How DO we get the calendar changed?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We should not have these holidays off or as observance days-
Rosh Hashanah
Yom Kippur
Diwali
Eid al Fitr
Eid al Adha

Sounds about white.

If my kids go to a Jewish school, they don't celebrate all the Christian and Pagan holidays so enough with your virtue signaling. My "whitness" can't move to move to India and demand the entire country to give all "whites" paid days off for American holidays? Your insistent cultural neediness is exhausting and disruptive to the learning of ALL students. If you want cultural handholding go to an international school, not public.

You're talking (complaining) about days off for five RELIGIOUS holidays, then start rambling about moving to India and demanding Caucasians have days off for "American" holidays?

Never knew RELIGIOUS holidays were geographically based LOL

America = Country. Diwali = Religion. Make it make sense.

You're probably the same type of person who talks about Christmas being a secular holiday. Diwali is the same, it's a cultural holiday.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here should be the holiday schedule:

Monday, January 20 Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Monday, February 17* Washington’s Birthday
Monday, May 26 Memorial Day
Thursday, June 19 Juneteenth National Independence Day
Friday, July 04 Independence Day
Monday, September 01 Labor Day
Monday, October 13 Columbus Day
Tuesday, November 11 Veterans Day
Thursday, November 27 Thanksgiving Day

done and great w/ parents

You left off two of our original national holidays, Christmas and New years.

85-95% of students, teaxhers and support staff would not attend school on the week from Christmas Eve to New Year Day.

Facts are facts.

Try as you might, not one school in FCPS or America would have enough people to run a single classroom on Christmas.

I’m not the person you’re quoting but I read their post to mean these should be the holidays not these should be the breaks— normal winter and spring break but no holidays observed other than the nationally recognized ones.

Personally I think the Federal holidays should represent the number of holidays and if FCPS wants to recognize say, RH/YK instead of Columbus and Labor Day they could make trade offs, but actual trade offs not just adding indefinitely.

Only having Thanksgiving itself off is the tell that they didn’t really think about doing that.

Hi, to be clear, I posted the list and should have left off Thanksgiving. My point was that, in addition to all the breaks, those should be the only holidays.

Spring break should align with Easter. Even many secular countries in Europe provide time off around Easter, so this is a reasonable middle ground.

Here are the breaks: spring break aligned with Easter, summer break ending with Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and winter break. That is already a significant amount of time off.

Teachers can use the first and last days of those breaks as workdays to avoid cutting into student time.

This was essentially the schedule in the 2000s, and with the addition of Juneteenth, it makes sense to return to that model.

There is also no need for a committee or prolonged debate. The simplest approach is to follow the federal government holiday schedule, which already drives most parent schedules in this area. It is a neutral, nonreligious framework that provides a consistent and practical standard.

Um no. Teachers are never going to be required to work over the their holidays. They want to take time with their families as well. They will continue to have separate workdays (M-Fr) from holidays where the kids are not in school and you parents will just have to deal.

I am sure everyone can agree to have them take one additional day off and remember no other profession gets so many days off to begin with

You mean unpaid days, right?

Teachers are paid for a certain number of days a year. They aren’t getting “days off.”

Also, the PP was suggesting teachers should be expected to work weekends. Hard pass.

And as I’ve said many times: if you want a teacher’s schedule, you have that option. Nobody is stopping you from achieving the easy, cushy job of a teacher. If you want something, go get it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We should not have these holidays off or as observance days-
Rosh Hashanah
Yom Kippur
Diwali
Eid al Fitr
Eid al Adha

But spring break should be aligned with Easter and of course we need a full two weeks off around Christmas.

I never said that but don't live in a country like the US that was "founded" by Christians and then complain about spring break being close to Easter or time off at Christmas- the HORROR. It's like you all have no idea where you live? Bes t of luck as you move to another country then and complain about them having holidays around their culture.

Christian Nationalism? Really? That's what you're going with?

[Anonymous]

Stop clutching your pearls.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We should not have these holidays off or as observance days-
Rosh Hashanah
Yom Kippur
Diwali
Eid al Fitr
Eid al Adha

Sounds about white.

If my kids go to a Jewish school, they don't celebrate all the Christian and Pagan holidays so enough with your virtue signaling. My "whitness" can't move to move to India and demand the entire country to give all "whites" paid days off for American holidays? Your insistent cultural neediness is exhausting and disruptive to the learning of ALL students. If you want cultural handholding go to an international school, not public.

Wrong. Public caters to ALL, whether you like it or not.

But we are punishing everyone trying to cater everyone! no one is getting what they need with this calendar. Life is not fair, but but literally have a calendar that does not work so everyone can have a day off when they need it is punishing every one else. Church and state are separated in this country.

[b]I celebrate Christmas and if you want to have school that day or that week, fine. I will take the day off for my kids.

[/b]

And so will 90% of the rest of the students, teachers, support staff, bus drivers and federally connnected folks.

FCPS could not function on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, through January 1st. Only a handful of students and even fewer staff would attend.

Up until about 10 years ago FCPS had winter break start on 12/24 and end on 1/1/ (or as close to that as they could get). It would shift slightly each year depending on what day of the week Christmas fell on but the goal was alway to have the shortest possible break. Some years (like if Christmas was a Saturday) winter break would be Friday 12/24 plus the following week. The only years that break was 2 weeks were when Christmas fell on a Wednesday.
And do you know what happened on the years that Christmas break was shorter? Huge numbers of kids didn't show up to school. Families would take 2 weeks to travel and didn't care if kids missed 3 or 4 days of school. This is a significant reason why FCPS finally went to a guaranteed 2 week winter break.
And, uncoupling Spring Break from Easter will only work if other local counties agree to do the same. The one year FCPS tried it they ended up with tons of teachers who lived outside the county having to bring their own kids to work with them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And, uncoupling Spring Break from Easter will only work if other local counties agree to do the same. The one year FCPS tried it they ended up with tons of teachers who lived outside the county having to bring their own kids to work with them.

Is their any reason for spring break to be the week BEFORE Easter every year? How it came to be this way is a mystery although one poster thinks it's because some people left school early on the Thursday and Friday before Easter before this happened. That should not be the reason to have spring break during Holy week. If spring break is coupled to Easter it should be the week FOLLOWING Easter so Easter isn't the last day of the break.
Next year Easter is a week earlier on March 28.
Therefore if the break is tied to Easter it should be the week of March 29-April 2.
If need be a non student day could be held on March 26 for Good Friday with an O day on March 25. If spring break is made secular based on approximation to the 3rd quarter ending it should be either the week of April 5-9 or 12-16.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And, uncoupling Spring Break from Easter will only work if other local counties agree to do the same. The one year FCPS tried it they ended up with tons of teachers who lived outside the county having to bring their own kids to work with them.

Is their any reason for spring break to be the week BEFORE Easter every year? How it came to be this way is a mystery although one poster thinks it's because some people left school early on the Thursday and Friday before Easter before this happened. That should not be the reason to have spring break during Holy week. If spring break is coupled to Easter it should be the week FOLLOWING Easter so Easter isn't the last day of the break.
Next year Easter is a week earlier on March 28.
Therefore if the break is tied to Easter it should be the week of March 29-April 2.
If need be a non student day could be held on March 26 for Good Friday with an O day on March 25. If spring break is made secular based on approximation to the 3rd quarter ending it should be either the week of April 5-9 or 12-16.

We just had Orthodox Good Friday off. This only works if they make all the religious holidays O days. You can't have all the other holidays and school on Good Friday. All for it, but don't see it happening with the current board.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And, uncoupling Spring Break from Easter will only work if other local counties agree to do the same. The one year FCPS tried it they ended up with tons of teachers who lived outside the county having to bring their own kids to work with them.

Is their any reason for spring break to be the week BEFORE Easter every year? How it came to be this way is a mystery although one poster thinks it's because some people left school early on the Thursday and Friday before Easter before this happened. That should not be the reason to have spring break during Holy week. If spring break is coupled to Easter it should be the week FOLLOWING Easter so Easter isn't the last day of the break.
Next year Easter is a week earlier on March 28.
Therefore if the break is tied to Easter it should be the week of March 29-April 2.
If need be a non student day could be held on March 26 for Good Friday with an O day on March 25. If spring break is made secular based on approximation to the 3rd quarter ending it should be either the week of April 5-9 or 12-16.

We just had Orthodox Good Friday off. This only works if they make all the religious holidays O days. You can't have all the other holidays and school on Good Friday. All for it, but don't see it happening with the current board.

Next year Orthodox Good Friday is an O day, it's 20 days later on April 30. https://www.fcps.edu/system/files/forms/2025-04/2026-2027-standard-school-year-calendar.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And, uncoupling Spring Break from Easter will only work if other local counties agree to do the same. The one year FCPS tried it they ended up with tons of teachers who lived outside the county having to bring their own kids to work with them.

Is their any reason for spring break to be the week BEFORE Easter every year? How it came to be this way is a mystery although one poster thinks it's because some people left school early on the Thursday and Friday before Easter before this happened. That should not be the reason to have spring break during Holy week. If spring break is coupled to Easter it should be the week FOLLOWING Easter so Easter isn't the last day of the break.
Next year Easter is a week earlier on March 28.
Therefore if the break is tied to Easter it should be the week of March 29-April 2.
If need be a non student day could be held on March 26 for Good Friday with an O day on March 25. If spring break is made secular based on approximation to the 3rd quarter ending it should be either the week of April 5-9 or 12-16.

Honestly I don't know except to say it's been like this for at least 50 years in FCPS and surrounding counties.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We should not have these holidays off or as observance days-
Rosh Hashanah
Yom Kippur
Diwali
Eid al Fitr
Eid al Adha

Sounds about white.

If my kids go to a Jewish school, they don't celebrate all the Christian and Pagan holidays so enough with your virtue signaling. My "whitness" can't move to move to India and demand the entire country to give all "whites" paid days off for American holidays? Your insistent cultural neediness is exhausting and disruptive to the learning of ALL students. If you want cultural handholding go to an international school, not public.

Wrong. Public caters to ALL, whether you like it or not.

But we are punishing everyone trying to cater everyone! no one is getting what they need with this calendar. Life is not fair, but but literally have a calendar that does not work so everyone can have a day off when they need it is punishing every one else. Church and state are separated in this country.

[b]I celebrate Christmas and if you want to have school that day or that week, fine. I will take the day off for my kids.

[/b]

And so will 90% of the rest of the students, teachers, support staff, bus drivers and federally connnected folks.

FCPS could not function on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, through January 1st. Only a handful of students and even fewer staff would attend.

Up until about 10 years ago FCPS had winter break start on 12/24 and end on 1/1/ (or as close to that as they could get). It would shift slightly each year depending on what day of the week Christmas fell on but the goal was alway to have the shortest possible break. Some years (like if Christmas was a Saturday) winter break would be Friday 12/24 plus the following week. The only years that break was 2 weeks were when Christmas fell on a Wednesday.
And do you know what happened on the years that Christmas break was shorter? Huge numbers of kids didn't show up to school. Families would take 2 weeks to travel and didn't care if kids missed 3 or 4 days of school. This is a significant reason why FCPS finally went to a guaranteed 2 week winter break.
And, uncoupling Spring Break from Easter will only work if other local counties agree to do the same. The one year FCPS tried it they ended up with tons of teachers who lived outside the county having to bring their own kids to work with them.

Then FCPS should prioritize hiring Fairfax residents.

Sorry the teachers didn’t plan well in advance like the FCPS boosters keep telling parents is so easy and inexpensive to do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here should be the holiday schedule:

Monday, January 20 Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Monday, February 17* Presidents' Day/Washington’s Birthday
Monday, May 26 Memorial Day
Thursday, June 19 Juneteenth National Independence Day
Friday, July 04 Independence Day
Monday, September 01 Labor Day
Monday, October 13 Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples' Day
Tuesday, November 11 Veterans Day
Thursday, November 27 Thanksgiving Day
Friday, November 28 Day after Thanksgiving Day

done and great w/ parents

Agree with the above plus one-week spring break and a winter break*

*I'd prefer one week (or close to) for winter break but that's because we're DCUM-poor and don't travel abroad. If everyone else wants a two-week break, so be it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We should not have these holidays off or as observance days-
Rosh Hashanah
Yom Kippur
Diwali
Eid al Fitr
Eid al Adha

But spring break should be aligned with Easter and of course we need a full two weeks off around Christmas.

I never said that but don't live in a country like the US that was "founded" by Christians and then complain about spring break being close to Easter or time off at Christmas- the HORROR. It's like you all have no idea where you live? Bes t of luck as you move to another country then and complain about them having holidays around their culture.

Christian Nationalism? Really? That's what you're going with?

That is what this entire calendar thing is about. A return to when parents were in school so they can believe things are stable here in the USA. Meanwhile the calendar doesn’t really have anything to do with the instability in the economy right now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We should not have these holidays off or as observance days-
Rosh Hashanah
Yom Kippur
Diwali
Eid al Fitr
Eid al Adha

Sounds about white.

If my kids go to a Jewish school, they don't celebrate all the Christian and Pagan holidays so enough with your virtue signaling. My "whitness" can't move to move to India and demand the entire country to give all "whites" paid days off for American holidays? Your insistent cultural neediness is exhausting and disruptive to the learning of ALL students. If you want cultural handholding go to an international school, not public.

Wrong. Public caters to ALL, whether you like it or not.

But we are punishing everyone trying to cater everyone! no one is getting what they need with this calendar. Life is not fair, but but literally have a calendar that does not work so everyone can have a day off when they need it is punishing every one else. Church and state are separated in this country.

[b]I celebrate Christmas and if you want to have school that day or that week, fine. I will take the day off for my kids.

[/b]

And so will 90% of the rest of the students, teachers, support staff, bus drivers and federally connnected folks.

FCPS could not function on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, through January 1st. Only a handful of students and even fewer staff would attend.

Up until about 10 years ago FCPS had winter break start on 12/24 and end on 1/1/ (or as close to that as they could get). It would shift slightly each year depending on what day of the week Christmas fell on but the goal was alway to have the shortest possible break. Some years (like if Christmas was a Saturday) winter break would be Friday 12/24 plus the following week. The only years that break was 2 weeks were when Christmas fell on a Wednesday.
And do you know what happened on the years that Christmas break was shorter? Huge numbers of kids didn't show up to school. Families would take 2 weeks to travel and didn't care if kids missed 3 or 4 days of school. This is a significant reason why FCPS finally went to a guaranteed 2 week winter break.
And, uncoupling Spring Break from Easter will only work if other local counties agree to do the same. The one year FCPS tried it they ended up with tons of teachers who lived outside the county having to bring their own kids to work with them.

Then FCPS should prioritize hiring Fairfax residents.

Sorry the teachers didn’t plan well in advance like the FCPS boosters keep telling parents is so easy and inexpensive to do.

This crazy person is back. Do you realize how ridiculous you sound? People live/work all over in ALL fields. They did plan that year and TOOK off which led to an OPERATIONAL issue. Maybe if Fairfax County was affordable more teachers would move there.

My point is look at ANY school district in the US and you will find no district that has ALL staff living there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We should not have these holidays off or as observance days-
Rosh Hashanah
Yom Kippur
Diwali
Eid al Fitr
Eid al Adha

Sounds about white.

If my kids go to a Jewish school, they don't celebrate all the Christian and Pagan holidays so enough with your virtue signaling. My "whitness" can't move to move to India and demand the entire country to give all "whites" paid days off for American holidays? Your insistent cultural neediness is exhausting and disruptive to the learning of ALL students. If you want cultural handholding go to an international school, not public.

Wrong. Public caters to ALL, whether you like it or not.

But we are punishing everyone trying to cater everyone! no one is getting what they need with this calendar. Life is not fair, but but literally have a calendar that does not work so everyone can have a day off when they need it is punishing every one else. Church and state are separated in this country.

[b]I celebrate Christmas and if you want to have school that day or that week, fine. I will take the day off for my kids.

[/b]

And so will 90% of the rest of the students, teachers, support staff, bus drivers and federally connnected folks.

FCPS could not function on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, through January 1st. Only a handful of students and even fewer staff would attend.

Up until about 10 years ago FCPS had winter break start on 12/24 and end on 1/1/ (or as close to that as they could get). It would shift slightly each year depending on what day of the week Christmas fell on but the goal was alway to have the shortest possible break. Some years (like if Christmas was a Saturday) winter break would be Friday 12/24 plus the following week. The only years that break was 2 weeks were when Christmas fell on a Wednesday.
And do you know what happened on the years that Christmas break was shorter? Huge numbers of kids didn't show up to school. Families would take 2 weeks to travel and didn't care if kids missed 3 or 4 days of school. This is a significant reason why FCPS finally went to a guaranteed 2 week winter break.
And, uncoupling Spring Break from Easter will only work if other local counties agree to do the same. The one year FCPS tried it they ended up with tons of teachers who lived outside the county having to bring their own kids to work with them.

Then FCPS should prioritize hiring Fairfax residents.

Sorry the teachers didn’t plan well in advance like the FCPS boosters keep telling parents is so easy and inexpensive to do.

This crazy person is back. Do you realize how ridiculous you sound? People live/work all over in ALL fields. They did plan that year and TOOK off which led to an OPERATIONAL issue. Maybe if Fairfax County was affordable more teachers would move there.

My point is look at ANY school district in the US and you will find no district that has ALL staff living there.

According to the post I quoted, they did not take off, they took their unsupervised kids to work with them. Sorry that goes against your narrative.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We should not have these holidays off or as observance days-
Rosh Hashanah
Yom Kippur
Diwali
Eid al Fitr
Eid al Adha

Sounds about white.

If my kids go to a Jewish school, they don't celebrate all the Christian and Pagan holidays so enough with your virtue signaling. My "whitness" can't move to move to India and demand the entire country to give all "whites" paid days off for American holidays? Your insistent cultural neediness is exhausting and disruptive to the learning of ALL students. If you want cultural handholding go to an international school, not public.

Wrong. Public caters to ALL, whether you like it or not.

But we are punishing everyone trying to cater everyone! no one is getting what they need with this calendar. Life is not fair, but but literally have a calendar that does not work so everyone can have a day off when they need it is punishing every one else. Church and state are separated in this country.

[b]I celebrate Christmas and if you want to have school that day or that week, fine. I will take the day off for my kids.

[/b]

And so will 90% of the rest of the students, teachers, support staff, bus drivers and federally connnected folks.

FCPS could not function on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, through January 1st. Only a handful of students and even fewer staff would attend.

Up until about 10 years ago FCPS had winter break start on 12/24 and end on 1/1/ (or as close to that as they could get). It would shift slightly each year depending on what day of the week Christmas fell on but the goal was alway to have the shortest possible break. Some years (like if Christmas was a Saturday) winter break would be Friday 12/24 plus the following week. The only years that break was 2 weeks were when Christmas fell on a Wednesday.
And do you know what happened on the years that Christmas break was shorter? Huge numbers of kids didn't show up to school. Families would take 2 weeks to travel and didn't care if kids missed 3 or 4 days of school. This is a significant reason why FCPS finally went to a guaranteed 2 week winter break.
And, uncoupling Spring Break from Easter will only work if other local counties agree to do the same. The one year FCPS tried it they ended up with tons of teachers who lived outside the county having to bring their own kids to work with them.

Then FCPS should prioritize hiring Fairfax residents.

Sorry the teachers didn’t plan well in advance like the FCPS boosters keep telling parents is so easy and inexpensive to do.

This crazy person is back. Do you realize how ridiculous you sound? People live/work all over in ALL fields. They did plan that year and TOOK off which led to an OPERATIONAL issue. Maybe if Fairfax County was affordable more teachers would move there.

My point is look at ANY school district in the US and you will find no district that has ALL staff living there.

Fairfax will be more affordable when the school calendar doesn’t force parents to shell out thousands in childcare to cover a random Tuesday “TW” day.