2026-2027 calendar updates

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is great. Our calendar will be the same as FCPS. MCPS has finally learned that to have all the religious holidays and all the teacher non-instructional days and a reasonable number of snow days, they have to start earlier in August.

It’s not the same. FCPS starts earlier but ends earlier.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is great. Our calendar will be the same as FCPS. MCPS has finally learned that to have all the religious holidays and all the teacher non-instructional days and a reasonable number of snow days, they have to start earlier in August.

Agree that would be great for 2027-2028. But they can't pull this on parents and teachers now that they have already made summer plans leading into the 2026-2027 school year.

Parents adjusted their calendars plenty to this messed up schedule year. Announcing that McPS will start a few days early several months in advance will be no big deal for most families.

That's ridiculous. We personally can (grudgingly) change our plans (if you are reading, please let us know ASAP MCPS because costs keep going up). But plane tickets are usually not easily refundable and can be expensive to change. We have a huge international population that takes advantage of the summer months to see family abroad.

It will be like any scheduling change that happens. Some people will be happy and others won’t. But this is easier to adjust to than so many of the other far more last minute MCPS calendar changes.

But you’re in some sort of la la land of the rich if you think a very high share of MCPS students have expensive plane tickets flying internationally for that late August week.

For people who have family abroad the trip isn't that expensive and gives parents a break over the summer. Much cheaper than camp.

[Anonymous]

I would love to hear from teachers how big a deal it is to miss preservice week? (Both individually and to their colleagues-- ie is there important team planning that goes on that would be hampered if some teachers are missing?). Because I imagine you're going to have very spotty attendance among teachers for that week if it gets moved earlier

[Anonymous]

This is also a big deal to camp providers who were expecting attendance that week. My kid is signed up for a camp she was really looking forward to. Hopefully the camp providers at reasonable in providing refunds if we can’t actually go…

[Anonymous]

See they talking about starting on 4/17 or 4/20? Is it a full week or just 2 days earlier?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:See they talking about starting on 4/17 or 4/20? Is it a full week or just 2 days earlier?

8/19 for transition day, 8/20 first day

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is also a big deal to camp providers who were expecting attendance that week. My kid is signed up for a camp she was really looking forward to. Hopefully the camp providers at reasonable in providing refunds if we can’t actually go…

Same concern for summer internships/apprenticeship. My DC had signed their offer letter and it would be insane to break the deal as mentor's recommendation letter and project fulfillment are critical for college application. So go F* MCPS if the new school year has to start early.

[Anonymous]

The fact that Taylor has publicly proposed this after jerking us around on the end of this school year for weeks as camp providers and families scrambled really speaks to his utter disregard and disrespect for the community. This is a problem of his and the BOE's own making. At a minimum, a sincere apology is in order.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The fact that Taylor has publicly proposed this after jerking us around on the end of this school year for weeks as camp providers and families scrambled really speaks to his utter disregard and disrespect for the community. This is a problem of his and the BOE's own making. At a minimum, a sincere apology is in order.

He sees us as pawns in whatever games he's playing with others (MSDE and state legislators on the case of the end of the year; not sure who his target is with this one) and doesn't care about how it impacts us. As you said, disrespectful.

I'm particularly concerned about how this all feels to teachers. Most families are going to be irritated but also most of us don't have the ability or the desire to go elsewhere. But if teachers start seeing this as a pattern where they can't trust that their start and end dates for the year aren't going to change at the last moment, and where it doesn't seem like administration cares about how that feels to them, I bet a lot of them are going to jump to other districts. I wouldn't blame them one bit, but it's going to be the kids who pay the price for that...

[Anonymous]

As a teacher, I can tell you that many of my colleagues and I travel right before school begins (right before pre-service). It is too late to change the first day of school for 2026. The first day of school is not a day you can ask for a sub- especially at the elementary level. If MCPS needs to start the year earlier in August, they need to start that plan for the 2027-2028 year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a teacher, I can tell you that many of my colleagues and I travel right before school begins (right before pre-service). It is too late to change the first day of school for 2026. The first day of school is not a day you can ask for a sub- especially at the elementary level. If MCPS needs to start the year earlier in August, they need to start that plan for the 2027-2028 year.

It is completely maddening that they would even contemplate starting school earlier in August at this late date.

[Anonymous]

I really want this change but agree it should start next year. People had to plan.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is great. Our calendar will be the same as FCPS. MCPS has finally learned that to have all the religious holidays and all the teacher non-instructional days and a reasonable number of snow days, they have to start earlier in August.

Agree that would be great for 2027-2028. But they can't pull this on parents and teachers now that they have already made summer plans leading into the 2026-2027 school year.

Parents adjusted their calendars plenty to this messed up schedule year. Announcing that McPS will start a few days early several months in advance will be no big deal for most families.

That's ridiculous. We personally can (grudgingly) change our plans (if you are reading, please let us know ASAP MCPS because costs keep going up). But plane tickets are usually not easily refundable and can be expensive to change. We have a huge international population that takes advantage of the summer months to see family abroad.

+1. And a lot of families plan vacations that week due to the lack of end-of-summer camp options, but I'm sure Taylor et al. are blissflully unaware of this. I'm 100% on board with an earlier start in 2027-2028 but it's super crummy to propose this change for the coming year on such short notice.

Many families have limited vacation time and have to request it far in advance. This is way too late to make a change.

[Anonymous]

Everyone needs to fill out the survey and say as much and indicate you’re okay designating some of the religious holidays as makeup days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Everyone needs to fill out the survey and say as much and indicate you’re okay designating some of the religious holidays as makeup days.

Where is the survey? I didnt see a survey