Proposed APS Calendar Policy

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For the next school year, the week before winter break is a 2-day week. I think it’s very likely that there will be more absences on those two days than there have historically been for (for example) on Diwali. But it still makes sense to have the school days for all those who do show up, & to be able to count those days.

that's not a good idea either. it should be two full weeks.

I really have to disagree here. “Two full weeks” doesn’t sound like that much, but in practice it becomes more than that and will end up acting as a floor and not a ceiling.

This school year, the last day of school in 2022 was December 16. The kids didn’t get back to school until January 3. That’s 17 days. Christmas was on a Sunday. You literally could have had and extra four or five school days before going on break with minimal disruption.

I grew up in Massachusetts, going to a mediocre school in an otherwise high-performing state. The expectation was always that the last day of school before break would be Dec. 23, unless that produced something odd like a one-day week. I just checked and that’s still how they and lots of MA schools do it.

Ironically, the 24-25 school year is going to have Christmas on a Wednesday, which is the only situation in which I think a 2-week break is justified, because doing the traditional Dec. 24 to Jan. 1 break would produce a 1 day week on both sides of break. That might be why they’re trying to ram it through now, when it appears reasonable, and the more outlandish outcomes are farther off.

Exactly. And I think syphax wants this because they’re getting paid for these days now. It’s a mess to get elementary kids back on track after such a long winter break

This point cannot be emphasized enough. Central office gets paid vacation for holidays and every break except summer, and once that happened suddenly summer break kept shrinking and our school calendar started to look like swiss cheese.

It's not a coincidence. This calendar primarily serves the interest of Syphax. Everything else, including learning, is secondary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For the next school year, the week before winter break is a 2-day week. I think it’s very likely that there will be more absences on those two days than there have historically been for (for example) on Diwali. But it still makes sense to have the school days for all those who do show up, & to be able to count those days.

that's not a good idea either. it should be two full weeks.

I really have to disagree here. “Two full weeks” doesn’t sound like that much, but in practice it becomes more than that and will end up acting as a floor and not a ceiling.

This school year, the last day of school in 2022 was December 16. The kids didn’t get back to school until January 3. That’s 17 days. Christmas was on a Sunday. You literally could have had and extra four or five school days before going on break with minimal disruption.

I grew up in Massachusetts, going to a mediocre school in an otherwise high-performing state. The expectation was always that the last day of school before break would be Dec. 23, unless that produced something odd like a one-day week. I just checked and that’s still how they and lots of MA schools do it.

Ironically, the 24-25 school year is going to have Christmas on a Wednesday, which is the only situation in which I think a 2-week break is justified, because doing the traditional Dec. 24 to Jan. 1 break would produce a 1 day week on both sides of break. That might be why they’re trying to ram it through now, when it appears reasonable, and the more outlandish outcomes are farther off.

Exactly. And I think syphax wants this because they’re getting paid for these days now. It’s a mess to get elementary kids back on track after such a long winter break

This point cannot be emphasized enough. Central office gets paid vacation for holidays and every break except summer, and once that happened suddenly summer break kept shrinking and our school calendar started to look like swiss cheese.

It's not a coincidence. This calendar primarily serves the interest of Syphax. Everything else, including learning, is secondary.

Bingo. Please complete survey AND write into the school board an duran.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For the next school year, the week before winter break is a 2-day week. I think it’s very likely that there will be more absences on those two days than there have historically been for (for example) on Diwali. But it still makes sense to have the school days for all those who do show up, & to be able to count those days.

that's not a good idea either. it should be two full weeks.

I really have to disagree here. “Two full weeks” doesn’t sound like that much, but in practice it becomes more than that and will end up acting as a floor and not a ceiling.

This school year, the last day of school in 2022 was December 16. The kids didn’t get back to school until January 3. That’s 17 days. Christmas was on a Sunday. You literally could have had and extra four or five school days before going on break with minimal disruption.

I grew up in Massachusetts, going to a mediocre school in an otherwise high-performing state. The expectation was always that the last day of school before break would be Dec. 23, unless that produced something odd like a one-day week. I just checked and that’s still how they and lots of MA schools do it.

Ironically, the 24-25 school year is going to have Christmas on a Wednesday, which is the only situation in which I think a 2-week break is justified, because doing the traditional Dec. 24 to Jan. 1 break would produce a 1 day week on both sides of break. That might be why they’re trying to ram it through now, when it appears reasonable, and the more outlandish outcomes are farther off.

Exactly. And I think syphax wants this because they’re getting paid for these days now. It’s a mess to get elementary kids back on track after such a long winter break

This point cannot be emphasized enough. Central office gets paid vacation for holidays and every break except summer, and once that happened suddenly summer break kept shrinking and our school calendar started to look like swiss cheese.

It's not a coincidence. This calendar primarily serves the interest of Syphax. Everything else, including learning, is secondary.

Bingo. Please complete survey AND write into the school board an duran.

It needs to go to news outlets. Duran is in charge of Syphax. He knows what's happening. Their needs to be outside pressure, not just emails from parents that will never see the light of day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The more I read comments here the more it seems this is a back door way to give teachers and staff more 4 day workweeks. There are lots of ways to honor religious holidays for those who recognize them. Why is equity around these days completely outweighing all other equity concerns around disruptions for students, safety for students, costs and difficulties of covering these days for families? 5 day weeks should be a priority. Figure out how to give staff and students days off for the religious days they observe.

Wow, I had no idea other districts would model Fairfax's system for school calendars where they can't ever release one without numerous meetings and hand wringing. But to answer your question, Fairfax didn't collect any data about absences because the board thought religious holidays on the school calendar satisfied equity over all other concerns.

Fairfax has years of data on it. https://www.fcps.edu/sites/default/files/media/forms/Absence%20Data%20Final3.pdf

Schools legally required to have a reason for religious holidays

That data in no way justifies having numerous religious holidays on the school calendar. There was maybe one or two days in last six years with enough absences to affect school operations.

You're funny. First you insist there was no data. Then you got called on it. So now you don't like the data?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For the next school year, the week before winter break is a 2-day week. I think it’s very likely that there will be more absences on those two days than there have historically been for (for example) on Diwali. But it still makes sense to have the school days for all those who do show up, & to be able to count those days.

that's not a good idea either. it should be two full weeks.

I really have to disagree here. “Two full weeks” doesn’t sound like that much, but in practice it becomes more than that and will end up acting as a floor and not a ceiling.

This school year, the last day of school in 2022 was December 16. The kids didn’t get back to school until January 3. That’s 17 days. Christmas was on a Sunday. You literally could have had and extra four or five school days before going on break with minimal disruption.

I grew up in Massachusetts, going to a mediocre school in an otherwise high-performing state. The expectation was always that the last day of school before break would be Dec. 23, unless that produced something odd like a one-day week. I just checked and that’s still how they and lots of MA schools do it.

Ironically, the 24-25 school year is going to have Christmas on a Wednesday, which is the only situation in which I think a 2-week break is justified, because doing the traditional Dec. 24 to Jan. 1 break would produce a 1 day week on both sides of break. That might be why they’re trying to ram it through now, when it appears reasonable, and the more outlandish outcomes are farther off.

Exactly. And I think syphax wants this because they’re getting paid for these days now. It’s a mess to get elementary kids back on track after such a long winter break

This point cannot be emphasized enough. Central office gets paid vacation for holidays and every break except summer, and once that happened suddenly summer break kept shrinking and our school calendar started to look like swiss cheese.

It's not a coincidence. This calendar primarily serves the interest of Syphax. Everything else, including learning, is secondary.

+1 sending my comment in. This is not a calendar proposal that serves kids or teachers. It serves syphax who is getting paid for 2 week winter breaks, spring break and all religious holidays regardless of what they personally observe. Teachers aren’t getting paid for any of those. That’s bad enough as it is. But now students get stuck with a permanent calendar policy that undermines consistency.

[Anonymous]

Can someone please post on how to submit comments on this thing? I click on links lead me to 404 page not found. Do we have to send emails directly?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The more I read comments here the more it seems this is a back door way to give teachers and staff more 4 day workweeks. There are lots of ways to honor religious holidays for those who recognize them. Why is equity around these days completely outweighing all other equity concerns around disruptions for students, safety for students, costs and difficulties of covering these days for families? 5 day weeks should be a priority. Figure out how to give staff and students days off for the religious days they observe.

Wow, I had no idea other districts would model Fairfax's system for school calendars where they can't ever release one without numerous meetings and hand wringing. But to answer your question, Fairfax didn't collect any data about absences because the board thought religious holidays on the school calendar satisfied equity over all other concerns.

Fairfax has years of data on it. https://www.fcps.edu/sites/default/files/media/forms/Absence%20Data%20Final3.pdf

Schools legally required to have a reason for religious holidays

Fairfax’s data doesn’t necessarily hold for Arlington. We’re smaller and have a different makeup.

[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.

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

Exactly. And APS is still picking and choosing which religious holidays to acknowledge. And PP is right. Legal
Precedent requires APS to have a secular reason to honor religious holidays. Won’t be surprised if this ends up being another expensive APS mistake.

+1. I think the comments really need to emphasize this. It’s easy to shut people down as “racist” when you say there are too many religious holidays. Not so easy when you point out they are picking and choosing among holidays to “celebrate” with no apparent secular basis and no thought how that appears to people who celebrate other holidays or none at all. That their “inclusive” policy is actually not and one that may cost them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The more I read comments here the more it seems this is a back door way to give teachers and staff more 4 day workweeks. There are lots of ways to honor religious holidays for those who recognize them. Why is equity around these days completely outweighing all other equity concerns around disruptions for students, safety for students, costs and difficulties of covering these days for families? 5 day weeks should be a priority. Figure out how to give staff and students days off for the religious days they observe.

Wow, I had no idea other districts would model Fairfax's system for school calendars where they can't ever release one without numerous meetings and hand wringing. But to answer your question, Fairfax didn't collect any data about absences because the board thought religious holidays on the school calendar satisfied equity over all other concerns.

Fairfax has years of data on it. https://www.fcps.edu/sites/default/files/media/forms/Absence%20Data%20Final3.pdf

Schools legally required to have a reason for religious holidays

Fairfax’s data doesn’t necessarily hold for Arlington. We’re smaller and have a different makeup.

Agree. That's why APS should show its own data to support these holidays. I bet we have a more significant proportion of Ethopians whose holidays are not being recognized.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can someone please post on how to submit comments on this thing? I click on links lead me to 404 page not found. Do we have to send emails directly?

Follow the link on this page. As usual, APS is making clear that they don't really want feedback. See the tiny text boxes limited to 500 characters. Send an email to your school board members too.

https://www.apsva.us/engage/policies-for-revision-amendment/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can someone please post on how to submit comments on this thing? I click on links lead me to 404 page not found. Do we have to send emails directly?

Follow the link on this page. As usual, APS is making clear that they don't really want feedback. See the tiny text boxes limited to 500 characters. Send an email to your school board members too.

https://www.apsva.us/engage/policies-for-revision-amendment/

Yes. If they actually wanted to know what people think, they wouldn't ask so many specific questions or stupid questions like "did we miss anything?" Instead, they would just let you explain what you like or don't like and why. But then someone would have to actually read all those comments and categorize them and tally them up and figure out what it all means.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The more I read comments here the more it seems this is a back door way to give teachers and staff more 4 day workweeks. There are lots of ways to honor religious holidays for those who recognize them. Why is equity around these days completely outweighing all other equity concerns around disruptions for students, safety for students, costs and difficulties of covering these days for families? 5 day weeks should be a priority. Figure out how to give staff and students days off for the religious days they observe.

Wow, I had no idea other districts would model Fairfax's system for school calendars where they can't ever release one without numerous meetings and hand wringing. But to answer your question, Fairfax didn't collect any data about absences because the board thought religious holidays on the school calendar satisfied equity over all other concerns.

Fairfax has years of data on it. https://www.fcps.edu/sites/default/files/media/forms/Absence%20Data%20Final3.pdf

Schools legally required to have a reason for religious holidays

Is this real? I am Mexican American from TX and neither my family here nor in Mexico keep kids home from school for Dia de Los Mueurtos and it's not a school holiday.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can someone please post on how to submit comments on this thing? I click on links lead me to 404 page not found. Do we have to send emails directly?

Here you go. https://survey.k12insight.com/survey1.aspx?k=SsSRTVsQVSTsPsPsP&lang=0

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The more I read comments here the more it seems this is a back door way to give teachers and staff more 4 day workweeks. There are lots of ways to honor religious holidays for those who recognize them. Why is equity around these days completely outweighing all other equity concerns around disruptions for students, safety for students, costs and difficulties of covering these days for families? 5 day weeks should be a priority. Figure out how to give staff and students days off for the religious days they observe.

Wow, I had no idea other districts would model Fairfax's system for school calendars where they can't ever release one without numerous meetings and hand wringing. But to answer your question, Fairfax didn't collect any data about absences because the board thought religious holidays on the school calendar satisfied equity over all other concerns.

Fairfax has years of data on it. https://www.fcps.edu/sites/default/files/media/forms/Absence%20Data%20Final3.pdf

Schools legally required to have a reason for religious holidays

Is this real? I am Mexican American from TX and neither my family here nor in Mexico keep kids home from school for Dia de Los Mueurtos and it's not a school holiday.

They were tracking the historic amount of absences from on different holidays to decide whether to observe them with a day off.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The more I read comments here the more it seems this is a back door way to give teachers and staff more 4 day workweeks. There are lots of ways to honor religious holidays for those who recognize them. Why is equity around these days completely outweighing all other equity concerns around disruptions for students, safety for students, costs and difficulties of covering these days for families? 5 day weeks should be a priority. Figure out how to give staff and students days off for the religious days they observe.

Wow, I had no idea other districts would model Fairfax's system for school calendars where they can't ever release one without numerous meetings and hand wringing. But to answer your question, Fairfax didn't collect any data about absences because the board thought religious holidays on the school calendar satisfied equity over all other concerns.

Fairfax has years of data on it. https://www.fcps.edu/sites/default/files/media/forms/Absence%20Data%20Final3.pdf

Schools legally required to have a reason for religious holidays

Is this real? I am Mexican American from TX and neither my family here nor in Mexico keep kids home from school for Dia de Los Mueurtos and it's not a school holiday.

I’m also floored.