Proposed APS Calendar Policy

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No religious holidays. Federal holidays only. Why is it so hard to understand it?

If teachers worked in some other workplace and were not teachers, that is what they would get - Federal holidays. They could use their leave days for religious holidays.

So you still don’t understand that if a teacher isn’t watching the kids some one else has to? We can’t find subs to watch the children when the teachers are out on religious holiday.
Is it okay to stop bus service on religious holidays but still have school? We can’t find bus drivers either. Have school but not serve hot lunch?
As a teacher I like routine but I am so very tired of covering another class or having my assistant cover another class. If this were a day care our license would be revoked for lack of staffing.

[Anonymous]

My kindergartener asks every week which days she has school this week, because it has so rarely been a full 5 days of full days. These calendars are a mess.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No religious holidays. Federal holidays only. Why is it so hard to understand it?

If teachers worked in some other workplace and were not teachers, that is what they would get - Federal holidays. They could use their leave days for religious holidays.

So you still don’t understand that if a teacher isn’t watching the kids some one else has to? We can’t find subs to watch the children when the teachers are out on religious holiday.
Is it okay to stop bus service on religious holidays but still have school? We can’t find bus drivers either. Have school but not serve hot lunch?
As a teacher I like routine but I am so very tired of covering another class or having my assistant cover another class. If this were a day care our license would be revoked for lack of staffing.

Do many teachers take off for religious holidays?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No religious holidays. Federal holidays only. Why is it so hard to understand it?

If teachers worked in some other workplace and were not teachers, that is what they would get - Federal holidays. They could use their leave days for religious holidays.

So you still don’t understand that if a teacher isn’t watching the kids some one else has to? We can’t find subs to watch the children when the teachers are out on religious holiday.
Is it okay to stop bus service on religious holidays but still have school? We can’t find bus drivers either. Have school but not serve hot lunch?
As a teacher I like routine but I am so very tired of covering another class or having my assistant cover another class. If this were a day care our license would be revoked for lack of staffing.

Do many teachers take off for religious holidays?

No.

[Anonymous]

If there’s an operational reason (ie secular) then that’s a Reason to close school. APS has never claimed the additional holidays are because of operational reasons. In fact, they go out of their way to make it about religion. I miss old school liberals who wanted religion out of schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If there’s an operational reason (ie secular) then that’s a Reason to close school. APS has never claimed the additional holidays are because of operational reasons. In fact, they go out of their way to make it about religion. I miss old school liberals who wanted religion out of schools.

Good point. Were large numbers of students and/or teachers absent for any of these religious holidays? Like, at least 10%? If so, great— have the day off. If not, have school, with excused absences for students.

[Anonymous]

Maybe a few days of virtual around the winter holiday?

[Anonymous]

I think it’s a little funny that you think this is about the teachers, and not the families that celebrate these holidays.


quote=Anonymous]No religious holidays. Federal holidays only. Why is it so hard to understand it?

If teachers worked in some other workplace and were not teachers, that is what they would get - Federal holidays. They could use their leave days for religious holidays.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:We would jump for joy if APS did more of a spring, fall, winter and then summer break with just federal holidays off. The amount of other holidays they are off is so disruptive. And, we are a family that technically celebrates one of the "other" religious holidays. We use to just pull our kiddos out if we wanted to, otherwise, they stayed in school.

I hope you send in a comment. Have heard from other parents that all of these days off are equally disruptive for their children and they really just want to have excused absences and no tests/due date and make sure those expectations are enforced.

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The amount of days off and holidays outpaces any other working profession. No working parent can reasonably match the days that require care.

Exactly - there are more days off during the school year than I get in holidays and paid time off (where sick leave and vacation time are combined). Even if I used up ALL of my annual leave, I STILL wouldn't have enough to cover all of the days off that students have during the school year, let alone summer break. Also hope that no one gets sick because that means I would have even less leave available for school year childcare during scheduled closings. And I'm lucky -- I actually GET paid leave.

So you pay for alternate child care. There are always camps for all these days off. If you don't make enough money to pay for these things, time to re-evaluate the cost-benefit analysis of both parents working and the rest of your budget.

And what about single-parent households?

Have children with a person who can offer financial support once they've procreated.

This type of stuff is not the school district's responsibility. They are a public good to educate your children and that's it. Everything in life is not for someone else to solve for you.

Guess you are not for equity.

Equity is at the bottom of my list. If on it at all

Same!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No religious holidays. Federal holidays only. Why is it so hard to understand it?

If teachers worked in some other workplace and were not teachers, that is what they would get - Federal holidays. They could use their leave days for religious holidays.

Fall Church model (at least partly). 100% agree. By trying to accommodate everyone, APS is hurting students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No religious holidays. Federal holidays only. Why is it so hard to understand it?

If teachers worked in some other workplace and were not teachers, that is what they would get - Federal holidays. They could use their leave days for religious holidays.

So you still don’t understand that if a teacher isn’t watching the kids some one else has to? We can’t find subs to watch the children when the teachers are out on religious holiday.
Is it okay to stop bus service on religious holidays but still have school? We can’t find bus drivers either. Have school but not serve hot lunch?
As a teacher I like routine but I am so very tired of covering another class or having my assistant cover another class. If this were a day care our license would be revoked for lack of staffing.

Do many teachers take off for religious holidays?

No.

Who answered no and how do you know?

Also what about bus drivers? My kid's bus driver is out a lot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No religious holidays. Federal holidays only. Why is it so hard to understand it?

If teachers worked in some other workplace and were not teachers, that is what they would get - Federal holidays. They could use their leave days for religious holidays.

Fall Church model (at least partly). 100% agree. By trying to accommodate everyone, APS is hurting students.

Students are hurt when their teachers take leave. Not much gets done on days when there is a sub. Students get hurt even more when there are no subs to cover.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it’s a little funny that you think this is about the teachers, and not the families that celebrate these holidays.


quote=Anonymous]No religious holidays. Federal holidays only. Why is it so hard to understand it?

If teachers worked in some other workplace and were not teachers, that is what they would get - Federal holidays. They could use their leave days for religious holidays.

They could but then we're right back to the problem of no instruction because there's a sub, or sometimes there isn't a sub.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No religious holidays. Federal holidays only. Why is it so hard to understand it?

If teachers worked in some other workplace and were not teachers, that is what they would get - Federal holidays. They could use their leave days for religious holidays.

So you still don’t understand that if a teacher isn’t watching the kids some one else has to? We can’t find subs to watch the children when the teachers are out on religious holiday.
Is it okay to stop bus service on religious holidays but still have school? We can’t find bus drivers either. Have school but not serve hot lunch?
As a teacher I like routine but I am so very tired of covering another class or having my assistant cover another class. If this were a day care our license would be revoked for lack of staffing.

Thank you. Most of the people posting on here have no clue of what actually happens in the schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No religious holidays. Federal holidays only. Why is it so hard to understand it?

If teachers worked in some other workplace and were not teachers, that is what they would get - Federal holidays. They could use their leave days for religious holidays.

So you still don’t understand that if a teacher isn’t watching the kids some one else has to? We can’t find subs to watch the children when the teachers are out on religious holiday.
Is it okay to stop bus service on religious holidays but still have school? We can’t find bus drivers either. Have school but not serve hot lunch?
As a teacher I like routine but I am so very tired of covering another class or having my assistant cover another class. If this were a day care our license would be revoked for lack of staffing.

It isn't about teachers getting religious holidays off. It's about students having their religious holidays off to "celebrate" them with their families; and about appearing to be inclusive and respectful of everyone and everything. so once you give one religious holiday off, you have to go down the rabbit hole and recognize all of them or be accused of racism/anti-name your faith/privileged/etc