constant chaos around snow days in MCPS because they only built in 1 snow day into the calendar, and then want to add a few stupid half days in June that are more like daycare than school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All of you “lets start earlier in August” folks either don’t realize or don’t care that teachers have to report sometimes up to two weeks in advance of students. Sorry but I also have kids I would like to spend time with and take on vacation. I am not doing in-service reporting in late July just so AP kids can have an extra two weeks to prepare for an exam. Call me selfish but it’s no more selfish than you caring about your kids AP score more than everyone else.

You can always quit if you must have a full August off like a European. You're not being asked to work more days. I have younger kids who aren't of AP age, and I still think that makes more sense than having this constant chaos around snow days in MCPS because they only built in 1 snow day into the calendar, and then want to add a few stupid half days in June that are more like daycare than school.

You can also teach your own damn kids how to read

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All of you “lets start earlier in August” folks either don’t realize or don’t care that teachers have to report sometimes up to two weeks in advance of students. Sorry but I also have kids I would like to spend time with and take on vacation. I am not doing in-service reporting in late July just so AP kids can have an extra two weeks to prepare for an exam. Call me selfish but it’s no more selfish than you caring about your kids AP score more than everyone else.

You can always quit if you must have a full August off like a European. You're not being asked to work more days. I have younger kids who aren't of AP age, and I still think that makes more sense than having this constant chaos around snow days in MCPS because they only built in 1 snow day into the calendar, and then want to add a few stupid half days in June that are more like daycare than school.

You can also teach your own damn kids how to read

A lot of people can teach my "damn" kids to read. MCPS can recruit teachers from FCPS who start earlier in August, without your level of entitlement and drama.

[Anonymous]

As a teacher, I'd love to start earlier in August to have built in snow days. I know people make the argument that if we don't use the snow days then we've just gone extra days, but at least then I'm getting the extra pay. Then if we have snow days, I've still gotten paid for those days.

Plus, more built in snow days makes for better planning and consistency in the school year.

The last point I'll add is even if we didn't build in days, I'd prefer an earlier August start and earlier June release so more time is dedicated to instruction before state testing. And before anyone complains about sports, those schedules would adjust the same all the other school systems in other states do when they have an early or mid august start.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a teacher, I'd love to start earlier in August to have built in snow days. I know people make the argument that if we don't use the snow days then we've just gone extra days, but at least then I'm getting the extra pay. Then if we have snow days, I've still gotten paid for those days.

Plus, more built in snow days makes for better planning and consistency in the school year.

The last point I'll add is even if we didn't build in days, I'd prefer an earlier August start and earlier June release so more time is dedicated to instruction before state testing. And before anyone complains about sports, those schedules would adjust the same all the other school systems in other states do when they have an early or mid august start.

Oh I would totally agree on an earlier start if we got to end school Memorial Day weekend like we did in my district in West Virginia. Only problem with that is we still have the same no snow days built in dilemma and simply just moved the whole thing up 2 weeks. Starting 2 weeks earlier to still get out in mid June is stupid and ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From today's e-mail:

"At present, per state law, we need to make up four instructional days. There are two days that we have identified in the calendar that will be changed from non-instructional days to instructional days: March 20th will be a full instructional day. June 18th will be an early release instructional day and the new last day of the school year for students and staff. Other potential make up days are also being considered and some of those days may require additional approvals before being announced - none of those potential days are in February.

Like other localities in Maryland, we will be requesting a waiver from the state of some of the missed instructional days. Pending the outcome of that waiver, we will update our Make-Up plan and share that with you as soon as we know."

They can't get the waiver without using all their makeup days. They know this. They are just playing for time so that they have an excuse to add another two half days later in June. It's ridiculous. The last day of school will be June 23, 2026, if there are no more snow days. June 17, 18, 22, and 23 will be half-days.

No one wants to go later in June except the 12 month employees who work all year.

Then the union should be pressuring MCPS to use the earlier days. The waiver is not coming, as the conditions for approving a waiver are clear - all designated makeup days must have been used.

Summer break, which was already short, is going to be especially short this year.

Our summer break is one week longer than FCPS which has similar numbers of non-instructional days and an appropriate amount of snow days built into the calendar. We need to start earlier in August and avoid this chaos every year over inclement weather.

FCPS has an insane number of off days so no they don't have a similar number of days off during the year but 7 more. They started 6 weekdays earlier and had 180 days scheduled, but because they have SOOOOOOOOO MANY days off they have the longest non-year round school year I've ever heard of TEN SOLID MONTHS August 18-June 17. As for snow days they are in Virginia which has far more luxury in it's law then Maryland does.
The 2026 summer break is only a day longer at this time not a week as FCPS 26-27 calendar goes August 24-June 17 while MC is August 25-June 16.
---------------------------
Starting with the 2026-27 school year Maryland law needs to be revised to hours only and if that happens the teachers start gets moved from August 17 to 24 and the students August 24/25 to August 31/September 1. Summer is getting too short to fit in more holidays and still be required 180 days. I can't blame people for wanting their days off so simply go to hours to maintain instruction time and have a full summer.

[Anonymous]

+1 to above, let’s not aspire to FCPS’s 10-month 4-day/week model, please.

[Anonymous]

At least drop the transition day they had at th start of the school year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At least drop the transition day they had at th start of the school year.

Honestly I don't mind the transition day. By giving the kids a full day to operate their schedule it really cut down on the early year tardy numbers because these kids didn't get lost.

I would not be opposed to starting the school year on the Wednesday the previous week. Have the transition day on Wednesday and everyone else comes on Thursday and Friday. We get two extra snow days to make 3 total which honestly is probably the correct number to need on an average year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At least drop the transition day they had at th start of the school year.

Honestly I don't mind the transition day. By giving the kids a full day to operate their schedule it really cut down on the early year tardy numbers because these kids didn't get lost.

I would not be opposed to starting the school year on the Wednesday the previous week. Have the transition day on Wednesday and everyone else comes on Thursday and Friday. We get two extra snow days to make 3 total which honestly is probably the correct number to need on an average year.

Np. I don't mind the transition day in principle, but we can't seem to find other days for school. 3 snow days isn't enough based on current expectations for weather and snow removal conditions sufficient for opening.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At least drop the transition day they had at th start of the school year.

Honestly I don't mind the transition day. By giving the kids a full day to operate their schedule it really cut down on the early year tardy numbers because these kids didn't get lost.

I would not be opposed to starting the school year on the Wednesday the previous week. Have the transition day on Wednesday and everyone else comes on Thursday and Friday. We get two extra snow days to make 3 total which honestly is probably the correct number to need on an average year.

Np. I don't mind the transition day in principle, but we can't seem to find other days for school. 3 snow days isn't enough based on current expectations for weather and snow removal conditions sufficient for opening.

To me 3 feels perfect. In the event we do have that 4th closure we use one of the 2nd half teacher work days to fill in. Don't let recency bias distract you from the fact that in most years we are not seeing extended closures like this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At least drop the transition day they had at th start of the school year.

Honestly I don't mind the transition day. By giving the kids a full day to operate their schedule it really cut down on the early year tardy numbers because these kids didn't get lost.

I would not be opposed to starting the school year on the Wednesday the previous week. Have the transition day on Wednesday and everyone else comes on Thursday and Friday. We get two extra snow days to make 3 total which honestly is probably the correct number to need on an average year.

Np. I don't mind the transition day in principle, but we can't seem to find other days for school. 3 snow days isn't enough based on current expectations for weather and snow removal conditions sufficient for opening.

To me 3 feels perfect. In the event we do have that 4th closure we use one of the 2nd half teacher work days to fill in. Don't let recency bias distract you from the fact that in most years we are not seeing extended closures like this.

There was 4 last year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Taylor has to use the Makeup Days at this point, especially if he refuses to do virtual learning. When will those be announced? And do we think there's any chance he pulls back President's Day (since the state passed emergency waiver to use it), Lunar New Year, or Eid (March 20)?

Two days announced:
https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1313094.page

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a teacher, I'd love to start earlier in August to have built in snow days. I know people make the argument that if we don't use the snow days then we've just gone extra days, but at least then I'm getting the extra pay. Then if we have snow days, I've still gotten paid for those days.

Plus, more built in snow days makes for better planning and consistency in the school year.

The last point I'll add is even if we didn't build in days, I'd prefer an earlier August start and earlier June release so more time is dedicated to instruction before state testing. And before anyone complains about sports, those schedules would adjust the same all the other school systems in other states do when they have an early or mid august start.

+1

I’d happy teach year round if we didn’t have to have this uncertainty every year.