2026-2027 calendar updates

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I've worked in the system for over twenty years at the elementary level and here are my thoughts...

1) Nobody likes transition day except for Dr. Taylor. It's a waste of time and screws over the K, 6th, and 9th grade teachers.

2) I would be okay with having half-days for grading and reporting in MP 1 and 3. I do think our secondary counterparts need the full day at the end of MP 2 to prepare for their second semester classes.

3) SPED teachers need more IEP writing days given to them but that doesn't impact whether school is open or closed. There's already not enough time to handle the paperwork on our quarterly grading days.

4) When I did my admin program we were told we closed for Christian and Jewish holidays in order to be able to function as a school system. If we remained open, there wouldn't be enough staff to operate the building. While I appreciate the diversity in our county, I don't know what percentage of staff and students celebrate some of the recent holiday additions to our calendar. Perhaps allow everyone excused absences or leave that day.

I agree with this. They do not know if they need to close for operational reasons. Being open for religious holidays next year would let them collect data to determine whether there is an operational need to close moving forward -- another benefit of doing it.

DP. True, but aren't they only considering marking the religious holidays as potential makeup days, not as school days from the outset?

I don't think so. They would do this instead of starting school early, so those are days they would actually be open.

No, on the survey they sent out Thursday, the option is written as "Identifying days of religious observance as inclement weather makeup days."

Well, that's not what they say in the presentation. These are the three options:

Given the scheduled non-instructional days, three options or combinations of options are possible to meet new requirements to add capacity to address inclement weather closures:

1. Open school on non-instructional days that also are religious observances; allow excused absences and minimize instructional conflicts.

2. Reduce the length of Winter Break and/or Spring Break.

3. Start the school year earlier in August.

https://go.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Board.nsf/files/DT7SZF751736/$file/Proposed%20Amendments%202026-2027%20SY%20Calendar%20PPT%20260416.pdf

The superintendent is recommending the worst of the three options.

They mean that in the event of inclement weather closures requiring makeup days, they could open school on non-instructional days that are also religious observances.

That's not how I read it. The point is not to have to open school a week earlier. The way to do that is to open up on religious holidays instead.

Instead of opening earlier, they could keep the start as it currently is and convert religious days to school days if needed if they have too many snow days.

Exactly. The calendar they already have works if they actually use the days they’ve designated

It seems crazy to me that they won't do this. This is a no-brainer. I can't believe the superintendent instead is recommending starting school a week earlier.

Because when they dared to use Eid this year, a day that was already designated as a makeup day in the calendar the approved, they got backlash from a small part of the community who cried equity to Council so now they’re scared to go by what they’ve already said they would do.

I don't care. At a certain point, our kids need to be in school. MCPS needs to grow a pair and stand up to the county council. And if they designate all religious holidays, not just Muslim ones, as potential makeup days, Muslim residents will not feel targeted.

I don’t either. The sarcasm in my post I guess was not apparent… this whole thing is stupid. Kids need to be in school. We can’t cater to every individuals need to be off

Exactly this. All religious holidays should be potential make-up days. When the last snow day is used and it snows again, the next snow make-up day should be used to make it up. The process that we will use should be communicated now and the potential dates should be listed. At that point, the days used simply depend on when it snows and how long our snow days last. This makes it less personal - this process should not be perceived as personal - it is an operational decision on the part of a very large organization.

Lot simpler to just start school one week earlier. I understand the superintendent’s logic

Not for next year it's not.

Why not? Because you would rather be on vacation?

DP here

Yes! I would rather go on the beach vacation I spent time planning and have been looking forward to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've worked in the system for over twenty years at the elementary level and here are my thoughts...

1) Nobody likes transition day except for Dr. Taylor. It's a waste of time and screws over the K, 6th, and 9th grade teachers.

2) I would be okay with having half-days for grading and reporting in MP 1 and 3. I do think our secondary counterparts need the full day at the end of MP 2 to prepare for their second semester classes.

3) SPED teachers need more IEP writing days given to them but that doesn't impact whether school is open or closed. There's already not enough time to handle the paperwork on our quarterly grading days.

4) When I did my admin program we were told we closed for Christian and Jewish holidays in order to be able to function as a school system. If we remained open, there wouldn't be enough staff to operate the building. While I appreciate the diversity in our county, I don't know what percentage of staff and students celebrate some of the recent holiday additions to our calendar. Perhaps allow everyone excused absences or leave that day.

I agree with this. They do not know if they need to close for operational reasons. Being open for religious holidays next year would let them collect data to determine whether there is an operational need to close moving forward -- another benefit of doing it.

DP. True, but aren't they only considering marking the religious holidays as potential makeup days, not as school days from the outset?

I don't think so. They would do this instead of starting school early, so those are days they would actually be open.

No, on the survey they sent out Thursday, the option is written as "Identifying days of religious observance as inclement weather makeup days."

Well, that's not what they say in the presentation. These are the three options:

Given the scheduled non-instructional days, three options or combinations of options are possible to meet new requirements to add capacity to address inclement weather closures:

1. Open school on non-instructional days that also are religious observances; allow excused absences and minimize instructional conflicts.

2. Reduce the length of Winter Break and/or Spring Break.

3. Start the school year earlier in August.

https://go.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Board.nsf/files/DT7SZF751736/$file/Proposed%20Amendments%202026-2027%20SY%20Calendar%20PPT%20260416.pdf

The superintendent is recommending the worst of the three options.

They mean that in the event of inclement weather closures requiring makeup days, they could open school on non-instructional days that are also religious observances.

That's not how I read it. The point is not to have to open school a week earlier. The way to do that is to open up on religious holidays instead.

Instead of opening earlier, they could keep the start as it currently is and convert religious days to school days if needed if they have too many snow days.

Exactly. The calendar they already have works if they actually use the days they’ve designated

It seems crazy to me that they won't do this. This is a no-brainer. I can't believe the superintendent instead is recommending starting school a week earlier.

Because when they dared to use Eid this year, a day that was already designated as a makeup day in the calendar the approved, they got backlash from a small part of the community who cried equity to Council so now they’re scared to go by what they’ve already said they would do.

I don't care. At a certain point, our kids need to be in school. MCPS needs to grow a pair and stand up to the county council. And if they designate all religious holidays, not just Muslim ones, as potential makeup days, Muslim residents will not feel targeted.

I don’t either. The sarcasm in my post I guess was not apparent… this whole thing is stupid. Kids need to be in school. We can’t cater to every individuals need to be off

Exactly this. All religious holidays should be potential make-up days. When the last snow day is used and it snows again, the next snow make-up day should be used to make it up. The process that we will use should be communicated now and the potential dates should be listed. At that point, the days used simply depend on when it snows and how long our snow days last. This makes it less personal - this process should not be perceived as personal - it is an operational decision on the part of a very large organization.

Lot simpler to just start school one week earlier. I understand the superintendent’s logic

Not for next year it's not.

Why not? Because you would rather be on vacation?

+1 People's views are going to differ on this. For me, it makes much more sense to start earlier in August, rather than to just hope that it doesn't snow next year and having our kids lose another 3 instructional days because MCPS is incapable of using its makeup days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've worked in the system for over twenty years at the elementary level and here are my thoughts...

1) Nobody likes transition day except for Dr. Taylor. It's a waste of time and screws over the K, 6th, and 9th grade teachers.

2) I would be okay with having half-days for grading and reporting in MP 1 and 3. I do think our secondary counterparts need the full day at the end of MP 2 to prepare for their second semester classes.

3) SPED teachers need more IEP writing days given to them but that doesn't impact whether school is open or closed. There's already not enough time to handle the paperwork on our quarterly grading days.

4) When I did my admin program we were told we closed for Christian and Jewish holidays in order to be able to function as a school system. If we remained open, there wouldn't be enough staff to operate the building. While I appreciate the diversity in our county, I don't know what percentage of staff and students celebrate some of the recent holiday additions to our calendar. Perhaps allow everyone excused absences or leave that day.

I agree with this. They do not know if they need to close for operational reasons. Being open for religious holidays next year would let them collect data to determine whether there is an operational need to close moving forward -- another benefit of doing it.

DP. True, but aren't they only considering marking the religious holidays as potential makeup days, not as school days from the outset?

I don't think so. They would do this instead of starting school early, so those are days they would actually be open.

No, on the survey they sent out Thursday, the option is written as "Identifying days of religious observance as inclement weather makeup days."

Well, that's not what they say in the presentation. These are the three options:

Given the scheduled non-instructional days, three options or combinations of options are possible to meet new requirements to add capacity to address inclement weather closures:

1. Open school on non-instructional days that also are religious observances; allow excused absences and minimize instructional conflicts.

2. Reduce the length of Winter Break and/or Spring Break.

3. Start the school year earlier in August.

https://go.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Board.nsf/files/DT7SZF751736/$file/Proposed%20Amendments%202026-2027%20SY%20Calendar%20PPT%20260416.pdf

The superintendent is recommending the worst of the three options.

They mean that in the event of inclement weather closures requiring makeup days, they could open school on non-instructional days that are also religious observances.

That's not how I read it. The point is not to have to open school a week earlier. The way to do that is to open up on religious holidays instead.

Instead of opening earlier, they could keep the start as it currently is and convert religious days to school days if needed if they have too many snow days.

Exactly. The calendar they already have works if they actually use the days they’ve designated

It seems crazy to me that they won't do this. This is a no-brainer. I can't believe the superintendent instead is recommending starting school a week earlier.

Because when they dared to use Eid this year, a day that was already designated as a makeup day in the calendar the approved, they got backlash from a small part of the community who cried equity to Council so now they’re scared to go by what they’ve already said they would do.

I don't care. At a certain point, our kids need to be in school. MCPS needs to grow a pair and stand up to the county council. And if they designate all religious holidays, not just Muslim ones, as potential makeup days, Muslim residents will not feel targeted.

I don’t either. The sarcasm in my post I guess was not apparent… this whole thing is stupid. Kids need to be in school. We can’t cater to every individuals need to be off

Exactly this. All religious holidays should be potential make-up days. When the last snow day is used and it snows again, the next snow make-up day should be used to make it up. The process that we will use should be communicated now and the potential dates should be listed. At that point, the days used simply depend on when it snows and how long our snow days last. This makes it less personal - this process should not be perceived as personal - it is an operational decision on the part of a very large organization.

Lot simpler to just start school one week earlier. I understand the superintendent’s logic

Not for next year it's not.

Why not? Because you would rather be on vacation?

DP here

Yes! I would rather go on the beach vacation I spent time planning and have been looking forward to.

The world doesn't revolve around your beach vacation, Jan. You have 4 months to make new plans, or your kids can skip out on the first days of school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No matter what they do to the calendar, some kids are going to miss days at this point. They need to prioritize the option that will affect the fewest. Cutting any break — summer, winter or spring will affect many people’s existing plans. Designating mid-week religious holidays as potential makeup days will affect the fewest kids, plain and simple. I’m sorry we’re at a point that any kids will have to miss school but again, let’s prioritize having the most kids attend.

Signed someone whose kid has a camp for the last week of summer already and who is going on a cruise over winter break that we aren’t changing.

So you think it is better to have school on Passover than on the 4th day of Diwali?

There are more Jews in MCPS than Hindi, so no probably not. But if it has to be made up and that’s the next logical date than sure. Speaking as a Jew, it’s fine to have school on Passover. Kids aren’t involved in cooking the Seder typically and that happens after school. Passover isn’t a sit in Temple all day affair…

Hindi is a language. What are you talking about ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've worked in the system for over twenty years at the elementary level and here are my thoughts...

1) Nobody likes transition day except for Dr. Taylor. It's a waste of time and screws over the K, 6th, and 9th grade teachers.

2) I would be okay with having half-days for grading and reporting in MP 1 and 3. I do think our secondary counterparts need the full day at the end of MP 2 to prepare for their second semester classes.

3) SPED teachers need more IEP writing days given to them but that doesn't impact whether school is open or closed. There's already not enough time to handle the paperwork on our quarterly grading days.

4) When I did my admin program we were told we closed for Christian and Jewish holidays in order to be able to function as a school system. If we remained open, there wouldn't be enough staff to operate the building. While I appreciate the diversity in our county, I don't know what percentage of staff and students celebrate some of the recent holiday additions to our calendar. Perhaps allow everyone excused absences or leave that day.

I agree with this. They do not know if they need to close for operational reasons. Being open for religious holidays next year would let them collect data to determine whether there is an operational need to close moving forward -- another benefit of doing it.

DP. True, but aren't they only considering marking the religious holidays as potential makeup days, not as school days from the outset?

I don't think so. They would do this instead of starting school early, so those are days they would actually be open.

No, on the survey they sent out Thursday, the option is written as "Identifying days of religious observance as inclement weather makeup days."

Well, that's not what they say in the presentation. These are the three options:

Given the scheduled non-instructional days, three options or combinations of options are possible to meet new requirements to add capacity to address inclement weather closures:

1. Open school on non-instructional days that also are religious observances; allow excused absences and minimize instructional conflicts.

2. Reduce the length of Winter Break and/or Spring Break.

3. Start the school year earlier in August.

https://go.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Board.nsf/files/DT7SZF751736/$file/Proposed%20Amendments%202026-2027%20SY%20Calendar%20PPT%20260416.pdf

The superintendent is recommending the worst of the three options.

They mean that in the event of inclement weather closures requiring makeup days, they could open school on non-instructional days that are also religious observances.

That's not how I read it. The point is not to have to open school a week earlier. The way to do that is to open up on religious holidays instead.

Instead of opening earlier, they could keep the start as it currently is and convert religious days to school days if needed if they have too many snow days.

Exactly. The calendar they already have works if they actually use the days they’ve designated

It seems crazy to me that they won't do this. This is a no-brainer. I can't believe the superintendent instead is recommending starting school a week earlier.

Because when they dared to use Eid this year, a day that was already designated as a makeup day in the calendar the approved, they got backlash from a small part of the community who cried equity to Council so now they’re scared to go by what they’ve already said they would do.

I don't care. At a certain point, our kids need to be in school. MCPS needs to grow a pair and stand up to the county council. And if they designate all religious holidays, not just Muslim ones, as potential makeup days, Muslim residents will not feel targeted.

I don’t either. The sarcasm in my post I guess was not apparent… this whole thing is stupid. Kids need to be in school. We can’t cater to every individuals need to be off

Exactly this. All religious holidays should be potential make-up days. When the last snow day is used and it snows again, the next snow make-up day should be used to make it up. The process that we will use should be communicated now and the potential dates should be listed. At that point, the days used simply depend on when it snows and how long our snow days last. This makes it less personal - this process should not be perceived as personal - it is an operational decision on the part of a very large organization.

Lot simpler to just start school one week earlier. I understand the superintendent’s logic

Not for next year it's not.

Why not? Because you would rather be on vacation?

Lots of people have already made plans for August. It is too late to change it now.

[Anonymous]

Call me spoiled, call me what you will, we have had our beach vacation planned since last year during that week. If you are familiar with the OC, Bethany, Rehoboth beach rentals, you typically book 1 year in advance with a major non-refundable deposit. So sue me if I'm uspet that the 1 vacation that my MIDDLE class family takes each year is in jeopardy because our Superintendent and BOE.

[Anonymous]

MSDE is not requiring changes to the calendar of school systems. It is saying that if school systems want to apply for a waiver, they need to do this. But MCPS could also stick with the calendar it currently has and not apply for a waiver next year, committing to 180 days of instruction. That would mean it would need to extend the school year further next year in the case of inclement weather closures, but it’s an option.

Honestly I would rather take that then change the start date this late in the year. MCPS could then create a calendar for 2027-2028 that meets the requirements to be able to apply for a waiver.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've worked in the system for over twenty years at the elementary level and here are my thoughts...

1) Nobody likes transition day except for Dr. Taylor. It's a waste of time and screws over the K, 6th, and 9th grade teachers.

2) I would be okay with having half-days for grading and reporting in MP 1 and 3. I do think our secondary counterparts need the full day at the end of MP 2 to prepare for their second semester classes.

3) SPED teachers need more IEP writing days given to them but that doesn't impact whether school is open or closed. There's already not enough time to handle the paperwork on our quarterly grading days.

4) When I did my admin program we were told we closed for Christian and Jewish holidays in order to be able to function as a school system. If we remained open, there wouldn't be enough staff to operate the building. While I appreciate the diversity in our county, I don't know what percentage of staff and students celebrate some of the recent holiday additions to our calendar. Perhaps allow everyone excused absences or leave that day.

I agree with this. They do not know if they need to close for operational reasons. Being open for religious holidays next year would let them collect data to determine whether there is an operational need to close moving forward -- another benefit of doing it.

DP. True, but aren't they only considering marking the religious holidays as potential makeup days, not as school days from the outset?

I don't think so. They would do this instead of starting school early, so those are days they would actually be open.

No, on the survey they sent out Thursday, the option is written as "Identifying days of religious observance as inclement weather makeup days."

Well, that's not what they say in the presentation. These are the three options:

Given the scheduled non-instructional days, three options or combinations of options are possible to meet new requirements to add capacity to address inclement weather closures:

1. Open school on non-instructional days that also are religious observances; allow excused absences and minimize instructional conflicts.

2. Reduce the length of Winter Break and/or Spring Break.

3. Start the school year earlier in August.

https://go.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Board.nsf/files/DT7SZF751736/$file/Proposed%20Amendments%202026-2027%20SY%20Calendar%20PPT%20260416.pdf

The superintendent is recommending the worst of the three options.

They mean that in the event of inclement weather closures requiring makeup days, they could open school on non-instructional days that are also religious observances.

That's not how I read it. The point is not to have to open school a week earlier. The way to do that is to open up on religious holidays instead.

Instead of opening earlier, they could keep the start as it currently is and convert religious days to school days if needed if they have too many snow days.

Exactly. The calendar they already have works if they actually use the days they’ve designated

It seems crazy to me that they won't do this. This is a no-brainer. I can't believe the superintendent instead is recommending starting school a week earlier.

Because when they dared to use Eid this year, a day that was already designated as a makeup day in the calendar the approved, they got backlash from a small part of the community who cried equity to Council so now they’re scared to go by what they’ve already said they would do.

I don't care. At a certain point, our kids need to be in school. MCPS needs to grow a pair and stand up to the county council. And if they designate all religious holidays, not just Muslim ones, as potential makeup days, Muslim residents will not feel targeted.

I don’t either. The sarcasm in my post I guess was not apparent… this whole thing is stupid. Kids need to be in school. We can’t cater to every individuals need to be off

Exactly this. All religious holidays should be potential make-up days. When the last snow day is used and it snows again, the next snow make-up day should be used to make it up. The process that we will use should be communicated now and the potential dates should be listed. At that point, the days used simply depend on when it snows and how long our snow days last. This makes it less personal - this process should not be perceived as personal - it is an operational decision on the part of a very large organization.

Lot simpler to just start school one week earlier. I understand the superintendent’s logic

Not for next year it's not.

Why not? Because you would rather be on vacation?

DP here

Yes! I would rather go on the beach vacation I spent time planning and have been looking forward to.

The world doesn't revolve around your beach vacation, Jan. You have 4 months to make new plans, or your kids can skip out on the first days of school.

Thanks for stating the obvious which is unrelated to my post about where I prefer to be during the Superintendent's proposed first week of school.

If only Taylor understood that the world does not revolve around his beef with the State BOE.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've worked in the system for over twenty years at the elementary level and here are my thoughts...

1) Nobody likes transition day except for Dr. Taylor. It's a waste of time and screws over the K, 6th, and 9th grade teachers.

2) I would be okay with having half-days for grading and reporting in MP 1 and 3. I do think our secondary counterparts need the full day at the end of MP 2 to prepare for their second semester classes.

3) SPED teachers need more IEP writing days given to them but that doesn't impact whether school is open or closed. There's already not enough time to handle the paperwork on our quarterly grading days.

4) When I did my admin program we were told we closed for Christian and Jewish holidays in order to be able to function as a school system. If we remained open, there wouldn't be enough staff to operate the building. While I appreciate the diversity in our county, I don't know what percentage of staff and students celebrate some of the recent holiday additions to our calendar. Perhaps allow everyone excused absences or leave that day.

I agree with this. They do not know if they need to close for operational reasons. Being open for religious holidays next year would let them collect data to determine whether there is an operational need to close moving forward -- another benefit of doing it.

DP. True, but aren't they only considering marking the religious holidays as potential makeup days, not as school days from the outset?

I don't think so. They would do this instead of starting school early, so those are days they would actually be open.

No, on the survey they sent out Thursday, the option is written as "Identifying days of religious observance as inclement weather makeup days."

Well, that's not what they say in the presentation. These are the three options:

Given the scheduled non-instructional days, three options or combinations of options are possible to meet new requirements to add capacity to address inclement weather closures:

1. Open school on non-instructional days that also are religious observances; allow excused absences and minimize instructional conflicts.

2. Reduce the length of Winter Break and/or Spring Break.

3. Start the school year earlier in August.

https://go.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Board.nsf/files/DT7SZF751736/$file/Proposed%20Amendments%202026-2027%20SY%20Calendar%20PPT%20260416.pdf

The superintendent is recommending the worst of the three options.

They mean that in the event of inclement weather closures requiring makeup days, they could open school on non-instructional days that are also religious observances.

That's not how I read it. The point is not to have to open school a week earlier. The way to do that is to open up on religious holidays instead.

Instead of opening earlier, they could keep the start as it currently is and convert religious days to school days if needed if they have too many snow days.

Exactly. The calendar they already have works if they actually use the days they’ve designated

It seems crazy to me that they won't do this. This is a no-brainer. I can't believe the superintendent instead is recommending starting school a week earlier.

Because when they dared to use Eid this year, a day that was already designated as a makeup day in the calendar the approved, they got backlash from a small part of the community who cried equity to Council so now they’re scared to go by what they’ve already said they would do.

I don't care. At a certain point, our kids need to be in school. MCPS needs to grow a pair and stand up to the county council. And if they designate all religious holidays, not just Muslim ones, as potential makeup days, Muslim residents will not feel targeted.

I don’t either. The sarcasm in my post I guess was not apparent… this whole thing is stupid. Kids need to be in school. We can’t cater to every individuals need to be off

Exactly this. All religious holidays should be potential make-up days. When the last snow day is used and it snows again, the next snow make-up day should be used to make it up. The process that we will use should be communicated now and the potential dates should be listed. At that point, the days used simply depend on when it snows and how long our snow days last. This makes it less personal - this process should not be perceived as personal - it is an operational decision on the part of a very large organization.

Lot simpler to just start school one week earlier. I understand the superintendent’s logic

Not for next year it's not.

Why not? Because you would rather be on vacation?

DP here

Yes! I would rather go on the beach vacation I spent time planning and have been looking forward to.

The world doesn't revolve around your beach vacation, Jan. You have 4 months to make new plans, or your kids can skip out on the first days of school.

Well Marcia, some of us make plans with extended family and others would also be impacted by this change with nonrefundable deposits. We made these plans after the calendar came out because oh I don’t know, you think you can relay on the calendar!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No matter what they do to the calendar, some kids are going to miss days at this point. They need to prioritize the option that will affect the fewest. Cutting any break — summer, winter or spring will affect many people’s existing plans. Designating mid-week religious holidays as potential makeup days will affect the fewest kids, plain and simple. I’m sorry we’re at a point that any kids will have to miss school but again, let’s prioritize having the most kids attend.

Signed someone whose kid has a camp for the last week of summer already and who is going on a cruise over winter break that we aren’t changing.

So you think it is better to have school on Passover than on the 4th day of Diwali?

There are more Jews in MCPS than Hindi, so no probably not. But if it has to be made up and that’s the next logical date than sure. Speaking as a Jew, it’s fine to have school on Passover. Kids aren’t involved in cooking the Seder typically and that happens after school. Passover isn’t a sit in Temple all day affair…

Hindi is a language. What are you talking about ?

+1 Apparently, someone didn't spend enough time getting an education to know how to refer to followers of a major world religion. We want our kids at MCPS to get adequate instructional time so they're not like the PP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:I've worked in the system for over twenty years at the elementary level and here are my thoughts...

1) Nobody likes transition day except for Dr. Taylor. It's a waste of time and screws over the K, 6th, and 9th grade teachers.

2) I would be okay with having half-days for grading and reporting in MP 1 and 3. I do think our secondary counterparts need the full day at the end of MP 2 to prepare for their second semester classes.

3) SPED teachers need more IEP writing days given to them but that doesn't impact whether school is open or closed. There's already not enough time to handle the paperwork on our quarterly grading days.

4) When I did my admin program we were told we closed for Christian and Jewish holidays in order to be able to function as a school system. If we remained open, there wouldn't be enough staff to operate the building. While I appreciate the diversity in our county, I don't know what percentage of staff and students celebrate some of the recent holiday additions to our calendar. Perhaps allow everyone excused absences or leave that day.

I agree with this. They do not know if they need to close for operational reasons. Being open for religious holidays next year would let them collect data to determine whether there is an operational need to close moving forward -- another benefit of doing it.

DP. True, but aren't they only considering marking the religious holidays as potential makeup days, not as school days from the outset?

I don't think so. They would do this instead of starting school early, so those are days they would actually be open.

No, on the survey they sent out Thursday, the option is written as "Identifying days of religious observance as inclement weather makeup days."

Well, that's not what they say in the presentation. These are the three options:

Given the scheduled non-instructional days, three options or combinations of options are possible to meet new requirements to add capacity to address inclement weather closures:

1. Open school on non-instructional days that also are religious observances; allow excused absences and minimize instructional conflicts.

2. Reduce the length of Winter Break and/or Spring Break.

3. Start the school year earlier in August.

https://go.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Board.nsf/files/DT7SZF751736/$file/Proposed%20Amendments%202026-2027%20SY%20Calendar%20PPT%20260416.pdf

The superintendent is recommending the worst of the three options.

They mean that in the event of inclement weather closures requiring makeup days, they could open school on non-instructional days that are also religious observances.

That's not how I read it. The point is not to have to open school a week earlier. The way to do that is to open up on religious holidays instead.

Instead of opening earlier, they could keep the start as it currently is and convert religious days to school days if needed if they have too many snow days.

Exactly. The calendar they already have works if they actually use the days they’ve designated

It seems crazy to me that they won't do this. This is a no-brainer. I can't believe the superintendent instead is recommending starting school a week earlier.

Because when they dared to use Eid this year, a day that was already designated as a makeup day in the calendar the approved, they got backlash from a small part of the community who cried equity to Council so now they’re scared to go by what they’ve already said they would do.

I don't care. At a certain point, our kids need to be in school. MCPS needs to grow a pair and stand up to the county council. And if they designate all religious holidays, not just Muslim ones, as potential makeup days, Muslim residents will not feel targeted.

I don’t either. The sarcasm in my post I guess was not apparent… this whole thing is stupid. Kids need to be in school. We can’t cater to every individuals need to be off

Exactly this. All religious holidays should be potential make-up days. When the last snow day is used and it snows again, the next snow make-up day should be used to make it up. The process that we will use should be communicated now and the potential dates should be listed. At that point, the days used simply depend on when it snows and how long our snow days last. This makes it less personal - this process should not be perceived as personal - it is an operational decision on the part of a very large organization.

Lot simpler to just start school one week earlier. I understand the superintendent’s logic

Not for next year it's not.

Why not? Because you would rather be on vacation?

DP here

Yes! I would rather go on the beach vacation I spent time planning and have been looking forward to.

The world doesn't revolve around your beach vacation, Jan. You have 4 months to make new plans, or your kids can skip out on the first days of school.

Well Marcia, some of us make plans with extended family and others would also be impacted by this change with nonrefundable deposits. We made these plans after the calendar came out because oh I don’t know, you think you can relay on the calendar!

You chose to be cheap and make plans with non-refundable deposits knowing that the MCPS schedule shifted quite a bit over the last two years--were you hiding under a rock when the date of the last day of school changed several times this year? and last year? Most MCPS parents are not like you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Call me spoiled, call me what you will, we have had our beach vacation planned since last year during that week. If you are familiar with the OC, Bethany, Rehoboth beach rentals, you typically book 1 year in advance with a major non-refundable deposit. So sue me if I'm uspet that the 1 vacation that my MIDDLE class family takes each year is in jeopardy because our Superintendent and BOE.

Exactly. The people acting like vacation and camp plans are some kind of niche concern compared to Eid or Day After Diwali blow my mind.

People cannot just switch their MD/DE beach rental to an earlier week in the summer in MAY (since this isn’t going to be decided until 4/30).

I get it’s not the end of the world; vacation isn’t religion, but it matters to a large number of people.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I've worked in the system for over twenty years at the elementary level and here are my thoughts...

1) Nobody likes transition day except for Dr. Taylor. It's a waste of time and screws over the K, 6th, and 9th grade teachers.

2) I would be okay with having half-days for grading and reporting in MP 1 and 3. I do think our secondary counterparts need the full day at the end of MP 2 to prepare for their second semester classes.

3) SPED teachers need more IEP writing days given to them but that doesn't impact whether school is open or closed. There's already not enough time to handle the paperwork on our quarterly grading days.

4) When I did my admin program we were told we closed for Christian and Jewish holidays in order to be able to function as a school system. If we remained open, there wouldn't be enough staff to operate the building. While I appreciate the diversity in our county, I don't know what percentage of staff and students celebrate some of the recent holiday additions to our calendar. Perhaps allow everyone excused absences or leave that day.

I agree with this. They do not know if they need to close for operational reasons. Being open for religious holidays next year would let them collect data to determine whether there is an operational need to close moving forward -- another benefit of doing it.

DP. True, but aren't they only considering marking the religious holidays as potential makeup days, not as school days from the outset?

I don't think so. They would do this instead of starting school early, so those are days they would actually be open.

No, on the survey they sent out Thursday, the option is written as "Identifying days of religious observance as inclement weather makeup days."

Well, that's not what they say in the presentation. These are the three options:

Given the scheduled non-instructional days, three options or combinations of options are possible to meet new requirements to add capacity to address inclement weather closures:

1. Open school on non-instructional days that also are religious observances; allow excused absences and minimize instructional conflicts.

2. Reduce the length of Winter Break and/or Spring Break.

3. Start the school year earlier in August.

https://go.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Board.nsf/files/DT7SZF751736/$file/Proposed%20Amendments%202026-2027%20SY%20Calendar%20PPT%20260416.pdf

The superintendent is recommending the worst of the three options.

They mean that in the event of inclement weather closures requiring makeup days, they could open school on non-instructional days that are also religious observances.

That's not how I read it. The point is not to have to open school a week earlier. The way to do that is to open up on religious holidays instead.

Instead of opening earlier, they could keep the start as it currently is and convert religious days to school days if needed if they have too many snow days.

Exactly. The calendar they already have works if they actually use the days they’ve designated

It seems crazy to me that they won't do this. This is a no-brainer. I can't believe the superintendent instead is recommending starting school a week earlier.

Because when they dared to use Eid this year, a day that was already designated as a makeup day in the calendar the approved, they got backlash from a small part of the community who cried equity to Council so now they’re scared to go by what they’ve already said they would do.

I don't care. At a certain point, our kids need to be in school. MCPS needs to grow a pair and stand up to the county council. And if they designate all religious holidays, not just Muslim ones, as potential makeup days, Muslim residents will not feel targeted.

I don’t either. The sarcasm in my post I guess was not apparent… this whole thing is stupid. Kids need to be in school. We can’t cater to every individuals need to be off

Exactly this. All religious holidays should be potential make-up days. When the last snow day is used and it snows again, the next snow make-up day should be used to make it up. The process that we will use should be communicated now and the potential dates should be listed. At that point, the days used simply depend on when it snows and how long our snow days last. This makes it less personal - this process should not be perceived as personal - it is an operational decision on the part of a very large organization.

Lot simpler to just start school one week earlier. I understand the superintendent’s logic

Not for next year it's not.

Why not? Because you would rather be on vacation?

DP here

Yes! I would rather go on the beach vacation I spent time planning and have been looking forward to.

The world doesn't revolve around your beach vacation, Jan. You have 4 months to make new plans, or your kids can skip out on the first days of school.

Thanks for stating the obvious which is unrelated to my post about where I prefer to be during the Superintendent's proposed first week of school.

If only Taylor understood that the world does not revolve around his beef with the State BOE.

This isn't about a "beef" with the state BOE. This is about MCPS finally realizing that it is incapable of using its makeup days, having shortchanged MCPS kids on instructional time for 2 years in a row having not put in adequate snow days and trying to remedy the situation by starting earlier in the school year.

[Anonymous]

To the PP: As an MCPS graduate and a current MCPS teacher of 19 years, this is the first time I have ever seen MCPS propose moving the first day of school earlier after the calendar had already been announced. It has always been understood that snow days would be used as originally advertised.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Call me spoiled, call me what you will, we have had our beach vacation planned since last year during that week. If you are familiar with the OC, Bethany, Rehoboth beach rentals, you typically book 1 year in advance with a major non-refundable deposit. So sue me if I'm uspet that the 1 vacation that my MIDDLE class family takes each year is in jeopardy because our Superintendent and BOE.

Exactly. The people acting like vacation and camp plans are some kind of niche concern compared to Eid or Day After Diwali blow my mind.

People cannot just switch their MD/DE beach rental to an earlier week in the summer in MAY (since this isn’t going to be decided until 4/30).

I get it’s not the end of the world; vacation isn’t religion, but it matters to a large number of people.

Did you skip kindergarten when they teach you that your experiences aren't universal? Not everyone has a MD/DE beach rental that week. Most MCPS parents can't afford that. You want to prioritize your Rehoboth beach week go ahead. The rest of us are sending our kids to school. Some of us are even happy that our kids might actually get taught for 180 days next year.