Will voting out the school board make the school calendar sane again?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please tell me how to vote to get any improvement to this horrific school calendar that is a complete atrocity to working families and disservice too kids trying to learn. I don’t care if I have to vote blue, red or purple - it just needs to change for next year.

The calendars are planned out for the next three years. Take a look at them now and start planning ahead for childcare. Here are some ideas.

(When I had a school-aged child, my husband and I took turns taking days off. Or we would partner with another family and take turns that way. You're going to need to start working with other families as your kids get older anyway. Having a parent carpool saved us when our daughter was in high school sports and didn't have her license yet. She had to be picked up after school every day.)

1. Community and Local Program Options

Park Authority Day Camps: Fairfax County Park Authority often offers one-day “Schools Out” camps or workshops at recreation centers. These usually run 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. and include sports, crafts, and games.

Local YMCAs or JCCs: Many host “Schools Out” programs with flexible drop-off and pickup times.

STEM or Art Centers: Look for one-day workshops at places like Code Ninjas, iCode, ArtSpace, or local pottery/painting studios.

Sports Clubs: Soccer, basketball, and gymnastics facilities sometimes offer day clinics during school breaks.

2. Parent-Organized Solutions

Childcare Swap: Partner with a few trusted families to rotate childcare duties on teacher workdays. Each parent takes one day off work to host a small group of kids.

Shared Sitter/Nanny Pool: Team up with neighbors to hire one sitter for a group of children—lowering costs and adding built-in playmates.

High School Helpers: Many responsible high school students are available for daytime babysitting on no-school days. Ask through neighborhood groups or school parent chats.

3. Flexible Work Options

Adjust Work Hours: If possible, shift hours earlier or later to accommodate a partial day at home.

Remote Work Day: Some parents coordinate with their managers to work from home when schools close.

Split Schedule with a Partner or Friend: One parent covers the morning, another covers the afternoon—so neither has to take a full day off.

Clearly written by someone not dealing with this.

I dealt with it for seven years from kindergarten to sixth grade, and I dabbled in a little bit of all of these options. It all worked out in the end, and my kid is thriving.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please tell me how to vote to get any improvement to this horrific school calendar that is a complete atrocity to working families and disservice too kids trying to learn. I don’t care if I have to vote blue, red or purple - it just needs to change for next year.

The calendars are planned out for the next three years. Take a look at them now and start planning ahead for childcare. Here are some ideas.

(When I had a school-aged child, my husband and I took turns taking days off. Or we would partner with another family and take turns that way. You're going to need to start working with other families as your kids get older anyway. Having a parent carpool saved us when our daughter was in high school sports and didn't have her license yet. She had to be picked up after school every day.)

1. Community and Local Program Options

Park Authority Day Camps: Fairfax County Park Authority often offers one-day “Schools Out” camps or workshops at recreation centers. These usually run 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. and include sports, crafts, and games.

Local YMCAs or JCCs: Many host “Schools Out” programs with flexible drop-off and pickup times.

STEM or Art Centers: Look for one-day workshops at places like Code Ninjas, iCode, ArtSpace, or local pottery/painting studios.

Sports Clubs: Soccer, basketball, and gymnastics facilities sometimes offer day clinics during school breaks.

2. Parent-Organized Solutions

Childcare Swap: Partner with a few trusted families to rotate childcare duties on teacher workdays. Each parent takes one day off work to host a small group of kids.

Shared Sitter/Nanny Pool: Team up with neighbors to hire one sitter for a group of children—lowering costs and adding built-in playmates.

High School Helpers: Many responsible high school students are available for daytime babysitting on no-school days. Ask through neighborhood groups or school parent chats.

3. Flexible Work Options

Adjust Work Hours: If possible, shift hours earlier or later to accommodate a partial day at home.

Remote Work Day: Some parents coordinate with their managers to work from home when schools close.

Split Schedule with a Partner or Friend: One parent covers the morning, another covers the afternoon—so neither has to take a full day off.

Clearly written by someone not dealing with this.

I dealt with it for seven years from kindergarten to sixth grade, and I dabbled in a little bit of all of these options. It all worked out in the end, and my kid is thriving.

The people who struggle with this do not have the time to post on DCUM.
They are not suburban moms living a comfortable lifestyle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please tell me how to vote to get any improvement to this horrific school calendar that is a complete atrocity to working families and disservice too kids trying to learn. I don’t care if I have to vote blue, red or purple - it just needs to change for next year.

The calendars are planned out for the next three years. Take a look at them now and start planning ahead for childcare. Here are some ideas.

(When I had a school-aged child, my husband and I took turns taking days off. Or we would partner with another family and take turns that way. You're going to need to start working with other families as your kids get older anyway. Having a parent carpool saved us when our daughter was in high school sports and didn't have her license yet. She had to be picked up after school every day.)

1. Community and Local Program Options

Park Authority Day Camps: Fairfax County Park Authority often offers one-day “Schools Out” camps or workshops at recreation centers. These usually run 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. and include sports, crafts, and games.

Local YMCAs or JCCs: Many host “Schools Out” programs with flexible drop-off and pickup times.

STEM or Art Centers: Look for one-day workshops at places like Code Ninjas, iCode, ArtSpace, or local pottery/painting studios.

Sports Clubs: Soccer, basketball, and gymnastics facilities sometimes offer day clinics during school breaks.

2. Parent-Organized Solutions

Childcare Swap: Partner with a few trusted families to rotate childcare duties on teacher workdays. Each parent takes one day off work to host a small group of kids.

Shared Sitter/Nanny Pool: Team up with neighbors to hire one sitter for a group of children—lowering costs and adding built-in playmates.

High School Helpers: Many responsible high school students are available for daytime babysitting on no-school days. Ask through neighborhood groups or school parent chats.

3. Flexible Work Options

Adjust Work Hours: If possible, shift hours earlier or later to accommodate a partial day at home.

Remote Work Day: Some parents coordinate with their managers to work from home when schools close.

Split Schedule with a Partner or Friend: One parent covers the morning, another covers the afternoon—so neither has to take a full day off.

Clearly written by someone not dealing with this.

I dealt with it for seven years from kindergarten to sixth grade, and I dabbled in a little bit of all of these options. It all worked out in the end, and my kid is thriving.

The people who struggle with this do not have the time to post on DCUM.
They are not suburban moms living a comfortable lifestyle.

cont. Bottom line, the School Board needs to do what is best for the education of all students. Consistency is key. Missing days affects consistency in the classroom. It affects kids who depend on itinerant specialists to help with disabilities--like hard of hearing, speech, etc. It affects kids who miss music or art because of missing days frequently It is not just whether or not mom or dad can stay home that day or pony up bucks for a camp.

Some people are clueless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What's so insane about the school year calendar? I think it's great that we're observing religious holidays beyond the Christian ones.

We don't observe the Christian holidays.

Easter is on a sunday. So it is never observed by FCPS.

Christmas is a federal holdiay, on a week that every industry in our area including most of the federal government shuts down.

Christmas would be off no matter what, for secular reasons.

Christian holidays are not acknowledged at all in the school calendar. Nor in communications. It’s been many, many years since anyone from the schools wrote or said; “Merry Christmas to those who celebrate”. All holidays, and school celebrations, have become “Winter” or “Spring” only, without any cultural (or religious) acknowledgment, ever. That’s the status quo. Jewish holidays have been added quietly. Jewish appreciation is thrown together with Asian month, iirc. Kids are not reading Anne Frank and still have not heard anything about WW2 in school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please tell me how to vote to get any improvement to this horrific school calendar that is a complete atrocity to working families and disservice too kids trying to learn. I don’t care if I have to vote blue, red or purple - it just needs to change for next year.

The calendars are planned out for the next three years. Take a look at them now and start planning ahead for childcare. Here are some ideas.

(When I had a school-aged child, my husband and I took turns taking days off. Or we would partner with another family and take turns that way. You're going to need to start working with other families as your kids get older anyway. Having a parent carpool saved us when our daughter was in high school sports and didn't have her license yet. She had to be picked up after school every day.)

1. Community and Local Program Options

Park Authority Day Camps: Fairfax County Park Authority often offers one-day “Schools Out” camps or workshops at recreation centers. These usually run 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. and include sports, crafts, and games.

Local YMCAs or JCCs: Many host “Schools Out” programs with flexible drop-off and pickup times.

STEM or Art Centers: Look for one-day workshops at places like Code Ninjas, iCode, ArtSpace, or local pottery/painting studios.

Sports Clubs: Soccer, basketball, and gymnastics facilities sometimes offer day clinics during school breaks.

2. Parent-Organized Solutions

Childcare Swap: Partner with a few trusted families to rotate childcare duties on teacher workdays. Each parent takes one day off work to host a small group of kids.

Shared Sitter/Nanny Pool: Team up with neighbors to hire one sitter for a group of children—lowering costs and adding built-in playmates.

High School Helpers: Many responsible high school students are available for daytime babysitting on no-school days. Ask through neighborhood groups or school parent chats.

3. Flexible Work Options

Adjust Work Hours: If possible, shift hours earlier or later to accommodate a partial day at home.

Remote Work Day: Some parents coordinate with their managers to work from home when schools close.

Split Schedule with a Partner or Friend: One parent covers the morning, another covers the afternoon—so neither has to take a full day off.

Clearly written by someone not dealing with this.

I dealt with it for seven years from kindergarten to sixth grade, and I dabbled in a little bit of all of these options. It all worked out in the end, and my kid is thriving.

The people who struggle with this do not have the time to post on DCUM.
They are not suburban moms living a comfortable lifestyle.

1000%

[Anonymous]

Create your own calendar. What do you remove (25/26 version)? Italicized are federal holidays (plus the two embedded in Winter Break). Total of 39 days.

Labor Day (x2) - dictated by law, unable to be removed
Sept. 9th - special election, teacher workday
Rosh Hashanah
Yom Kippur
Columbus/Indigenous - staff development
Diwali
Nov. 3 - School planning day (end of Q1)
Nov. 4 - Election and teacher workday (end of Q1)
Veteran's Day
Thanksgiving (x3)
Winter Break (x10)
MLK day
Jan. 29 - Staff Development (end of Q2)
Jan. 30 - Teacher Workday (end of Q2)
President's Day
Lunar New Year - Teacher Workday
Eid al-Fitr
Spring Break (x5)
Apr. 6 - Teacher Workday (end of Q3)
Orthodox Good Friday - School Planning Day
Memorial Day
May. 26 - Teacher Workday
May. 27 - Eid al-Adha

[Anonymous]

Remove the religious holidays and Lunar New Year.
Give excused absences.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What's so insane about the school year calendar? I think it's great that we're observing religious holidays beyond the Christian ones.

We don't observe the Christian holidays.

Easter is on a sunday. So it is never observed by FCPS.

Christmas is a federal holdiay, on a week that every industry in our area including most of the federal government shuts down.

Christmas would be off no matter what, for secular reasons.

Christian holidays are not acknowledged at all in the school calendar. Nor in communications. It’s been many, many years since anyone from the schools wrote or said; “Merry Christmas to those who celebrate”. All holidays, and school celebrations, have become “Winter” or “Spring” only, without any cultural (or religious) acknowledgment, ever. That’s the status quo. Jewish holidays have been added quietly. Jewish appreciation is thrown together with Asian month, iirc. Kids are not reading Anne Frank and still have not heard anything about WW2 in school.

False. It is part of 6th grade benchmark. My child read portions of it all this past month.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Remove the religious holidays and Lunar New Year.
Give excused absences.

How about just no school holidays? That would solve everything and also be fair to all populations. It would also give us a very long summer break.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please tell me how to vote to get any improvement to this horrific school calendar that is a complete atrocity to working families and disservice too kids trying to learn. I don’t care if I have to vote blue, red or purple - it just needs to change for next year.

The calendars are planned out for the next three years. Take a look at them now and start planning ahead for childcare. Here are some ideas.

(When I had a school-aged child, my husband and I took turns taking days off. Or we would partner with another family and take turns that way. You're going to need to start working with other families as your kids get older anyway. Having a parent carpool saved us when our daughter was in high school sports and didn't have her license yet. She had to be picked up after school every day.)

1. Community and Local Program Options

Park Authority Day Camps: Fairfax County Park Authority often offers one-day “Schools Out” camps or workshops at recreation centers. These usually run 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. and include sports, crafts, and games.

Local YMCAs or JCCs: Many host “Schools Out” programs with flexible drop-off and pickup times.

STEM or Art Centers: Look for one-day workshops at places like Code Ninjas, iCode, ArtSpace, or local pottery/painting studios.

Sports Clubs: Soccer, basketball, and gymnastics facilities sometimes offer day clinics during school breaks.

2. Parent-Organized Solutions

Childcare Swap: Partner with a few trusted families to rotate childcare duties on teacher workdays. Each parent takes one day off work to host a small group of kids.

Shared Sitter/Nanny Pool: Team up with neighbors to hire one sitter for a group of children—lowering costs and adding built-in playmates.

High School Helpers: Many responsible high school students are available for daytime babysitting on no-school days. Ask through neighborhood groups or school parent chats.

3. Flexible Work Options

Adjust Work Hours: If possible, shift hours earlier or later to accommodate a partial day at home.

Remote Work Day: Some parents coordinate with their managers to work from home when schools close.

Split Schedule with a Partner or Friend: One parent covers the morning, another covers the afternoon—so neither has to take a full day off.

Clearly written by someone not dealing with this.

I dealt with it for seven years from kindergarten to sixth grade, and I dabbled in a little bit of all of these options. It all worked out in the end, and my kid is thriving.

Well aren't you special. And if you haven't dealt with THIS YEAR'S calendar with a younger child, with all the new holidays + the early releases, you have not really dealt with it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please tell me how to vote to get any improvement to this horrific school calendar that is a complete atrocity to working families and disservice too kids trying to learn. I don’t care if I have to vote blue, red or purple - it just needs to change for next year.

The calendars are planned out for the next three years. Take a look at them now and start planning ahead for childcare. Here are some ideas.

(When I had a school-aged child, my husband and I took turns taking days off. Or we would partner with another family and take turns that way. You're going to need to start working with other families as your kids get older anyway. Having a parent carpool saved us when our daughter was in high school sports and didn't have her license yet. She had to be picked up after school every day.)

1. Community and Local Program Options

Park Authority Day Camps: Fairfax County Park Authority often offers one-day “Schools Out” camps or workshops at recreation centers. These usually run 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. and include sports, crafts, and games.

Local YMCAs or JCCs: Many host “Schools Out” programs with flexible drop-off and pickup times.

STEM or Art Centers: Look for one-day workshops at places like Code Ninjas, iCode, ArtSpace, or local pottery/painting studios.

Sports Clubs: Soccer, basketball, and gymnastics facilities sometimes offer day clinics during school breaks.

2. Parent-Organized Solutions

Childcare Swap: Partner with a few trusted families to rotate childcare duties on teacher workdays. Each parent takes one day off work to host a small group of kids.

Shared Sitter/Nanny Pool: Team up with neighbors to hire one sitter for a group of children—lowering costs and adding built-in playmates.

High School Helpers: Many responsible high school students are available for daytime babysitting on no-school days. Ask through neighborhood groups or school parent chats.

3. Flexible Work Options

Adjust Work Hours: If possible, shift hours earlier or later to accommodate a partial day at home.

Remote Work Day: Some parents coordinate with their managers to work from home when schools close.

Split Schedule with a Partner or Friend: One parent covers the morning, another covers the afternoon—so neither has to take a full day off.

Clearly written by someone not dealing with this.

I dealt with it for seven years from kindergarten to sixth grade, and I dabbled in a little bit of all of these options. It all worked out in the end, and my kid is thriving.

Well aren't you special. And if you haven't dealt with THIS YEAR'S calendar with a younger child, with all the new holidays + the early releases, you have not really dealt with it.

I understand this year’s calendar adds new challenges. I don’t have firsthand experience with every change. I just wanted to share what has worked for our family in similar situations, in case it’s helpful. Every family and child is different, and it definitely takes some creativity to make it all work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What's so insane about the school year calendar? I think it's great that we're observing religious holidays beyond the Christian ones.

We don't observe the Christian holidays.

Easter is on a sunday. So it is never observed by FCPS.

Christmas is a federal holdiay, on a week that every industry in our area including most of the federal government shuts down.

Christmas would be off no matter what, for secular reasons.

Spring break is tied to Easter. FCPS has said this. So yes, spring break is absolutely tied to a Christian holiday.

This needs to change, look at the 2027 spring break. MARCH 22-26 with another June 17 last day. This is a big difference to the 2025 calendar which had spring break April 14-18 and the last day on June 11. That is 12 weeks post spring break a full month longer than 2025! In fact the post spring break stretch is even longer than the winter break to spring break stretch! Spring break should be moved a week or two later.

The problem is the end date, not Spring Break.

No, the end date is the same every year, Spring Break swings widely based on when Easter is that year. Spring Break should be the first week of April or the week after quarter end every year like it is in most of the country.

LOL, if the end date was the same every year, then we'd be done in early June. It's been getting further and further into June every year.

Most people like Spring Break the way it is, but starting way earlier and ending way later are a real problem.

Most people DON'T like spring break the way it shifts a few do but MOST DO NOT! Spring break should be secular based ex 1st week of April or post 3rd quarter.
I do agree that starting earlier and ending later is a problem that must be fixed. The school year should end two weeks sooner then it does.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:School calendar is fine, now we have three year's calendar and it really helps families plan ahead. Remember those days that we didn't have any calendar a few months before the new school year??

Off days are great for some students and frustrating for others, we’ve discussed this so many times, and no one is going to convince anyone otherwise. Maybe it’s time to move on.

Maybe you're ok with a bad calendar, but many parents actually care about their kids education.

What's bad for some kids isn't bad for others. As another PP noted, for MS and HS kids, shorter weeks give them some downtime and help reduce burnout. Seniors have time to work on college applications. And with block scheduling, planned days off don't get "missed", the even/odd schedule just goes to the next day.

The calendar is a primarily a problem for elementary school students and parents. But even in that group, there are parents who wouldn't want a longer summer because then you are stuck paying for more weeks of camp and after college kids go back to school, there are fewer camps and they are really expensive.

I care about my child's education, and once they were out of elementary school and could be home by themselves, I didn't care at all whether they had a particular day off or not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:School calendar is fine, now we have three year's calendar and it really helps families plan ahead. Remember those days that we didn't have any calendar a few months before the new school year??

Off days are great for some students and frustrating for others, we’ve discussed this so many times, and no one is going to convince anyone otherwise. Maybe it’s time to move on.

Maybe you're ok with a bad calendar, but many parents actually care about their kids education.

What's bad for some kids isn't bad for others. As another PP noted, for MS and HS kids, shorter weeks give them some downtime and help reduce burnout. Seniors have time to work on college applications. And with block scheduling, planned days off don't get "missed", the even/odd schedule just goes to the next day.

The calendar is a primarily a problem for elementary school students and parents. But even in that group, there are parents who wouldn't want a longer summer because then you are stuck paying for more weeks of camp and after college kids go back to school, there are fewer camps and they are really expensive.

I care about my child's education, and once they were out of elementary school and could be home by themselves, I didn't care at all whether they had a particular day off or not.

Most teachers would tell you that five day weeks are better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What's so insane about the school year calendar? I think it's great that we're observing religious holidays beyond the Christian ones.

We don't observe the Christian holidays.

Easter is on a sunday. So it is never observed by FCPS.

Christmas is a federal holdiay, on a week that every industry in our area including most of the federal government shuts down.

Christmas would be off no matter what, for secular reasons.

Spring break is tied to Easter. FCPS has said this. So yes, spring break is absolutely tied to a Christian holiday.

This needs to change, look at the 2027 spring break. MARCH 22-26 with another June 17 last day. This is a big difference to the 2025 calendar which had spring break April 14-18 and the last day on June 11. That is 12 weeks post spring break a full month longer than 2025! In fact the post spring break stretch is even longer than the winter break to spring break stretch! Spring break should be moved a week or two later.

The problem is the end date, not Spring Break.

No, the end date is the same every year, Spring Break swings widely based on when Easter is that year. Spring Break should be the first week of April or the week after quarter end every year like it is in most of the country.

LOL, if the end date was the same every year, then we'd be done in early June. It's been getting further and further into June every year.

Most people like Spring Break the way it is, but starting way earlier and ending way later are a real problem.

Most people DON'T like spring break the way it shifts a few do but MOST DO NOT! Spring break should be secular based ex 1st week of April or post 3rd quarter.
I do agree that starting earlier and ending later is a problem that must be fixed. The school year should end two weeks sooner then it does.

If you can convince all the surrounding counties to move spring break to a fixed week, FCPS would do it. The problem is that many of the teachers live outside FCPS and it caused a huge problem for teachers to not have the same spring break as their kids.