Will voting out the school board make the school calendar sane again?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am the OP. My child only started in FCPS in 2024. I am so confused about why people asked for this (as a poster indicated earlier). Is it a fact that the majority of people with a stake in the school calendar asked for it by way of survey responses? What am I missing?

Nobody asked for this except for woke liberals. There was never a valid survey that sought input.

What's missing is sound rational school planning.

Lollllllll at the person that blames "woke liberals" for everything
Nobody asked for this!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, next school year’s calendar does seem better - we start about a full week later on 8/24 but we still get out mid June (6/17). I feel like starting later is better for summer travel and the all important ( ) summer pool season. But getting out earlier is better for education and having less wasted time at the end of the school year. So I do wonder why they didn’t try to start the 26-27 SY on 8/17 and get out 6/10.

Steering 8/17 means teachers go back a week before same with several HS sports. That's second week of August!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"longer" school year is made possible by lots of 4day weekends and days off for mental health, schoolwork, etc. and parents know years in advance for childcare. I truly don't see the reason for school board hatred, angst over this

The hatred is because it’s disrespectful.

Whether it was intentional or not, you’re entirely wrong about “years in advance”. The early dismissals starting in ‘24 were announced weeks before they started. The new day of the week for this awful program was announced in May. No one believes Reid or the board won’t make more changes to published calendars— fool us once, shame on you, fool us twice …

And so the hatred is because of the disrespect and sexism. FCPS’ casual assumption that women (its always women) couldn’t possibly have jobs so demanding that 39 days off PLUS early dismissals could possibly represent a hardship to the mothers they assume are home eating bonbons. And if they’re NOT sitting home surely they can fork out $1000 extra a month to cover childcare so teachers can “plan”. Meanwhile, no matter how long you know in advance no job is handing most workers 39 days off between September and June.

FCPS is going to need to answer to their constituents. Board members know people are angry.

Speak for your family yourself. My husband is i take equal days off to support school days off. Perhaps the casual sexism is in your own house. Hate when people claim this, when it really speaks to your own household.
(We also don't love taking all this random time off)

100% When I read that post, I thought, this must just be the way it is in your household. This is not an FCPS issue. In my household, my husband and I share the childcare load as equally as we can. And, if you cannot pick up your child at the elementary school early dismissal time, you do have the option of using the school's after care supervision and transportation on those early dismissal days. Contact your school to request it. https://www.fcps.edu/family-resources/safety-and-transportation/limited-early-release-wednesdays

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"longer" school year is made possible by lots of 4day weekends and days off for mental health, schoolwork, etc. and parents know years in advance for childcare. I truly don't see the reason for school board hatred, angst over this

The hatred is because it’s disrespectful.

Whether it was intentional or not, you’re entirely wrong about “years in advance”. The early dismissals starting in ‘24 were announced weeks before they started. The new day of the week for this awful program was announced in May. No one believes Reid or the board won’t make more changes to published calendars— fool us once, shame on you, fool us twice …

And so the hatred is because of the disrespect and sexism. FCPS’ casual assumption that women (its always women) couldn’t possibly have jobs so demanding that 39 days off PLUS early dismissals could possibly represent a hardship to the mothers they assume are home eating bonbons. And if they’re NOT sitting home surely they can fork out $1000 extra a month to cover childcare so teachers can “plan”. Meanwhile, no matter how long you know in advance no job is handing most workers 39 days off between September and June.

FCPS is going to need to answer to their constituents. Board members know people are angry.

Speak for your family yourself. My husband is i take equal days off to support school days off. Perhaps the casual sexism is in your own house. Hate when people claim this, when it really speaks to your own household.
(We also don't love taking all this random time off)

The statistics, which are widely available me, say your family is an anomaly. FCPS knows it’s the women whose time and money they are freeloading on. My husband's job comes with less annual leave than mine, and sure everyone would love if employers handed out 40 days (eight weeks!) of PTO from September to June but it doesn't happen.

Yeah, no - most people get nowhere near 40 days. Which is why my husband and I split childcare responsibilities and days off. That's a marriage.

And thats great for you— truly— but statistically insignificant. When FCPS sets this calendar they’re not saying oh well in an egalitarian marriage we’re only asking for 20 days off each person. They’ve got the data about hours of childcare work, and they’ve got the data about single parents, and they come to the conclusion that women can be out of the workplace to make sure teachers have “enough planning time”. That’s the assumption.

For as liberal as FCPS is, its a model that 100% assumes a SAHM, and hides behind disrespectful sound-bytes like “school isn’t childcare” and “you had years to plan!” and my favorite “why don’t you want to spend time with your kids!?” to attempt to shame women out of advocating for better. I think in COVID it worked because it was paired with a message of public safety but schools and teachers got greedy about what they could ask for, parents had enough, and now even the school board says it has to change.

No, no, no.
Work on your marriage and the split of duties if you are both working parents. Just hate how everything becomes an equality debate.
And yes, I hate the calendar also. At least make some of the days off on Monday or Friday so we can plan some long weekends.

My marriage is as egalitarian in pickup/dropoff/days off as our workplaces allow. It doesn’t make the tiniest statistical difference, and I am not going to close my eyes and put my fingers in my ears and pretend FCPS’ decisions in this space aren’t deeply sexist. You can choose to believe they aren’t but thar is based on feelings and not data.

[Anonymous]

No fan of the School Board here. But, I don't think they are sexist. I think they are clueless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Speak for your family yourself. My husband is i take equal days off to support school days off. Perhaps the casual sexism is in your own house. Hate when people claim this, when it really speaks to your own household.
(We also don't love taking all this random time off)

Yes. Because no one is a single mom or dad. No one has a DH who might be deployed for the military or might have a job with very limited time off. In fact, both parents may have very limited time off. Not every one has unlimited PTO.

I understand that everyone’s family situation is different, and juggling work and school schedules can be really challenging, especially for single parents or families with limited flexibility.

That said, these circumstances aren’t created by FCPS. If you can’t pick up your child on early release days, the schools do provide free supervised care until the regular dismissal time, with transportation available afterward. That option is there specifically to help families who can’t adjust their schedules.

People here are genuinely trying to share solutions and resources, not dismiss concerns. It just feels like no matter what’s suggested, you’re not open to considering it, and that makes it hard to have a productive conversation.

[Anonymous]

The SB needs to address this Calendar immediately. How have we come to accept this for our children? They are never in School. It is quite frankly terrible. I am surprised the media hasn't picked up on it.

[Anonymous]

I understand that everyone’s family situation is different, and juggling work and school schedules can be really challenging, especially for single parents or families with limited flexibility.

That said, these circumstances aren’t created by FCPS. If you can’t pick up your child on early release days, the schools do provide free supervised care until the regular dismissal time, with transportation available afterward. That option is there specifically to help families who can’t adjust their schedules.

People here are genuinely trying to share solutions and resources, not dismiss concerns. It just feels like no matter what’s suggested, you’re not open to considering it, and that makes it hard to have a productive conversation.

[Anonymous]

For those who came here hoping for a rational, constructive discussion about the FCPS calendar, I think it’s time to step back. It’s become clear that many of the loudest voices in opposition aren’t actually interested in problem-solving. They’re using this issue to push a political agenda and target the current school board.

Whenever reasonable solutions are suggested, they’re dismissed or met with name-calling instead of dialogue. This thread isn’t productive anymore. Let’s stop engaging, stop giving it more visibility, and let the discussion fade out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I understand that everyone’s family situation is different, and juggling work and school schedules can be really challenging, especially for single parents or families with limited flexibility.

That said, these circumstances aren’t created by FCPS. If you can’t pick up your child on early release days, the schools do provide free supervised care until the regular dismissal time, with transportation available afterward. That option is there specifically to help families who can’t adjust their schedules.

People here are genuinely trying to share solutions and resources, not dismiss concerns. It just feels like no matter what’s suggested, you’re not open to considering it, and that makes it hard to have a productive conversation.

This is what actually makes it hard to have a productive conversation. FCPS sets this schedule, and FCPS is a public entity, with full access to the data available to Fairfax County government. They already are aware that most households with children are dual income, the second largest group of households is headed by women alone, etc. This is at their fingertips, along with pages and pages of data about working hours by gender etc. The very tip of the iceberg can be found in the UVA report done by/with the Fairfax County Dept of Family services.

You seem to be saying you believe they either don’t have or don’t use this data in making decisions. Either of those things would be a reason to vote out the current board and demand candidates who run on sane schedules.

The “solutions and resources” part is 1. Making sure people stop being gaslit that this is ok by helpful comments like “you had years!” when a calendar change was announced eight weeks out And 2. Keeping pressure on to change it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No fan of the School Board here. But, I don't think they are sexist. I think they are clueless.

If they’re clueless it’s by choice. And thats a good reason to vote for and expect better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"longer" school year is made possible by lots of 4day weekends and days off for mental health, schoolwork, etc. and parents know years in advance for childcare. I truly don't see the reason for school board hatred, angst over this

The hatred is because it’s disrespectful.

Whether it was intentional or not, you’re entirely wrong about “years in advance”. The early dismissals starting in ‘24 were announced weeks before they started. The new day of the week for this awful program was announced in May. No one believes Reid or the board won’t make more changes to published calendars— fool us once, shame on you, fool us twice …

And so the hatred is because of the disrespect and sexism. FCPS’ casual assumption that women (its always women) couldn’t possibly have jobs so demanding that 39 days off PLUS early dismissals could possibly represent a hardship to the mothers they assume are home eating bonbons. And if they’re NOT sitting home surely they can fork out $1000 extra a month to cover childcare so teachers can “plan”. Meanwhile, no matter how long you know in advance no job is handing most workers 39 days off between September and June.

FCPS is going to need to answer to their constituents. Board members know people are angry.

Speak for your family yourself. My husband is i take equal days off to support school days off. Perhaps the casual sexism is in your own house. Hate when people claim this, when it really speaks to your own household.
(We also don't love taking all this random time off)

100% When I read that post, I thought, this must just be the way it is in your household. This is not an FCPS issue. In my household, my husband and I share the childcare load as equally as we can. And, if you cannot pick up your child at the elementary school early dismissal time, you do have the option of using the school's after care supervision and transportation on those early dismissal days. Contact your school to request it. https://www.fcps.edu/family-resources/safety-and-transportation/limited-early-release-wednesdays

+1. Well said

[Anonymous]

For those with international interest, look up a school calendar from Sweden or Norway sometime. Fascinating to see how countries who make this a priority treat it.

[Anonymous]

Aren’t the calendar choices out there for us to vote on. And the calendar with the majority is the one they use. I mean you get the calendar three years in advance. How are you not planning ahead it’s not like you get the calendar month-to-month. If you don’t like it, then run for school board.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Aren’t the calendar choices out there for us to vote on. And the calendar with the majority is the one they use. I mean you get the calendar three years in advance. How are you not planning ahead it’s not like you get the calendar month-to-month. If you don’t like it, then run for school board.

No, they’re not. Reid boasted in 24 of about returning to five day weeks, then changed the calendar weeks before school started. No one buys the “planning ahead” gaslighting.