MCPS updated calendar is insane

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So seniors and senior teachers are done 5 weeks earlier!

It would be a lot better for high school students to start a week earlier in August (build in a normal amount of snow days, and if not used can end early.)

No.

Weird that you'd rather have usless half days tacked on to the end of the year. Education isn't a priority for your family?

DP

How silly. Maximizing days and minutes is important because lower income families benefit a lot. Those of us who “prioritize education” as you put it don’t need this in the same way.

Are you low income? If so get off here and get a job. If not, stop using others as talking points for your wants. They aren’t complaining, you are.

Are you an MCPS staffer? I hope not, because you sound like a rotten human being, to berate anyone who cares about lower income families. You should get off here and find some morality in your life, rather than harassing people who care about how kids get educated.

+1 I see awful stuff posted on DCUM pretty regularly, but "Are you low income? If so get off here and get a job." takes the cake. i hope people realize that their IP addresses are linked with their posts, and that these are not truly anonymous.

They don't care about lower income families as they are using them as talking points and not asking them what they want. THey probably don't even have kids at the lower income schools, like some of us do. Its offensive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So seniors and senior teachers are done 5 weeks earlier!

It would be a lot better for high school students to start a week earlier in August (build in a normal amount of snow days, and if not used can end early.)

No.

Weird that you'd rather have usless half days tacked on to the end of the year. Education isn't a priority for your family?

DP

How silly. Maximizing days and minutes is important because lower income families benefit a lot. Those of us who “prioritize education” as you put it don’t need this in the same way.

Are you low income? If so get off here and get a job. If not, stop using others as talking points for your wants. They aren’t complaining, you are.

Are you an MCPS staffer? I hope not, because you sound like a rotten human being, to berate anyone who cares about lower income families. You should get off here and find some morality in your life, rather than harassing people who care about how kids get educated.

No, I'm a parent whose kids are at lower income schools and we don't want to be used as your talking points to push your agenda. If you have all this time to post on here, you have time to work with your kids virtually or on make up assignments.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So seniors and senior teachers are done 5 weeks earlier!

It would be a lot better for high school students to start a week earlier in August (build in a normal amount of snow days, and if not used can end early.)

Do you have high school kids? Sports and marching band start two weeks earlier.

So they can start earlier. Geez guys, I know change is hard but your kids will adapt better than you.

That means our kids get pretty much no summer and it's an issue with working jobs. Don't your teens work? Jobs expect them to keep working as the college kids go back. Oh wait, you are priviileged and your kids don't work.

Only kids 14+ have jobs. MCPS starts at age 5, so it doesn't seem like you're considering the greater good here. And even for those 14+, you are prioritizing a summer job over teens have a schedule that would give them 180 days of education that would equip them to be qualified for future jobs. That's your opinion. Many would disagree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So seniors and senior teachers are done 5 weeks earlier!

It would be a lot better for high school students to start a week earlier in August (build in a normal amount of snow days, and if not used can end early.)

No.

Weird that you'd rather have usless half days tacked on to the end of the year. Education isn't a priority for your family?

DP

How silly. Maximizing days and minutes is important because lower income families benefit a lot. Those of us who “prioritize education” as you put it don’t need this in the same way.

Are you low income? If so get off here and get a job. If not, stop using others as talking points for your wants. They aren’t complaining, you are.

I’m not complaining or using them as a talking point, just acknowledging competing interests. I hope they count minutes and cut that extra week. I hope they count minutes permanently.

Low income families aren't complaining. You are and using them as talking points to meet your needs which is offensive. These extra days at the end help no one as teachers often stop teaching at least a week or two before school ends.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So seniors and senior teachers are done 5 weeks earlier!

It would be a lot better for high school students to start a week earlier in August (build in a normal amount of snow days, and if not used can end early.)

Do you have high school kids? Sports and marching band start two weeks earlier.

So they can start earlier. Geez guys, I know change is hard but your kids will adapt better than you.

That means our kids get pretty much no summer and it's an issue with working jobs. Don't your teens work? Jobs expect them to keep working as the college kids go back. Oh wait, you are priviileged and your kids don't work.

Only kids 14+ have jobs. MCPS starts at age 5, so it doesn't seem like you're considering the greater good here. And even for those 14+, you are prioritizing a summer job over teens have a schedule that would give them 180 days of education that would equip them to be qualified for future jobs. That's your opinion. Many would disagree.

Yes, jobs are important. It gives them life skills, looks good for college, gives them income they may need or to save for college expenses, etc. Academics don't give them the same life experiences as a job does and many are burnt out during the school year and need that break. Yes, teens having a break and destressing is important for their mental health. Your kids will be teens one day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So seniors and senior teachers are done 5 weeks earlier!

It would be a lot better for high school students to start a week earlier in August (build in a normal amount of snow days, and if not used can end early.)

No.

Weird that you'd rather have usless half days tacked on to the end of the year. Education isn't a priority for your family?

DP

How silly. Maximizing days and minutes is important because lower income families benefit a lot. Those of us who “prioritize education” as you put it don’t need this in the same way.

Are you low income? If so get off here and get a job. If not, stop using others as talking points for your wants. They aren’t complaining, you are.

I’m not complaining or using them as a talking point, just acknowledging competing interests. I hope they count minutes and cut that extra week. I hope they count minutes permanently.

Low income families aren't complaining. You are and using them as talking points to meet your needs which is offensive. These extra days at the end help no one as teachers often stop teaching at least a week or two before school ends.

What is it you think I am advocating for?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why do we still have an early release on Friday when it really isn’t interim time anymore because of all the snow days?

An excellent question. They’ve had so few days of school that my kids don’t even have enough graded assignments to even make an interim relevant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So seniors and senior teachers are done 5 weeks earlier!

It would be a lot better for high school students to start a week earlier in August (build in a normal amount of snow days, and if not used can end early.)

No.

Weird that you'd rather have usless half days tacked on to the end of the year. Education isn't a priority for your family?

DP

How silly. Maximizing days and minutes is important because lower income families benefit a lot. Those of us who “prioritize education” as you put it don’t need this in the same way.

Are you low income? If so get off here and get a job. If not, stop using others as talking points for your wants. They aren’t complaining, you are.

Are you an MCPS staffer? I hope not, because you sound like a rotten human being, to berate anyone who cares about lower income families. You should get off here and find some morality in your life, rather than harassing people who care about how kids get educated.

No, I'm a parent whose kids are at lower income schools and we don't want to be used as your talking points to push your agenda. If you have all this time to post on here, you have time to work with your kids virtually or on make up assignments.

So is that how you talk to parents at your kids "lower income school?" Telling them to get off here and get a job because they don't deserve to have their views heard on instructional time. Your kids would be ashamed if they saw what you're posting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So seniors and senior teachers are done 5 weeks earlier!

It would be a lot better for high school students to start a week earlier in August (build in a normal amount of snow days, and if not used can end early.)

Do you have high school kids? Sports and marching band start two weeks earlier.

So they can start earlier. Geez guys, I know change is hard but your kids will adapt better than you.

That means our kids get pretty much no summer and it's an issue with working jobs. Don't your teens work? Jobs expect them to keep working as the college kids go back. Oh wait, you are priviileged and your kids don't work.

Only kids 14+ have jobs. MCPS starts at age 5, so it doesn't seem like you're considering the greater good here. And even for those 14+, you are prioritizing a summer job over teens have a schedule that would give them 180 days of education that would equip them to be qualified for future jobs. That's your opinion. Many would disagree.

Yes, jobs are important. It gives them life skills, looks good for college, gives them income they may need or to save for college expenses, etc. Academics don't give them the same life experiences as a job does and many are burnt out during the school year and need that break. Yes, teens having a break and destressing is important for their mental health. Your kids will be teens one day.

Sorry you don't prioritize academics. Perhaps you need to go back to kindergarten to understand that the world doesn't revolve around you and what you think is best for your teens.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So seniors and senior teachers are done 5 weeks earlier!

It would be a lot better for high school students to start a week earlier in August (build in a normal amount of snow days, and if not used can end early.)

No.

Weird that you'd rather have usless half days tacked on to the end of the year. Education isn't a priority for your family?

DP

How silly. Maximizing days and minutes is important because lower income families benefit a lot. Those of us who “prioritize education” as you put it don’t need this in the same way.

Are you low income? If so get off here and get a job. If not, stop using others as talking points for your wants. They aren’t complaining, you are.

I’m not complaining or using them as a talking point, just acknowledging competing interests. I hope they count minutes and cut that extra week. I hope they count minutes permanently.

Low income families aren't complaining. You are and using them as talking points to meet your needs which is offensive. These extra days at the end help no one as teachers often stop teaching at least a week or two before school ends.

What evidence do you have that "low income families aren't complaining." Please cite official sources, rather than speaking for them and using them as your talking point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Grading and planning days are essential. You can get rid of them if you want but it will be to the detriment of students. Having the day off means we can carefully go through grades and make sure there are no mistakes. It also gives us a few hours to grade stuff. Finally it gives teachers time to reflect and do some planning for future lessons. Take it away and many of us will just hastily throw something together for planning purposes. Think of some of your kids teachers who you like and who do a good job. Good teaching doesn’t just happen. It takes a lot of planning and effort. And trying new things.

In HS there are 8 periods. Teachers have classes for 5-6 periods at most. The school day is exactly 7.5hrs.

Most salary employees work 9-10hrs a day. Many catch up at night too.

I think teachers do not get paid well enough and I would argue for more half days for grading. But full days off are not productive in my opinion. You just had 4 days off. There will be a long Spring Break in late March/early April. Being against April 15th is absolutely ridiculous. Could have made it half day easily.

When the teachers and MCPS are not flexible, why should the state be?

Agree 100%

If MCPS actually went to school 5 days a week, I may have more sympathy for teachers and their need for full days off to grade. But they don't because they are off for every known holiday and then also when it flurries. As well as morning delays and other half days. Do teachers not understand that OTHER working parents that are not teachers, do not have that luxury and struggle with finding daycare, camps, babysitters for all of these days off and snow days and delayed openings, etc... I feel like kids are never in school. So your union denying April 15th after all these days off and after a long Spring Break seems a bit much, no?

Teacher here: Do you not understand that the teachers are NOT involved in the poor calendar planning? The MCPS calendar is absurd. We hardly ever have a full week of school at this point due to all of the days off. Teachers, probably more than anyone, want to return to a time when the school year starts and ends at a reasonable time but that continues at a steady pace for the school year's duration. The communities that are advocating to have every religious holiday off and the state and local powers that be that want days and days of professional development have no idea that the inconsistency of the calendar is contributing to how much our students are falling behind. We had four days off last weekend, which requires me to spend time just reactivating my students' thinking about that we covered a handful of days ago. If we'd go to school regularly and really get into a routine, we have to do far less of this and could keep the learning going at a steadier pace and in a more effective way. It is NOT the teachers who are advocating for endless days off during the year.

It's your teacher's union that is blocking the use of April 15 makeup day, which was submitted to BOE as part of the official calendar to BE a make-up day. And now your union is reneging on the official calendar, so you can enjoy teaching until July this year.

You’re such a snot. You sound like an ill-raised 13-year-old girl. And no, many teachers will use their accumulated days and NOT “teach until July” and your kids will be stuffed in with unqualified subs. But we all know you don’t care, as long as they’re not in your house, or in childcare you had to pay for or arrange.

That’s your opinion. Not a fact. Which is something even most 13 year old girls can recognize. It is a fact that the McPS teacher’s union blocked the use of the April 15 makeup day that they had agreed to include on the calendar as a makeup day.

And because of that selfishness, McPS kids are losing losing out on education while you are calling people “snot” and enjoying your vacation thinking gleefully about unqualified subs educating the kids you’re supposed to care about.

I have no idea if the union advocated to not use April 15 as make up. The teachers i know want to use it. As for agreeing to calendar decisions, teachers unions are not allowed to negotiate the calendar in MD

You would have "an idea" if you had bothered to read the Board doc in the first page of this thread .
https://go.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Board.nsf/files/DRFV9T7FA98B/$file/Apprv%20Tech%20Amends%202025-2026%20SY%20Calendars%20260219.pdf

Wednesday: April 15, 2026: Quarter 3 Grading and Reporting Day Teacher Work Day Considerations: Contractual agreement with Montgomery County Education Association

This was the only makeup day that had been agreed on the calendar (a random Wednesday in April) that didn't have extra costs or fear of poor attendance listed as a consideration in making it an instructional day.

Again, this does not prove that union was consulted after the snow days about making April 15 a make up day. The union may have been asked, or the county might just be noting that it is contractually a day off.

In any case, the teachers are not allowed to negotiate the calendar. Teachers I know want to use April 15 as a make up. Obviously, I don't know all the teachers.

If your excuse is "no one asked the union what they thought" before MCPS put in an official document that "contractual agreement with MCEA" was the reason for not using April 15 as a makeup day, when the makeup day was already approved and on the official calendar from the begininng of the year, then you're paying your union dues for nothing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So seniors and senior teachers are done 5 weeks earlier!

It would be a lot better for high school students to start a week earlier in August (build in a normal amount of snow days, and if not used can end early.)

No.

Weird that you'd rather have usless half days tacked on to the end of the year. Education isn't a priority for your family?

DP

How silly. Maximizing days and minutes is important because lower income families benefit a lot. Those of us who “prioritize education” as you put it don’t need this in the same way.

Are you low income? If so get off here and get a job. If not, stop using others as talking points for your wants. They aren’t complaining, you are.

Are you an MCPS staffer? I hope not, because you sound like a rotten human being, to berate anyone who cares about lower income families. You should get off here and find some morality in your life, rather than harassing people who care about how kids get educated.

+1 I see awful stuff posted on DCUM pretty regularly, but "Are you low income? If so get off here and get a job." takes the cake. i hope people realize that their IP addresses are linked with their posts, and that these are not truly anonymous.

Agree that that wins the most obnoxious post in the MCPS forum, and there is some stiff competition.

[Anonymous]

Frankly, I am happy to suck up the ridiculous calendar and get my kids in school June 22-25, if it means there is finally some real pressure on MCPS to devise a reasonable schedule with at least 3 snow days built in and several scheduled holidays/ "days off" that they are ready and willing to convert to instructional days, as needed (and yes, they should be backloaded in Jan and after).

This is not rocket science. But I fear until there are some consequences, there is no incentive to change the current practice of see no snow, hear no snow, plan for no snow.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So seniors and senior teachers are done 5 weeks earlier!

It would be a lot better for high school students to start a week earlier in August (build in a normal amount of snow days, and if not used can end early.)

Do you have high school kids? Sports and marching band start two weeks earlier.

So they can start earlier. Geez guys, I know change is hard but your kids will adapt better than you.

That means our kids get pretty much no summer and it's an issue with working jobs. Don't your teens work? Jobs expect them to keep working as the college kids go back. Oh wait, you are priviileged and your kids don't work.

Only kids 14+ have jobs. MCPS starts at age 5, so it doesn't seem like you're considering the greater good here. And even for those 14+, you are prioritizing a summer job over teens have a schedule that would give them 180 days of education that would equip them to be qualified for future jobs. That's your opinion. Many would disagree.

Yeah but it doesn't stop the AP crowd from trying to have the whole system designed around their schedule. Why should MCPS worry about AP testing when 80% of the students in the county aren't taking them?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So seniors and senior teachers are done 5 weeks earlier!

It would be a lot better for high school students to start a week earlier in August (build in a normal amount of snow days, and if not used can end early.)

No.

Weird that you'd rather have usless half days tacked on to the end of the year. Education isn't a priority for your family?

DP

How silly. Maximizing days and minutes is important because lower income families benefit a lot. Those of us who “prioritize education” as you put it don’t need this in the same way.

Are you low income? If so get off here and get a job. If not, stop using others as talking points for your wants. They aren’t complaining, you are.

I’m not complaining or using them as a talking point, just acknowledging competing interests. I hope they count minutes and cut that extra week. I hope they count minutes permanently.

Low income families aren't complaining. You are and using them as talking points to meet your needs which is offensive. These extra days at the end help no one as teachers often stop teaching at least a week or two before school ends.

What evidence do you have that "low income families aren't complaining." Please cite official sources, rather than speaking for them and using them as your talking point.

You show us the evidence beyond you here as the talking point.