Email the superintendent and the board about the calendar

[Anonymous]

Not all of their email addresses are public (cowards), so if you know Moon's or McDaniel's, add them here.

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Here's what I wrote:

Dear Superintendent Reid and Members of the School Board,

I am writing as a parent of elementary-aged children in Fairfax County to express my serious concern about the structure of the school calendar.

Between teacher workdays, religious holidays, early release Wednesdays, added election days, and weather-related closures, my child has had very few full five-day weeks of school this year. The result has been a “Swiss cheese” calendar that creates constant interruptions to instruction. Beyond being a logistical challenge for working families, this lack of consistency undermines the learning environment that children need in order to succeed.

Consistency and routine are essential for students. Frequent mid-week breaks, shortened days, and closures make it difficult for students to maintain academic momentum. It also places a significant burden on families who must repeatedly arrange childcare or adjust work schedules with little stability from week to week.

I understand that weather closures are sometimes unavoidable and must occur when safety is at risk. However, when the calendar is already heavily fragmented, these unexpected closures only exacerbate the problem. A school calendar cannot simply assume ideal weather conditions. It should be designed with enough instructional continuity that occasional disruptions do not significantly affect learning.

In the last decade, FCPS has made an ill-advised shift by drastically increasing the number of school closures tied to religious holidays. As a public school system serving families of many different beliefs, the calendar should not be structured around closing school for religious observances. Families who celebrate a particular religious holiday should absolutely be able to keep their children home without penalty, and those absences should be excused. However, it is difficult to understand why every child in the district must lose a full day of instruction for each of these observances. In fact, keeping schools open on these days could provide a meaningful educational opportunity. Students could learn about the diverse cultural and traditions represented in our community, which would support both academic learning and cultural understanding. To be clear, I am advocating for a calendar free of all religious holidays, not just those my family does not celebrate.

The early release Wednesdays in elementary school yield little value to the staff, while increasing a lack of continuity and disjointed learning for the population who need consistency the most. Even more egregious, FCPS’s complete inability to be flexible and agile with these early release days when the calendar shifts is unacceptable. For example, FCPS has recently added April 21st as a student holiday due to the state-wide election. I understand why the schools need to close. But there is no reason that the elementary teachers couldn’t use that full day to absorb two early-release Wednesdays and remove them from the calendar.

Our students need consistent time in the classroom to learn and thrive. At present, the structure of the calendar is working against that goal. I urge the district to reevaluate how the school calendar is constructed and to prioritize instructional consistency for students while still allowing families the flexibility to observe important cultural or religious traditions, and for occasional weather closures to not be as disruptive as they have been this year.

I have always been a strong advocate of public education, but to be blunt, it does not feel like my child’s education is even in FCPS’s list of top five priorities.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

[jsteele]

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1318248.page