2025-26 school calendar first drafts

[Anonymous]

That's irritating, just a way for 7th, 8th, 10th, 11th, and 12th graders to put off getting back into the routine. MCPS already lets kids new to secondary schools do a 1/2 day on their own before school starts. And K kids are already by themselves--they aren't in classes with bigger kids.

[Anonymous]

I've never understood why folks are planning vacations that don't end until the Thursday/Friday before school starts. Those last few days, yes you can enjoy summer closing out, but also need to begin preparing for the new school year. Ensure everyone has their supplies, getting everyone back to evening/bedtime routines, wakeup routines if kids are normally slow risers/movers, etc.

Everyone who has been in the school district any amount of time, knows orientation or school sneak peak occurs on Thursday/Friday before school starts.

[Anonymous]

This is an amazing idea! I agree many people are always caught off guard about orientations and sneak peeks the Thursday/Friday before, and schools don’t communicate this info terribly far in advance for planning. Many camps are closed that week bc of staffing so I can see why lots of families of younger, camp-age kids would plan a vacation that week. It sort of ends up being a dead week/missed opportunity otherwise. I also think having 5 full days the first week of school can be pretty exhausting and it’s nice to ease in. Kudos to the calendar team for trying something new that makes a lot of sense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've never understood why folks are planning vacations that don't end until the Thursday/Friday before school starts. Those last few days, yes you can enjoy summer closing out, but also need to begin preparing for the new school year. Ensure everyone has their supplies, getting everyone back to evening/bedtime routines, wakeup routines if kids are normally slow risers/movers, etc.

Everyone who has been in the school district any amount of time, knows orientation or school sneak peak occurs on Thursday/Friday before school starts.

We plan a vacation that weekend because it's the time we like to travel; the weather is nicer, the place we go is more relaxed with fewer college kids, and we have seniority at a place where that matters. We usually get back on either Saturday or Sunday, and other than missing sneak a peak, it doesn't matter.

I don't understand why a family would need to "prepare" for a school year. You buy the supplies another week in August, we don't change sleep schedules much in the summer, but it also doesn't take days to remember how to wake up when the alarm goes off. I don't take four days to remember how to go to work after a vacation; school isn't different.

[Anonymous]

Does the Monday count toward the mandatory 180 days or is it just the last day of pre-service for teachers with an option for those grades to come in early? They should not be reducing clothe # of days for other grades, but I would be fine if it is just a part of pre-service week, which happens to be Tuesday-Monday rather than Monday-Friday.

[Anonymous]

If the transition day doesn't count against the 180, this is a horrible idea.

They already have the half-day orientation the week before.

It's not exactly a state secret that if you're starting middle school or high school, there will be a half-day orientation the Thursday before school starts. We knew. We planned around it.

If it's important enough for your kid to go, you plan around it. There's lot of other weeks to go on vacation in August, let alone in the summer as a whole.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I don't understand why a family would need to "prepare" for a school year. You buy the supplies another week in August, we don't change sleep schedules much in the summer, but it also doesn't take days to remember how to wake up when the alarm goes off. I don't take four days to remember how to go to work after a vacation; school isn't different.

I have a kid who really benefits from a chance to meet the teachers and practice the route to their classroom. Other kid could take it or leave it. You’re family may not need to prep for the school year, but other families do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've never heard of a transition day. What, exactly, does it entail?

It allows students who are entering school at transition points (K, 6th, 9th) the opportunity to get acquainted in a smaller environment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That's irritating, just a way for 7th, 8th, 10th, 11th, and 12th graders to put off getting back into the routine. MCPS already lets kids new to secondary schools do a 1/2 day on their own before school starts. And K kids are already by themselves--they aren't in classes with bigger kids.

Let them
Know! Make your voice heard. I think it sounds really disruptive and stupid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've never understood why folks are planning vacations that don't end until the Thursday/Friday before school starts. Those last few days, yes you can enjoy summer closing out, but also need to begin preparing for the new school year. Ensure everyone has their supplies, getting everyone back to evening/bedtime routines, wakeup routines if kids are normally slow risers/movers, etc.

Everyone who has been in the school district any amount of time, knows orientation or school sneak peak occurs on Thursday/Friday before school starts.

We have supplies by the end of July. We don’t do “ summer bedtime” so routine is normal at bedtime and morning is not that drastic.
We go away the last week in August because there are usually no camps, the beach is less busy, and it’s slightly cheaper.
Kids are in MS now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If the transition day doesn't count against the 180, this is a horrible idea.

They already have the half-day orientation the week before.

It's not exactly a state secret that if you're starting middle school or high school, there will be a half-day orientation the Thursday before school starts. We knew. We planned around it.

If it's important enough for your kid to go, you plan around it. There's lot of other weeks to go on vacation in August, let alone in the summer as a whole.

I watched the meeting today. The transition day on Monday would be instead of the half-day orientation the Thursday before school starts. It would not count toward the 180 required school days. The first day of school would be Tuesday.

Sounds like they will be sending out a survey to gauge public opinion soon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've never heard of a transition day. What, exactly, does it entail?

It allows students who are entering school at transition points (K, 6th, 9th) the opportunity to get acquainted in a smaller environment.

Board members raised questions about if the transition day would also apply to, for example, 3rd graders beginning at a 3-5 school, 4th graders beginning at a CES, and other students new to a school in any grade.

[Anonymous]

Forget the transition day, the real issue is winter break - option 2 has break starting on 12/24, which will be awful for any students and staff who have holiday travel plans.

[Anonymous]

As a K teacher and parent of a new 6th and new 9th graders this year, a transition day would have been a great idea for them!

[Anonymous]

link isn’t working. where can we find this?