Explain ridiculously early 2023/24 start date?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hope whoever is commenting here on not liking the school calendar is NOT voting the same people in to the school board again. I don't like the calendar, and I am NOT voting for any incumbents in the next election.

Amen. Are they finally up for reelection this year? Clean sweep.

Yes but most of them aren’t running for re-election. https://ballotpedia.org/Fairfax_County_Public_Schools,_Virginia,_elections_(2023)

Only Meren, Frisch, and Anderson are running for re-election as well as Sizemore-Heizer who is running in her district (Braddock) where she is currently an AL member.

McElveen and Moon are trying to return. McElveen is certainly a cheerleader of all that they have done. Moon usually went along with the prior SBs, but he probably is listening more to the community than others. Maybe, his experience with the Fairfax Dems when they nominated Omeish will cause him to reconsider his loyalty to progressives--or work in the opposite direction.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hope whoever is commenting here on not liking the school calendar is NOT voting the same people in to the school board again. I don't like the calendar, and I am NOT voting for any incumbents in the next election.

Amen. Are they finally up for reelection this year? Clean sweep.

Yes but most of them aren’t running for re-election. https://ballotpedia.org/Fairfax_County_Public_Schools,_Virginia,_elections_(2023)

Only Meren, Frisch, and Anderson are running for re-election as well as Sizemore-Heizer who is running in her district (Braddock) where she is currently an AL member.

Thank God to both the election this year and most of them not running. There are only 12 seats, correct? Four returning is too many. I hope a thread is started soon on the reelection so we can get these people out. There needs to be a list with their actual party affilations. If I remember correctly some of them were head chairs of the democratic committee. Of course, they are not non-partisan.

How many of the other people have been on the board before? No, to Ryan McElveen again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hope whoever is commenting here on not liking the school calendar is NOT voting the same people in to the school board again. I don't like the calendar, and I am NOT voting for any incumbents in the next election.

What real choice do we have? I’m not voting MAGA that’s for sure.

1. So, you are voting for a ridiculous number of random days off--making kids go from mid-August to mid-June.
2. You are voting for people who have done nothing to improve academics.
3. You are voting for people who pander to the LGBQT lobby--without showing any sympathy or concern for the views of others. They do not even pretend to try to reach a reasonable compromise.
4. You are voting for people who think that it is perfectly okay for school staff (teachers,, counselors, administrators) to hide pertinent information from parents about sometimes risky decisions their children are making.
5. You are voting for a SB which approves paying big bucks to consultants who have little or no accountability.
6. You are voting for a SB who does not understand that "equity" means all the same treatment.
7. You are voting for a SB who throws money into programs that have no value and solve no problems.
8. You are voting for a SB that puts diversity--at any cost--over merit.

etc.

This list is ridiculous.

1- as others have pointed out - Aug 21 is not MID it's late August and MAY school districts have a similar schedule. One of the largest in the country is LA -- The first day of school for the 2023-2024 school year is Monday, August 14, 2023. The last day of school for the 2023-2024 school year is Tuesday, June 11, 2024
2.Based on...?
3. We can reach compromises unless the "disagreement is rooted in my oppression and denial of my humanity and right to exist"
4.Sometimes the biggest risk to a child's well-being is the parent
5. Example?
6. Um. BIG NO. Equality means each individual or group of people is given the same resources or opportunities. Equity recognizes that each person has different circumstances and allocates the exact resources and opportunities needed to reach an equal outcome.
7. Like?
8. I think Covid showed that there is a big need in FCPS to the address socio-economic diversity in this county and yes, a public school system needs to address that. You want merit only, even at the expense of diversity? Go Private.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hope whoever is commenting here on not liking the school calendar is NOT voting the same people in to the school board again. I don't like the calendar, and I am NOT voting for any incumbents in the next election.

What real choice do we have? I’m not voting MAGA that’s for sure.

You may think R = MAGA. I am assessing each individually and I don't R automatically equals MAGA. I think my brain is better than the party line, and I am not drinking the democrat koolaid anymore. I literally think the worst educational thing I have seen in my 41 years was schools closed to in person education for one full year - and I am no longer a democrat because I have worked in education since 1999 and I care and know more about what is actually good for all kids' education than the current school board.

I am not certain, but I am probably voting: Springfield - Tisler
At large - Davis, Moon, and undecided on the third

I am happy to discuss actual education things with people who want to - but I am not into culture war stuff - I am into tangible things that impact education. As a former teacher - I know there is plenty of non-controversial stuff to teach that fills the day - such that we don't even need to get to controversial stuff.

Speaking of me being smarter than the school board - they said we had to start before labor day for SOLs which was such a red herring. They were already back loaded as much as possible under the labor day start.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hope whoever is commenting here on not liking the school calendar is NOT voting the same people in to the school board again. I don't like the calendar, and I am NOT voting for any incumbents in the next election.

What real choice do we have? I’m not voting MAGA that’s for sure.

1. So, you are voting for a ridiculous number of random days off--making kids go from mid-August to mid-June.
2. You are voting for people who have done nothing to improve academics.
3. You are voting for people who pander to the LGBQT lobby--without showing any sympathy or concern for the views of others. They do not even pretend to try to reach a reasonable compromise.
4. You are voting for people who think that it is perfectly okay for school staff (teachers,, counselors, administrators) to hide pertinent information from parents about sometimes risky decisions their children are making.
5. You are voting for a SB which approves paying big bucks to consultants who have little or no accountability.
6. You are voting for a SB who does not understand that "equity" means all the same treatment.
7. You are voting for a SB who throws money into programs that have no value and solve no problems.
8. You are voting for a SB that puts diversity--at any cost--over merit.

etc.

This list is ridiculous.

1- as others have pointed out - Aug 21 is not MID it's late August and MAY school districts have a similar schedule. One of the largest in the country is LA -- The first day of school for the 2023-2024 school year is Monday, August 14, 2023. The last day of school for the 2023-2024 school year is Tuesday, June 11, 2024
2.Based on...?
3. We can reach compromises unless the "disagreement is rooted in my oppression and denial of my humanity and right to exist"
4.Sometimes the biggest risk to a child's well-being is the parent
5. Example?
6. Um. BIG NO. Equality means each individual or group of people is given the same resources or opportunities. Equity recognizes that each person has different circumstances and allocates the exact resources and opportunities needed to reach an equal outcome.
7. Like?
8. I think Covid showed that there is a big need in FCPS to the address socio-economic diversity in this county and yes, a public school system needs to address that. You want merit only, even at the expense of diversity? Go Private.

7. Standards based grading.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have friends in California that started school yesterday - so the trend overall is earlier start dates.

Most places in the US start mid August and end late May/early June.

We're in a DC private, and kids start this week and are done at the end of May.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hope whoever is commenting here on not liking the school calendar is NOT voting the same people in to the school board again. I don't like the calendar, and I am NOT voting for any incumbents in the next election.

What real choice do we have? I’m not voting MAGA that’s for sure.

You may think R = MAGA. I am assessing each individually and I don't R automatically equals MAGA. I think my brain is better than the party line, and I am not drinking the democrat koolaid anymore. I literally think the worst educational thing I have seen in my 41 years was schools closed to in person education for one full year - and I am no longer a democrat because I have worked in education since 1999 and I care and know more about what is actually good for all kids' education than the current school board.

I am not certain, but I am probably voting: Springfield - Tisler
At large - Davis, Moon, and undecided on the third

I am happy to discuss actual education things with people who want to - but I am not into culture war stuff - I am into tangible things that impact education. As a former teacher - I know there is plenty of non-controversial stuff to teach that fills the day - such that we don't even need to get to controversial stuff.

Speaking of me being smarter than the school board - they said we had to start before labor day for SOLs which was such a red herring. They were already back loaded as much as possible under the labor day start.

Good for you. I feel the opposite as some of the "normal" GOP still support MAGA candidates and policies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hope whoever is commenting here on not liking the school calendar is NOT voting the same people in to the school board again. I don't like the calendar, and I am NOT voting for any incumbents in the next election.

What real choice do we have? I’m not voting MAGA that’s for sure.

If it's a disaster, this area has no problem voting democratic again. The current school board is a disaster. The policies are disasters for the school system. Anyone who has qualifications is better. If dems lose even once, they will think twice about repeating this road again.

[Anonymous]

2.Based on...?

Test scores falling without any discussion of this one the SB.

[Anonymous]

Vote them out!

[Anonymous]

Wow super early start.

[Anonymous]

Are there alternatives that don’t include The Open FCPS/Moms for Liberty peeps?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are there alternatives that don’t include The Open FCPS/Moms for Liberty peeps?

I was not in Open FCPS but I thought that FCPS should have opened at least hybrid when allowed by the state in August 2020.
I don't know what you think about Davis at Large - I believe she was actually in Open FCPS, but in my opinion hindsight has proven them right. And, by the way - I give a pass for schools closed March - June, but I absolutely do not give a pass for not opening hybrid in August 2020 when allowed to do so by the state.

If you care about equality - that decision set back the lowest of the low probably for the rest of their lives.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are there alternatives that don’t include The Open FCPS/Moms for Liberty peeps?

I was not in Open FCPS but I thought that FCPS should have opened at least hybrid when allowed by the state in August 2020.
I don't know what you think about Davis at Large - I believe she was actually in Open FCPS, but in my opinion hindsight has proven them right. And, by the way - I give a pass for schools closed March - June, but I absolutely do not give a pass for not opening hybrid in August 2020 when allowed to do so by the state.

If you care about equality - that decision set back the lowest of the low probably for the rest of their lives.

Oh, and this isn't a case of hindsight is 20/20 - we knew this all in August 2020, and I TOLD the school board to their faces at the time. Just the data is showing like I said - I was right all along. It wasn't rocket science - it was literally common sense to anyone who knew one iota about education. ESPECIALLY that it was not developmentally appropriate to have kids in grades K-2 or in special ed online for a year.

[Anonymous]

Sorry LOL - I have moved on as a general matter - but not when it comes to the next election. I do not forget!!! And I hope I can remind everyone else!