latest calendar survey

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I LOVED the calendar this year.

I have HS students. One is AP and other is very VERY high needs special eduation. It was great for both of them.

Having "random" days off was perfect. Was able to schedule appts for my speical needs child easily and my AP child got plenty of breaks.

I filled it out in support of keeping all the holidays.

+1

Lots of HS families liked the calendar this year. I know its not everyone's preference, but many did like it and their voices can be heard from this survey.

Many of the ES families who are up in arms about the calendar this year will be happy in three years when THEY have the extra days off when their kids are in HS.

Or maybe they will have more empathy and remember what it is. Elementary age kids cant be home alone. Great that some high schoolers can sleep longer while parents are at work, but it's not what it looks like from a kindergartener family's perspective.

I didn’t. like it for my high schooler. It had some pros, but the summer is too short. I want to time to do family
things before schools starts again. Also,
He wants to work and summer is too short to do anything meaningful.

Summer is 9.5 weeks long. What can you not do with family in 9.5 weeks that you could do in 10.5 or 11 weeks?

+1

High-achieving kids are in Ivy programs that run 6-8 weeks. Most people want more than 1.5-3.5 weeks to do things with family.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I'm a fed. Teacher work days on federal holidays works best for me since I'm already off. The other random days either require me to burn leave or pay $$$ for some camp. I hate it.

I’m a teacher. I want holidays, too. And no, I don’t get paid time off in the summer.

+1 these parents are nuts. It’s all about what’s best for them and their work schedule and no thought whatsoever as to what teachers need. I hope Reid continues to offer 4 day weeks. It really helps.

I highly doubt you are a teacher. Teachers absolutely need more work days, but I don't know a single one that thought this year's calendar was helpful.

From what I've heard, elementary school teachers didn't like it. At the secondary level though, my colleagues and I largely loved it.

+1 I’m the PP who said I hope we continue 4 day weeks. I’m not a troll. It’s funny how the second someone disagrees with them, they are called a troll. I’m the parent of a high schooler. We loved the days off. My child got extra sleep and was able to keep up and not have to spend every waking weekend working to stay afloat.

So you are more or less advocating for year round school?

Not at all! We like the extra day to sleep in and catch up on stuff. I look forward to weeks with early releases and holidays!

Learn to organize your life better. No one wants to be in school now and sitting at home in January, February.

We are very organized. We also very much enjoyed the extra sleep and catch up days.

Year round school would have kids sitting at home for two weeks after every quarter. No thanks!

If you’re the poster who said in a normal schedule her daughter was working every waking hour just to stay afloat then no, you aren’t “very organized”

My organization has nothing to do with how much work my child gets assigned. What a bizarre post! We liked having the extra days during the week so weekends were more relaxing with less work.

If your child was struggling that much to keep up, an organized parent makes an appointment with a doctor to evaluate. They don’t hope for a bad calendar.

There was no “struggle” but there was a LOT of work. My child is in all honors and AP classes and maintains straight As.

So you’re not the parent who said their child was working “every waking moment just to stay afloat”?

No one said that. Go back and read it.

I quoted it in just a few posts back. Working every weekend moment just to stay afloat? That’s a struggling kid whose parents were too lazy or disorganized to get them help and instead benefited from a terrible calendar.

Or it was hyperbole. In which case just owned that your child wasn’t “working every weekend moment just to stay afloat” but rather that it was nicer for you to have weekends free of schoolwork.

Simply put, you misquoted me and said I said my child was “working every waking moment” and they just be struggling. That is not what I said or meant. I was specifically talking about weekends and

yes, it was hyperbole.

Even with the day off we still never had homework free weekends as my child was in all honors and AP classes and had a lot of work. Especially as one of their AP teachers didn’t teach and my child was self teaching. The days off were a blessing. And even if my kid took all weekend to do work that doesn’t mean they are struggling. Maybe my kid is a perfectionist? You should see their grades. My kid aces every test and never has to do retakes.

We liked the calendar and had no issues with it. I explained why and you can’t accept it - you have to find some reason to tear down me and my child because you can’t fathom someone doesn’t share your opinion. Speaks volumes as to the kind of person you are.

Ok. The rest is unnecessary.

What’s unnecessary is you saying my child is struggling based off the fact that we like having days off.

I guess your kid isn’t in high level classes and doesn’t have a lot of work? Does your child not take school seriously and is that why you hate random days off? Because your kid effs around online all day?

The high schooler in our family is in a straight A student in all AP classes and nationally ranked in her sport. She had never once spent “every weekend moment” working “just to stay afloat” and if she was, the solution wouldn’t have been to rely on a bad calendar.

It sounds like what you meant to say is, in order to receive straight A’s in AP classes you student had to work on weekends. Thats not “staying afloat”. Be mindful of hyperbole when writing online.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I LOVED the calendar this year.

I have HS students. One is AP and other is very VERY high needs special eduation. It was great for both of them.

Having "random" days off was perfect. Was able to schedule appts for my speical needs child easily and my AP child got plenty of breaks.

I filled it out in support of keeping all the holidays.

+1

Lots of HS families liked the calendar this year. I know its not everyone's preference, but many did like it and their voices can be heard from this survey.

Many of the ES families who are up in arms about the calendar this year will be happy in three years when THEY have the extra days off when their kids are in HS.

Or maybe they will have more empathy and remember what it is. Elementary age kids cant be home alone. Great that some high schoolers can sleep longer while parents are at work, but it's not what it looks like from a kindergartener family's perspective.

I didn’t. like it for my high schooler. It had some pros, but the summer is too short. I want to time to do family
things before schools starts again. Also,
He wants to work and summer is too short to do anything meaningful.

Summer is 9.5 weeks long. What can you not do with family in 9.5 weeks that you could do in 10.5 or 11 weeks?

+1

High-achieving kids are in Ivy programs that run 6-8 weeks. Most people want more than 1.5-3.5 weeks to do things with family.

??? What are "ivy programs" that last 6-8 weeks? How did multiple of my children get into T10 schools (including ivies) without ever doing an "ivy program"?

But also, no. Most people only have 1.5-3.5 weeks of vacation time to do things with family anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I LOVED the calendar this year.

I have HS students. One is AP and other is very VERY high needs special eduation. It was great for both of them.

Having "random" days off was perfect. Was able to schedule appts for my speical needs child easily and my AP child got plenty of breaks.

I filled it out in support of keeping all the holidays.

+1

Lots of HS families liked the calendar this year. I know its not everyone's preference, but many did like it and their voices can be heard from this survey.

Many of the ES families who are up in arms about the calendar this year will be happy in three years when THEY have the extra days off when their kids are in HS.

Or maybe they will have more empathy and remember what it is. Elementary age kids cant be home alone. Great that some high schoolers can sleep longer while parents are at work, but it's not what it looks like from a kindergartener family's perspective.

I didn’t. like it for my high schooler. It had some pros, but the summer is too short. I want to time to do family
things before schools starts again. Also,
He wants to work and summer is too short to do anything meaningful.

Summer is 9.5 weeks long. What can you not do with family in 9.5 weeks that you could do in 10.5 or 11 weeks?

+1

High-achieving kids are in Ivy programs that run 6-8 weeks. Most people want more than 1.5-3.5 weeks to do things with family.

??? What are "ivy programs" that last 6-8 weeks? How did multiple of my children get into T10 schools (including ivies) without ever doing an "ivy program"?

But also, no. Most people only have 1.5-3.5 weeks of vacation time to do things with family anyway.

Your kids must know others that attended them.

https://summer.harvard.edu/high-school-programs/
https://precollegeonline.wm.edu/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=gen_cp&utm_content=gen&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=19080901872&gbraid=0AAAAApB3fhyb3ks_yNQMvLsUGactrjf3C&gclid=Cj0KCQjw0JnRBhDJARIsALobnXZ4t8v2On89Eoa_LQjn-mqtLNwyjJd1duNQQw11H0QYwkR5lwnRbY0aAvPQEALw_wcB

Many competitive colleges offer these and they range from 2 to 7 weeks, or as short as a week for the service academies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I LOVED the calendar this year.

I have HS students. One is AP and other is very VERY high needs special eduation. It was great for both of them.

Having "random" days off was perfect. Was able to schedule appts for my speical needs child easily and my AP child got plenty of breaks.

I filled it out in support of keeping all the holidays.

+1

Lots of HS families liked the calendar this year. I know its not everyone's preference, but many did like it and their voices can be heard from this survey.

Many of the ES families who are up in arms about the calendar this year will be happy in three years when THEY have the extra days off when their kids are in HS.

Or maybe they will have more empathy and remember what it is. Elementary age kids cant be home alone. Great that some high schoolers can sleep longer while parents are at work, but it's not what it looks like from a kindergartener family's perspective.

I didn’t. like it for my high schooler. It had some pros, but the summer is too short. I want to time to do family
things before schools starts again. Also,
He wants to work and summer is too short to do anything meaningful.

Summer is 9.5 weeks long. What can you not do with family in 9.5 weeks that you could do in 10.5 or 11 weeks?

+1

High-achieving kids are in Ivy programs that run 6-8 weeks. Most people want more than 1.5-3.5 weeks to do things with family.

??? What are "ivy programs" that last 6-8 weeks? How did multiple of my children get into T10 schools (including ivies) without ever doing an "ivy program"?

But also, no. Most people only have 1.5-3.5 weeks of vacation time to do things with family anyway.

Your kids must know others that attended them.

https://summer.harvard.edu/high-school-programs/
https://precollegeonline.wm.edu/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=gen_cp&utm_content=gen&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=19080901872&gbraid=0AAAAApB3fhyb3ks_yNQMvLsUGactrjf3C&gclid=Cj0KCQjw0JnRBhDJARIsALobnXZ4t8v2On89Eoa_LQjn-mqtLNwyjJd1duNQQw11H0QYwkR5lwnRbY0aAvPQEALw_wcB

Many competitive colleges offer these and they range from 2 to 7 weeks, or as short as a week for the service academies.

Who wants to tell him that those “competitive colleges”are making money off their name? This is like when people go to a weekend seminar to Harvard and then list Harvard on their linked in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I LOVED the calendar this year.

I have HS students. One is AP and other is very VERY high needs special eduation. It was great for both of them.

Having "random" days off was perfect. Was able to schedule appts for my speical needs child easily and my AP child got plenty of breaks.

I filled it out in support of keeping all the holidays.

+1

Lots of HS families liked the calendar this year. I know its not everyone's preference, but many did like it and their voices can be heard from this survey.

Many of the ES families who are up in arms about the calendar this year will be happy in three years when THEY have the extra days off when their kids are in HS.

Or maybe they will have more empathy and remember what it is. Elementary age kids cant be home alone. Great that some high schoolers can sleep longer while parents are at work, but it's not what it looks like from a kindergartener family's perspective.

I didn’t. like it for my high schooler. It had some pros, but the summer is too short. I want to time to do family
things before schools starts again. Also,
He wants to work and summer is too short to do anything meaningful.

Summer is 9.5 weeks long. What can you not do with family in 9.5 weeks that you could do in 10.5 or 11 weeks?

+1

High-achieving kids are in Ivy programs that run 6-8 weeks. Most people want more than 1.5-3.5 weeks to do things with family.

??? What are "ivy programs" that last 6-8 weeks? How did multiple of my children get into T10 schools (including ivies) without ever doing an "ivy program"?

But also, no. Most people only have 1.5-3.5 weeks of vacation time to do things with family anyway.

Your kids must know others that attended them.

https://summer.harvard.edu/high-school-programs/
https://precollegeonline.wm.edu/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=gen_cp&utm_content=gen&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=19080901872&gbraid=0AAAAApB3fhyb3ks_yNQMvLsUGactrjf3C&gclid=Cj0KCQjw0JnRBhDJARIsALobnXZ4t8v2On89Eoa_LQjn-mqtLNwyjJd1duNQQw11H0QYwkR5lwnRbY0aAvPQEALw_wcB

Many competitive colleges offer these and they range from 2 to 7 weeks, or as short as a week for the service academies.

Who wants to tell him that those “competitive colleges”are making money off their name? This is like when people go to a weekend seminar to Harvard and then list Harvard on their linked in.

Hopkins, UVA (at least historically) and Yale all do them and offer scholarships so no its not just a money making item, its kids wanting to see if they like the atmosphere.

Plus the ones on STEM help kids decide if they really want to do those degrees. Its cool your kids never did them it doesn’t mean others don’t.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I LOVED the calendar this year.

I have HS students. One is AP and other is very VERY high needs special eduation. It was great for both of them.

Having "random" days off was perfect. Was able to schedule appts for my speical needs child easily and my AP child got plenty of breaks.

I filled it out in support of keeping all the holidays.

+1

Lots of HS families liked the calendar this year. I know its not everyone's preference, but many did like it and their voices can be heard from this survey.

Many of the ES families who are up in arms about the calendar this year will be happy in three years when THEY have the extra days off when their kids are in HS.

Or maybe they will have more empathy and remember what it is. Elementary age kids cant be home alone. Great that some high schoolers can sleep longer while parents are at work, but it's not what it looks like from a kindergartener family's perspective.

I didn’t. like it for my high schooler. It had some pros, but the summer is too short. I want to time to do family
things before schools starts again. Also,
He wants to work and summer is too short to do anything meaningful.

Summer is 9.5 weeks long. What can you not do with family in 9.5 weeks that you could do in 10.5 or 11 weeks?

+1

High-achieving kids are in Ivy programs that run 6-8 weeks. Most people want more than 1.5-3.5 weeks to do things with family.

??? What are "ivy programs" that last 6-8 weeks? How did multiple of my children get into T10 schools (including ivies) without ever doing an "ivy program"?

But also, no. Most people only have 1.5-3.5 weeks of vacation time to do things with family anyway.

Your kids must know others that attended them.

https://summer.harvard.edu/high-school-programs/
https://precollegeonline.wm.edu/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=gen_cp&utm_content=gen&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=19080901872&gbraid=0AAAAApB3fhyb3ks_yNQMvLsUGactrjf3C&gclid=Cj0KCQjw0JnRBhDJARIsALobnXZ4t8v2On89Eoa_LQjn-mqtLNwyjJd1duNQQw11H0QYwkR5lwnRbY0aAvPQEALw_wcB

Many competitive colleges offer these and they range from 2 to 7 weeks, or as short as a week for the service academies.

https://summer.harvard.edu/high-school-programs/secondary-school-program/

No, I don't know anyone who threw away $15k on glorified summer camp. Most high school kids are making money in the summer, not spending it.

But also, your kid can participate in the 4 week on campus program (leaving them 5.5 full weeks for "family time") or if they MUST do the 7 week one, they can do it online and still be home every evening/weekend for plenty of family activities, or commute and spend weekends at the cape with your family, or go in person AND still have 2.5 weeks for a solid family vacation. One more week of summer and one less week of time off during the school year isn't going to meaningfully change anything.

[Anonymous]

I didn't like the calendar this year at all.

Some of it was outside of the school's control. The snowcrete never-ending closure was an anomaly that frustrated me, but I can't really blame on FCPS. This was the second year in a row of pretty bad snow and the county has got to develop a better plan to clear it if snow is going to be a more regular occurrence in our region. The closures for special elections were also frustrating. I appreciated that they at least tried to combine them with TWs, but they just felt like one more thing on top of a bad situation.

Overall, though, there were entirely too many TWs/SPs. Do teachers really need 2.5 days at the end of every quarter? On top of that, as an elementary parent, we had these completely unjustified monthly half-days. I was annoyed last year when they introduced them to help teachers learn a last-minute new curriculum, but at least there was a reason for them. This year they just...decided to keep them for fun?

I really don't mind a few extra student holidays to allow minority religion families to celebrate some of their major holidays. Part of what I like about living in Fairfax is how diverse it is and I liked that the days off prompted my kid to ask why and learn a little bit about Yom Kippur and Ramadan and Diwali, in addition to Christmas and Easter. It doesn't cover every holiday, nor is that feasible, but I like the message that it sends. And since sometimes those holidays fall on weekends or over the summer, I would leave them alone. This year happened to fall a lot mid-week and was exacerbated by the other closures, but generally-speaking, if we reigned in the TWs and monthly half-days, I think the calendar could be a lot better without having to throw holidays under the bus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I LOVED the calendar this year.

I have HS students. One is AP and other is very VERY high needs special eduation. It was great for both of them.

Having "random" days off was perfect. Was able to schedule appts for my speical needs child easily and my AP child got plenty of breaks.

I filled it out in support of keeping all the holidays.

+1

Lots of HS families liked the calendar this year. I know its not everyone's preference, but many did like it and their voices can be heard from this survey.

Many of the ES families who are up in arms about the calendar this year will be happy in three years when THEY have the extra days off when their kids are in HS.

Or maybe they will have more empathy and remember what it is. Elementary age kids cant be home alone. Great that some high schoolers can sleep longer while parents are at work, but it's not what it looks like from a kindergartener family's perspective.

I didn’t. like it for my high schooler. It had some pros, but the summer is too short. I want to time to do family
things before schools starts again. Also,
He wants to work and summer is too short to do anything meaningful.

Summer is 9.5 weeks long. What can you not do with family in 9.5 weeks that you could do in 10.5 or 11 weeks?

+1

High-achieving kids are in Ivy programs that run 6-8 weeks. Most people want more than 1.5-3.5 weeks to do things with family.

??? What are "ivy programs" that last 6-8 weeks? How did multiple of my children get into T10 schools (including ivies) without ever doing an "ivy program"?

But also, no. Most people only have 1.5-3.5 weeks of vacation time to do things with family anyway.

Your kids must know others that attended them.

https://summer.harvard.edu/high-school-programs/
https://precollegeonline.wm.edu/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=gen_cp&utm_content=gen&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=19080901872&gbraid=0AAAAApB3fhyb3ks_yNQMvLsUGactrjf3C&gclid=Cj0KCQjw0JnRBhDJARIsALobnXZ4t8v2On89Eoa_LQjn-mqtLNwyjJd1duNQQw11H0QYwkR5lwnRbY0aAvPQEALw_wcB

Many competitive colleges offer these and they range from 2 to 7 weeks, or as short as a week for the service academies.

Who wants to tell him that those “competitive colleges”are making money off their name? This is like when people go to a weekend seminar to Harvard and then list Harvard on their linked in.

The previous poster was unaware of their existence. In certain communities attendance is quite common. For some its a way to network with high achieving students.

Some find value in it but I wouldn't call it a prerequisite. I do however recommend the service academy summers if that is of interest.

As for making money, Harvard and others do have open enrollment degrees, which aren't as prestigious, but can have some of the same faculty.

https://extension.harvard.edu/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I didn't like the calendar this year at all.

Some of it was outside of the school's control. The snowcrete never-ending closure was an anomaly that frustrated me, but I can't really blame on FCPS. This was the second year in a row of pretty bad snow and the county has got to develop a better plan to clear it if snow is going to be a more regular occurrence in our region. The closures for special elections were also frustrating. I appreciated that they at least tried to combine them with TWs, but they just felt like one more thing on top of a bad situation.

Overall, though, there were entirely too many TWs/SPs. Do teachers really need 2.5 days at the end of every quarter? On top of that, as an elementary parent, we had these completely unjustified monthly half-days. I was annoyed last year when they introduced them to help teachers learn a last-minute new curriculum, but at least there was a reason for them. This year they just...decided to keep them for fun?

I really don't mind a few extra student holidays to allow minority religion families to celebrate some of their major holidays. Part of what I like about living in Fairfax is how diverse it is and I liked that the days off prompted my kid to ask why and learn a little bit about Yom Kippur and Ramadan and Diwali, in addition to Christmas and Easter. It doesn't cover every holiday, nor is that feasible, but I like the message that it sends. And since sometimes those holidays fall on weekends or over the summer, I would leave them alone. This year happened to fall a lot mid-week and was exacerbated by the other closures, but generally-speaking, if we reigned in the TWs and monthly half-days, I think the calendar could be a lot better without having to throw holidays under the bus.

I hear you. I’m the high school parent who liked the calendar. We didn’t have the monthly early releases though. But we do get some releases throughout the year. We will be getting them during final exams. And we also had modified schedules on PSAT/SAT day as well as 3 SOL days and AP exam days. On the SOL days we could come in late because they only held afternoon classes. On AP exam day, kids leave early after their exam.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I didn't like the calendar this year at all.

Some of it was outside of the school's control. The snowcrete never-ending closure was an anomaly that frustrated me, but I can't really blame on FCPS. This was the second year in a row of pretty bad snow and the county has got to develop a better plan to clear it if snow is going to be a more regular occurrence in our region. The closures for special elections were also frustrating. I appreciated that they at least tried to combine them with TWs, but they just felt like one more thing on top of a bad situation.

Overall, though, there were entirely too many TWs/SPs. Do teachers really need 2.5 days at the end of every quarter? On top of that, as an elementary parent, we had these completely unjustified monthly half-days. I was annoyed last year when they introduced them to help teachers learn a last-minute new curriculum, but at least there was a reason for them. This year they just...decided to keep them for fun?

I really don't mind a few extra student holidays to allow minority religion families to celebrate some of their major holidays. Part of what I like about living in Fairfax is how diverse it is and I liked that the days off prompted my kid to ask why and learn a little bit about Yom Kippur and Ramadan and Diwali, in addition to Christmas and Easter. It doesn't cover every holiday, nor is that feasible, but I like the message that it sends. And since sometimes those holidays fall on weekends or over the summer, I would leave them alone. This year happened to fall a lot mid-week and was exacerbated by the other closures, but generally-speaking, if we reigned in the TWs and monthly half-days, I think the calendar could be a lot better without having to throw holidays under the bus.

I hear you. I’m the high school parent who liked the calendar. We didn’t have the monthly early releases though. But we do get some releases throughout the year. We will be getting them during final exams. And we also had modified schedules on PSAT/SAT day as well as 3 SOL days and AP exam days. On the SOL days we could come in late because they only held afternoon classes. On AP exam day, kids leave early after their exam.

Monthly early releases are extremely annoying and this year often coincided with random days of no school. And again this was happening in elementary school where kids need consistency the most. Having really releases for important HS exams sounds totally reasonable. Having a 3 hour early release the day after another holiday is a different story. Almost no instruction is done on these days..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I didn't like the calendar this year at all.

Some of it was outside of the school's control. The snowcrete never-ending closure was an anomaly that frustrated me, but I can't really blame on FCPS. This was the second year in a row of pretty bad snow and the county has got to develop a better plan to clear it if snow is going to be a more regular occurrence in our region. The closures for special elections were also frustrating. I appreciated that they at least tried to combine them with TWs, but they just felt like one more thing on top of a bad situation.

Overall, though, there were entirely too many TWs/SPs. Do teachers really need 2.5 days at the end of every quarter? On top of that, as an elementary parent, we had these completely unjustified monthly half-days. I was annoyed last year when they introduced them to help teachers learn a last-minute new curriculum, but at least there was a reason for them. This year they just...decided to keep them for fun?

I really don't mind a few extra student holidays to allow minority religion families to celebrate some of their major holidays. Part of what I like about living in Fairfax is how diverse it is and I liked that the days off prompted my kid to ask why and learn a little bit about Yom Kippur and Ramadan and Diwali, in addition to Christmas and Easter. It doesn't cover every holiday, nor is that feasible, but I like the message that it sends. And since sometimes those holidays fall on weekends or over the summer, I would leave them alone. This year happened to fall a lot mid-week and was exacerbated by the other closures, but generally-speaking, if we reigned in the TWs and monthly half-days, I think the calendar could be a lot better without having to throw holidays under the bus.

Were there more TW/SP days though? Teachers have had 195 day contracts for years. 5 or 6 TW days fall before school starts and 1 or 2 fall after it ends. The rest fall somewhere in between.

I’d be ok with eliminating the early release days, but I think a TW should occur around the time 4th quarter grades are due (now).

ES Teacher

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I didn't like the calendar this year at all.

Some of it was outside of the school's control. The snowcrete never-ending closure was an anomaly that frustrated me, but I can't really blame on FCPS. This was the second year in a row of pretty bad snow and the county has got to develop a better plan to clear it if snow is going to be a more regular occurrence in our region. The closures for special elections were also frustrating. I appreciated that they at least tried to combine them with TWs, but they just felt like one more thing on top of a bad situation.

Overall, though, there were entirely too many TWs/SPs. Do teachers really need 2.5 days at the end of every quarter? On top of that, as an elementary parent, we had these completely unjustified monthly half-days. I was annoyed last year when they introduced them to help teachers learn a last-minute new curriculum, but at least there was a reason for them. This year they just...decided to keep them for fun?

I really don't mind a few extra student holidays to allow minority religion families to celebrate some of their major holidays. Part of what I like about living in Fairfax is how diverse it is and I liked that the days off prompted my kid to ask why and learn a little bit about Yom Kippur and Ramadan and Diwali, in addition to Christmas and Easter. It doesn't cover every holiday, nor is that feasible, but I like the message that it sends. And since sometimes those holidays fall on weekends or over the summer, I would leave them alone. This year happened to fall a lot mid-week and was exacerbated by the other closures, but generally-speaking, if we reigned in the TWs and monthly half-days, I think the calendar could be a lot better without having to throw holidays under the bus.

Were there more TW/SP days though? Teachers have had 195 day contracts for years. 5 or 6 TW days fall before school starts and 1 or 2 fall after it ends. The rest fall somewhere in between.

I’d be ok with eliminating the early release days, but I think a TW should occur around the time 4th quarter grades are due (now).

ES Teacher

There was a TW the day after Memorial Day but I’m sure most teachers actually used it for vacation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I didn't like the calendar this year at all.

Some of it was outside of the school's control. The snowcrete never-ending closure was an anomaly that frustrated me, but I can't really blame on FCPS. This was the second year in a row of pretty bad snow and the county has got to develop a better plan to clear it if snow is going to be a more regular occurrence in our region. The closures for special elections were also frustrating. I appreciated that they at least tried to combine them with TWs, but they just felt like one more thing on top of a bad situation.

Overall, though, there were entirely too many TWs/SPs. Do teachers really need 2.5 days at the end of every quarter? On top of that, as an elementary parent, we had these completely unjustified monthly half-days. I was annoyed last year when they introduced them to help teachers learn a last-minute new curriculum, but at least there was a reason for them. This year they just...decided to keep them for fun?

I really don't mind a few extra student holidays to allow minority religion families to celebrate some of their major holidays. Part of what I like about living in Fairfax is how diverse it is and I liked that the days off prompted my kid to ask why and learn a little bit about Yom Kippur and Ramadan and Diwali, in addition to Christmas and Easter. It doesn't cover every holiday, nor is that feasible, but I like the message that it sends. And since sometimes those holidays fall on weekends or over the summer, I would leave them alone. This year happened to fall a lot mid-week and was exacerbated by the other closures, but generally-speaking, if we reigned in the TWs and monthly half-days, I think the calendar could be a lot better without having to throw holidays under the bus.

Were there more TW/SP days though? Teachers have had 195 day contracts for years. 5 or 6 TW days fall before school starts and 1 or 2 fall after it ends. The rest fall somewhere in between.

I’d be ok with eliminating the early release days, but I think a TW should occur around the time 4th quarter grades are due (now).

ES Teacher

+1 I just took a personal day to write report cards so I could write comments and actually them and think about the kids and their work. I worked from 5:30am- 2:30 with a few breaks. I guess they don’t mind subs at the end of the year?

[Anonymous]

Haha tired from writing comments - that should way actually concentrate on them. I’ll take my addled brain and go now…