MCPS updated calendar is insane

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Who is sending their kids from June 22-25??? But with a day off on June 23? Who comes up with these idiotic decisions??

More to the point, where are they going to get the money to pay staff to work then. And don't start with that "they got paid with the snow days" bullshit. They're going to have to be paid. For Juneteenth, too.

MCPS employee here.... If I remember correctly, we got paid for make-up days last year. And this poster is correct. They probably will have to pay for Juneteenth and election day. Taylor said in the meeting that for each additional day that schools are open, it costs 2 million TAXPAYER dollars per day (that was his quote).

That depends on the type of employee. Make up days are part of the professional staff contracts.

Hourly workers get paid the make up days (ex: para educators), but they do not get paid if they do not work that day so they can't use leave and still get paid that day since they were paid the snow day. Salary workers (Ex: teachers) do not get paid for the make up days added on to the end of the school year. And it also impacts them starting their summer jobs. Teachers will be working into a new pay period without a paycheck and not able to go to the jobs many depend on to supplement their income.

If MCPS used the make up days in the calendar, teachers are paid those days since they were already professional days! I do not understand why MCPS will not use the days they agreed to and why they even pretend they will next year. At least stop labeling them if you have no intent on using them!

Teachers have already been paid for the make-up days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let's not forget that the 26-27 calendar that was just approved also has only one built in snow day and two post-winter makeup days that probably also won't be used. Not only are our children not learning, but the people in charge can't learn from their two years of mistakes.

You know no one is forcing you to live in MoCo, right?

Yes, because anyone who makes any criticism of MCPS obvious incompetence should move out right? Rather than MCPS actually improving its performance. Very practical.

[Anonymous]

There was absolutely no teacher feedback requested for these changes in the calendar. No teachers want to go into June 25th.
Teachers work summer school, have other jobs etc. Keeping all of the school buildings open this late in the summer as well as providing buses and meals for students through that week will large added expenses for a school system that already claims to not have enough money.

[Anonymous]

MCPS will celebrate a religious holiday but not all US Federal Holidays

Maryland requires 180 instructional days, yet MCPS has numerous "half-days" (where no instruction is performed).

Two self-inflicted wounds are removing all remote instruction (which caused the snow day makeups in the first place) and the innovative calendar schedule which is even more messed up than ususal.

Same goes for setting non-instructional days for every religion on the planet for every student (even non-religious ones). The only US legal requirement I'm aware of is to provide up to three excused absences for religious observances.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There was absolutely no teacher feedback requested for these changes in the calendar. No teachers want to go into June 25th.
Teachers work summer school, have other jobs etc. Keeping all of the school buildings open this late in the summer as well as providing buses and meals for students through that week will large added expenses for a school system that already claims to not have enough money.

Your union nixed April 15, which was the agreed makeup day, a random Wednesday in April which would have a lot of instructional value to students.

So now you can take vacation days so you don’t have to teach at MCPS and can make your commitments to your other job

Consequences.

[Anonymous]

Grading and planning days are essential. You can get rid of them if you want but it will be to the detriment of students. Having the day off means we can carefully go through grades and make sure there are no mistakes. It also gives us a few hours to grade stuff. Finally it gives teachers time to reflect and do some planning for future lessons. Take it away and many of us will just hastily throw something together for planning purposes. Think of some of your kids teachers who you like and who do a good job. Good teaching doesn’t just happen. It takes a lot of planning and effort. And trying new things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MCPS will celebrate a religious holiday but not all US Federal Holidays

Maryland requires 180 instructional days, yet MCPS has numerous "half-days" (where no instruction is performed).

Two self-inflicted wounds are removing all remote instruction (which caused the snow day makeups in the first place) and the innovative calendar schedule which is even more messed up than ususal.

Same goes for setting non-instructional days for every religion on the planet for every student (even non-religious ones). The only US legal requirement I'm aware of is to provide up to three excused absences for religious observances.

Most districts elsewhere in the country have one half day per week which count as instructional days for however many days the state has allotted as a minimum. Been going on since the early 2000s. Almost ALL districts offer virtual options. MCPS parents would have NONE of that because they refuse to stop living in the (very distant at this point) past. Get with the times.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There was absolutely no teacher feedback requested for these changes in the calendar. No teachers want to go into June 25th.
Teachers work summer school, have other jobs etc. Keeping all of the school buildings open this late in the summer as well as providing buses and meals for students through that week will large added expenses for a school system that already claims to not have enough money.

Your union nixed April 15, which was the agreed makeup day, a random Wednesday in April which would have a lot of instructional value to students.

So now you can take vacation days so you don’t have to teach at MCPS and can make your commitments to your other job

Consequences.

Haha. Whose union?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There was absolutely no teacher feedback requested for these changes in the calendar. No teachers want to go into June 25th.
Teachers work summer school, have other jobs etc. Keeping all of the school buildings open this late in the summer as well as providing buses and meals for students through that week will large added expenses for a school system that already claims to not have enough money.

Your union nixed April 15, which was the agreed makeup day, a random Wednesday in April which would have a lot of instructional value to students.

So now you can take vacation days so you don’t have to teach at MCPS and can make your commitments to your other job

Consequences.

Haha. Whose union?

I don’t work for McPS. But the board doc says that April 15 Wednesday non instructional day couldn’t be cancelled because it was agreement with McPS staff. Enjoy your June work days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There was absolutely no teacher feedback requested for these changes in the calendar. No teachers want to go into June 25th.
Teachers work summer school, have other jobs etc. Keeping all of the school buildings open this late in the summer as well as providing buses and meals for students through that week will large added expenses for a school system that already claims to not have enough money.

Your union nixed April 15, which was the agreed makeup day, a random Wednesday in April which would have a lot of instructional value to students.

So now you can take vacation days so you don’t have to teach at MCPS and can make your commitments to your other job

Consequences.

Haha. Whose union?

Vote better union leaders in. You've got an atrocious record so far.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Here's 2018-2019: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://teacherquality.nctq.org/dmsView/0285_18_2018-19_SchoolCalendar&ved=2ahUKEwjQ7LaSmeiSAxVXFlkFHR48GuQQFnoECBAQAQ&usg=AOvVaw2Bv9-dJpYrnJ4juwux-MaD

Looks like they used to have half days for end of quarter grading/planning instead of full.

They need to go back to that.

Yes, we can't have BOTH full-day grading days and take off every single religious holiday. I don't care which we get rid of, but it has to be one.

Or you start one week earlier in August like FCPS dose, and which also has a lot of religious holidays built in (and 3 snow days, unlike stupid MCPS which only puts in 1). There are a lot of options here that are preferrable to this annual chaos around MCPS snow days.

Where I grew up we had 3 snow days. If they weren't used, school ended earlier. If there were more than 3 snow days, they were added on in June. There wasn't this drama and constantly shifting calendars like MCPS does.

I hate MCPS but FCPS goes by hours so they have a lot of flexibility in their schedule. They added 30min to every day about 10 years ago and didn't have to make up a week of snow days

Going by hours makes so much sense. Why don’t we do that?

Because the rest of the country does 180 days in school and because half the kids in MCPS can't read or do math at grade level. But if we're following FCPS as an example, can we start 1 week earlier in August than MCPS currently does like they do? FCPS has several snow days built into their calendar.

Actually only a few states ACTUALLY require 180 separate calendar days. Maryland is one so is New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts. Others allow a specific amount of hours to count as equivalent of 180 days.

NJ, CT and MA have among the highest performing states in education. I would rather my kids have 180 days like their residents than this hours BS. Also, NJ, CT and MA all have snow but seem to manage doing 180 days without all the chaos of MCPS.

NY too-- grew up in a far snowier area with amazing schools in NY-- school starts after labor day and ends late June but two full vacation weeks (feb and april), no silly easter monday

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS will celebrate a religious holiday but not all US Federal Holidays

Maryland requires 180 instructional days, yet MCPS has numerous "half-days" (where no instruction is performed).

Two self-inflicted wounds are removing all remote instruction (which caused the snow day makeups in the first place) and the innovative calendar schedule which is even more messed up than ususal.

Same goes for setting non-instructional days for every religion on the planet for every student (even non-religious ones). The only US legal requirement I'm aware of is to provide up to three excused absences for religious observances.

Most districts elsewhere in the country have one half day per week which count as instructional days for however many days the state has allotted as a minimum. Been going on since the early 2000s. Almost ALL districts offer virtual options. MCPS parents would have NONE of that because they refuse to stop living in the (very distant at this point) past. Get with the times.

Don't be absurd. No, most school districts don't have half days like that. And most districts don't operate full-time virtual programs with live instruction. Some do, yes, but it is uncommon. Instead, it is often accommodated through state programs, private programs, or open-enrollment to a different district in the state that does offer it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There was absolutely no teacher feedback requested for these changes in the calendar. No teachers want to go into June 25th.
Teachers work summer school, have other jobs etc. Keeping all of the school buildings open this late in the summer as well as providing buses and meals for students through that week will large added expenses for a school system that already claims to not have enough money.

Then you guys need to work with your union to have MCPS do better upfront planning and push them to use early contingency days. MCPS will say they can't because of the union. If that's not correct, or if the union isn't representing the best interest of the teachers, then you all need to speak up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Grading and planning days are essential. You can get rid of them if you want but it will be to the detriment of students. Having the day off means we can carefully go through grades and make sure there are no mistakes. It also gives us a few hours to grade stuff. Finally it gives teachers time to reflect and do some planning for future lessons. Take it away and many of us will just hastily throw something together for planning purposes. Think of some of your kids teachers who you like and who do a good job. Good teaching doesn’t just happen. It takes a lot of planning and effort. And trying new things.

If MCPS is unwilling to use it as a make up day, then it should not be listed as a contingency day - full stop.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS will celebrate a religious holiday but not all US Federal Holidays

Maryland requires 180 instructional days, yet MCPS has numerous "half-days" (where no instruction is performed).

Two self-inflicted wounds are removing all remote instruction (which caused the snow day makeups in the first place) and the innovative calendar schedule which is even more messed up than ususal.

Same goes for setting non-instructional days for every religion on the planet for every student (even non-religious ones). The only US legal requirement I'm aware of is to provide up to three excused absences for religious observances.

Most districts elsewhere in the country have one half day per week which count as instructional days for however many days the state has allotted as a minimum. Been going on since the early 2000s. Almost ALL districts offer virtual options. MCPS parents would have NONE of that because they refuse to stop living in the (very distant at this point) past. Get with the times.

Don't be absurd. No, most school districts don't have half days like that. And most districts don't operate full-time virtual programs with live instruction. Some do, yes, but it is uncommon. Instead, it is often accommodated through state programs, private programs, or open-enrollment to a different district in the state that does offer it.

Do your own homework. You might astonish yourself in finding out how wrong you are. So lazy. So stupid.