MCPS Considering Beginning 2020-21 School Calendar Year Before Labor Day

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m in favor of an after Labor Day start date, mid February winter break, full winter/spring break and school ending June 25.

You could move to NY suburbs. That is typical there.

I really shouldn’t have to do this but MCPS should be trying to model itself after good public districts such as MA, NY & CT. The idea of a February recess is appealing.

Maryland law requires that districts be by county so unless Bethesda or Potomac or Chevy Chase etc. start their own counties you are stuck with being a part of MCPS. And the demographics are very different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
First off, how many families really have kids that are both in high school and elementary school at the same time? I know of no families like this.

Second, what are these families doing for childcare in the morning? In our neighborhood the ES bus doesn't come through until 9am. Most parents need to be at work by then. So what happens is most families end up using both before AND after care.

I don't know anybody with kids at Paint Branch HS (as far as I know). Therefore nobody has kids at Paint Branch HS. Right?

I really, really wish that people would stop thinking that a convenience sample is representative of the population.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Start 2 weeks before Labor Day .
Get rid of Jewish holidays
2 weeks on winter break
10 days of spring break
End mid June or end of June (doesn’t really matter)
High school kids don’t get enough days to learn material for AP classes!!!
Current calendar sucks

Your “calendar” doesn’t make sense with regards to AP exams, which are done mid May. How are you getting them more time to prepare? you are just starting earlier and giving bigger breaks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Start 2 weeks before Labor Day .
Get rid of Jewish holidays
2 weeks on winter break
10 days of spring break
End mid June or end of June (doesn’t really matter)
High school kids don’t get enough days to learn material for AP classes!!!
Current calendar sucks

Many jewish adults choose to work in MCPS because they have the jewish holidays off. The historical policy has created a favorable working environment to jewish adults. This means that when you get rid of the jewish holidays, you will have a lot of jewish adults who will be needing subs. As long as the sub pool is large enough to fulfill all of the needed requests, this should be fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Start 2 weeks before Labor Day .
Get rid of Jewish holidays
2 weeks on winter break
10 days of spring break
End mid June or end of June (doesn’t really matter)
High school kids don’t get enough days to learn material for AP classes!!!
Current calendar sucks

Your “calendar” doesn’t make sense with regards to AP exams, which are done mid May. How are you getting them more time to prepare? you are just starting earlier and giving bigger breaks.

I do not agree to get rid of the Jewish Holiday's unless you want to go to school on Christmas. Make it fair and even...get rid of ALL ethnic holidays (including Eid etc). Winter break can happen right after Christmas and into the new year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Start 2 weeks before Labor Day .
Get rid of Jewish holidays
2 weeks on winter break
10 days of spring break
End mid June or end of June (doesn’t really matter)
High school kids don’t get enough days to learn material for AP classes!!!
Current calendar sucks

Your “calendar” doesn’t make sense with regards to AP exams, which are done mid May. How are you getting them more time to prepare? you are just starting earlier and giving bigger breaks.

I do not agree to get rid of the Jewish Holiday's unless you want to go to school on Christmas. Make it fair and even...get rid of ALL ethnic holidays (including Eid etc). Winter break can happen right after Christmas and into the new year.

Ethnic holidays? We always have school on St. Patrick's Day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Start 2 weeks before Labor Day .
Get rid of Jewish holidays
2 weeks on winter break
10 days of spring break
End mid June or end of June (doesn’t really matter)
High school kids don’t get enough days to learn material for AP classes!!!
Current calendar sucks

Your “calendar” doesn’t make sense with regards to AP exams, which are done mid May. How are you getting them more time to prepare? you are just starting earlier and giving bigger breaks.

I do not agree to get rid of the Jewish Holiday's unless you want to go to school on Christmas. Make it fair and even...get rid of ALL ethnic holidays (including Eid etc). Winter break can happen right after Christmas and into the new year.

Winter break could be the first week of Jan. Think of how cheap it would be to travel that week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m in favor of an after Labor Day start date, mid February winter break, full winter/spring break and school ending June 25.

You could move to NY suburbs. That is typical there.

I really shouldn’t have to do this but MCPS should be trying to model itself after good public districts such as MA, NY & CT. The idea of a February recess is appealing.

Maryland law requires that districts be by county so unless Bethesda or Potomac or Chevy Chase etc. start their own counties you are stuck with being a part of MCPS. And the demographics are very different.

Not a bad idea - can we get this started?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Start 2 weeks before Labor Day .
Get rid of Jewish holidays
2 weeks on winter break
10 days of spring break
End mid June or end of June (doesn’t really matter)
High school kids don’t get enough days to learn material for AP classes!!!
Current calendar sucks

Your “calendar” doesn’t make sense with regards to AP exams, which are done mid May. How are you getting them more time to prepare? you are just starting earlier and giving bigger breaks.

Have they ever considered block scheduling? It would allow them to front-load APs in the first 2/3 or 3/4 of the year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can we have a much earlier start time for elementary? I prefer early start time early end time. I dont care when they start the school year but, be consistent.

The reason for the late start (my kid's ES starts at 9:05am) is so high school kids don't have such an early start. They use the same buses for all.

I don't understand why it isn't switched so ES goes first and HS last. Studies have shown time and again that teenagers benefit from more sleep in the morning and later start times. Meanwhile, my 6yo is up at 630am every day. You end up with more traffic on the roads because most parents can't wait for the ES buses to come and end up driving their kids to the before care programs at the ES.

I agree, but people on this board repeatedly give 2 reasons: 1) older kids babysit younger kids and need to get out early, and 2) sports teams need to practice after school.

On the first, that’s why schools offer before and aftercare, and policy should be set for what is best for the students as a whole. On the second, it seems like teams could practice before school rather than after.

School after-care: $$$
Older-sibling after-care: free

And if teams practice before school, there goes the whole more-sleep-in-the-morning thing.

First off, how many families really have kids that are both in high school and elementary school at the same time? I know of no families like this.

Second, what are these families doing for childcare in the morning? In our neighborhood the ES bus doesn't come through until 9am. Most parents need to be at work by then. So what happens is most families end up using both before AND after care.

I work at an elementary school and there are a lot of families that have kids in high school and elementary school at the same time. They wait outside the school at dismissal to walk their siblings home. The students are usually brought to school by a parent. Not everyone has a 9-5 job. Many of the parents in my school work restaurant or retail jobs and don't have to be at work until after 9am, but they're not home at 3:30 when elementary schools get out. Hence why high school siblings are responsible for their siblings after school.

And not all elementary schools have before and after care. Mine is one that doesn't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Start 2 weeks before Labor Day .
Get rid of Jewish holidays
2 weeks on winter break
10 days of spring break
End mid June or end of June (doesn’t really matter)
High school kids don’t get enough days to learn material for AP classes!!!
Current calendar sucks

Your “calendar” doesn’t make sense with regards to AP exams, which are done mid May. How are you getting them more time to prepare? you are just starting earlier and giving bigger breaks.

I do not agree to get rid of the Jewish Holiday's unless you want to go to school on Christmas. Make it fair and even...get rid of ALL ethnic holidays (including Eid etc). Winter break can happen right after Christmas and into the new year.

Christmas is a school holiday according to MD state law. County can't override it.

[Anonymous]

Would love to have a week off for Thanksgiving and a week off in January and then a 4 day weekend in December.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Please use this thread for the continuing discussion of calendar options available. List your pros and cons.


https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-beat/schools/mcps-considering-beginning-2020-21-school-year-before-labor-day/

At a school board committee meeting on Thursday afternoon, MCPS staff members presented three potential options for the 2020-21 school year calendar. The options include school starting on Aug. 31, Sept. 1 or Sept. 8.

All three calendar options presented Thursday incorporate a weeklong spring break and full non-instructional days for professional development, grading and planning time at the end of each quarter. On professional development days, the staff would report to school, but students would not.

The school board committee on Thursday also debated whether the school district should close in recognition of Inauguration Day on Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021. Martin Luther King Jr. Day — a holiday on which schools must be closed, according to state law — falls on Monday of the same week.

so what, it's a super late Labor Day so just start earlier when the calendar falls so goofily.
Most states and counties in the south, west and now even Midwest start mid-august.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Start 2 weeks before Labor Day .
Get rid of Jewish holidays
2 weeks on winter break
10 days of spring break
End mid June or end of June (doesn’t really matter)
High school kids don’t get enough days to learn material for AP classes!!!
Current calendar sucks

Many jewish adults choose to work in MCPS because they have the jewish holidays off. The historical policy has created a favorable working environment to jewish adults. This means that when you get rid of the jewish holidays, you will have a lot of jewish adults who will be needing subs. As long as the sub pool is large enough to fulfill all of the needed requests, this should be fine.

no not really. less than 10% for sure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Would love to have a week off for Thanksgiving and a week off in January and then a 4 day weekend in December.

Really? A four day week when its the holiday period.