will a lot of kids be out next week?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, there will be a lot of students out this week. There will be learning/reviewing happening (at least at my school), but teachers won't be giving assessments or teaching anything new, because they'd just have to do it all over again next week for all the kids who were absent.

Depends on the school and class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, there will be a lot of students out this week. There will be learning/reviewing happening (at least at my school), but teachers won't be giving assessments or teaching anything new, because they'd just have to do it all over again next week for all the kids who were absent.

Depends on the school and class.

Yes, but this forum is about MCPS schools. No one is teaching anything at MCPS schools this week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, there will be a lot of students out this week. There will be learning/reviewing happening (at least at my school), but teachers won't be giving assessments or teaching anything new, because they'd just have to do it all over again next week for all the kids who were absent.

Depends on the school and class.

Yes, but this forum is about MCPS schools. No one is teaching anything at MCPS schools this week.

Again. Some teachers are giving tests and new material this week. My kid's AP teacher is not letting Thanksgiving get in the way of instruction.

[Anonymous]

I love this calendar.
Wish it was ours:

First Day of School – August 1, 2023
Labor Day – September 4, 2023
Fall Break – September 25 – 29, 2023
Election Day, Student Holiday/Staff Workday – November 7, 2023
Thanksgiving Holidays – November 20 – 24, 2023
Winter Holidays – December 20, 2023 to January 3, 2024
Martin Luther King Jr Day – January 15, 2024
Winter Break – February 19 – 23, 2024
Spring Break – April 1 – 5, 2024
Last Day of School – May 22, 2024

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, there will be a lot of students out this week. There will be learning/reviewing happening (at least at my school), but teachers won't be giving assessments or teaching anything new, because they'd just have to do it all over again next week for all the kids who were absent.

Depends on the school and class.

Yes, but this forum is about MCPS schools. No one is teaching anything at MCPS schools this week.

Again. Some teachers are giving tests and new material this week. My kid's AP teacher is not letting Thanksgiving get in the way of instruction.

+1. Kids has quiz on Monday morning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, there will be a lot of students out this week. There will be learning/reviewing happening (at least at my school), but teachers won't be giving assessments or teaching anything new, because they'd just have to do it all over again next week for all the kids who were absent.

Depends on the school and class.

Yes, but this forum is about MCPS schools. No one is teaching anything at MCPS schools this week.

Again. Some teachers are giving tests and new material this week. My kid's AP teacher is not letting Thanksgiving get in the way of instruction.

No they're not. At least, not beyond a few isolated cases.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, there will be a lot of students out this week. There will be learning/reviewing happening (at least at my school), but teachers won't be giving assessments or teaching anything new, because they'd just have to do it all over again next week for all the kids who were absent.

Depends on the school and class.

Yes, but this forum is about MCPS schools. No one is teaching anything at MCPS schools this week.

Yes, that goes without saying. My kid has 2 tests tomorrow.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, there will be a lot of students out this week. There will be learning/reviewing happening (at least at my school), but teachers won't be giving assessments or teaching anything new, because they'd just have to do it all over again next week for all the kids who were absent.

Depends on the school and class.

Yes, but this forum is about MCPS schools. No one is teaching anything at MCPS schools this week.

Again. Some teachers are giving tests and new material this week. My kid's AP teacher is not letting Thanksgiving get in the way of instruction.

No they're not. At least, not beyond a few isolated cases.

i

You must have young kids or kids who are not in challenging classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, there will be a lot of students out this week. There will be learning/reviewing happening (at least at my school), but teachers won't be giving assessments or teaching anything new, because they'd just have to do it all over again next week for all the kids who were absent.

Depends on the school and class.

Yes, but this forum is about MCPS schools. No one is teaching anything at MCPS schools this week.

Again. Some teachers are giving tests and new material this week. My kid's AP teacher is not letting Thanksgiving get in the way of instruction.

No they're not. At least, not beyond a few isolated cases.

i

You must have young kids or kids who are not in challenging classes.

Elementary

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Is skipping school to start the Tgiving holiday an excused or unexcused absence?

Unexcused

Then why do teachers get to do it?

Help me out here.

Why do teachers get to do WHAT? Are you referring to their professional leave?

It may pain you to realize this, but teachers are adult professionals. They are entitled to adult things like professional leave. You know, kind of like your job gives you?

These may be adults who decided to work with children, but they are NOT children. It would be great if you could treat them like the professional adults they are.

Most jobs don't let so many people take off on the same day that the remaining workers can't cover the mission. 3/7 teachers being absent, effectively leading to an instructional shutdown, is not covering the mission.

If you want to be treated like a professional adult, then start acting like one.

Oh, dear poster: you clearly don’t know anything about teaching.

If I have an hour appt, I have to take a half day of leave. If I need to show up 15 minutes late, I have to take a half day of leave. I can’t take personal leave on Mondays or Fridays. I can’t take leave before holidays or after them. If I’m sick, I need to produce a doctor’s note.

And taking leave requires plans. I have to put in 2+ hours of unpaid time making plans and another 3+ hours grading work just to take 8 hours off. The last time I went to the hospital? I was told to make plans on the way to the ER, as if I had nothing else going on.

You’re welcome to lecture me on professionalism. But know this: I’m not taking a silly day off just to avoid work. It’s too much WORK for me to take a day off.

Tell that to the teachers starting their vacations early this weekend. And their subs, and remaining colleagues, showing movies on Monday and Tuesday.

Well, when 50% of your class is out, whose do you expect a teacher to do? Teach a skill that needs to be retaught in a week?

I know of one colleague on vacation. I know of 4 home with fevers. Should I get angry at them on your behalf?

And should I also be upset with your colleagues who decided to leave early for Thanksgiving? Surely they shouldn’t do that.

Families leave early because they know class is a joke. You don't put two half days in a row if you want students to show up.

It's the other way around. MCPS used to have full days on the Monday and Tuesday before Thanksgiving, and lots of students would be absent. In the calendar survey, moving the two half days for conferences from Veterans Day week to Thanksgiving week was the more popular choice.

It's dumb. If they wanted to maximize instructional time, they could have given all of Tuesday off and have Monday be a full day. But instead MCPS gets to count Monday Tuesday as two instructional days, and kids don't learn much on either day.

That's more work for teachers.

Its parent teacher conferences.

Kind of. Who is doing conferences on Tuesday afternoon? We didn't get any sign-up options that day.

Regardless, do conferences one day and school the other day.

There are 160K students and over 100 schools in MCPS. Do you think your experience is determinative of the entire district?

210 or so

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I love this calendar.
Wish it was ours:

First Day of School – August 1, 2023
Labor Day – September 4, 2023
Fall Break – September 25 – 29, 2023
Election Day, Student Holiday/Staff Workday – November 7, 2023
Thanksgiving Holidays – November 20 – 24, 2023
Winter Holidays – December 20, 2023 to January 3, 2024
Martin Luther King Jr Day – January 15, 2024
Winter Break – February 19 – 23, 2024
Spring Break – April 1 – 5, 2024
Last Day of School – May 22, 2024

Maybe I miscounted, but that's only 178 days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is skipping school to start the Tgiving holiday an excused or unexcused absence?

Unexcused

Then why do teachers get to do it?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Yes, it's a vicious cycle. A bunch of kids skip school those days, so teachers learn to not cover anything. Other parents learn of this from one year to another, and so keep their kids out of school, also. So the teachers cover even less the next year. We're now at year one-million of the process and few teachers cover anything at all (that's why, I think, they scheduled half-days for those days).

I had my kids double check before we finalized plans. 3 of 7 teachers will have subs. And her hard classes (math/science) will be doing review problems (frankly, this is quite useful for the kids so kudos to those teachers).

Half days are always like this. Schools shouldn't be able to count half days as instructional days.

Nor should they ding the kids for 2 full days of absence when they're half days.

If half-days didn't count as instructional days, then MCPS would have to have real school days. Half days are just a way to offer MCEA a day off while still getting paid as a work day.

And the new MCEA board members are going to try to add more.

I’m not an MCPS teacher, but I know many and I teach in a neighboring county.

Guess what half days are to most of us? Full work days. Students go home early, but we stay and grade and plan.

And then we go home and grade/plan more. And then we wake up on Saturdays to grade/plan. And then we wake up on Sundays to grade/plan.

I just looked at a calendar. I haven’t had a day without work in 28 days.

So I’m going to take offense when you accuse teachers of laziness.

Then make it a non-instructional workday, since meaningful classes aren't going to happen.

Teachers have absolutely no control over most things that enrage parents, but we take the heat anyway. I can’t change the calendar.

My high school students are constantly working and meeting standards. I’m not going to consider myself lazy or underperforming if I tailor an activity that fosters community or wellness on a half day. I see my students’ needs and their burnout and I’m able to respond to it. A light day is not wasted. It just fills a different need.

Half days are added to the calendar based on negotiations with the teachers union. You can't say you didn't play a part in that.

Half days aren't going away-deal with it.

They might if we change the law that allows them to count as an instructional day. Everyone here knows they shouldn't.

Your delusions of grandeur are noted and mocked.

DP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, it's a vicious cycle. A bunch of kids skip school those days, so teachers learn to not cover anything. Other parents learn of this from one year to another, and so keep their kids out of school, also. So the teachers cover even less the next year. We're now at year one-million of the process and few teachers cover anything at all (that's why, I think, they scheduled half-days for those days).

I had my kids double check before we finalized plans. 3 of 7 teachers will have subs. And her hard classes (math/science) will be doing review problems (frankly, this is quite useful for the kids so kudos to those teachers).

Half days are always like this. Schools shouldn't be able to count half days as instructional days.

Nor should they ding the kids for 2 full days of absence when they're half days.

If half-days didn't count as instructional days, then MCPS would have to have real school days. Half days are just a way to offer MCEA a day off while still getting paid as a work day.

And the new MCEA board members are going to try to add more.

I’m not an MCPS teacher, but I know many and I teach in a neighboring county.

Guess what half days are to most of us? Full work days. Students go home early, but we stay and grade and plan.

And then we go home and grade/plan more. And then we wake up on Saturdays to grade/plan. And then we wake up on Sundays to grade/plan.

I just looked at a calendar. I haven’t had a day without work in 28 days.

So I’m going to take offense when you accuse teachers of laziness.

Then make it a non-instructional workday, since meaningful classes aren't going to happen.

Teachers have absolutely no control over most things that enrage parents, but we take the heat anyway. I can’t change the calendar.

My high school students are constantly working and meeting standards. I’m not going to consider myself lazy or underperforming if I tailor an activity that fosters community or wellness on a half day. I see my students’ needs and their burnout and I’m able to respond to it. A light day is not wasted. It just fills a different need.

Half days are added to the calendar based on negotiations with the teachers union. You can't say you didn't play a part in that.

Half days aren't going away-deal with it.

They might if we change the law that allows them to count as an instructional day. Everyone here knows they shouldn't.

Your delusions of grandeur are noted and mocked.

DP

Nearly everyone in this thread agrees the days are a joke, including the MCPS teachers. Why should we continue to accept this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, it's a vicious cycle. A bunch of kids skip school those days, so teachers learn to not cover anything. Other parents learn of this from one year to another, and so keep their kids out of school, also. So the teachers cover even less the next year. We're now at year one-million of the process and few teachers cover anything at all (that's why, I think, they scheduled half-days for those days).

I had my kids double check before we finalized plans. 3 of 7 teachers will have subs. And her hard classes (math/science) will be doing review problems (frankly, this is quite useful for the kids so kudos to those teachers).

Half days are always like this. Schools shouldn't be able to count half days as instructional days.

Nor should they ding the kids for 2 full days of absence when they're half days.

If half-days didn't count as instructional days, then MCPS would have to have real school days. Half days are just a way to offer MCEA a day off while still getting paid as a work day.

And the new MCEA board members are going to try to add more.

I’m not an MCPS teacher, but I know many and I teach in a neighboring county.

Guess what half days are to most of us? Full work days. Students go home early, but we stay and grade and plan.

And then we go home and grade/plan more. And then we wake up on Saturdays to grade/plan. And then we wake up on Sundays to grade/plan.

I just looked at a calendar. I haven’t had a day without work in 28 days.

So I’m going to take offense when you accuse teachers of laziness.

Then make it a non-instructional workday, since meaningful classes aren't going to happen.

Teachers have absolutely no control over most things that enrage parents, but we take the heat anyway. I can’t change the calendar.

My high school students are constantly working and meeting standards. I’m not going to consider myself lazy or underperforming if I tailor an activity that fosters community or wellness on a half day. I see my students’ needs and their burnout and I’m able to respond to it. A light day is not wasted. It just fills a different need.

Half days are added to the calendar based on negotiations with the teachers union. You can't say you didn't play a part in that.

Half days aren't going away-deal with it.

They might if we change the law that allows them to count as an instructional day. Everyone here knows they shouldn't.

Your delusions of grandeur are noted and mocked.

DP

Nearly everyone in this thread agrees the days are a joke, including the MCPS teachers. Why should we continue to accept this?

Again, visit any school district in the country. This isn’t unique to Mcps- everyone has half days. Maybe it’s time you kept up with the rest of us.