How to fit school days into Gov Larry Hogan's ridiculous policy on school start and stop dates

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

+1. The reason this was sent out is that next year is the gubernatorial elections and MoCo hates that Maryland has a republican governor. I've been apart of MCPS for 8 years and have never received an email like the one we got today.
Having the tightened schedule this year has been glorious. We have actually had full weeks versus the bullshit 3-4 only for the first 2 months that usually happened. Keep it up Larry!

I and my children would prefer they get longer breaks between quarters. I'd rather start earlier and end later, and have longer and more frequent longer breaks in between. It gives both the students and teachers more time to refresh after every quarter.

I am not in Maryland, but our school district starts after Labor Day and then ends later in June. This schedule works well. It included breaks and teacher work days during the academic year. I wouldn't mind going till the end of June so that the summer would be a substantial break, but not too long.

Any chance Maryland would change the June 15 end date? That would offer a bit more flexibility and still allow the after Labor Day start.

That would defeat the point of requiring a start after Labor Day. The point is to extend the summer break. Many high schoolers work summer jobs during the off-school season. They become less expensive seasonal workers. Additionally, families with kids take more vacations and spend more money in the touristy areas like OCMD, Annapolis, Baltimore when the kids are off. If you are going to leave the summer the same length, there is no point to shifting it back to start after Labor Day.

You don't live in MD. Your state has different tourism requirements. This change is what Hogan, and democratic governor O'Malley before him, targeted to increase tax revenue for the state without raising taxes on residents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

+1. The reason this was sent out is that next year is the gubernatorial elections and MoCo hates that Maryland has a republican governor. I've been apart of MCPS for 8 years and have never received an email like the one we got today.
Having the tightened schedule this year has been glorious. We have actually had full weeks versus the bullshit 3-4 only for the first 2 months that usually happened. Keep it up Larry!

I and my children would prefer they get longer breaks between quarters. I'd rather start earlier and end later, and have longer and more frequent longer breaks in between. It gives both the students and teachers more time to refresh after every quarter.

I am not in Maryland, but our school district starts after Labor Day and then ends later in June. This schedule works well. It included breaks and teacher work days during the academic year. I wouldn't mind going till the end of June so that the summer would be a substantial break, but not too long.

Any chance Maryland would change the June 15 end date? That would offer a bit more flexibility and still allow the after Labor Day start.

That would defeat the point of requiring a start after Labor Day. The point is to extend the summer break. Many high schoolers work summer jobs during the off-school season. They become less expensive seasonal workers. Additionally, families with kids take more vacations and spend more money in the touristy areas like OCMD, Annapolis, Baltimore when the kids are off. If you are going to leave the summer the same length, there is no point to shifting it back to start after Labor Day.

You don't live in MD. Your state has different tourism requirements. This change is what Hogan, and democratic governor O'Malley before him, targeted to increase tax revenue for the state without raising taxes on residents.

Evidently you don't live in a state that forces its school districts to set their calendars based on the requirements of a tourist location in the state. Lucky you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

So those newspaper articles talking about how the majority of parents wanted the start of school pushed back were imaginary? The working group that O'Malley set up and which recommended an after labor day start was a mass hallucination?!

Exactly. Every poll showed that Marylanders were 64-67% that wanted to move after Labor Day. This all started years ago, long before Hogan came in office. It was when a (gasp) Democrat was in office.

Of course. Who doesn't want something when they think they can get it for nothing? They can't get it for nothing, though.

Last time I checked, we are getting it for nothing. We still have Spring Break and are ending on time this year. They removed the teacher days from full to half days, which it needed. Because if you looked in a school parking lot on teacher work days, the lots are maybe 1/8 full. They are sitting at home in their pajamas maybe doing 1-2 hours of work. Meanwhile the rest of the working parents are looking for childcare.

Check again.

And while you're checking, ask yourself what the kids from poor families are doing all summer.

Depends on their age. Maybe they're working? I worked full time all summer the last few years of HS and it was fantastic to have some extra income for the family!

Or, they're attending summer school.

I haven't noticed Hogan increasing funding for summer school. Maybe he did, and I missed it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

So what what one family wants? The state has an economy to keep and that economy pays for 26.8% our your child's public education. Your taxes only go so far. The economy thrives on it's summer tourists. OCMD, Annapolis, Inner Harbor, etc... We don't have the weather or have many mountains that see tourists year round. The economy needs our summer's thriving and in return it doesn't go in further debt. It keeps small businesses opened longer and makes their off-season to survive thru, shorter. If you want longer breaks in-between quarters or a different summer break you need to find states that have year round tourism. Otherwise be happy our state can continue to pay for the huge increase in poor immigrant population that is now in our schools.

Could you please provide the numbers supporting your assertion that revenue from the tourism industry pays for 26.8% of public education? And could you also provide the numbers supporting the marginal effect of the required post-Labor Day start on the tourism industry?

There are plenty of places with seasonal tourism that don't have 11-12 week summer breaks. How do they manage?

The actual numbers for the change will not be available for another month or two (such numbers are not processed instantaneously and the school year started only 4 weeks ago).

However, from this article in the WP that ran the week school started, businesses report significant increase in revenue and beach attendance. The exact amount is yet to be determined. This is one way for the state to generate additional tax revenue without raising taxes on the residents.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/an-extra-week-of-summer-for-almost-900000-kids-is-a-boon-for-one-beach-town/2017/09/01/8e490c12-8eab-11e7-84c0-02cc069f2c37_story.html?tid=a_inl&utm_term=.2c48e82b26fa

[Anonymous]

I also don't think that the policy is ridiculous. Some people really get worked up about this. Move teacher PD days to the week before school starts. Limit Spring Break to 5 school days. If you think summer is too long and are worried about "brain drain" then have your kids do some worksheets during the summer and lots of reading.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

+1. The reason this was sent out is that next year is the gubernatorial elections and MoCo hates that Maryland has a republican governor. I've been apart of MCPS for 8 years and have never received an email like the one we got today.
Having the tightened schedule this year has been glorious. We have actually had full weeks versus the bullshit 3-4 only for the first 2 months that usually happened. Keep it up Larry!

I and my children would prefer they get longer breaks between quarters. I'd rather start earlier and end later, and have longer and more frequent longer breaks in between. It gives both the students and teachers more time to refresh after every quarter.

I am not in Maryland, but our school district starts after Labor Day and then ends later in June. This schedule works well. It included breaks and teacher work days during the academic year. I wouldn't mind going till the end of June so that the summer would be a substantial break, but not too long.

Any chance Maryland would change the June 15 end date? That would offer a bit more flexibility and still allow the after Labor Day start.

That would defeat the point of requiring a start after Labor Day. The point is to extend the summer break. Many high schoolers work summer jobs during the off-school season. They become less expensive seasonal workers. Additionally, families with kids take more vacations and spend more money in the touristy areas like OCMD, Annapolis, Baltimore when the kids are off. If you are going to leave the summer the same length, there is no point to shifting it back to start after Labor Day.

You don't live in MD. Your state has different tourism requirements. This change is what Hogan, and democratic governor O'Malley before him, targeted to increase tax revenue for the state without raising taxes on residents.

Evidently you don't live in a state that forces its school districts to set their calendars based on the requirements of a tourist location in the state. Lucky you.

Uh...I actually live in MD. For those who think that the extra week of summer is harder on families, expecially poor families, that's wrong. Unlike you rich folks in Montgomery County, I live in one of the poorer counties, PG County. Here, it is actually easier to have fewer teacher in service days making for more 4 day weeks, and have a longer summer. In the summer, most people can make their plans, usually having a family member come and stay to watch the kids or sharing sitting between 2-3 families or using one of the summer programs with low income subsidy. This is a lot better than having 2-3 random Mondays or Fridays off in the fall and 2-3 random Mondays/Fridays in the spring when you have to find someone to watch the kids because you don't have the time off. Most of the lower income families I know prefer this schedule. It's the rich Montgomery County folk who pay for summer camps and like having extra 3 day weekends because they get paid time off from work (even if they have to use vacation days to do it) who like the old schedule. Lower income folks are more "don't work, don't get paid" and can handle the longer summer better without losing pay than 5-6 random days throughout the year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Uh...I actually live in MD. For those who think that the extra week of summer is harder on families, expecially poor families, that's wrong. Unlike you rich folks in Montgomery County, I live in one of the poorer counties, PG County. Here, it is actually easier to have fewer teacher in service days making for more 4 day weeks, and have a longer summer. In the summer, most people can make their plans, usually having a family member come and stay to watch the kids or sharing sitting between 2-3 families or using one of the summer programs with low income subsidy. This is a lot better than having 2-3 random Mondays or Fridays off in the fall and 2-3 random Mondays/Fridays in the spring when you have to find someone to watch the kids because you don't have the time off. Most of the lower income families I know prefer this schedule. It's the rich Montgomery County folk who pay for summer camps and like having extra 3 day weekends because they get paid time off from work (even if they have to use vacation days to do it) who like the old schedule. Lower income folks are more "don't work, don't get paid" and can handle the longer summer better without losing pay than 5-6 random days throughout the year.

Mentioned in your post: child care (an important issue). Not mentioned in your post: learning (also an important issue).

There are about 55,000 poor students in rich Montgomery County.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

So what what one family wants? The state has an economy to keep and that economy pays for 26.8% our your child's public education. Your taxes only go so far. The economy thrives on it's summer tourists. OCMD, Annapolis, Inner Harbor, etc... We don't have the weather or have many mountains that see tourists year round. The economy needs our summer's thriving and in return it doesn't go in further debt. It keeps small businesses opened longer and makes their off-season to survive thru, shorter. If you want longer breaks in-between quarters or a different summer break you need to find states that have year round tourism. Otherwise be happy our state can continue to pay for the huge increase in poor immigrant population that is now in our schools.

Could you please provide the numbers supporting your assertion that revenue from the tourism industry pays for 26.8% of public education? And could you also provide the numbers supporting the marginal effect of the required post-Labor Day start on the tourism industry?

There are plenty of places with seasonal tourism that don't have 11-12 week summer breaks. How do they manage?

The actual numbers for the change will not be available for another month or two (such numbers are not processed instantaneously and the school year started only 4 weeks ago).

However, from this article in the WP that ran the week school started, businesses report significant increase in revenue and beach attendance. The exact amount is yet to be determined. This is one way for the state to generate additional tax revenue without raising taxes on the residents.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/an-extra-week-of-summer-for-almost-900000-kids-is-a-boon-for-one-beach-town/2017/09/01/8e490c12-8eab-11e7-84c0-02cc069f2c37_story.html?tid=a_inl&utm_term=.2c48e82b26fa

How much extra tourist revenue will it take to balance out the learning loss, not to mention the hypocrisy?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

+1. The reason this was sent out is that next year is the gubernatorial elections and MoCo hates that Maryland has a republican governor. I've been apart of MCPS for 8 years and have never received an email like the one we got today.
Having the tightened schedule this year has been glorious. We have actually had full weeks versus the bullshit 3-4 only for the first 2 months that usually happened. Keep it up Larry!

I and my children would prefer they get longer breaks between quarters. I'd rather start earlier and end later, and have longer and more frequent longer breaks in between. It gives both the students and teachers more time to refresh after every quarter.

Amen

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At one point, there was discussion about the idea that the governor couldn't legally do this by executive order. What happened to that?

In the meantime, I'm certainly going to remind my elected state representatives that I think this should be a priority for the General Assembly.

I'll be telling my reps to support the governor on this smart, sensible, efficient policy or they wont get my support. The school board is arrogantly political and ive had enough. Their politicking had politicized me to to vote for new board members who actually care about education. Not party politics or wasting our money on stupid stuff.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

+1. The reason this was sent out is that next year is the gubernatorial elections and MoCo hates that Maryland has a republican governor. I've been apart of MCPS for 8 years and have never received an email like the one we got today.
Having the tightened schedule this year has been glorious. We have actually had full weeks versus the bullshit 3-4 only for the first 2 months that usually happened. Keep it up Larry!

I and my children would prefer they get longer breaks between quarters. I'd rather start earlier and end later, and have longer and more frequent longer breaks in between. It gives both the students and teachers more time to refresh after every quarter.

Amen

Clearly neither of you work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why is this a ridiculous policy? I do 't get it.

Personally we love the longer summer. If you don't like it, then put your kid in an academic camp or something. It's nice to have that long break.

We always started after Labor Day when I was growing up in NY.

Yes, we did start after Labor Day, but we also ended a lot later than June 15th.
They need the extra time to fit it all in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

So what what one family wants? The state has an economy to keep and that economy pays for 26.8% our your child's public education. Your taxes only go so far. The economy thrives on it's summer tourists. OCMD, Annapolis, Inner Harbor, etc... We don't have the weather or have many mountains that see tourists year round. The economy needs our summer's thriving and in return it doesn't go in further debt. It keeps small businesses opened longer and makes their off-season to survive thru, shorter. If you want longer breaks in-between quarters or a different summer break you need to find states that have year round tourism. Otherwise be happy our state can continue to pay for the huge increase in poor immigrant population that is now in our schools.

Could you please provide the numbers supporting your assertion that revenue from the tourism industry pays for 26.8% of public education? And could you also provide the numbers supporting the marginal effect of the required post-Labor Day start on the tourism industry?

There are plenty of places with seasonal tourism that don't have 11-12 week summer breaks. How do they manage?

The actual numbers for the change will not be available for another month or two (such numbers are not processed instantaneously and the school year started only 4 weeks ago).

However, from this article in the WP that ran the week school started, businesses report significant increase in revenue and beach attendance. The exact amount is yet to be determined. This is one way for the state to generate additional tax revenue without raising taxes on the residents.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/an-extra-week-of-summer-for-almost-900000-kids-is-a-boon-for-one-beach-town/2017/09/01/8e490c12-8eab-11e7-84c0-02cc069f2c37_story.html?tid=a_inl&utm_term=.2c48e82b26fa

I spent $800 on summer camp to cover the extra week, and we can only afford one week summer vacation no matter how long the break is. but, hey, at least some business owners in OC are doing better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is this a ridiculous policy? I do 't get it.

Personally we love the longer summer. If you don't like it, then put your kid in an academic camp or something. It's nice to have that long break.

We always started after Labor Day when I was growing up in NY.

Yes, we did start after Labor Day, but we also ended a lot later than June 15th.
They need the extra time to fit it all in.

but then you can't force parents to spend extra. We might as well close the schools all year, think about the revenue it's going to generate!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is this a ridiculous policy? I do 't get it.

Personally we love the longer summer. If you don't like it, then put your kid in an academic camp or something. It's nice to have that long break.

We always started after Labor Day when I was growing up in NY.

Yes, we did start after Labor Day, but we also ended a lot later than June 15th.
They need the extra time to fit it all in.

but then you can't force parents to spend extra. We might as well close the schools all year, think about the revenue it's going to generate!

Right! We must have the proper priorities!

Though Hogan won't have a lot of success attracting businesses to a state that considers its tourism sector (which is actually not such a big sector of the state economy) to be more important than its schools.