The response to MoCo's calendar change shows why the FCPS religious holidays will never go away

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here is a straightforward calendar from a state/metropolitan area with a diverse population https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1756930407/mplsk12mnus/ge5clwh0shgydwvthwbs/SYCalendar-English-2026-27.pdf

Put it out there and if people don’t like it there is always private school, home school, or excused absences.

The people who don’t like it will be the teachers/their advocates who will describe such a calendar as indecent conditions. Look at all the five-day weeks in school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here is a straightforward calendar from a state/metropolitan area with a diverse population https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1756930407/mplsk12mnus/ge5clwh0shgydwvthwbs/SYCalendar-English-2026-27.pdf

Put it out there and if people don’t like it there is always private school, home school, or excused absences.

The people who don’t like it will be the teachers/their advocates who will describe such a calendar as indecent conditions. Look at all the five-day weeks in school.

I think it is terrible because the summer is waaaay too long. Do you really want 3 full months off? That is very bad for most kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here is a straightforward calendar from a state/metropolitan area with a diverse population https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1756930407/mplsk12mnus/ge5clwh0shgydwvthwbs/SYCalendar-English-2026-27.pdf

Put it out there and if people don’t like it there is always private school, home school, or excused absences.

The people who don’t like it will be the teachers/their advocates who will describe such a calendar as indecent conditions. Look at all the five-day weeks in school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here is a straightforward calendar from a state/metropolitan area with a diverse population https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1756930407/mplsk12mnus/ge5clwh0shgydwvthwbs/SYCalendar-English-2026-27.pdf

Put it out there and if people don’t like it there is always private school, home school, or excused absences.

The people who don’t like it will be the teachers/their advocates who will describe such a calendar as indecent conditions. Look at all the five-day weeks in school.

I think it is terrible because the summer is waaaay too long. Do you really want 3 full months off? That is very bad for most kids.

You are free to register your kid(s) for summer classes if you believe that to be needed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here is a straightforward calendar from a state/metropolitan area with a diverse population https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1756930407/mplsk12mnus/ge5clwh0shgydwvthwbs/SYCalendar-English-2026-27.pdf

Put it out there and if people don’t like it there is always private school, home school, or excused absences.

Read the fine print. That calendar is 168 instructional days. FCPS schedules 179-180. FCPS could get away with scheduling fewer days, as they only need 165-ish to meet the 990 requirement, but then we’d be tacking days at the end of the year to makeup snow days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here is a straightforward calendar from a state/metropolitan area with a diverse population https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1756930407/mplsk12mnus/ge5clwh0shgydwvthwbs/SYCalendar-English-2026-27.pdf

Put it out there and if people don’t like it there is always private school, home school, or excused absences.

Read the fine print. That calendar is 168 instructional days. FCPS schedules 179-180. FCPS could get away with scheduling fewer days, as they only need 165-ish to meet the 990 requirement, but then we’d be tacking days at the end of the year to makeup snow days.

We schedule a lot of snow days due to one really harsh winter back in I think 2009-2010. We usually don’t need that many. Even this year, a bad winter, they used 4 snow days + I think 6-7 2 hour delays, so roughly 6 days total. Many districts in the north budget 5 snow days before needing to extend the calendar or cut into spring break. With the fact that we usually start earlier than Minneapolis (before Labor Day) it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to extend the school year by a day or two at the end if needed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here is a straightforward calendar from a state/metropolitan area with a diverse population https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1756930407/mplsk12mnus/ge5clwh0shgydwvthwbs/SYCalendar-English-2026-27.pdf

Put it out there and if people don’t like it there is always private school, home school, or excused absences.

Read the fine print. That calendar is 168 instructional days. FCPS schedules 179-180. FCPS could get away with scheduling fewer days, as they only need 165-ish to meet the 990 requirement, but then we’d be tacking days at the end of the year to makeup snow days.

We schedule a lot of snow days due to one really harsh winter back in I think 2009-2010. We usually don’t need that many. Even this year, a bad winter, they used 4 snow days + I think 6-7 2 hour delays, so roughly 6 days total. Many districts in the north budget 5 snow days before needing to extend the calendar or cut into spring break. With the fact that we usually start earlier than Minneapolis (before Labor Day) it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to extend the school year by a day or two at the end if needed.

Between Labor Day and the end of the school year, Minneapolis has nearly the same number of holidays and teacher work days as FCPS for the 2026-27 school year. 31 vs 32 days. FCPS goes on longer because they schedule 180 days rather than 168. That’s the difference.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here is a straightforward calendar from a state/metropolitan area with a diverse population https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1756930407/mplsk12mnus/ge5clwh0shgydwvthwbs/SYCalendar-English-2026-27.pdf

Put it out there and if people don’t like it there is always private school, home school, or excused absences.

The people who don’t like it will be the teachers/their advocates who will describe such a calendar as indecent conditions. Look at all the five-day weeks in school.

I think it is terrible because the summer is waaaay too long. Do you really want 3 full months off? That is very bad for most kids.

You are free to register your kid(s) for summer classes if you believe that to be needed.

NP: I’m not worried about my own kids. I do plenty with them over the summer (as a teacher, I have time to do so!) I’m worried about my students who inevitably regress 3-6 months in ability after a summer of YouTube, requiring intense remediation on my end every fall. I’m worried about some of my children’s classmates who fall in the same category, who will need the teacher’s attention to catch up, limiting the focus my own child can get. I’m worried about the overall level of behaviors that are brutal every August/September as the TikTok/youtube/minecraft addiction goes through 8 hours of withdrawals.

Unless you can tell me every child has enriching summer experiences, a long summer isn’t beneficial to society as a whole.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here is a straightforward calendar from a state/metropolitan area with a diverse population https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1756930407/mplsk12mnus/ge5clwh0shgydwvthwbs/SYCalendar-English-2026-27.pdf

Put it out there and if people don’t like it there is always private school, home school, or excused absences.

The people who don’t like it will be the teachers/their advocates who will describe such a calendar as indecent conditions. Look at all the five-day weeks in school.

I’m a teacher and think that’s a great calendar! My guess is many would agree, but I’d like to hear from others.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here is a straightforward calendar from a state/metropolitan area with a diverse population https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1756930407/mplsk12mnus/ge5clwh0shgydwvthwbs/SYCalendar-English-2026-27.pdf

Put it out there and if people don’t like it there is always private school, home school, or excused absences.

The people who don’t like it will be the teachers/their advocates who will describe such a calendar as indecent conditions. Look at all the five-day weeks in school.

I’m a teacher and think that’s a great calendar! My guess is many would agree, but I’d like to hear from others.

Yes who told these people TEACHERS, who have to be with the kids day in and day out and teach them a year’s worth of tested material by about March/April, wanted or designed the current calendar? I too want more 5 day weeks. I wish I had even 1/4 of the power delusional FCPS parents think I have over everything they dislike.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here is a straightforward calendar from a state/metropolitan area with a diverse population https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1756930407/mplsk12mnus/ge5clwh0shgydwvthwbs/SYCalendar-English-2026-27.pdf

Put it out there and if people don’t like it there is always private school, home school, or excused absences.

The people who don’t like it will be the teachers/their advocates who will describe such a calendar as indecent conditions. Look at all the five-day weeks in school.

I’m a teacher and think that’s a great calendar! My guess is many would agree, but I’d like to hear from others.

I'm a high school teacher, and I think that's a great calendar for me. I'd love to only teach for 168 days... that's an extra 2 1/2 weeks off. Awesome! Who cares about the loss of instructional time and the extra cost of childcare.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here is a straightforward calendar from a state/metropolitan area with a diverse population https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1756930407/mplsk12mnus/ge5clwh0shgydwvthwbs/SYCalendar-English-2026-27.pdf

Put it out there and if people don’t like it there is always private school, home school, or excused absences.

The people who don’t like it will be the teachers/their advocates who will describe such a calendar as indecent conditions. Look at all the five-day weeks in school.

I think it is terrible because the summer is waaaay too long. Do you really want 3 full months off? That is very bad for most kids.

I've always wished we would cut summer shorter and have an extended break in the middle of the year (Thanksgiving until MLK weekend). So many days off during that time anyway, everyone is traveling + special events (not to mention illness) that little learning happens in Dec anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a cultural Catholic, and think it's extremely disrespectful to use other religions' Holy Days without also using Christian Holy Days.

This would all be solved if we had year-round school, with large breaks in every season. It would reduce brain drain. Daycare and camps would adjust to offering care for the 4 large breaks throughout the year. And it would mean people with means could spread out their travel across four seasons, which is so much nicer than cramming everything during the hot summer months. And people wouldn't get so distressed over missing a few days of school for weather...

+1 This is the way. But we live in a coastal mid-Atlantic state with a thriving beach industry, so it'll never happen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Their answer to the bias complaints was to list Ash Wednesday on the calendar, but not Lent.

Oh ffs. F*** off. Here's a tiny violin for your suffering 🎻

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here is a straightforward calendar from a state/metropolitan area with a diverse population https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1756930407/mplsk12mnus/ge5clwh0shgydwvthwbs/SYCalendar-English-2026-27.pdf

Put it out there and if people don’t like it there is always private school, home school, or excused absences.

Oh look, this year Minneapolis is also closed Monday/Tuesday for Presidents Day weekend and is giving 3 days off for Memorial Day due to Eid.

https://www.centerschool.org/about/mps-calendar-2025-2026