FCPS Early Release Mondays

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The calendar already has 14 teacher/staff development workdays. They could fit this into those days????

What a joke.

+1

They already have so few 5 day weeks of school.

Remember when they made that HUGE deal about creating calendars for the next three years and included in bold the number of 5 day weeks?

This feels like a sneaky bait and switch. Thanks FCPS.

Do you honestly have so little trust in FCPS that you think this was a bait and switch? Come on. Use your brain.

FCPS isn't the one who planned 27-36 hours of additional required training for teachers.That was the state. Youngkin.

My kids' teachers already work too many hours, and they shouldn't have to sacrifice any more of their personal time to complete these requirements. If these trainings make literacy instruction stronger, I'm all for kids missing a few hours of instruction each month.

Again. What trainings are mandatory except for the state? None, so drop the other non mandatory trainings

Actually quite a few are yearly mandatory trainings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish they would have done this on Fridays so we could get a jump start on the weekend.

They probably don't want the teachers to leave early for the weekend

Wouldn’t the training be mandatory for teachers? Why should this be a problem?

Given most parents who telework do so on Fridays, and parents who would want more family time would benefit from early Friday’s, I really see no justification in not doing this Friday afternoons.

So telework Monday

How does that work in the higher FARMs rate schools where parents are more likely to have jobs that require in person? I wish my kids were still young enough for me to enjoy these early Mondays

The same way it’s worked for the past 40 years. The kids go home and watch themselves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most school districts in VA are replacing their planned county training to ensure that the new state-mandated training this gets done on the exsisting teacher workdays.

FCPS has 14 (!!!) teacher/staff development days already on the calendar. Surely they can find a way to fit this training in there since most of the state is doing this.

+1. I am just reading the email sent on this and am furious. I cannot believe with the litany of teacher work days and no school days already built into the existing calendar that they cannot find teacher planning time. I absolutely hate FCPS and the lack of school time for the kids. The kids are never, ever in class. I just don't understand it. The county is clearly anti-working parents and ensuring that our children have zero time in school. I don't get it. And on Mondays no less. What a complete joke.

Exaggerate much?

+1, they are there for 180 days. There is no restriction on how those 180 days are scheduled throughout the year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish they would have done this on Fridays so we could get a jump start on the weekend.

They probably don't want the teachers to leave early for the weekend

Wouldn’t the training be mandatory for teachers? Why should this be a problem?

Given most parents who telework do so on Fridays, and parents who would want more family time would benefit from early Friday’s, I really see no justification in not doing this Friday afternoons.

So telework Monday

Still doesn’t answer the question of why we’re addressing absenteeism in teachers by punishing parents. If the teachers will not show up for mandatory training if it’s held on Friday that is 100% a discipline/employee problem. Let the kids at least get a longer weekend.

It’s 100% speculation that FCPS chose Monday afternoons to reduce teacher absenteeism. We have no idea why they chose that day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish they would have done this on Fridays so we could get a jump start on the weekend.

They probably don't want the teachers to leave early for the weekend

Wouldn’t the training be mandatory for teachers? Why should this be a problem?

Given most parents who telework do so on Fridays, and parents who would want more family time would benefit from early Friday’s, I really see no justification in not doing this Friday afternoons.

So telework Monday

Still doesn’t answer the question of why we’re addressing absenteeism in teachers by punishing parents. If the teachers will not show up for mandatory training if it’s held on Friday that is 100% a discipline/employee problem. Let the kids at least get a longer weekend.

It’s 100% speculation that FCPS chose Monday afternoons to reduce teacher absenteeism. We have no idea why they chose that day[b].

Because…parents and other stakeholders weren’t consulted. This is why everyone is enraged.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm sure parents with means (i.e. most of us here) can find a way to ensure that their children are learning during these days.

We will book tutoring during these early release days. It is not worth anyone's time to stress about this. Make a trip to the library and have your child work on a lego set.

This is the problem. Parents with means will be fine. I talk to and work with a lot of families that are struggling. They do not have the option to telework, as many are employed in jobs which require in-person, on-site labor. The result is that kids stay home alone and are unattended. This is a huge issue over the summers - which is already well documented and researched by most school systems - when kids have higher instances of drug use, arrest, pregnancies, and similar issues. I know DCUM only worries about the rich families and inconveniences but I find this move by FCPS to be a complete slap in the face to families that cannot pay additional $$$$ for more care when kids should be in school. FCPS needs to do their job. My clients demand that I do my job at work. Why can we not demand that FCPS do theirs?

I agree this is an equity issue. It also puts more strain on the schools that have more working families because the letter promised that schools will occupy children until the usual time to go home. If more kids require that, those schools will have to find the staff to implement it.

Are there any full day Mondays this year? Many Mondays are off - the ones that aren't will be half days?

Yes, they’re are full Mondays. To see which ones, you’ll need to compare the calendar against your regional training dates.

[Anonymous]

This is going to hugely increase student absences. People are going to blow off these mondays, take long weekends, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is going to hugely increase student absences. People are going to blow off these mondays, take long weekends, etc.

If the school doesn't treat the day like school, why should parents and students. These will be and should be treated as three day weekends

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish they would have done this on Fridays so we could get a jump start on the weekend.

They probably don't want the teachers to leave early for the weekend

Wouldn’t the training be mandatory for teachers? Why should this be a problem?

Given most parents who telework do so on Fridays, and parents who would want more family time would benefit from early Friday’s, I really see no justification in not doing this Friday afternoons.

So telework Monday

Still doesn’t answer the question of why we’re addressing absenteeism in teachers by punishing parents. If the teachers will not show up for mandatory training if it’s held on Friday that is 100% a discipline/employee problem. Let the kids at least get a longer weekend.

It’s 100% speculation that FCPS chose Monday afternoons to reduce teacher absenteeism. We have no idea why they chose that day[b].

Because…parents and other stakeholders weren’t consulted. This is why everyone is enraged.

Enraged, really? It’s ok to be upset and/or annoyed, so take a couple days. Nothing is changing, you need to find a way to get over it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is going to hugely increase student absences. People are going to blow off these mondays, take long weekends, etc.

If the school doesn't treat the day like school, why should parents and students. These will be and should be treated as three day weekends

Why wouldn’t it be treated like a school day?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is going to hugely increase student absences. People are going to blow off these mondays, take long weekends, etc.

If the school doesn't treat the day like school, why should parents and students. These will be and should be treated as three day weekends

Why wouldn’t it be treated like a school day?

No learning happens on a three hour early release day. Breakfast, "morning meeting" BS, specials, lunch, recess, day is over.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is going to hugely increase student absences. People are going to blow off these mondays, take long weekends, etc.

If the school doesn't treat the day like school, why should parents and students. These will be and should be treated as three day weekends

Why wouldn’t it be treated like a school day?

Another problem is schools that start close to 9am. It's a problem for those who work because my office starts at 8am - so I'm always running late. But now, if I have to pick the kids up just a few hours later - no work will get done for me at all on Mondays.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is going to hugely increase student absences. People are going to blow off these mondays, take long weekends, etc.

If the school doesn't treat the day like school, why should parents and students. These will be and should be treated as three day weekends

Why wouldn’t it be treated like a school day?

No learning happens on a three hour early release day. Breakfast, "morning meeting" BS, specials, lunch, recess, day is over.

Not everyone has the same experience as you or your student. Mine often have tests on early-release days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is going to hugely increase student absences. People are going to blow off these mondays, take long weekends, etc.

If the school doesn't treat the day like school, why should parents and students. These will be and should be treated as three day weekends

Why wouldn’t it be treated like a school day?

Why would it? Barely any time gets allocated to math or LA in a normal 2 hour early release and this shaves off another hour

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is going to hugely increase student absences. People are going to blow off these mondays, take long weekends, etc.

If the school doesn't treat the day like school, why should parents and students. These will be and should be treated as three day weekends

Why wouldn’t it be treated like a school day?

No learning happens on a three hour early release day. Breakfast, "morning meeting" BS, specials, lunch, recess, day is over.

Not every grade has specials and recess on ER days, breakfast happens before the bell, and morning meeting is 20 minutes - and some grades skip it on ER days. There is still 2 hours (or more) to do lessons. DCUM is great at spreading inaccurate facts.