Why is there another early release day?
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Anonymous
I consider a “fully optional” day off when a teacher workday or staff development day is scheduled that doesn’t take advantage of a holiday the way indigenous peoples’ day does or an extended break like Weds before Thanksgiving. I get 13 of those this year though YMMV. Then add early release which went from being no cost to many when they were on a Monday and could be made into a 3-day weekend to $240/day, which is $2000 for the year. Add on to that the incredibly condescending offer to meet our “unique childcare needs” (i.e having a job) and honestly FCPS couldn’t be more out of touch. |
Anonymous
For the early release days, kids can stay at school. So you can’t complain about paying for childcare for those days if you do not need to. The teacher workdays, yes. |
Anonymous
I still don’t see how it adds up to $10k+ for those days. |
Anonymous
Yes, I can, because the “supervision” provided is warehousing on screens. Not an appropriate childcare option. |
Anonymous
Nanny costs $40/hour for 10 hrs (and hour 9-10 are paid at 1.5) so 13 days is $5,720, $7,720 including early release and with the very good luck that our provider accepts a 6 hour day for early release and doesn’t adhere to the 8hr minimum that the agency usually requires. Oldest kid (sometimes both) goes to enrichment camps on a few of these days off, average an additional $250 for those days, say $1,000 to make the math easy. These aren't available to the youngest. Some days they do trips, museums or other age-appropriate and educational activities (you know, what they’re supposed to do in school…) and you reach $10,000 very, very quickly. |
Anonymous
The poster was adding MLK day to the other federal holidays that had been listed that kids could be in school for, President’s day, Columbus day, an Veteran’s Day. The idea being that there isn’t a need for the kids to be off on those days. I agree with them, the kids should be in school those days. And they should be in school on Lunar New Year an Halloween an Dawali. None of those were days were lots of kids or teachers were absent, there is no good reason for them to be off. The calendar is ridiculous. |
Anonymous
That is on you. We split the time at home with our kid and worked an extra hour a day for the week when he was home from school. The only camps we paid for were Winter break, Spring break, and Summer break. His being home cost us little financially. And there are less expensive options if you need to have your kid attend a camp then anything that you listed. |
Anonymous
Of course it’s on me. But it’s on every other parent as well— including those who don’t have jobs that let them make up an extra hour for a week, but instead expect them to show up at work if they want their paychecks. Fairfax politicians campaigning on “affordability” better be looking where FCPS is putting extra burdens on parents of young kids when it’s in their power not to. |
Anonymous
And I’m a teacher who sometimes has to take leave on teacher workdays because I don’t have childcare. So I stay home as do the exact same work I’d be doing in the building, but I had to burn a day of leave to do it. We all make sacrifices. |
Anonymous
You might not like the child care that the school provides for the early release day but they do provide something. I hate the calendar. I think it is a total disaster. The County needs to either give off the religious and cultural holidays or the Federal Holidays but not both. Or they need to use the Cultural/Religious Holidays or the Federal Holidays as Teacher work days and not have the Teacher work days on the calendar. They need to prioritize 5 days in the classroom. The calendar is disruptive to learning, which should be the first priority. It is disruptive to classroom routines and harmful to the kids who are most vulnerable, the SPED kids who require routine and the FARM kids who require food and routine. But arguing that it is problematic because you choose to pay for a Nanny or very expensive child care options is silly. Most people are not paying $10,000 to cover child care costs. SACC is open on those days and many of the before and after school programs run camps on those days, all are far less then what you cited. It is disruptive and it is a problem for parents who don't have as flexible hours as other families but most of those families are probably using programs that offer coverage on those days. |
Anonymous
Just because less costly options exist, doesn’t mean it doesn’t play a role in affordability. A family could probably make do on $5,000 but if that household income is $75,000 that’s still a vast expenditure, and one the county government is fully capable of eliminating. Don’t point at tariffs and healthcare subsidies without cleaning up closer to home on the issues within your power. |
Anonymous
We have been on the SACC waiting list for three years. Its existence does nothing to lower our costs or those of other families who don’t receive it. |
Anonymous
Then what stopped you from doing that work on the week of snow days we just had? |
Anonymous
I believe families receiving FARMs support are at the top of the list to join SACC, for exactly the reason you are bringing up. I am not sure about that but I remember when we went to sign up ages ago, there was a prioritization of families and FARMs was one of the things to move a family up the list. |
Anonymous
DP Probably nothing, but even if the teacher got a lot of work done during the snow days, it wouldn’t eliminate the TW, SP, SD or early release days. |