Ferebee email re adding school days because of snow

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A big part of the problem is this new federal holiday that falls right near the end of school and causes all sorts of headaches. Tuesday the 16th having no school isn't helping either.

When did it change that we could not have school on election day? I remember in 2015 I voted at my child's school as I dropped them off for a day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A big part of the problem is this new federal holiday that falls right near the end of school and causes all sorts of headaches. Tuesday the 16th having no school isn't helping either.

When did it change that we could not have school on election day? I remember in 2015 I voted at my child's school as I dropped them off for a day.

It changed quickly when there was primary day in DC a few days after the Uvalde shooting and people realized that having a ton of strangers in an elementary school (even if you can close off that part of the school) is wildly unsafe. I am a DC teacher (on my very late lunch break) and that day was really scary.

[Anonymous]

Why cancel the 3/11 PTC day but keep the 3/12 wellness day. If they are already messing with the calendar, why not just make both 3/11 and 3/12 instructional days and keep the original last school day of Wed, 6/17. That also would saved teachers from having to report to work the following Monday, 6/22. Or, even better, approve a virtual learning day for election day, Tue, 6/16 and end on Monday, 5/15. I suspect many families were already planning to forgo the last week of school as it was.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think this is acceptable at all. My kids get “excellent” report cards (elementary) but it really tells me nothing. Since we don’t have any major issues we receive zero individual communication from the school and don’t have any chance to ask questions or speak to the teacher. The only time is during the 2 x a year conferences. What school system thinks it’s acceptable to do cancel parent teacher conferences like this?

And didn’t the kids only miss two days of school and trudge through the snow with all those late start times so there wouldn’t be snow make up days?

Why are you looking for issues if there don't seem to be any issues? DC parents, I swear. Try to find a hobby or something...or I don't know, get a life?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why cancel the 3/11 PTC day but keep the 3/12 wellness day. If they are already messing with the calendar, why not just make both 3/11 and 3/12 instructional days and keep the original last school day of Wed, 6/17. That also would saved teachers from having to report to work the following Monday, 6/22. Or, even better, approve a virtual learning day for election day, Tue, 6/16 and end on Monday, 5/15. I suspect many families were already planning to forgo the last week of school as it was.

*sorry, meant "end on Monday, 6/15"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A big part of the problem is this new federal holiday that falls right near the end of school and causes all sorts of headaches. Tuesday the 16th having no school isn't helping either.

So sorry that a holiday to commemorate the emancipation of enslaved peoples in our country causes you "all sorts of headaches"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A big part of the problem is this new federal holiday that falls right near the end of school and causes all sorts of headaches. Tuesday the 16th having no school isn't helping either.

When did it change that we could not have school on election day? I remember in 2015 I voted at my child's school as I dropped them off for a day.

2022. But the primaries alternate weeks, so 2024 was the first week and 2026 is third week. https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/laws/24-342

[Anonymous]

Don't they tend to walk back these decisions closer to the end of the school year?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't they tend to walk back these decisions closer to the end of the school year?

They tend to not announce them this early but once made I don’t think they change them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Love that they kept the Wellness Day, but scrapped PTCs. (Eyeroll....) Way to keep accountability to an absolute minimum, DC teachers' union.

Can't wait until my DC heads to her older siblings' charter...

Bye, Karen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why cancel the 3/11 PTC day but keep the 3/12 wellness day. If they are already messing with the calendar, why not just make both 3/11 and 3/12 instructional days and keep the original last school day of Wed, 6/17. That also would saved teachers from having to report to work the following Monday, 6/22. Or, even better, approve a virtual learning day for election day, Tue, 6/16 and end on Monday, 5/15. I suspect many families were already planning to forgo the last week of school as it was.

*sorry, meant "end on Monday, 6/15"

Can you not read? The wellness day is in the teacher’s contracts, they cannot just take it away.

[Anonymous]

My kid will not be there for bluey on YouTube

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A big part of the problem is this new federal holiday that falls right near the end of school and causes all sorts of headaches. Tuesday the 16th having no school isn't helping either.

They should bump start of school up a week and end a week earlier to address this. It's a problem every year and it's never going to change. Many schools start a week earlier in August.

I never loved how deep into June DCPS goes, but with Juneteenth, we now have a concrete reason why it really doesn't make sense and we should shift the whole schedule by one week.

[Anonymous]

I think scrapping PTC without a concrete plan for how teachers will communicate with parents in lieu of the conferences is such a thumb in the eye to DCPS parents. It really shows how little they value the relationship with families and parents and don't view us as partners in education at all. Very frustrating for those of us who put a lot of effort into not only helping our own kids succeed but also supporting schools and teachers so that the entire community can succeed.

Our oldest started school during the Covid closures and I've never stopped feeling like DCPS would prefer that parents simply not exist. A weird choice for a system that actually has a lot of competition for students from charters, privates, and other area school systems.

[Anonymous]

How does having two snow days, a perfectly average number in any given year, end up causing DCPS to cancel spring PTCs?