2026-2027 calendar updates

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is something fishy here.

I cannot imagine MCPS in good faith thinks this is the best plan. They have some kind of angle... whether it is to get the teachers to give up their planning days, or wanting to be "forced" into cutting spring break or the holidays rather than actively proposing it, or getting people to yell at MSDE, or simply wanting to stir up controversy to distract from something else going on (the new math curriculum? The lunch price increases? Something else?)

Which of those things is actually their motive, or whether it's something else, I couldn't say. But there is clearly some ulterior motive (no one in good faith would say they can't support having as-needed snow days over spring break 11 months from now because people might have already made plans, but that it's totally fine to have start a week earlier, when it's 4 months away, because that's only a minor inconvenience.).

Maybe it is a longer-term play around the calendar for future years? Like, they don't want to start the school year earlier moving forward, so they get people furious and discredit the whole idea of starting a week earlier so if it comes up in future years they can say "we tried and everyone hated it"?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Changes to the 2026–2027 school calendar: Due to a Maryland State Board of Education requirement that public school systems end their school years by June 18, 2027, the Board of Education will need to amend the school calendar for 2026–2027. Changes could affect: religious observances, the shortening of winter and/or spring break, or potentially beginning the school year earlier in August.
The Board will take final action at their meeting on April 30

MSDE has lost its ever-loving mind!! What is the rationale for ending it by the 18th of June?!?!

Under Hogan it was the 15th a few years. They should also mandate school to start no later then the last Monday in August, also add the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and December 23 as statewide no school days, remove election day as a holiday. Adjust the requirement to 175-177 days to reduce the number of low or no quality days.

They need Election Day as a holiday. They use schools for the elections.

Make it 1Q grading day or a virtual day or move the elections out of the schools. That day is a far more valuable school day than the day before Thanksgiving, December 23 or anything in summer.

They could easily add the day before Thanksgiving as a 1/2 day. Yet that's not even on the table.

The reason the day before Thanksgiving became a day off is because in 2022, they had to use a snow day to close that day as there were so many staff absences and inadequate substitute coverage that they couldn't safely open. It was a last-minute change when they realized how many leave requests there were and how few subs they had. Has the post-Covid sub shortage abated? If not we'll just have the same problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is something fishy here.

I cannot imagine MCPS in good faith thinks this is the best plan. They have some kind of angle... whether it is to get the teachers to give up their planning days, or wanting to be "forced" into cutting spring break or the holidays rather than actively proposing it, or getting people to yell at MSDE, or simply wanting to stir up controversy to distract from something else going on (the new math curriculum? The lunch price increases? Something else?)

Which of those things is actually their motive, or whether it's something else, I couldn't say. But there is clearly some ulterior motive (no one in good faith would say they can't support having as-needed snow days over spring break 11 months from now because people might have already made plans, but that it's totally fine to have start a week earlier, when it's 4 months away, because that's only a minor inconvenience.).

Maybe it is a longer-term play around the calendar for future years? Like, they don't want to start the school year earlier moving forward, so they get people furious and discredit the whole idea of starting a week earlier so if it comes up in future years they can say "we tried and everyone hated it"?

Lol that definitely sounds like something they would do

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Changes to the 2026–2027 school calendar: Due to a Maryland State Board of Education requirement that public school systems end their school years by June 18, 2027, the Board of Education will need to amend the school calendar for 2026–2027. Changes could affect: religious observances, the shortening of winter and/or spring break, or potentially beginning the school year earlier in August.
The Board will take final action at their meeting on April 30

MSDE has lost its ever-loving mind!! What is the rationale for ending it by the 18th of June?!?!

Under Hogan it was the 15th a few years. They should also mandate school to start no later then the last Monday in August, also add the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and December 23 as statewide no school days, remove election day as a holiday. Adjust the requirement to 175-177 days to reduce the number of low or no quality days.

They need Election Day as a holiday. They use schools for the elections.

Make it 1Q grading day or a virtual day or move the elections out of the schools. That day is a far more valuable school day than the day before Thanksgiving, December 23 or anything in summer.

They could easily add the day before Thanksgiving as a 1/2 day. Yet that's not even on the table.

The day before Thanksgiving is useless for school. Many people are out.

The last day is useless. Dec 23 is useless. The point is scheduling school the Wednesday before Thanksgiving would add a day to the calendar without impacting the start or end dates. People can pull their kids out, no problem. Just make it an early dismissal and end this nonsense.

There is always a last day so that is unavoidable but the day before Thanksgiving and December 23 have no quality to them.
Make the off day after 1Q a short day that people will actually attend. Turn November 9 and April 22 into school days. Make March 9 or 10 into a half day. If they need other makeup days use the days after 2Q &/or 3Q.
Either go August 25-June 9 or August 31 to June 16.
Change the 180 day requirement to 175 and WAIVE state of emergency days.

[Anonymous]

Make all early release days full days. Get rid of transition day. Make April 22 a school day (and I'm Jewish), etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is something fishy here.

I cannot imagine MCPS in good faith thinks this is the best plan. They have some kind of angle... whether it is to get the teachers to give up their planning days, or wanting to be "forced" into cutting spring break or the holidays rather than actively proposing it, or getting people to yell at MSDE, or simply wanting to stir up controversy to distract from something else going on (the new math curriculum? The lunch price increases? Something else?)

Which of those things is actually their motive, or whether it's something else, I couldn't say. But there is clearly some ulterior motive (no one in good faith would say they can't support having as-needed snow days over spring break 11 months from now because people might have already made plans, but that it's totally fine to have start a week earlier, when it's 4 months away, because that's only a minor inconvenience.).

Maybe it is a longer-term play around the calendar for future years? Like, they don't want to start the school year earlier moving forward, so they get people furious and discredit the whole idea of starting a week earlier so if it comes up in future years they can say "we tried and everyone hated it"?

I think they will get feedback that they should not make this change at the last minute, but that they should consider it in the future with more notice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Make all early release days full days. Get rid of transition day. Make April 22 a school day (and I'm Jewish), etc.

Making ER days full days does not help because that doesn't add to the total number of days. They are short on days, not hours.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The superintendent’s recommendation is to start school earlier. They’re refusing to take holidays. I hate it here. (Listening to the board now)

OMG

If Thomas Taylor messes with my beach trip he is dead to me

Don’t cancel your beach trip. If they go through with this there will be so many absences that first week.

Yeah, this. And a lot of them will be teachers.

Well since teachers got an extra 5 paid holidays this year due to all the snow days they can just deal with starting a week earlier next year so our kids can actually get 180 days of education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wonder if this proposal is to pressure the union to give up their grading days (switch them to half days) to avoid them having to start earlier?

This got asked and Taylor’s response was basically that it would have to be negotiated but this is the only option within the constraints we have now

Right but I'm pretty sure this is just him playing a game of chicken with the unions. "Agree to cut back your grading/planning or we'll make you start work a week earlier."

Otherwise there's no good reason why they would have picked starting the school year earlier over shortenu winter or spring break. Starting early is obviously worse (on short notice, that is-- I think it may be the better option in the long term, but it's ridiculous for him to say they aren't recommending cutting back on breaks because people have already made plans, when obviously August is much sooner and many more people have already made plans around that.)

That’s your opinion, I disagree. I’m happy that older HS kids will start earlier and get AP instructional time and I’m happy that my kids will start earlier too and hopefully get the education they deserve this year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What, that's insane and incredibly disruptive especially since everyone has to sign up for camps etc. in January. The calendar online still says 8/24.

Only rich people are signing up their kids for camps in January-particularly for the end of August. The rest of us just have our kids home or with family members.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The superintendent’s recommendation is to start school earlier. They’re refusing to take holidays. I hate it here. (Listening to the board now)

OMG

If Thomas Taylor messes with my beach trip he is dead to me

Don’t cancel your beach trip. If they go through with this there will be so many absences that first week.

Yeah, this. And a lot of them will be teachers.

Well since teachers got an extra 5 paid holidays this year due to all the snow days they can just deal with starting a week earlier next year so our kids can actually get 180 days of education.

Your kids are starting early too,you moron. We won't have any teachers left because of ignorant parents like yourself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Changes to the 2026–2027 school calendar: Due to a Maryland State Board of Education requirement that public school systems end their school years by June 18, 2027, the Board of Education will need to amend the school calendar for 2026–2027. Changes could affect: religious observances, the shortening of winter and/or spring break, or potentially beginning the school year earlier in August.
The Board will take final action at their meeting on April 30

MSDE has lost its ever-loving mind!! What is the rationale for ending it by the 18th of June?!?!

Under Hogan it was the 15th a few years. They should also mandate school to start no later then the last Monday in August, also add the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and December 23 as statewide no school days, remove election day as a holiday. Adjust the requirement to 175-177 days to reduce the number of low or no quality days.

They need Election Day as a holiday. They use schools for the elections.

Make it 1Q grading day or a virtual day or move the elections out of the schools. That day is a far more valuable school day than the day before Thanksgiving, December 23 or anything in summer.

They could easily add the day before Thanksgiving as a 1/2 day. Yet that's not even on the table.

The day before Thanksgiving is useless for school. Many people are out.

I don't care. It counts as a day. That's all that matters at this point. I'm really angry they are looking to start school a week earlier at this late date. That's completely unfair.

Remove the 180 requirement so that Thanksgiving break, winter break and best of all SUMMER VACATION can be FULL!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wonder if this proposal is to pressure the union to give up their grading days (switch them to half days) to avoid them having to start earlier?

This got asked and Taylor’s response was basically that it would have to be negotiated but this is the only option within the constraints we have now

Right but I'm pretty sure this is just him playing a game of chicken with the unions. "Agree to cut back your grading/planning or we'll make you start work a week earlier."

Otherwise there's no good reason why they would have picked starting the school year earlier over shortenu winter or spring break. Starting early is obviously worse (on short notice, that is-- I think it may be the better option in the long term, but it's ridiculous for him to say they aren't recommending cutting back on breaks because people have already made plans, when obviously August is much sooner and many more people have already made plans around that.)

That’s your opinion, I disagree. I’m happy that older HS kids will start earlier and get AP instructional time and I’m happy that my kids will start earlier too and hopefully get the education they deserve this year.

Lol at you thinking the first week of school is going to be hardcore instructional time for AP classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PD days end up being a waste of time for 50% of the staff. They should automatically provide each teacher with 8 hours professional leave and allow teacher to select their own pd that meets their professional goals.

Teacher autonomy? That’s a hard pass in mcps.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The superintendent’s recommendation is to start school earlier. They’re refusing to take holidays. I hate it here. (Listening to the board now)

OMG

If Thomas Taylor messes with my beach trip he is dead to me

Don’t cancel your beach trip. If they go through with this there will be so many absences that first week.

Yeah, this. And a lot of them will be teachers.

Well since teachers got an extra 5 paid holidays this year due to all the snow days they can just deal with starting a week earlier next year so our kids can actually get 180 days of education.

Your kids are starting early too,you moron. We won't have any teachers left because of ignorant parents like yourself.

Oh really genius? Because we were all confused and thought these school calendar changes only applied to kids of teachers. /s

Maybe if you had gotten a better education you wouldn’t be spending your time on the internet calling people names.