2016-2017 MCPS Calendar

[Anonymous]

Muslim community wins day off of school on major holiday next year

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/muslim-community-wins-day-off-of-school-on-major-holiday-next-year/2015/11/10/cd615d46-87d2-11e5-be8b-1ae2e4f50f76_story.html?hpid=hp_local-news_muslim-302p%3Ahomepage%2Fstory

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OK..so Eid is not on the calendar..?? I think OP misheard WTOP

MCPS has to come back next week (or something) and present a revised calendar.

[Anonymous]

The Post story, linked above, says it's a done deal that Sept. 12 will be a teachers' professional work day -- but no school for students that day. MCPS has to come back and say which professional work day they are switching so that it will fall on Sept. 12.

It's not an extra day off for kids. It's shifting a scheduled professional work day from some unspecified date to Sept. 12.

Make your child care arrangements accordingly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OK..so Eid is not on the calendar..?? I think OP misheard WTOP

MCPS has to come back next week (or something) and present a revised calendar.

OP here. I did not mis-hear the piece. Barclay introduced the motion citing fairness, etc. A Muslim father was interviewed at the end saying now his daughter will receive equal treatment as her Christian and Jewish friends.

Currently, no religious holidays are specifically listed on the calendar. That was a change Starr made last year. The days are just listed as "no school for teachers & students." But students & teachers still have off for Yom Kippur, Good Friday, etc.

No idea why WTOP can't seem to put a link to a story they are running on air.

[Anonymous]

Seems really different from what I read from MCPS...

With respect to closing schools for a professional day on Eid al-Adha, it is difficult to predict
the day of Eid al-Adha with complete certainty due to the lunar calendar. In addition, simply adding
a professional day to the school calendar is cost prohibitive; the addition of a tenth professional
day will cost approximately $6.57 million. Moving professional days wthin the school calendar,
therefore, needs to be considered closely in terms of the educational interests and operational needs
of the district as stated in Policy IDA. As indicated in Policy IDA, professional days provide staff
with valuable opportunities to implement professional learning communities, collaborate
on instructional strategies, review student data, plan collaboratively, and prepare report cards.
Careful consideration must be given to the timing and placement of these professional days so that
they best support the opportunities enumerated in Policy IDA. This must be done collaboratively
with support from teachers, supporting services staff, and administrators for whom those
professional days are designed and intended. Therefore, I recommend we take the time necessary
to consider alternative approaches to our current practice with appropriate involvement from
our different staff members as the appropriate next step.

[Anonymous]

Link: http://www.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Board.nsf/files/A3VPJ4592AA1/$file/2016-2017%20Sch%20Calendar.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Seems really different from what I read from MCPS...

With respect to closing schools for a professional day on Eid al-Adha, it is difficult to predict
the day of Eid al-Adha with complete certainty due to the lunar calendar. In addition, simply adding
a professional day to the school calendar is cost prohibitive; the addition of a tenth professional
day will cost approximately $6.57 million. Moving professional days wthin the school calendar,
therefore, needs to be considered closely in terms of the educational interests and operational needs
of the district as stated in Policy IDA. As indicated in Policy IDA, professional days provide staff
with valuable opportunities to implement professional learning communities, collaborate
on instructional strategies, review student data, plan collaboratively, and prepare report cards.
Careful consideration must be given to the timing and placement of these professional days so that
they best support the opportunities enumerated in Policy IDA. This must be done collaboratively
with support from teachers, supporting services staff, and administrators for whom those
professional days are designed and intended. Therefore, I recommend we take the time necessary
to consider alternative approaches to our current practice with appropriate involvement from
our different staff members as the appropriate next step.

Yes, MCPS recommended against it. But the BoE did not follow their recommendation.

[Anonymous]

Do teachers need a professional work day three weeks into the school year?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Good. I teach high school in MC and in some classes, nearly 1/4 of them were out for Eid this year. Even though the absences are excused, it does impact instruction.

I've been in the system for 20 years - most of my years spent downcounty. Where is this? My students were never out.

[Anonymous]

At least they gave up the crazy idea of starting school after labor day. That was a non-starter in my book.

As it is now, they have 6 full weeks of school (no early release or days off) between the start of school and the beginning of December. This year they have 5. If they add a teacher work day to September, we'll be right on par with the ridiculousness of this year.

[Anonymous]

Why is there no day off for Diwali?

[Anonymous]

WJLA just reported they voted it 6-2. I am at the point of believing we have lost perspective on educating children in MCPS. It's all about he logistics, facilities and entitlement and not about consistently educating kids - all of them. I'd give up all the onsies/twosie days off for a week in the fall to allow day to day instruction to occur. Kids never get into a rhythm with all the days off now. I am a practicing Jew, and I would be ok if my kids didn't get the high holidays off, I'd just keep them out to take them to synagogue, if it meant we didn't suffer from routinely interrupted instruction. It's a wonder they learn anything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At least they gave up the crazy idea of starting school after labor day. That was a non-starter in my book.

As it is now, they have 6 full weeks of school (no early release or days off) between the start of school and the beginning of December. This year they have 5. If they add a teacher work day to September, we'll be right on par with the ridiculousness of this year.

"They" was Peter Franchot and his buddies in Ocean City, and no, they haven't given up that idea.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:WJLA just reported they voted it 6-2. I am at the point of believing we have lost perspective on educating children in MCPS. It's all about he logistics, facilities and entitlement and not about consistently educating kids - all of them. I'd give up all the onsies/twosie days off for a week in the fall to allow day to day instruction to occur. Kids never get into a rhythm with all the days off now. I am a practicing Jew, and I would be ok if my kids didn't get the high holidays off, I'd just keep them out to take them to synagogue, if it meant we didn't suffer from routinely interrupted instruction. It's a wonder they learn anything.

I don't understand how you can separate logistics and facilities from education.

But if you don't want MCPS to close on the high holidays, then start showing up at BoE meetings to say so.

[Anonymous]

I really hope they don't move to August 21 start.