2023 - 2024 school calendar

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What’s wrong with starting 12/24? That’s what FCPS used to do.

Ick-NO!

You must be, ew, Christian.

I don’t think it is the Christian’s who want the 2 weeks off—it is the out of area travelers.

For the rest of us who do not have $🤑🤑, 🤑🤑🤑 to blow on a Christmas vacation getaway—we’d be fine getting out 12/24 and returning 1/2.

Yep bending to the whim of people who need their two week Euro and/or ski vacation. Immigrant families would prefer a longer spring break or a long break in January or February when it's cheaper to travel.

Those of us who want 2 weeks off aren’t all rich. Some of us drive across the US to be with family this one time a year. We need the two weeks for the extra travel days,

Oh please, it's extremely privileged that you're able to do that and you know it.

DP, How do you define extremely privileged? Many, many Americans get 2 weeks of paid vacation every year. Privileged maybe, but not extremely privileged.

And can they also afford the gas to drive cross country and places to sleep and eat overnight a couple times? It's expensive to drive cross-country, even if you're camping along the way, which it may not be warm enough to do over Christmas break depending on where you're going.

This is very funny on DCUM where people constantly mention that they make in the low 7 figures or they make 500k and are poor.

Anyway, I would love a two week spring break over two weeks at Christmas, and with the way they’ve made that calendar I think that’s what we’ll do next year.

Not everyone is just like you. I don't make nearly that much money. Driving cross country would be an expensive trip.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a teacher, and I think it is stupid that we are tying spring break to Easter instead of tying spring break to the end of the quarter. Sigh...

But what’s even stupider is we could do both by just picking the week right after Easter instead of the one before.

Except Good Friday….

NOBODY CARES ABOUT GOOD FRIDAY EXCEPT YOU.

Don't be a bigot

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does the SB have to adopt one of these calendars or is there a chance they can create a new version based on feedback?
I am hoping they find a way to fix the spring break issue.

You really think they listen to feedback? They don’t. If they did, they would not have built the options that they did.

The SB didn't create these options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's also so stupid to give off veteran's day because it's frequently the same week as Election Day (like this year) and the kids have a stupid three day week.

Arlington, Prince William, and Montgomery all observe Veterans Day. Interestingly, Loudoun doesn’t, but they are observing Diwali on a Monday while the rest don’t observe when it falls on a weekend.

Well, it depends on your definition of “observe”. Loudoun is the only County that actually observes Veteran’s Day! My bff’s kids go to a school there and every year their ES puts on a nice salute to our Vets program where her DH, dad and brother all attend.

Veteran’s Day, like Indiginous Peoples’ Day, should be school days.

Fcps did this up until covid

[Anonymous]

As this thread shows, there is nothing that would make everyone happy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Teacher on Team Orange here! We get *almost* 2 weeks off at Christmas, and I like starting as early as possible. I sure wish that they would have scheduled spring break one week later to match it with the end of the quarter.

Why not nix 3 off days early in the year, and move those end of quarter days to bump into spring break, ending the quarter 3 days earlier?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, since their top priority is a "multi-year calendar that allows for forward planning" will we at least get a 2 or 3 year calendar out of this? Even if it's bad? I'd prefer that.

Not me. I would rather the new SB next year gets to set their own calendar when the religious holiday bonanza can be reassessed. Binding the new SB into this approach is why they are promising to keep it steady for multiple years, NOT because parents want it for planning.

If you go to the section with the focus groups, the inclusion of the religious holidays is the thing that they all agree on. They are here in perpetuity, no matter who the SB is.

I think that might violate Virginia law to take off for the religious holidays that are not already federal holidays (I support having those major days off if there is at least 10-15 % of the population observing those holidays, but not if it is a small number like 5%)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, since their top priority is a "multi-year calendar that allows for forward planning" will we at least get a 2 or 3 year calendar out of this? Even if it's bad? I'd prefer that.

Not me. I would rather the new SB next year gets to set their own calendar when the religious holiday bonanza can be reassessed. Binding the new SB into this approach is why they are promising to keep it steady for multiple years, NOT because parents want it for planning.

If you go to the section with the focus groups, the inclusion of the religious holidays is the thing that they all agree on. They are here in perpetuity, no matter who the SB is.

I think that might violate Virginia law to take off for the religious holidays that are not already federal holidays (I support having those major days off if there is at least 10-15 % of the population observing those holidays, but not if it is a small number like 5%)

It’s allowed if absences are a reason, but I’m not sure if there is a set percentage or some threshold that has to be met.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, since their top priority is a "multi-year calendar that allows for forward planning" will we at least get a 2 or 3 year calendar out of this? Even if it's bad? I'd prefer that.

Not me. I would rather the new SB next year gets to set their own calendar when the religious holiday bonanza can be reassessed. Binding the new SB into this approach is why they are promising to keep it steady for multiple years, NOT because parents want it for planning.

If you go to the section with the focus groups, the inclusion of the religious holidays is the thing that they all agree on. They are here in perpetuity, no matter who the SB is.

I think that might violate Virginia law to take off for the religious holidays that are not already federal holidays (I support having those major days off if there is at least 10-15 % of the population observing those holidays, but not if it is a small number like 5%)

I’m pretty sure they already paid an expensive lawyer to verify this. If you can quote us on the exact law that they’re breaking that might be helpful for us to better evaluate it. 😊

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a teacher, and I think it is stupid that we are tying spring break to Easter instead of tying spring break to the end of the quarter. Sigh...

But what’s even stupider is we could do both by just picking the week right after Easter instead of the one before.

Except Good Friday….

NOBODY CARES ABOUT GOOD FRIDAY EXCEPT YOU.

Don't be a bigot

It's not bigotry to acknowledge not everyone celebrates or cares about good friday. GMAFB. It's stating a fact.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just remove all religious holidays and the O days from the calendar. If you want religious holidays, go to a private school.

It's that simple.

Bring back a rational school calendar.

YES PLEASE

Exactly this.

Want to keep your kid home for a religious family event or for a few extra days to travel over the winter break? Then just do it, but why must the entire school calendar revolve around things that have nothing to do with educating our kids?

(I hope those of you complaining about FCPS being behind in math/reading/everything aren’t the same bellyaching over needing a longer winter break and making sure every religious holiday under the sun is observed.)

The issue is that teachers also need a break. The burnout would be worse without those breaks, FCPS needs to consider that as well.

Laughable. Most Americans would kill for the time off that teachers get.

Why is there such a drastic teacher shortage if most would kill for this?

Seriously

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What’s wrong with starting 12/24? That’s what FCPS used to do.

Ick-NO!

You must be, ew, Christian.

I don’t think it is the Christian’s who want the 2 weeks off—it is the out of area travelers.

For the rest of us who do not have $🤑🤑, 🤑🤑🤑 to blow on a Christmas vacation getaway—we’d be fine getting out 12/24 and returning 1/2.

Yep bending to the whim of people who need their two week Euro and/or ski vacation. Immigrant families would prefer a longer spring break or a long break in January or February when it's cheaper to travel.

Those of us who want 2 weeks off aren’t all rich. Some of us drive across the US to be with family this one time a year. We need the two weeks for the extra travel days,

Oh please, it's extremely privileged that you're able to do that and you know it.

DP, How do you define extremely privileged? Many, many Americans get 2 weeks of paid vacation every year. Privileged maybe, but not extremely privileged.

Most Americans don’t get a two week vacation block.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 76 percent of private industry workers (who make up 84.7 percent of all workers) receive paid vacation days. After one year of employment, these workers were granted 10 days of paid vacation, on average. This doesn’t even include the ability to telework.

Sure, but for teachers, the length of the holiday break is ON TOP of the personal and sick days that they get. Many districts in this area do not take a full 2 weeks for winter break.

You mean on top of the time off that parents write threads on here about how dare teachers take sick or personal time-is that what you are talking about. The time that teachers are being told to please not take because there is a sub and teacher shortage....that is the time ON TOP time you speak of. Please-get over yourself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just remove all religious holidays and the O days from the calendar. If you want religious holidays, go to a private school.

It's that simple.

Bring back a rational school calendar.

YES PLEASE

Exactly this.

Want to keep your kid home for a religious family event or for a few extra days to travel over the winter break? Then just do it, but why must the entire school calendar revolve around things that have nothing to do with educating our kids?

(I hope those of you complaining about FCPS being behind in math/reading/everything aren’t the same bellyaching over needing a longer winter break and making sure every religious holiday under the sun is observed.)

The issue is that teachers also need a break. The burnout would be worse without those breaks, FCPS needs to consider that as well.

Laughable. Most Americans would kill for the time off that teachers get.

Why is there such a drastic teacher shortage if most would kill for this?

Seriously

There is a teacher shortage because it is a high stress job. Most teachers can NOT get their work done during the day. They are teaching students the entire day and any free time/planning period is taken up by meetings. The job requires hours and hours of unpaid outside prep work, grading, trainings, data tracking and filling out reports.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just remove all religious holidays and the O days from the calendar. If you want religious holidays, go to a private school.

It's that simple.

Bring back a rational school calendar.

YES PLEASE

Exactly this.

Want to keep your kid home for a religious family event or for a few extra days to travel over the winter break? Then just do it, but why must the entire school calendar revolve around things that have nothing to do with educating our kids?

(I hope those of you complaining about FCPS being behind in math/reading/everything aren’t the same bellyaching over needing a longer winter break and making sure every religious holiday under the sun is observed.)

The issue is that teachers also need a break. The burnout would be worse without those breaks, FCPS needs to consider that as well.

Laughable. Most Americans would kill for the time off that teachers get.

Why is there such a drastic teacher shortage if most would kill for this?

Seriously

There is a teacher shortage because it is a high stress job. Most teachers can NOT get their work done during the day. They are teaching students the entire day and any free time/planning period is taken up by meetings. The job requires hours and hours of unpaid outside prep work, grading, trainings, data tracking and filling out reports.

This is one of the reasons I left the teaching field 25 years ago. I admire those who stick with it, but leaving was the bst choice of my life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, since their top priority is a "multi-year calendar that allows for forward planning" will we at least get a 2 or 3 year calendar out of this? Even if it's bad? I'd prefer that.

Not me. I would rather the new SB next year gets to set their own calendar when the religious holiday bonanza can be reassessed. Binding the new SB into this approach is why they are promising to keep it steady for multiple years, NOT because parents want it for planning.

If you go to the section with the focus groups, the inclusion of the religious holidays is the thing that they all agree on. They are here in perpetuity, no matter who the SB is.

I think that might violate Virginia law to take off for the religious holidays that are not already federal holidays (I support having those major days off if there is at least 10-15 % of the population observing those holidays, but not if it is a small number like 5%)

I’m pretty sure they already paid an expensive lawyer to verify this. If you can quote us on the exact law that they’re breaking that might be helpful for us to better evaluate it. 😊

We can take a personal day or we can make up the time and come in earlier or stay later to make up the 7.5 hours within a few weeks of the religious leave. Most teachers come in early so it’s not difficult to make up the time.