Is the week leading up to Memorial Day effectively the last day of school in FCPS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you all complain like this when colleges you actually pay for end in mid may?
Makes sense that ap classes are lighter after the big exam.
I’m glad my kid is getting free college level material.

When college end in May... they end.

They don't make students attend classes for 4 weeks just to watch PG movies or sit in a classroom playing on their phones, holding them at school a month after the material and classes are complete.

Your college kid doesn’t come home and sit around for a couple of weeks playing games on their phones awaiting the start of their internships? All the college kids I know have this same plan, but at home while spending money “going out” with their friends. This is AFTER you pay 30K+ for room and board for 5 months.

At least they are on their phones on the wifi at school with an adult in charge of them not spending more money.

Go see the “what about the CALENDAR” people who moan about needing free daycare.

Sorry, but this argument is crazy.

The high school kkds should not need to be babysat at school after their AP exams end.

The calendar should not have a 2 day week Memeorial Day week. It should either be a 4 day week with excused absences for students with religious observances, or school should have ended on the Friday prior to Memorial day. Putting a 2 day week 3 weeks before school ends, after testing, and after all the materials have been covered for the year, then expecting the students to return to school for 2-3 weeks of babysitting, is a performative waste of everyone's time.

Whether a student is jumping into an internship, job, the pool or their phones, it doesn't matter. School should end after testing.

What FCPS has put together is a complete joke.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:6th grader is still being exposed to new things. School continues.

Same here. My 6th grader is still learning. Civil War in SS, U8 in Benchmark, health lessons, etc. the only thing they are done with is science cause they finished the unit for the quarter and grade level standards in math since they took the SOL and finished the content. Teacher is keeping them busy learning. I know by the last five days it will be mostly cleaning up, EOY events, etc.

There is no Science SOL in 6th grade. They take a science test in 8th grade with that content.

Reread the post. I believe PP was talking about the math SOL. They said they finished the science unit for the quarter and grade level standards in math since they took the SOL…

But the thread is about high school, likely about upper class students since the Oap is talking about the waste of time after AP exams.

Not elementary school which is a completely different ballgame

The question then becomes, why are high school teachers allowed to show movies and let their students just hang out after AP tests? Seems like an opportunity for extensions/enrichment. Work with kids on college essays if they are juniors. Do some career exploration with sophs/juniors. It seems there are different standards held for secondary teachers vs elementary school. That is the larger problem. I do think next year moving SOL testing and requiring kids to take the exam will help with this stupidity.

My high school is NY did testing the last two weeks of school. We didn’t have wasted instructional time in May. Even with IB courses, you gad to take the regents test.

It's pretty obvious that high school and elementary/middle school are very different, developmentally, expectations, maturity, capabilities, freedom...

But of course, you know this.

The only question is why did FCPS create such a wasteful schedule that keeps students in school through late June,, and why did they make this week at the end of the year a 2 day week when they should have just offered excused absences for those who observed this holiday, kept everyone else in school and ended school 2 days earlier.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you all complain like this when colleges you actually pay for end in mid may?
Makes sense that ap classes are lighter after the big exam.
I’m glad my kid is getting free college level material.

When college end in May... they end.

They don't make students attend classes for 4 weeks just to watch PG movies or sit in a classroom playing on their phones, holding them at school a month after the material and classes are complete.

Your college kid doesn’t come home and sit around for a couple of weeks playing games on their phones awaiting the start of their internships? All the college kids I know have this same plan, but at home while spending money “going out” with their friends. This is AFTER you pay 30K+ for room and board for 5 months.

At least they are on their phones on the wifi at school with an adult in charge of them not spending more money.

Go see the “what about the CALENDAR” people who moan about needing free daycare.

Sorry, but this argument is crazy.

The high school kkds should not need to be babysat at school after their AP exams end.

The calendar should not have a 2 day week Memeorial Day week. It should either be a 4 day week with excused absences for students with religious observances, or school should have ended on the Friday prior to Memorial day. Putting a 2 day week 3 weeks before school ends, after testing, and after all the materials have been covered for the year, then expecting the students to return to school for 2-3 weeks of babysitting, is a performative waste of everyone's time.

Whether a student is jumping into an internship, job, the pool or their phones, it doesn't matter. School should end after testing.

What FCPS has put together is a complete joke.

You would rather have them sitting at home doing nothing like college kids spending money on lunch with friends. Got it. That doesn’t make sense to me at all, but you do you.

As far as Memorial Day this year, you clearly should have taken a relaxing vacation and didn’t. This will never happen again. Eid will not be connected to Memorial Day in this way any time in the near or far future.

Relax, things are tough out there, do you best to enjoy it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:6th grader is still being exposed to new things. School continues.

Same here. My 6th grader is still learning. Civil War in SS, U8 in Benchmark, health lessons, etc. the only thing they are done with is science cause they finished the unit for the quarter and grade level standards in math since they took the SOL and finished the content. Teacher is keeping them busy learning. I know by the last five days it will be mostly cleaning up, EOY events, etc.

There is no Science SOL in 6th grade. They take a science test in 8th grade with that content.

Reread the post. I believe PP was talking about the math SOL. They said they finished the science unit for the quarter and grade level standards in math since they took the SOL…

But the thread is about high school, likely about upper class students since the Oap is talking about the waste of time after AP exams.

Not elementary school which is a completely different ballgame

The question then becomes, why are high school teachers allowed to show movies and let their students just hang out after AP tests? Seems like an opportunity for extensions/enrichment. Work with kids on college essays if they are juniors. Do some career exploration with sophs/juniors. It seems there are different standards held for secondary teachers vs elementary school. That is the larger problem. I do think next year moving SOL testing and requiring kids to take the exam will help with this stupidity.

My high school is NY did testing the last two weeks of school. We didn’t have wasted instructional time in May. Even with IB courses, you gad to take the regents test.

We aren’t. We have been told many times that we are not allowed to show movies unless they someway are related to a standard. (English gets away with showing the movie adaptation of the book and having kids comparing contrast them.) No one should be watching Moana in math class.

If this is what is happening in your kids’ classrooms, please contact the administrator in charge of that teacher. As someone who is still writing and teaching full lesson plans each day, it is infuriating that my colleagues are checked out. It makes the behaviors and attendance in my class awful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you all complain like this when colleges you actually pay for end in mid may?
Makes sense that ap classes are lighter after the big exam.
I’m glad my kid is getting free college level material.

When college end in May... they end.

They don't make students attend classes for 4 weeks just to watch PG movies or sit in a classroom playing on their phones, holding them at school a month after the material and classes are complete.

Your college kid doesn’t come home and sit around for a couple of weeks playing games on their phones awaiting the start of their internships? All the college kids I know have this same plan, but at home while spending money “going out” with their friends. This is AFTER you pay 30K+ for room and board for 5 months.

At least they are on their phones on the wifi at school with an adult in charge of them not spending more money.

Go see the “what about the CALENDAR” people who moan about needing free daycare.

Sorry, but this argument is crazy.

The high school kkds should not need to be babysat at school after their AP exams end.

The calendar should not have a 2 day week Memeorial Day week. It should either be a 4 day week with excused absences for students with religious observances, or school should have ended on the Friday prior to Memorial day. Putting a 2 day week 3 weeks before school ends, after testing, and after all the materials have been covered for the year, then expecting the students to return to school for 2-3 weeks of babysitting, is a performative waste of everyone's time.

Whether a student is jumping into an internship, job, the pool or their phones, it doesn't matter. School should end after testing.

What FCPS has put together is a complete joke.

You would rather have them sitting at home doing nothing like college kids spending money on lunch with friends. Got it. That doesn’t make sense to me at all, but you do you.

As far as Memorial Day this year, you clearly should have taken a relaxing vacation and didn’t. This will never happen again. Eid will not be connected to Memorial Day in this way any time in the near or far future.

Relax, things are tough out there, do you best to enjoy it.

My college kid has a job. So does my high schooler. I would rather they be working than being babysat at school

[Anonymous]

I think that going until June 17 this year is excessive, however, my kids (7th and 10th grades) are still taking tests through at least June 5. I know because we were going to take them out of school that Friday for a family event and decided not to because they both have major tests that day.

There is always a wind down for school, no matter when you end. Also, with a GIANT school district like ours, the last two weeks need to be devoted to high school graduations. Unless you want high school graduations to take place after the school year is done for everyone, ending in May is not going to work. Is that what school districts who end at Memorial Day do? Just have high school graduation the weeks after school is over?

I personally would hate to have them start in early August. I think all they needed to do this year is figure out 3 days to not take and end June 12. That would have been a reasonable summer with the first day back on August 24, 2026.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:6th grader is still being exposed to new things. School continues.

Same here. My 6th grader is still learning. Civil War in SS, U8 in Benchmark, health lessons, etc. the only thing they are done with is science cause they finished the unit for the quarter and grade level standards in math since they took the SOL and finished the content. Teacher is keeping them busy learning. I know by the last five days it will be mostly cleaning up, EOY events, etc.

There is no Science SOL in 6th grade. They take a science test in 8th grade with that content.

Reread the post. I believe PP was talking about the math SOL. They said they finished the science unit for the quarter and grade level standards in math since they took the SOL…

But the thread is about high school, likely about upper class students since the Oap is talking about the waste of time after AP exams.

Not elementary school which is a completely different ballgame

The question then becomes, why are high school teachers allowed to show movies and let their students just hang out after AP tests? Seems like an opportunity for extensions/enrichment. Work with kids on college essays if they are juniors. Do some career exploration with sophs/juniors. It seems there are different standards held for secondary teachers vs elementary school. That is the larger problem. I do think next year moving SOL testing and requiring kids to take the exam will help with this stupidity.

My high school is NY did testing the last two weeks of school. We didn’t have wasted instructional time in May. Even with IB courses, you gad to take the regents test.

We aren’t. We have been told many times that we are not allowed to show movies unless they someway are related to a standard. (English gets away with showing the movie adaptation of the book and having kids comparing contrast them.) No one should be watching Moana in math class.

If this is what is happening in your kids’ classrooms, please contact the administrator in charge of that teacher. As someone who is still writing and teaching full lesson plans each day, it is infuriating that my colleagues are checked out. It makes the behaviors and attendance in my class awful.

So, is administration clueless this is actually happening? Enough kids/parents are saying this has been happening daily, so obviously the admin does not care or is completely unaware.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:6th grader is still being exposed to new things. School continues.

Same here. My 6th grader is still learning. Civil War in SS, U8 in Benchmark, health lessons, etc. the only thing they are done with is science cause they finished the unit for the quarter and grade level standards in math since they took the SOL and finished the content. Teacher is keeping them busy learning. I know by the last five days it will be mostly cleaning up, EOY events, etc.

There is no Science SOL in 6th grade. They take a science test in 8th grade with that content.

Reread the post. I believe PP was talking about the math SOL. They said they finished the science unit for the quarter and grade level standards in math since they took the SOL…

But the thread is about high school, likely about upper class students since the Oap is talking about the waste of time after AP exams.

Not elementary school which is a completely different ballgame

The question then becomes, why are high school teachers allowed to show movies and let their students just hang out after AP tests? Seems like an opportunity for extensions/enrichment. Work with kids on college essays if they are juniors. Do some career exploration with sophs/juniors. It seems there are different standards held for secondary teachers vs elementary school. That is the larger problem. I do think next year moving SOL testing and requiring kids to take the exam will help with this stupidity.

My high school is NY did testing the last two weeks of school. We didn’t have wasted instructional time in May. Even with IB courses, you gad to take the regents test.

It's pretty obvious that high school and elementary/middle school are very different, developmentally, expectations, maturity, capabilities, freedom...

But of course, you know this.

The only question is why did FCPS create such a wasteful schedule that keeps students in school through late June,, and why did they make this week at the end of the year a 2 day week when they should have just offered excused absences for those who observed this holiday, kept everyone else in school and ended school 2 days earlier.

What does maturity have to do with teachers who stop teaching after a test? FCPS teachers should all be held to the same standard. No kid should be watching movies for 2-3 weeks cause the teacher can’t come up with a lesson plan due to testing being over. Even if the school year ended June 12th, which IMO should have been the last day, kids still should be learning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:6th grader is still being exposed to new things. School continues.

Same here. My 6th grader is still learning. Civil War in SS, U8 in Benchmark, health lessons, etc. the only thing they are done with is science cause they finished the unit for the quarter and grade level standards in math since they took the SOL and finished the content. Teacher is keeping them busy learning. I know by the last five days it will be mostly cleaning up, EOY events, etc.

There is no Science SOL in 6th grade. They take a science test in 8th grade with that content.

Reread the post. I believe PP was talking about the math SOL. They said they finished the science unit for the quarter and grade level standards in math since they took the SOL…

But the thread is about high school, likely about upper class students since the Oap is talking about the waste of time after AP exams.

Not elementary school which is a completely different ballgame

The question then becomes, why are high school teachers allowed to show movies and let their students just hang out after AP tests? Seems like an opportunity for extensions/enrichment. Work with kids on college essays if they are juniors. Do some career exploration with sophs/juniors. It seems there are different standards held for secondary teachers vs elementary school. That is the larger problem. I do think next year moving SOL testing and requiring kids to take the exam will help with this stupidity.

My high school is NY did testing the last two weeks of school. We didn’t have wasted instructional time in May. Even with IB courses, you gad to take the regents test.

We aren’t. We have been told many times that we are not allowed to show movies unless they someway are related to a standard. (English gets away with showing the movie adaptation of the book and having kids comparing contrast them.) No one should be watching Moana in math class.

If this is what is happening in your kids’ classrooms, please contact the administrator in charge of that teacher. As someone who is still writing and teaching full lesson plans each day, it is infuriating that my colleagues are checked out. It makes the behaviors and attendance in my class awful.

I'm an English teacher who hasn't shown any movies for at least the past 10 years. I believe it was approximately ten years ago that I last showed part of the movie adaptation of a drama we read.

My students are still in the process of writing their final essay for the year. They are still actively learning and applying their learning because we are still in school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes.

We are really strict about attendance, but have been letting our high schooler craft their own schedule since AP exams are over.

Most of their classes have seniors or are senior AP classes, so the finals were either early last week or prior to the AP exams.

They have basically been showing up for fun science labs that the science teachers have added on their own (FCPS has really limited science labs at everywhere but TJ since the Woodson chemistry fire a few years back), disection labs, and music class.

Most of the classes only have a few kids still attending. Many have been nothing but free periods or PG movies since AP exams. It has been this way for all of my high school kids, but moreso this year with this ridiculous schedule and pointless 2 day week for Memorial Day (seriously, wtf)

We have prioritized school and attendance all these years, but FCPS has sent a clear message this year eith this stupid calendar that consistent school attendance is a very low priority for the district.

No kid gets anything from a solid month in late May-June of wasted time after AP exams are over. At that point, the only reason to keep kids in school is funding. If it were about educating the students, most of the 2, 3 and 4 day weeks would have been 5 day weeks, and FCPS would give families a set number of free passes for their religious holidays, so we weren't canceling school for religious holidays that are fewer than 3% of the county population, and secular holidays not celebrated in the US like Lunar New Year

My kid goes to Woodson and they have done a ton of labs in Chemistry this year AND they still have more upcoming. DC is somewhat checked out mentally, however, that has only meant that I have had to check on their grades/assignments a little more often because there are still tests, projects, etc. I honestly would be thrilled if they could just be lazy now!

Sophomore?

Wait until Junior and senior year.

There is very little point in FCPS continuing school past AP exams.

This is why we should start school at the beginning of August and go until the end of May. (Or better yet... let's switch to a year round schedule with 6 weeks off in June and half of July!)

Yes, please! :)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes.

We are really strict about attendance, but have been letting our high schooler craft their own schedule since AP exams are over.

Most of their classes have seniors or are senior AP classes, so the finals were either early last week or prior to the AP exams.

They have basically been showing up for fun science labs that the science teachers have added on their own (FCPS has really limited science labs at everywhere but TJ since the Woodson chemistry fire a few years back), disection labs, and music class.

Most of the classes only have a few kids still attending. Many have been nothing but free periods or PG movies since AP exams. It has been this way for all of my high school kids, but moreso this year with this ridiculous schedule and pointless 2 day week for Memorial Day (seriously, wtf)

We have prioritized school and attendance all these years, but FCPS has sent a clear message this year eith this stupid calendar that consistent school attendance is a very low priority for the district.

No kid gets anything from a solid month in late May-June of wasted time after AP exams are over. At that point, the only reason to keep kids in school is funding. If it were about educating the students, most of the 2, 3 and 4 day weeks would have been 5 day weeks, and FCPS would give families a set number of free passes for their religious holidays, so we weren't canceling school for religious holidays that are fewer than 3% of the county population, and secular holidays not celebrated in the US like Lunar New Year

My kid goes to Woodson and they have done a ton of labs in Chemistry this year AND they still have more upcoming. DC is somewhat checked out mentally, however, that has only meant that I have had to check on their grades/assignments a little more often because there are still tests, projects, etc. I honestly would be thrilled if they could just be lazy now!

Sophomore?

Wait until Junior and senior year.

There is very little point in FCPS continuing school past AP exams.

This is why we should start school at the beginning of August and go until the end of May. (Or better yet... let's switch to a year round schedule with 6 weeks off in June and half of July!)

6 weeks of summer is way too short!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you all complain like this when colleges you actually pay for end in mid may?
Makes sense that ap classes are lighter after the big exam.
I’m glad my kid is getting free college level material.

When college end in May... they end.

They don't make students attend classes for 4 weeks just to watch PG movies or sit in a classroom playing on their phones, holding them at school a month after the material and classes are complete.

Your college kid doesn’t come home and sit around for a couple of weeks playing games on their phones awaiting the start of their internships? All the college kids I know have this same plan, but at home while spending money “going out” with their friends. This is AFTER you pay 30K+ for room and board for 5 months.

At least they are on their phones on the wifi at school with an adult in charge of them not spending more money.

Go see the “what about the CALENDAR” people who moan about needing free daycare.

Sorry, but this argument is crazy.

The high school kkds should not need to be babysat at school after their AP exams end.

The calendar should not have a 2 day week Memeorial Day week. It should either be a 4 day week with excused absences for students with religious observances, or school should have ended on the Friday prior to Memorial day. Putting a 2 day week 3 weeks before school ends, after testing, and after all the materials have been covered for the year, then expecting the students to return to school for 2-3 weeks of babysitting, is a performative waste of everyone's time.

Whether a student is jumping into an internship, job, the pool or their phones, it doesn't matter. School should end after testing.

What FCPS has put together is a complete joke.

You would rather have them sitting at home doing nothing like college kids spending money on lunch with friends. Got it. That doesn’t make sense to me at all, but you do you.

As far as Memorial Day this year, you clearly should have taken a relaxing vacation and didn’t. This will never happen again. Eid will not be connected to Memorial Day in this way any time in the near or far future.

Relax, things are tough out there, do you best to enjoy it.

Yes, most high school parents would rather their young adults are at home mamaging their own time vs sitting in a classroom for a full month after the AP exams when all work is completed, playing on their phones and watching PG movies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:6th grader is still being exposed to new things. School continues.

Same here. My 6th grader is still learning. Civil War in SS, U8 in Benchmark, health lessons, etc. the only thing they are done with is science cause they finished the unit for the quarter and grade level standards in math since they took the SOL and finished the content. Teacher is keeping them busy learning. I know by the last five days it will be mostly cleaning up, EOY events, etc.

There is no Science SOL in 6th grade. They take a science test in 8th grade with that content.

Reread the post. I believe PP was talking about the math SOL. They said they finished the science unit for the quarter and grade level standards in math since they took the SOL…

But the thread is about high school, likely about upper class students since the Oap is talking about the waste of time after AP exams.

Not elementary school which is a completely different ballgame

The question then becomes, why are high school teachers allowed to show movies and let their students just hang out after AP tests? Seems like an opportunity for extensions/enrichment. Work with kids on college essays if they are juniors. Do some career exploration with sophs/juniors. It seems there are different standards held for secondary teachers vs elementary school. That is the larger problem. I do think next year moving SOL testing and requiring kids to take the exam will help with this stupidity.

My high school is NY did testing the last two weeks of school. We didn’t have wasted instructional time in May. Even with IB courses, you gad to take the regents test.

It's pretty obvious that high school and elementary/middle school are very different, developmentally, expectations, maturity, capabilities, freedom...

But of course, you know this.

The only question is why did FCPS create such a wasteful schedule that keeps students in school through late June,, and why did they make this week at the end of the year a 2 day week when they should have just offered excused absences for those who observed this holiday, kept everyone else in school and ended school 2 days earlier.

What does maturity have to do with teachers who stop teaching after a test? FCPS teachers should all be held to the same standard. No kid should be watching movies for 2-3 weeks cause the teacher can’t come up with a lesson plan due to testing being over. Even if the school year ended June 12th, which IMO should have been the last day, kids still should be learning.

All the class material is complete once the AP exams happen.

Most school districts in the country realize this and end school by Memorial Day weekend.

FCPS pointlessly extended the year over religious holidays and cultural holidays observed by fewer than 5% of ffx county.

They could have finished by the end of May like the majority of the country if they didn't throw in all these extra holidays.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think that going until June 17 this year is excessive, however, my kids (7th and 10th grades) are still taking tests through at least June 5. I know because we were going to take them out of school that Friday for a family event and decided not to because they both have major tests that day.

There is always a wind down for school, no matter when you end. Also, with a GIANT school district like ours, the last two weeks need to be devoted to high school graduations. Unless you want high school graduations to take place after the school year is done for everyone, ending in May is not going to work. Is that what school districts who end at Memorial Day do? Just have high school graduation the weeks after school is over?

I personally would hate to have them start in early August. I think all they needed to do this year is figure out 3 days to not take and end June 12. That would have been a reasonable summer with the first day back on August 24, 2026.

Most of the school districts that end by Memorial Day host senior graduations the 2 weeks in May leading up to Memorial Day.

For example, my home district ends by Memorial Day. Graduation is the Minday or Tuesday following the last AP exam, around or a little after May 15th.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:6th grader is still being exposed to new things. School continues.

Same here. My 6th grader is still learning. Civil War in SS, U8 in Benchmark, health lessons, etc. the only thing they are done with is science cause they finished the unit for the quarter and grade level standards in math since they took the SOL and finished the content. Teacher is keeping them busy learning. I know by the last five days it will be mostly cleaning up, EOY events, etc.

There is no Science SOL in 6th grade. They take a science test in 8th grade with that content.

Reread the post. I believe PP was talking about the math SOL. They said they finished the science unit for the quarter and grade level standards in math since they took the SOL…

But the thread is about high school, likely about upper class students since the Oap is talking about the waste of time after AP exams.

Not elementary school which is a completely different ballgame

The question then becomes, why are high school teachers allowed to show movies and let their students just hang out after AP tests? Seems like an opportunity for extensions/enrichment. Work with kids on college essays if they are juniors. Do some career exploration with sophs/juniors. It seems there are different standards held for secondary teachers vs elementary school. That is the larger problem. I do think next year moving SOL testing and requiring kids to take the exam will help with this stupidity.

My high school is NY did testing the last two weeks of school. We didn’t have wasted instructional time in May. Even with IB courses, you gad to take the regents test.

It's pretty obvious that high school and elementary/middle school are very different, developmentally, expectations, maturity, capabilities, freedom...

But of course, you know this.

The only question is why did FCPS create such a wasteful schedule that keeps students in school through late June,, and why did they make this week at the end of the year a 2 day week when they should have just offered excused absences for those who observed this holiday, kept everyone else in school and ended school 2 days earlier.

What does maturity have to do with teachers who stop teaching after a test? FCPS teachers should all be held to the same standard. No kid should be watching movies for 2-3 weeks cause the teacher can’t come up with a lesson plan due to testing being over. Even if the school year ended June 12th, which IMO should have been the last day, kids still should be learning.

The material for the year is completed with the AP exams.

When your kids are in high school you will realize how pointless the last 3 weeks of this school year are.