2026-2027 calendar updates

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Honestly asking how winter break would be shortened when it pretty much starts on Christmas Eve and ends the day after NYD on most years. In the Marine Corps they used to give us 4 days off for Christmas and then 3 days off for New Years but made all the days in the middle as work days. Unless they make us go to school for 2-3 days in between those two holidays, it's really not possible.

Realistically, the only day they could take from winter break is the 23rd. If they want to piss people off, they could make the 24th early release, but if you thought the blowback from suggesting opening schools on Eid was harsh, wait till you try to have school on Christmas Eve.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

I'm not super comfortable for this option, but I'm OK to short upcoming winter break or next spring break days, assuming that they give us enough ahead-of-time notice. Apparently MCPS is leaning toward a last-minute-notice pattern nowadays...

AT THIS POINT I prefer using holidays as a first choice and shortening spring and winter break as a second choice. In the future starting earlier is fine, especially if we can know when the prior school year will end at a reasonable time.

Everyone acting like childcare/camp is some 1 percent privilege is completely out of touch. I like in a solidly MC neighborhood in Rockville and basically every family I know with working parents has made a plan for how they will cover that week. For many it’s camp (and a half week is often the worst, because camps will cancel for the full week, so it’s extra hard to find child care for those handful of days) or they run and you have to pay for days you don’t use. I have a friend who is still scrambling to get a refund for a camp that was supposed to run the week after school ends this year, that was canceled before MSDE gave the waiver. The camp moved to a different week, and it’s not coming back. To make people do that again, for another week this same summer, is ridiculous. Many families in our neighborhood also fly overseas and either leave their kids with grandparents or stay the whole summer to get help with childcare. All of these things have been planned for and set up for months and are very expensive to change.

What about high school sports? Will they start even earlier? I don’t actually care about that but it’s just annoying to so many people.

I agree wholeheartedly with your comments on camps. It's not a privilege, it's a necessity in a HCOL area where almost every household needs dual incomes to survive. Especially considering WFH options are becoming increasingly rare. Do I want to pay thousands for camp every summer? No, but I do it because I have to work to put food on the table, a roof over our heads, and all the other myriad expenses that comes with life. At least it's tax deductible.

You may see it as a necessity in your high cost bubble, but you are out of touch. But most MCPS kids aren't in summer camps all summer--and very few are paying thousands every summer for camps. They can't afford it. And even for those with kids in camp-there aren't that many options available for the end of August--there are so many threads about the lack of options at for those last weeks in August because some school districts have already gone back to school earlier than MCPS (ex: FCPS).

[Anonymous]

At this rate, school will be year round... Ending later, starting earlier. Only 1 week off between summer school and teachers having to be back for pre-service. It's just maddening. The jerking around has gotten out of control. I have whiplash!!

~signed an MCPS teacher and parent of 3 MCPS students

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At this rate, school will be year round... Ending later, starting earlier. Only 1 week off between summer school and teachers having to be back for pre-service. It's just maddening. The jerking around has gotten out of control. I have whiplash!!

~signed an MCPS teacher and parent of 3 MCPS students

I hope you don't teach logic. Starting a few days earlier so we can build in an appropriate amount of snow days, since MCPS doesn't want to open if there's even a speck of ice on the ground anywhere in MoCo is hardly the tragedy you're trying to claim it is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

You mean compared to the constant changes we had this school year with the changes to the June end date and to the makeup days that weren't really make up days. I have no issue with these changes being announced now in April for a schedule to begin slightly earlier in August. Plenty of time for people to adjust.

+1 This is a sensible start date so we can have some snow days built into the calendar. For once, I'm happy with what MCPS has decided.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

I'm not super comfortable for this option, but I'm OK to short upcoming winter break or next spring break days, assuming that they give us enough ahead-of-time notice. Apparently MCPS is leaning toward a last-minute-notice pattern nowadays...

AT THIS POINT I prefer using holidays as a first choice and shortening spring and winter break as a second choice. In the future starting earlier is fine, especially if we can know when the prior school year will end at a reasonable time.

Everyone acting like childcare/camp is some 1 percent privilege is completely out of touch. I like in a solidly MC neighborhood in Rockville and basically every family I know with working parents has made a plan for how they will cover that week. For many it’s camp (and a half week is often the worst, because camps will cancel for the full week, so it’s extra hard to find child care for those handful of days) or they run and you have to pay for days you don’t use. I have a friend who is still scrambling to get a refund for a camp that was supposed to run the week after school ends this year, that was canceled before MSDE gave the waiver. The camp moved to a different week, and it’s not coming back. To make people do that again, for another week this same summer, is ridiculous. Many families in our neighborhood also fly overseas and either leave their kids with grandparents or stay the whole summer to get help with childcare. All of these things have been planned for and set up for months and are very expensive to change.

What about high school sports? Will they start even earlier? I don’t actually care about that but it’s just annoying to so many people.

I agree wholeheartedly with your comments on camps. It's not a privilege, it's a necessity in a HCOL area where almost every household needs dual incomes to survive. Especially considering WFH options are becoming increasingly rare. Do I want to pay thousands for camp every summer? No, but I do it because I have to work to put food on the table, a roof over our heads, and all the other myriad expenses that comes with life. At least it's tax deductible.

You may see it as a necessity in your high cost bubble, but you are out of touch. But most MCPS kids aren't in summer camps all summer--and very few are paying thousands every summer for camps. They can't afford it. And even for those with kids in camp-there aren't that many options available for the end of August--there are so many threads about the lack of options at for those last weeks in August because some school districts have already gone back to school earlier than MCPS (ex: FCPS).

I live in Montgomery County, it's all a "high cost bubble"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

I'm not super comfortable for this option, but I'm OK to short upcoming winter break or next spring break days, assuming that they give us enough ahead-of-time notice. Apparently MCPS is leaning toward a last-minute-notice pattern nowadays...

AT THIS POINT I prefer using holidays as a first choice and shortening spring and winter break as a second choice. In the future starting earlier is fine, especially if we can know when the prior school year will end at a reasonable time.

Everyone acting like childcare/camp is some 1 percent privilege is completely out of touch. I like in a solidly MC neighborhood in Rockville and basically every family I know with working parents has made a plan for how they will cover that week. For many it’s camp (and a half week is often the worst, because camps will cancel for the full week, so it’s extra hard to find child care for those handful of days) or they run and you have to pay for days you don’t use. I have a friend who is still scrambling to get a refund for a camp that was supposed to run the week after school ends this year, that was canceled before MSDE gave the waiver. The camp moved to a different week, and it’s not coming back. To make people do that again, for another week this same summer, is ridiculous. Many families in our neighborhood also fly overseas and either leave their kids with grandparents or stay the whole summer to get help with childcare. All of these things have been planned for and set up for months and are very expensive to change.

What about high school sports? Will they start even earlier? I don’t actually care about that but it’s just annoying to so many people.

I agree wholeheartedly with your comments on camps. It's not a privilege, it's a necessity in a HCOL area where almost every household needs dual incomes to survive. Especially considering WFH options are becoming increasingly rare. Do I want to pay thousands for camp every summer? No, but I do it because I have to work to put food on the table, a roof over our heads, and all the other myriad expenses that comes with life. At least it's tax deductible.

You may see it as a necessity in your high cost bubble, but you are out of touch. But most MCPS kids aren't in summer camps all summer--and very few are paying thousands every summer for camps. They can't afford it. And even for those with kids in camp-there aren't that many options available for the end of August--there are so many threads about the lack of options at for those last weeks in August because some school districts have already gone back to school earlier than MCPS (ex: FCPS).

Now let's compare the number of kids and staff in camp or traveling that week to the number of kids who need the after Diwali to be a day off.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

I'm not super comfortable for this option, but I'm OK to short upcoming winter break or next spring break days, assuming that they give us enough ahead-of-time notice. Apparently MCPS is leaning toward a last-minute-notice pattern nowadays...

AT THIS POINT I prefer using holidays as a first choice and shortening spring and winter break as a second choice. In the future starting earlier is fine, especially if we can know when the prior school year will end at a reasonable time.

Everyone acting like childcare/camp is some 1 percent privilege is completely out of touch. I like in a solidly MC neighborhood in Rockville and basically every family I know with working parents has made a plan for how they will cover that week. For many it’s camp (and a half week is often the worst, because camps will cancel for the full week, so it’s extra hard to find child care for those handful of days) or they run and you have to pay for days you don’t use. I have a friend who is still scrambling to get a refund for a camp that was supposed to run the week after school ends this year, that was canceled before MSDE gave the waiver. The camp moved to a different week, and it’s not coming back. To make people do that again, for another week this same summer, is ridiculous. Many families in our neighborhood also fly overseas and either leave their kids with grandparents or stay the whole summer to get help with childcare. All of these things have been planned for and set up for months and are very expensive to change.

What about high school sports? Will they start even earlier? I don’t actually care about that but it’s just annoying to so many people.

I agree wholeheartedly with your comments on camps. It's not a privilege, it's a necessity in a HCOL area where almost every household needs dual incomes to survive. Especially considering WFH options are becoming increasingly rare. Do I want to pay thousands for camp every summer? No, but I do it because I have to work to put food on the table, a roof over our heads, and all the other myriad expenses that comes with life. At least it's tax deductible.

You may see it as a necessity in your high cost bubble, but you are out of touch. But most MCPS kids aren't in summer camps all summer--and very few are paying thousands every summer for camps. They can't afford it. And even for those with kids in camp-there aren't that many options available for the end of August--there are so many threads about the lack of options at for those last weeks in August because some school districts have already gone back to school earlier than MCPS (ex: FCPS).

I live in Montgomery County, it's all a "high cost bubble"

No, not all of MoCo is a high cost bubble--and there are a lot of students living in poverty even if you just don't seem to get out much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

I'm not super comfortable for this option, but I'm OK to short upcoming winter break or next spring break days, assuming that they give us enough ahead-of-time notice. Apparently MCPS is leaning toward a last-minute-notice pattern nowadays...

AT THIS POINT I prefer using holidays as a first choice and shortening spring and winter break as a second choice. In the future starting earlier is fine, especially if we can know when the prior school year will end at a reasonable time.

Everyone acting like childcare/camp is some 1 percent privilege is completely out of touch. I like in a solidly MC neighborhood in Rockville and basically every family I know with working parents has made a plan for how they will cover that week. For many it’s camp (and a half week is often the worst, because camps will cancel for the full week, so it’s extra hard to find child care for those handful of days) or they run and you have to pay for days you don’t use. I have a friend who is still scrambling to get a refund for a camp that was supposed to run the week after school ends this year, that was canceled before MSDE gave the waiver. The camp moved to a different week, and it’s not coming back. To make people do that again, for another week this same summer, is ridiculous. Many families in our neighborhood also fly overseas and either leave their kids with grandparents or stay the whole summer to get help with childcare. All of these things have been planned for and set up for months and are very expensive to change.

What about high school sports? Will they start even earlier? I don’t actually care about that but it’s just annoying to so many people.

I agree wholeheartedly with your comments on camps. It's not a privilege, it's a necessity in a HCOL area where almost every household needs dual incomes to survive. Especially considering WFH options are becoming increasingly rare. Do I want to pay thousands for camp every summer? No, but I do it because I have to work to put food on the table, a roof over our heads, and all the other myriad expenses that comes with life. At least it's tax deductible.

You may see it as a necessity in your high cost bubble, but you are out of touch. But most MCPS kids aren't in summer camps all summer--and very few are paying thousands every summer for camps. They can't afford it. And even for those with kids in camp-there aren't that many options available for the end of August--there are so many threads about the lack of options at for those last weeks in August because some school districts have already gone back to school earlier than MCPS (ex: FCPS).

Now let's compare the number of kids and staff in camp or traveling that week to the number of kids who need the after Diwali to be a day off.

Funny that you're picking on Diwali and not the 3 Jewish religious holidays built into the calendar. Feel free to advocate for getting rid of all the religious holidays and then we can keep the original August start date. But I'm glad MCPS is making efforts so we don't have the sh**show we did this year where kids got shortchanged on instructional days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

I'm not super comfortable for this option, but I'm OK to short upcoming winter break or next spring break days, assuming that they give us enough ahead-of-time notice. Apparently MCPS is leaning toward a last-minute-notice pattern nowadays...

AT THIS POINT I prefer using holidays as a first choice and shortening spring and winter break as a second choice. In the future starting earlier is fine, especially if we can know when the prior school year will end at a reasonable time.

Everyone acting like childcare/camp is some 1 percent privilege is completely out of touch. I like in a solidly MC neighborhood in Rockville and basically every family I know with working parents has made a plan for how they will cover that week. For many it’s camp (and a half week is often the worst, because camps will cancel for the full week, so it’s extra hard to find child care for those handful of days) or they run and you have to pay for days you don’t use. I have a friend who is still scrambling to get a refund for a camp that was supposed to run the week after school ends this year, that was canceled before MSDE gave the waiver. The camp moved to a different week, and it’s not coming back. To make people do that again, for another week this same summer, is ridiculous. Many families in our neighborhood also fly overseas and either leave their kids with grandparents or stay the whole summer to get help with childcare. All of these things have been planned for and set up for months and are very expensive to change.

What about high school sports? Will they start even earlier? I don’t actually care about that but it’s just annoying to so many people.

I agree wholeheartedly with your comments on camps. It's not a privilege, it's a necessity in a HCOL area where almost every household needs dual incomes to survive. Especially considering WFH options are becoming increasingly rare. Do I want to pay thousands for camp every summer? No, but I do it because I have to work to put food on the table, a roof over our heads, and all the other myriad expenses that comes with life. At least it's tax deductible.

You may see it as a necessity in your high cost bubble, but you are out of touch. But most MCPS kids aren't in summer camps all summer--and very few are paying thousands every summer for camps. They can't afford it. And even for those with kids in camp-there aren't that many options available for the end of August--there are so many threads about the lack of options at for those last weeks in August because some school districts have already gone back to school earlier than MCPS (ex: FCPS).

Now let's compare the number of kids and staff in camp or traveling that week to the number of kids who need the after Diwali to be a day off.

Funny that you're picking on Diwali and not the 3 Jewish religious holidays built into the calendar. Feel free to advocate for getting rid of all the religious holidays and then we can keep the original August start date. But I'm glad MCPS is making efforts so we don't have the sh**show we did this year where kids got shortchanged on instructional days.

I picked Diwali because 1) the population who celebrate it is much smaller than the Jewish population and 2) the day designate to coordinate isn't even the holiday itself. That obviously makes it different if you take a second to think. I also wouldn't care if they designated the Jewish holidays, but if you're figuring out which ones should be on the chopping block for next year's calendar it obviously goes first in terms of the actual impact it would have on students and staff.

[Anonymous]

Move the transition day to the week before school starts
Make August 24 the first day of school
MP1 Ends Oct 30, Grading & Planning on 11/3
Make Nov 9 an instructional day (Diwali is on the 8th, no holiday is observed on the 9th)
Make Dec 23 an instructional day. NO holiday is observed on the 23rd, and why give Christian holidays more than any other religion.
MP2 Ends 1/15, Grading and Planning on 1/19
MP3 Ends 4/8, Grading and Planning on 4/9
MP4 ends June 11, Grading and Planning on June 14
School ends June 11.
Make up days in order of use are:
1. June 11 (built in)
2. June 14
3. June 15
4. June 16
5. June 17
6. April 22 or May 17

End result, we don't move school earlier, guaranteed to be done by Juneteenth, and we don't need to use a religious observance day as a makeup unless we have 6 snow days

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

I'm not super comfortable for this option, but I'm OK to short upcoming winter break or next spring break days, assuming that they give us enough ahead-of-time notice. Apparently MCPS is leaning toward a last-minute-notice pattern nowadays...

AT THIS POINT I prefer using holidays as a first choice and shortening spring and winter break as a second choice. In the future starting earlier is fine, especially if we can know when the prior school year will end at a reasonable time.

Everyone acting like childcare/camp is some 1 percent privilege is completely out of touch. I like in a solidly MC neighborhood in Rockville and basically every family I know with working parents has made a plan for how they will cover that week. For many it’s camp (and a half week is often the worst, because camps will cancel for the full week, so it’s extra hard to find child care for those handful of days) or they run and you have to pay for days you don’t use. I have a friend who is still scrambling to get a refund for a camp that was supposed to run the week after school ends this year, that was canceled before MSDE gave the waiver. The camp moved to a different week, and it’s not coming back. To make people do that again, for another week this same summer, is ridiculous. Many families in our neighborhood also fly overseas and either leave their kids with grandparents or stay the whole summer to get help with childcare. All of these things have been planned for and set up for months and are very expensive to change.

What about high school sports? Will they start even earlier? I don’t actually care about that but it’s just annoying to so many people.

I agree wholeheartedly with your comments on camps. It's not a privilege, it's a necessity in a HCOL area where almost every household needs dual incomes to survive. Especially considering WFH options are becoming increasingly rare. Do I want to pay thousands for camp every summer? No, but I do it because I have to work to put food on the table, a roof over our heads, and all the other myriad expenses that comes with life. At least it's tax deductible.

You may see it as a necessity in your high cost bubble, but you are out of touch. But most MCPS kids aren't in summer camps all summer--and very few are paying thousands every summer for camps. They can't afford it. And even for those with kids in camp-there aren't that many options available for the end of August--there are so many threads about the lack of options at for those last weeks in August because some school districts have already gone back to school earlier than MCPS (ex: FCPS).

Now let's compare the number of kids and staff in camp or traveling that week to the number of kids who need the after Diwali to be a day off.

Funny that you're picking on Diwali and not the 3 Jewish religious holidays built into the calendar. Feel free to advocate for getting rid of all the religious holidays and then we can keep the original August start date. But I'm glad MCPS is making efforts so we don't have the sh**show we did this year where kids got shortchanged on instructional days.

I picked Diwali because 1) the population who celebrate it is much smaller than the Jewish population and 2) the day designate to coordinate isn't even the holiday itself. That obviously makes it different if you take a second to think. I also wouldn't care if they designated the Jewish holidays, but if you're figuring out which ones should be on the chopping block for next year's calendar it obviously goes first in terms of the actual impact it would have on students and staff.

Really? I've never seen actual data on who celebrates which holidays in MCPS so it sounds like you're letting your religious biases substitute for actual fact (or your social circle is so narrow that you can't fathom other people celebrating non-Judeo Christian holidays.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

You mean compared to the constant changes we had this school year with the changes to the June end date and to the makeup days that weren't really make up days. I have no issue with these changes being announced now in April for a schedule to begin slightly earlier in August. Plenty of time for people to adjust.

+1 This is a sensible start date so we can have some snow days built into the calendar. For once, I'm happy with what MCPS has decided.

They haven't decided on anything actually. It's not sensible, it's ridiculous. The calendar has been set for a year and people have made summer plans based on the calendar. For them to try and claim "too many people made spring break plans" for NEXT YEAR vs in 4 months is just completely tone deaf of them per usual.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

I'm not super comfortable for this option, but I'm OK to short upcoming winter break or next spring break days, assuming that they give us enough ahead-of-time notice. Apparently MCPS is leaning toward a last-minute-notice pattern nowadays...

AT THIS POINT I prefer using holidays as a first choice and shortening spring and winter break as a second choice. In the future starting earlier is fine, especially if we can know when the prior school year will end at a reasonable time.

Everyone acting like childcare/camp is some 1 percent privilege is completely out of touch. I like in a solidly MC neighborhood in Rockville and basically every family I know with working parents has made a plan for how they will cover that week. For many it’s camp (and a half week is often the worst, because camps will cancel for the full week, so it’s extra hard to find child care for those handful of days) or they run and you have to pay for days you don’t use. I have a friend who is still scrambling to get a refund for a camp that was supposed to run the week after school ends this year, that was canceled before MSDE gave the waiver. The camp moved to a different week, and it’s not coming back. To make people do that again, for another week this same summer, is ridiculous. Many families in our neighborhood also fly overseas and either leave their kids with grandparents or stay the whole summer to get help with childcare. All of these things have been planned for and set up for months and are very expensive to change.

What about high school sports? Will they start even earlier? I don’t actually care about that but it’s just annoying to so many people.

I agree wholeheartedly with your comments on camps. It's not a privilege, it's a necessity in a HCOL area where almost every household needs dual incomes to survive. Especially considering WFH options are becoming increasingly rare. Do I want to pay thousands for camp every summer? No, but I do it because I have to work to put food on the table, a roof over our heads, and all the other myriad expenses that comes with life. At least it's tax deductible.

You may see it as a necessity in your high cost bubble, but you are out of touch. But most MCPS kids aren't in summer camps all summer--and very few are paying thousands every summer for camps. They can't afford it. And even for those with kids in camp-there aren't that many options available for the end of August--there are so many threads about the lack of options at for those last weeks in August because some school districts have already gone back to school earlier than MCPS (ex: FCPS).

Now let's compare the number of kids and staff in camp or traveling that week to the number of kids who need the after Diwali to be a day off.

Funny that you're picking on Diwali and not the 3 Jewish religious holidays built into the calendar. Feel free to advocate for getting rid of all the religious holidays and then we can keep the original August start date. But I'm glad MCPS is making efforts so we don't have the sh**show we did this year where kids got shortchanged on instructional days.

I picked Diwali because 1) the population who celebrate it is much smaller than the Jewish population and 2) the day designate to coordinate isn't even the holiday itself. That obviously makes it different if you take a second to think. I also wouldn't care if they designated the Jewish holidays, but if you're figuring out which ones should be on the chopping block for next year's calendar it obviously goes first in terms of the actual impact it would have on students and staff.

Really? I've never seen actual data on who celebrates which holidays in MCPS so it sounds like you're letting your religious biases substitute for actual fact (or your social circle is so narrow that you can't fathom other people celebrating non-Judeo Christian holidays.)

I'm capable of drawing logical inferences from the fact that roughly 10% of Montgomery County is Jewish and 3% Indian. My social circle has nothing to do with anything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

I'm not super comfortable for this option, but I'm OK to short upcoming winter break or next spring break days, assuming that they give us enough ahead-of-time notice. Apparently MCPS is leaning toward a last-minute-notice pattern nowadays...

AT THIS POINT I prefer using holidays as a first choice and shortening spring and winter break as a second choice. In the future starting earlier is fine, especially if we can know when the prior school year will end at a reasonable time.

Everyone acting like childcare/camp is some 1 percent privilege is completely out of touch. I like in a solidly MC neighborhood in Rockville and basically every family I know with working parents has made a plan for how they will cover that week. For many it’s camp (and a half week is often the worst, because camps will cancel for the full week, so it’s extra hard to find child care for those handful of days) or they run and you have to pay for days you don’t use. I have a friend who is still scrambling to get a refund for a camp that was supposed to run the week after school ends this year, that was canceled before MSDE gave the waiver. The camp moved to a different week, and it’s not coming back. To make people do that again, for another week this same summer, is ridiculous. Many families in our neighborhood also fly overseas and either leave their kids with grandparents or stay the whole summer to get help with childcare. All of these things have been planned for and set up for months and are very expensive to change.

What about high school sports? Will they start even earlier? I don’t actually care about that but it’s just annoying to so many people.

I agree wholeheartedly with your comments on camps. It's not a privilege, it's a necessity in a HCOL area where almost every household needs dual incomes to survive. Especially considering WFH options are becoming increasingly rare. Do I want to pay thousands for camp every summer? No, but I do it because I have to work to put food on the table, a roof over our heads, and all the other myriad expenses that comes with life. At least it's tax deductible.

You may see it as a necessity in your high cost bubble, but you are out of touch. But most MCPS kids aren't in summer camps all summer--and very few are paying thousands every summer for camps. They can't afford it. And even for those with kids in camp-there aren't that many options available for the end of August--there are so many threads about the lack of options at for those last weeks in August because some school districts have already gone back to school earlier than MCPS (ex: FCPS).

Now let's compare the number of kids and staff in camp or traveling that week to the number of kids who need the after Diwali to be a day off.

Funny that you're picking on Diwali and not the 3 Jewish religious holidays built into the calendar. Feel free to advocate for getting rid of all the religious holidays and then we can keep the original August start date. But I'm glad MCPS is making efforts so we don't have the sh**show we did this year where kids got shortchanged on instructional days.

I picked Diwali because 1) the population who celebrate it is much smaller than the Jewish population and 2) the day designate to coordinate isn't even the holiday itself. That obviously makes it different if you take a second to think. I also wouldn't care if they designated the Jewish holidays, but if you're figuring out which ones should be on the chopping block for next year's calendar it obviously goes first in terms of the actual impact it would have on students and staff.

Really? I've never seen actual data on who celebrates which holidays in MCPS so it sounds like you're letting your religious biases substitute for actual fact (or your social circle is so narrow that you can't fathom other people celebrating non-Judeo Christian holidays.)

I'm capable of drawing logical inferences from the fact that roughly 10% of Montgomery County is Jewish and 3% Indian. My social circle has nothing to do with anything.

Roughly? Where did you get that data? Out of your nether region?