Earlier start date proposed for MCPS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Interesting that Howard Country announced yesterday that they are considering ending the Jewish Holidays. They will just follow the state holidays. Maybe MCPS should follow. Just defer to the state..no arguments.

Which includes Christian holidays.

[Anonymous]

^^^Or, more precisely, the holidays of some Christians. Eastern Christians don't get their holidays for Christmas and Easter.

[Anonymous]

Howard County is doing the right thing....

The committee informally considered adding all “additional holidays” requested by groups asking that their observed holiday be added to the school calendar in an effort to compile all the information possible.

“If all of the religious observances that we’re aware of were included, we would be going to school in to June 28 or thereabouts. Then you have to consider snow days,” White says.

http://wtop.com/howard-county/2015/12/howard-co-school-district-considering-a-calendar-without-jewish-holidays/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Interesting that Howard Country announced yesterday that they are considering ending the Jewish Holidays. They will just follow the state holidays. Maybe MCPS should follow. Just defer to the state..no arguments.

Which includes Christian holidays.

It only includes Christmas which is in winter break with New Years which is also a state mandated holiday. And like an OP stated, Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas on January 7th.

State Holidays
http://www.dbm.maryland.gov/employees/Pages/StateHolidays2015.aspx

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Howard County is doing the right thing....

The committee informally considered adding all “additional holidays” requested by groups asking that their observed holiday be added to the school calendar in an effort to compile all the information possible.

“If all of the religious observances that we’re aware of were included, we would be going to school in to June 28 or thereabouts. Then you have to consider snow days,” White says.

http://wtop.com/howard-county/2015/12/howard-co-school-district-considering-a-calendar-without-jewish-holidays/

June 28th isn't that bad. Though I'm fine with just getting rid of all the religious holidays.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Interesting that Howard Country announced yesterday that they are considering ending the Jewish Holidays. They will just follow the state holidays. Maybe MCPS should follow. Just defer to the state..no arguments.

Which includes Christian holidays.

It only includes Christmas which is in winter break with New Years which is also a state mandated holiday. And like an OP stated, Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas on January 7th.

State Holidays
http://www.dbm.maryland.gov/employees/Pages/StateHolidays2015.aspx

No, it also includes the Friday before Western Easter (Good Friday) and the Monday after Western Easter. What are the operational reasons for closing all schools in the state on these days?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look at your calendar for the current year. We had Monday, 9/14/15 OFF this year. So, there won't be any real change next year with this holiday. Simmer down, folks.

Actually it IS a big deal, thanks to the Board of Education deciding that 9/12/16 is a holiday for students but a Professional Day for teachers. Teachers are PAID to work. Since they made this a Professional Day, a Professional Day had to be moved from elsewhere in the calendar or it would have cost $7 million in salary.

On 9/14/15 and every other Jewish holiday, schools were closed for students AND staff.

Simple solution would be to treat 9/12/16 like 9/14/15 and just close for everyone. But no, our Board of Education just can't keep from tripping all over themselves to make asinine decisions.

9/14/15 wasn't a Jewish holiday. It was a professional day.

Wrong! 9/14/15 was Rosh Hashana.

But it wasn't listed as a holiday. Remember, we got rid of all holidays. So now we will just have 2-3 days off in Sept/Oct for "professional days."

I don't think you understand what a Professional Day is. A PD is one where teachers and staff are working, such as the 5 days before the first day of school, and then 1 day after each marking period ends.

This school year, 9/14 and 9/23 school was closed for both students and teachers. Those days were not PDs. (The calendar reads "No school for students and teachers.")

The Eid holiday, for some crazy reason, was requested to be a Professional Day, not a student and teacher holiday.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How long does it take for the video of the meeting to be posted?

Video is posted now at http://mcpsmd.swagit.com/play/12082015-1560

Click on "Items 4 & 6." This part of the meeting lasts 90 seconds at the most. Basically, Durso says at a date TBD in December. And it was due to some "concerns" they want to re-evaluate and discuss internally before moving forward.

Thanks for posting.

I really hope that the "concerns" mean that they aren't going to adopt this calendar.

[Anonymous]

[quote=Anonymous
The Eid holiday, for some crazy reason, was requested to be a Professional Day, not a student and teacher holiday.


The crazy reason is it would have cost $7 million dollars to give the teachers a paid holiday. What would you like to cut?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Interesting that Howard Country announced yesterday that they are considering ending the Jewish Holidays. They will just follow the state holidays. Maybe MCPS should follow. Just defer to the state..no arguments.

Which includes Christian holidays.

It only includes Christmas which is in winter break with New Years which is also a state mandated holiday. And like an OP stated, Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas on January 7th.

State Holidays
http://www.dbm.maryland.gov/employees/Pages/StateHolidays2015.aspx

No, it also includes the Friday before Western Easter (Good Friday) and the Monday after Western Easter. What are the operational reasons for closing all schools in the state on these days?

They are not state holidays. They are just always within the Spring Break in MCPS. Personally I think public schools need to do what private schools do and have Spring Break after 3rd quarter no matter where Easter or Passover falls. We are Christian and my kids have always gone to school on Good Friday and the Monday after Easter. I have no issues with it. If I wanted to take them out of school, it would be an excused absence but we don't.

So technically the only Christian holiday that the state recognizes is Christmas and since even 83% of non-Christians celebrate the holiday, it would be kinda tough to get teachers, staff, custodians, administration AND kids to come in on that day. So can you please give the "Christian holiday" a rest?

[Anonymous]

How much did MCPS spend to create and distribute the booklet about how they will deal with religious observance only to change the course of action a few months later? (At the direction of the BOE).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

No, it also includes the Friday before Western Easter (Good Friday) and the Monday after Western Easter. What are the operational reasons for closing all schools in the state on these days?

They are not state holidays. They are just always within the Spring Break in MCPS. Personally I think public schools need to do what private schools do and have Spring Break after 3rd quarter no matter where Easter or Passover falls. We are Christian and my kids have always gone to school on Good Friday and the Monday after Easter. I have no issues with it. If I wanted to take them out of school, it would be an excused absence but we don't.

So technically the only Christian holiday that the state recognizes is Christmas and since even 83% of non-Christians celebrate the holiday, it would be kinda tough to get teachers, staff, custodians, administration AND kids to come in on that day. So can you please give the "Christian holiday" a rest?

No, they are not "just" that. Your facts are wrong. State law requires all public schools in Maryland to be closed on the Friday before Easter and the Monday after Easter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:[quote=Anonymous
The Eid holiday, for some crazy reason, was requested to be a Professional Day, not a student and teacher holiday.

The crazy reason is it would have cost $7 million dollars to give the teachers a paid holiday. What would you like to cut?

Having PD on a religious holiday is not fair to the teachers in that religion. Barlcay's motion from November was out of "fairness" and "equity", but I guess it was just student fairness and not teacher fairness?

Honestly, if I were going to cut something, I'd cut Eid out.

Yesterday, the Hindu community requested Diwali as a day for PD.

The BOE is on a slippery slope with their November vote.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:[quote=Anonymous
The Eid holiday, for some crazy reason, was requested to be a Professional Day, not a student and teacher holiday.

The crazy reason is it would have cost $7 million dollars to give the teachers a paid holiday. What would you like to cut?

Every proposal costs money too,in the millions. People complain of the money we aren't receiving from the state but seem to have no issue with millions going towards these back and forth proposals.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How much did MCPS spend to create and distribute the booklet about how they will deal with religious observance only to change the course of action a few months later? (At the direction of the BOE).

+1