Melanie Meren's FB post about the calendar

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry, love the non-5 day weeks. They are great. Summer is such a pain to plan, and we (and most of our friends) much prefer a day here and there, rather than additional weeks in the summer.

I agree! We love the 4 day weeks! It really helps with the sleep for middle and high schoolers.

Time to be a parent. The entire school system doesn't operate around the needs of your special child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People are mad about this year. I get it. But next year’s calendar and the year after is fine.

Meren voted for these calendars and supported them. Very odd that she chooses NOW to say she is ready to act? What is going on with her?

Because you can only make policy changes while people are mad. You think they’ll end early release in a year when everyone isn’t mad?

Government is supposed to move slow on things like this. You are reacting to snow days and unable to pull out of the emotional reaction to see that it isn’t really the calendar, it is the snow days that is making this year so hard.

The calendar is absolutely the problem. There was an extra week scheduled for this school year which is why there are more disjointed weeks than usual. Compare it to other recent calendars. Labor Day was early this year, so we started earlier in August, yet we end the same time in June. Many holidays fell mid week this year. The snow days compounded the issue but the 2025-26 calendar is abnormally bad.

Fortunately, it’s an outlier and the next two school years have decent calendars. They should be using this backlash to shape the calendars for 2028 and beyond.

Right now, we are relying on religious holidays to fall on the weekend so that the calendar doesn’t have a ton of 3 and 4 day weeks, it is crazy.

The vast majority of the country does not give off federal holidays, kids should be in school for Columbus Day, Veteran’s Day, President’s Day and MLK day. Right there you have 4 saved days, easy. Or use those days as Teacher Work Days and give back the Teacher Work Days. Most of the country works on Federal Holidays, this is not unusual.

The middle of the week work days are not going any where. The county realized that giving anything as a long weekend leads to parents planning full week cruises or vacations and they are trying to deal with the increase in missed school days. That is even more important to them now that attendance is a part of accreditation. Putting the work day on a Wednesday makes it harder to justify taking that extended long weekend then putting it in a Monday or a Friday.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry, love the non-5 day weeks. They are great. Summer is such a pain to plan, and we (and most of our friends) much prefer a day here and there, rather than additional weeks in the summer.

I agree! We love the 4 day weeks! It really helps with the sleep for middle and high schoolers.

Time to be a parent. The entire school system doesn't operate around the needs of your special child.

And it doesn’t operate around your need for a 5 day week. As long as the kids get in the required hours of instructional time I do not care. I prefer the 4 day weeks and so do a lot of parents and teachers. Your whining isn’t going to change that. Time to be a parent and deal with it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry, love the non-5 day weeks. They are great. Summer is such a pain to plan, and we (and most of our friends) much prefer a day here and there, rather than additional weeks in the summer.

I agree! We love the 4 day weeks! It really helps with the sleep for middle and high schoolers.

Time to be a parent. The entire school system doesn't operate around the needs of your special child.

And it doesn’t operate around your need for a 5 day week. As long as the kids get in the required hours of instructional time I do not care. I prefer the 4 day weeks and so do a lot of parents and teachers. Your whining isn’t going to change that. Time to be a parent and deal with it.

+1. Very happy with the schedule now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry, love the non-5 day weeks. They are great. Summer is such a pain to plan, and we (and most of our friends) much prefer a day here and there, rather than additional weeks in the summer.

I agree! We love the 4 day weeks! It really helps with the sleep for middle and high schoolers.

Time to be a parent. The entire school system doesn't operate around the needs of your special child.

And it doesn’t operate around your need for a 5 day week. As long as the kids get in the required hours of instructional time I do not care. I prefer the 4 day weeks and so do a lot of parents and teachers. Your whining isn’t going to change that. Time to be a parent and deal with it.

Are they getting sufficient instructional time? I’m sure by FCPS’s calculations and fudging the numbers they are. But is it really the case that our students are getting enough instruction before SOL’s and AP testing? I don’t know. Regarding test scores, a lot can be obfuscated in wealthier areas where a lot of people do private tutoring outside of school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry, love the non-5 day weeks. They are great. Summer is such a pain to plan, and we (and most of our friends) much prefer a day here and there, rather than additional weeks in the summer.

I agree! We love the 4 day weeks! It really helps with the sleep for middle and high schoolers.

Time to be a parent. The entire school system doesn't operate around the needs of your special child.

And it doesn’t operate around your need for a 5 day week. As long as the kids get in the required hours of instructional time I do not care. I prefer the 4 day weeks and so do a lot of parents and teachers. Your whining isn’t going to change that. Time to be a parent and deal with it.

It's not like there is always e.g. Wednesday off and some consistent schedule on the rest of the days, it's a mess of random days off mixed with early releases. You can have the same number of hours (though I bet early release messes this too), but still make learning more challenging by spreading those hours inconsistently.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry, love the non-5 day weeks. They are great. Summer is such a pain to plan, and we (and most of our friends) much prefer a day here and there, rather than additional weeks in the summer.

I agree! We love the 4 day weeks! It really helps with the sleep for middle and high schoolers.

Time to be a parent. The entire school system doesn't operate around the needs of your special child.

And it doesn’t operate around your need for a 5 day week. As long as the kids get in the required hours of instructional time I do not care. I prefer the 4 day weeks and so do a lot of parents and teachers. Your whining isn’t going to change that. Time to be a parent and deal with it.

It's not like there is always e.g. Wednesday off and some consistent schedule on the rest of the days, it's a mess of random days off mixed with early releases. You can have the same number of hours (though I bet early release messes this too), but still make learning more challenging by spreading those hours inconsistently.

I would guess elementary school parents are the most vocal about this calendar. It’s not just the childcare hardship. We have every day covered and the calendar has still been difficult. Many of the early release days fall on short weeks, so they’re in school Monday, off Tuesday, out early on Wednesday… and these were planned! Throw in snow days and delayed opening in between and the routine is chaos for young kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry, love the non-5 day weeks. They are great. Summer is such a pain to plan, and we (and most of our friends) much prefer a day here and there, rather than additional weeks in the summer.

I agree! We love the 4 day weeks! It really helps with the sleep for middle and high schoolers.

Time to be a parent. The entire school system doesn't operate around the needs of your special child.

And it doesn’t operate around your need for a 5 day week. As long as the kids get in the required hours of instructional time I do not care. I prefer the 4 day weeks and so do a lot of parents and teachers. Your whining isn’t going to change that. Time to be a parent and deal with it.

It's not like there is always e.g. Wednesday off and some consistent schedule on the rest of the days, it's a mess of random days off mixed with early releases. You can have the same number of hours (though I bet early release messes this too), but still make learning more challenging by spreading those hours inconsistently.

I would guess elementary school parents are the most vocal about this calendar. It’s not just the childcare hardship. We have every day covered and the calendar has still been difficult. Many of the early release days fall on short weeks, so they’re in school Monday, off Tuesday, out early on Wednesday… and these were planned! Throw in snow days and delayed opening in between and the routine is chaos for young kids.

Exactly, and young kids are the ones who need structure the most. Also, I think no one believes that there is much of instruction happening on early release days, this is such a disruption, that the even classes scheduled in the morning are suffering.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry, love the non-5 day weeks. They are great. Summer is such a pain to plan, and we (and most of our friends) much prefer a day here and there, rather than additional weeks in the summer.

I agree! We love the 4 day weeks! It really helps with the sleep for middle and high schoolers.

Time to be a parent. The entire school system doesn't operate around the needs of your special child.

And it doesn’t operate around your need for a 5 day week. As long as the kids get in the required hours of instructional time I do not care. I prefer the 4 day weeks and so do a lot of parents and teachers. Your whining isn’t going to change that. Time to be a parent and deal with it.

The vast majority of kids need a 5 day school week. I don't know of any parent that prefers a 4 day week, seriously, no one I know wants a 4 day school week. It is awful for working parents and most families in the US have working parents.

The 5 day week provides stability and consistency that is needed by all kids, even HS students. If your kid is so overwhelmed with the homework in their schedule, look at altering their schedule so it is less intense. Be a parent. Stop whining about your kid needing to study for classes that you allowed them to take or even encouraged them to take.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry, love the non-5 day weeks. They are great. Summer is such a pain to plan, and we (and most of our friends) much prefer a day here and there, rather than additional weeks in the summer.

I agree! We love the 4 day weeks! It really helps with the sleep for middle and high schoolers.

Time to be a parent. The entire school system doesn't operate around the needs of your special child.

And it doesn’t operate around your need for a 5 day week. As long as the kids get in the required hours of instructional time I do not care. I prefer the 4 day weeks and so do a lot of parents and teachers. Your whining isn’t going to change that. Time to be a parent and deal with it.

The vast majority of kids need a 5 day school week. I don't know of any parent that prefers a 4 day week, seriously, no one I know wants a 4 day school week. It is awful for working parents and most families in the US have working parents.

The 5 day week provides stability and consistency that is needed by all kids, even HS students. If your kid is so overwhelmed with the homework in their schedule, look at altering their schedule so it is less intense. Be a parent. Stop whining about your kid needing to study for classes that you allowed them to take or even encouraged them to take.

There's a massive assumption being made that total hours alone matter, and that there are no educational losses happening in a cheese wedge schedule like this.

Consistency matters too, and a lot of us doubt this "trust me bro" attitude about total hours.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry, love the non-5 day weeks. They are great. Summer is such a pain to plan, and we (and most of our friends) much prefer a day here and there, rather than additional weeks in the summer.

I agree! We love the 4 day weeks! It really helps with the sleep for middle and high schoolers.

Time to be a parent. The entire school system doesn't operate around the needs of your special child.

And it doesn’t operate around your need for a 5 day week. As long as the kids get in the required hours of instructional time I do not care. I prefer the 4 day weeks and so do a lot of parents and teachers. Your whining isn’t going to change that. Time to be a parent and deal with it.

The vast majority of kids need a 5 day school week. I don't know of any parent that prefers a 4 day week, seriously, no one I know wants a 4 day school week. It is awful for working parents and most families in the US have working parents.

The 5 day week provides stability and consistency that is needed by all kids, even HS students. If your kid is so overwhelmed with the homework in their schedule, look at altering their schedule so it is less intense. Be a parent. Stop whining about your kid needing to study for classes that you allowed them to take or even encouraged them to take.

There's a massive assumption being made that total hours alone matter, and that there are no educational losses happening in a cheese wedge schedule like this.

Consistency matters too, and a lot of us doubt this "trust me bro" attitude about total hours.

*I agree with you about the kids needing consistency.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry, love the non-5 day weeks. They are great. Summer is such a pain to plan, and we (and most of our friends) much prefer a day here and there, rather than additional weeks in the summer.

I agree! We love the 4 day weeks! It really helps with the sleep for middle and high schoolers.

Time to be a parent. The entire school system doesn't operate around the needs of your special child.

And it doesn’t operate around your need for a 5 day week. As long as the kids get in the required hours of instructional time I do not care. I prefer the 4 day weeks and so do a lot of parents and teachers. Your whining isn’t going to change that. Time to be a parent and deal with it.

The vast majority of kids need a 5 day school week. I don't know of any parent that prefers a 4 day week, seriously, no one I know wants a 4 day school week. It is awful for working parents and most families in the US have working parents.

The 5 day week provides stability and consistency that is needed by all kids, even HS students. If your kid is so overwhelmed with the homework in their schedule, look at altering their schedule so it is less intense. Be a parent. Stop whining about your kid needing to study for classes that you allowed them to take or even encouraged them to take.

There's a massive assumption being made that total hours alone matter, and that there are no educational losses happening in a cheese wedge schedule like this.

Consistency matters too, and a lot of us doubt this "trust me bro" attitude about total hours.

*I agree with you about the kids needing consistency.

I was a first grade teacher. Extra hours in the day to meet the legal definition don't necessarily mean better instruction. But, early release is not helpful. Five day weeks are important.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry, love the non-5 day weeks. They are great. Summer is such a pain to plan, and we (and most of our friends) much prefer a day here and there, rather than additional weeks in the summer.

I agree! We love the 4 day weeks! It really helps with the sleep for middle and high schoolers.

Time to be a parent. The entire school system doesn't operate around the needs of your special child.

And it doesn’t operate around your need for a 5 day week. As long as the kids get in the required hours of instructional time I do not care. I prefer the 4 day weeks and so do a lot of parents and teachers. Your whining isn’t going to change that. Time to be a parent and deal with it.

The vast majority of kids need a 5 day school week. I don't know of any parent that prefers a 4 day week, seriously, no one I know wants a 4 day school week. It is awful for working parents and most families in the US have working parents.

The 5 day week provides stability and consistency that is needed by all kids, even HS students. If your kid is so overwhelmed with the homework in their schedule, look at altering their schedule so it is less intense. Be a parent. Stop whining about your kid needing to study for classes that you allowed them to take or even encouraged them to take.

But the current, approved, calendar works great for me. Sorry, I’m not the one whining, you are. I’m good with things as is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry, love the non-5 day weeks. They are great. Summer is such a pain to plan, and we (and most of our friends) much prefer a day here and there, rather than additional weeks in the summer.

I agree! We love the 4 day weeks! It really helps with the sleep for middle and high schoolers.

Time to be a parent. The entire school system doesn't operate around the needs of your special child.

And it doesn’t operate around your need for a 5 day week. As long as the kids get in the required hours of instructional time I do not care. I prefer the 4 day weeks and so do a lot of parents and teachers. Your whining isn’t going to change that. Time to be a parent and deal with it.

You are absolutely ridiculous and rude. Go away. Be a parent. 4 day school weeks are a terrible idea for many reasons. No one cares that your kids need sleep.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry, love the non-5 day weeks. They are great. Summer is such a pain to plan, and we (and most of our friends) much prefer a day here and there, rather than additional weeks in the summer.

I agree! We love the 4 day weeks! It really helps with the sleep for middle and high schoolers.

Time to be a parent. The entire school system doesn't operate around the needs of your special child.

And it doesn’t operate around your need for a 5 day week. As long as the kids get in the required hours of instructional time I do not care. I prefer the 4 day weeks and so do a lot of parents and teachers. Your whining isn’t going to change that. Time to be a parent and deal with it.

You are absolutely ridiculous and rude. Go away. Be a parent. 4 day school weeks are a terrible idea for many reasons. No one cares that your kids need sleep.

Seriously! I remember when a lot of states out west and in parts of the Midwest/south went to a 4 day school week during the recession because the school budgets were so gutted they literally could not afford to run 5 day a week school. And everyone here was both aghast and smug. “We’d never do that here! They don’t care about education over there!”

I blame Covid. The extended school closures blew everything up for a lot of people. School stopped being seen as an obligation and a necessity, and started being an option and a choice.