The number of student holidays is insane.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids love these days off..they break up the monotony of a long school year. Teachers generally don't mind them because days off here and there really aren't that disruptive to learning. The only ones who really care are...parents.

Not sure why we want kids to experience the same 9-5, 5 day a week grind of so many of their parents.

Because many of us parents have to work and we need our kids in school while we work!

No matter how much you want it to be true, school is not daycare. Teachers are not daycare providers. You chose to have kids. You choose to work. It is 100% on you to figure this out.

Aaaaaand that’s why I send my kids to private school. Teachers like this.

I’m not a teacher. I’m a parent who accepts responsibility for my kids. I’ve never considered the school a daycare center.

Fine, if you say so. I used to teach in a public school. Watching teachers spin this kind of garbage is why my kids will never see the inside of a public school.

I’m sure the schools are happy that you and your kids are gone. You sound like an entitled jerk.

I do feel entitled to a functional school schedule, yes. And of COURSE it's child care. The people who deny it are making asses of themselves.

You’re getting the state required instructional days/hours. That is all you are entitled to.

Actually, we're not getting the required hours of INSTRUCTION b/c FCPS is fudging the numbers by counting 100 mins of "walk to the bus" and "walk to the classroom from the bus"-time as "instructional time" --- when we all know that it is NOT instructional time. You might think that is no big deal, but that 100 min of lost instructional time per week adds up to another week and a half of school lost b/c FCPS is being dishonest. Lunch and recess don't count as "instructional" time. Walking to the classroom from the bus or walking to the bus from the classroom are not legitimate instructional time.

Your math makes no sense at all. If my daughter is in school from 9:20 to 4:20, that is 7 hours. If I remove an hour for lunch and recess that is 6 hours. 6 hours x 180 days is 1080 hours, more than the requirement. No one is counting “walking to the bus” time. That happens prior to 9:20 and after 4:20. Please stop buying into every rumor you hear.

^^ Sorry, just double checked the times. They go until 4:05pm. So 5 hours and 45 minutes x 180 = 1035. Still more than 990.

[Anonymous]

^ Also, those hours only kick in if they can't make 180 days because of weather etc. NP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let's get down to specifics. Review the holiday list here. Which dates would you get rid of and why?

https://www.fcps.edu/calendars/standard-school-year-calendar

Get rid of:
- 26 Sep (Rosh Hashanah) -- not needed as holiday
- 5 Oct (Yom Kippur) -- not needed as holiday
- 10 Oct (Indigenous Peoples') -- not needed as holiday
- 24 Oct (Diwali) -- not needed as holiday
- 31 Oct (Halloween) -- not needed as holiday
- 11 Nov (Veterans) -- not needed as holiday
- 3 Mar -- not needed as holiday
- 14 Apr (Orthodox Good Friday) -- not needed as holiday (they should time spring break to be at the end of the quarter and include a teacher workday on the Friday before or Monday after)
- 21 Apr (Eid) -- not needed as holiday


Add in:
- Week long "fall break" at the middle or end of Oct (best to be timed at the end of the quarter)


Keep:
- 4-day Labor Day break
- Election Day
- The 2 week winter break
- The 3-day Thanksgiving break
- The holiday for MLK
- The 4-day holiday at the semester's end in January
- The holiday for President's Day
- Spring break (best to be timed at the end of the quarter and move the end-of-quarter teacher workday to the Friday before Spring Break or the Monday after)
- Memorial Day

Can you come up with a catchy-marketing phrase to represent your plan? That's what the SANE crowd needs to get behind something like this and promote it to the voting public.

Change your plan so that winter break is in late January to align with the end of the quarter, we don't need Christmas off, it's just a useless religious holiday like all the others you crossed off your list.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just up the student holidays. Ridiculous! Sorry, but we don’t need off for every religious holiday. Give them a fall break, winter break, February break and spring break, like other secular countries. And, let them out two weeks earlier in June. It has to be impossible to teach with all the sporadic days off.

ITA and also, let's make it easier on teachers and students and make sure the breaks are aligned to the end of the quarter like they are in more secular countries - e.g., winter break comes at the end of January, not December, and spring break comes at the end of Q3, rather than being tied to Easter. This year, high school students are going to have exams either the week before spring break in which case they come back after spring break and do nothing for a week, OR they're going to go on spring break and have to come back to exams. Either one is a ridiculous scenario.

Hello? What do you think students do between exams? We hit the ground running with new material the moment they're back from break. We have a set curriculum to teach and never enough time to teach it.

Are you really going to teach new material in the week between spring break and the end of the quarter? No.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just up the student holidays. Ridiculous! Sorry, but we don’t need off for every religious holiday. Give them a fall break, winter break, February break and spring break, like other secular countries. And, let them out two weeks earlier in June. It has to be impossible to teach with all the sporadic days off.

ITA and also, let's make it easier on teachers and students and make sure the breaks are aligned to the end of the quarter like they are in more secular countries - e.g., winter break comes at the end of January, not December, and spring break comes at the end of Q3, rather than being tied to Easter. This year, high school students are going to have exams either the week before spring break in which case they come back after spring break and do nothing for a week, OR they're going to go on spring break and have to come back to exams. Either one is a ridiculous scenario.

I’ve taught high school for over 20 years and read your post multiple times. I don’t understand your reasoning at all. Why are they doing nothing? If there is an exam, they start new material after. It doesn’t matter if that falls the week before or after a break. No one says there is one week until break so let’s sit here and do nothing.

That’s just the story all these parents tell them selves to justify harassing and demeaning teachers

I am not harassing or demeaning teachers, I am just saying that the schedule is stupid. Stop taking offense to everything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let's get down to specifics. Review the holiday list here. Which dates would you get rid of and why?

https://www.fcps.edu/calendars/standard-school-year-calendar

I would start with the two week winter break, which is totally unnecessary.

[Anonymous]

Anyone here remember when Mondays in FCPS were half days in ES? Now that was disruptive. I assume most of the parents complaining about the current schedule did not have ES kids then. I would rather have more full days off then a half day every week.
Also, my now HS students appreciate the occasional 4 day week to catch up on assignments and maybe get a little extra sleep. For those who have HS students that care about grades and work hard, you will understand. These HS students are sometimes up doing HW well past midnight. I’m grateful when they get the occasional respite.
FYI- I also still have an ES student, and we manage with the days off just fine (two working parent household). The kids aren’t lazy, the teachers aren’t lazy; but some of you are whiny, entitled and seem generally difficult and unhappy with life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let's get down to specifics. Review the holiday list here. Which dates would you get rid of and why?

https://www.fcps.edu/calendars/standard-school-year-calendar

Get rid of:
- 26 Sep (Rosh Hashanah) -- not needed as holiday
- 5 Oct (Yom Kippur) -- not needed as holiday
- 10 Oct (Indigenous Peoples') -- not needed as holiday
- 24 Oct (Diwali) -- not needed as holiday
- 31 Oct (Halloween) -- not needed as holiday
- 11 Nov (Veterans) -- not needed as holiday
- 3 Mar -- not needed as holiday
- 14 Apr (Orthodox Good Friday) -- not needed as holiday (they should time spring break to be at the end of the quarter and include a teacher workday on the Friday before or Monday after)
- 21 Apr (Eid) -- not needed as holiday


Add in:
- Week long "fall break" at the middle or end of Oct (best to be timed at the end of the quarter)


Keep:
- 4-day Labor Day break
- Election Day
- The 2 week winter break
- The 3-day Thanksgiving break
- The holiday for MLK
- The 4-day holiday at the semester's end in January
- The holiday for President's Day
- Spring break (best to be timed at the end of the quarter and move the end-of-quarter teacher workday to the Friday before Spring Break or the Monday after)
- Memorial Day

I would be very happy with that. Now we are going to see a ton of posts on why we are culturally insensitive and why every group needs it's special day off.

I don't want a two week winter break. I want breaks that align to the end of the quarter. The only reason that break is when it is is because of YOUR RELIGIOUS HOLIDAY THAT I DON'T CELEBRATE AND DON'T PLAN MY LIFE AROUND. Life is not about Christianity. GET OVER IT YOU PSYCHOS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids love these days off..they break up the monotony of a long school year. Teachers generally don't mind them because days off here and there really aren't that disruptive to learning. The only ones who really care are...parents.

Not sure why we want kids to experience the same 9-5, 5 day a week grind of so many of their parents.

Because many of us parents have to work and we need our kids in school while we work!

No matter how much you want it to be true, school is not daycare. Teachers are not daycare providers. You chose to have kids. You choose to work. It is 100% on you to figure this out.

Aaaaaand that’s why I send my kids to private school. Teachers like this.

I’m not a teacher. I’m a parent who accepts responsibility for my kids. I’ve never considered the school a daycare center.

Fine, if you say so. I used to teach in a public school. Watching teachers spin this kind of garbage is why my kids will never see the inside of a public school.

I’m sure the schools are happy that you and your kids are gone. You sound like an entitled jerk.

I do feel entitled to a functional school schedule, yes. And of COURSE it's child care. The people who deny it are making asses of themselves.

You’re getting the state required instructional days/hours. That is all you are entitled to.

Actually, we're not getting the required hours of INSTRUCTION b/c FCPS is fudging the numbers by counting 100 mins of "walk to the bus" and "walk to the classroom from the bus"-time as "instructional time" --- when we all know that it is NOT instructional time. You might think that is no big deal, but that 100 min of lost instructional time per week adds up to another week and a half of school lost b/c FCPS is being dishonest. Lunch and recess don't count as "instructional" time. Walking to the classroom from the bus or walking to the bus from the classroom are not legitimate instructional time.

Your math makes no sense at all. If my daughter is in school from 9:20 to 4:20, that is 7 hours. If I remove an hour for lunch and recess that is 6 hours. 6 hours x 180 days is 1080 hours, more than the requirement. No one is counting “walking to the bus” time. That happens prior to 9:20 and after 4:20. Please stop buying into every rumor you hear.

you are wrong. I guess you haven't been around FCPS to know the truth. This happened around the time they got rid of Monday afternoons being short... they slipped in the funky accounting method to meet the required time. While lunch and recess are officially EXcluded from being counted as "instructional time" by the state, the regulations didn't say anything about the "walk to the bus" or "walk to the classroom" time being counted as instructional time. So, FCPS decided that if it wasn't excluded, then it should be counted toward meeting the required minimum instructional hours. Your kid is missing out of 100 min. of instructional time PER WEEK (for those weeks that have five days of school). And that adds up over the school year.

[Anonymous]

The reason those holidays are off are due to districts aligning. There is a sub crisis and the religious holidays off and different spring break were some of the worst staffing days. That is why.

[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:Kids love these days off..they break up the monotony of a long school year. Teachers generally don't mind them because days off here and there really aren't that disruptive to learning. The only ones who really care are...parents.

Not sure why we want kids to experience the same 9-5, 5 day a week grind of so many of their parents.

Because many of us parents have to work and we need our kids in school while we work!

No matter how much you want it to be true, school is not daycare. Teachers are not daycare providers. You chose to have kids. You choose to work. It is 100% on you to figure this out.

Aaaaaand that’s why I send my kids to private school. Teachers like this.

I’m not a teacher. I’m a parent who accepts responsibility for my kids. I’ve never considered the school a daycare center.

Fine, if you say so. I used to teach in a public school. Watching teachers spin this kind of garbage is why my kids will never see the inside of a public school.

I’m sure the schools are happy that you and your kids are gone. You sound like an entitled jerk.

I do feel entitled to a functional school schedule, yes. And of COURSE it's child care. The people who deny it are making asses of themselves.

You’re getting the state required instructional days/hours. That is all you are entitled to.

Actually, we're not getting the required hours of INSTRUCTION b/c FCPS is fudging the numbers by counting 100 mins of "walk to the bus" and "walk to the classroom from the bus"-time as "instructional time" --- when we all know that it is NOT instructional time. You might think that is no big deal, but that 100 min of lost instructional time per week adds up to another week and a half of school lost b/c FCPS is being dishonest. Lunch and recess don't count as "instructional" time. Walking to the classroom from the bus or walking to the bus from the classroom are not legitimate instructional time.

Your math makes no sense at all. If my daughter is in school from 9:20 to 4:20, that is 7 hours. If I remove an hour for lunch and recess that is 6 hours. 6 hours x 180 days is 1080 hours, more than the requirement. No one is counting “walking to the bus” time. That happens prior to 9:20 and after 4:20. Please stop buying into every rumor you hear.

^^ Sorry, just double checked the times. They go until 4:05pm. So 5 hours and 45 minutes x 180 = 1035. Still more than 990.

Minor point: you didn't count the 5 early release days as "half days" (which gets you to the 990).

More important point: FCPS gives us "just enough" scheduled time to meet the requirements.... but have you ever considered what happens when there are snow days (i.e. no school), early release for weather, or 2 hr delays for weather --- WHEN THERE ARE NO MAKE UP DAYS?

If you only have 990 hours scheduled, and you tell people that they never have to make up snow days because the snow days are "built in" -- something is fishy! If there are NO snow days/late arrivals/early releases (for weather), THEN your kid gets the required minimum. If there are ANY snow days, delays, early releases throughout the year, your kid is simply getting gipped out of their required educational time. Welcome to FCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids love these days off..they break up the monotony of a long school year. Teachers generally don't mind them because days off here and there really aren't that disruptive to learning. The only ones who really care are...parents.

Not sure why we want kids to experience the same 9-5, 5 day a week grind of so many of their parents.

Because many of us parents have to work and we need our kids in school while we work!

No matter how much you want it to be true, school is not daycare. Teachers are not daycare providers. You chose to have kids. You choose to work. It is 100% on you to figure this out.

You are 100% everything that is wrong with this country. Completely serious. And I don't even have a kid in school.

[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:

Anonymous wrote:Kids love these days off..they break up the monotony of a long school year. Teachers generally don't mind them because days off here and there really aren't that disruptive to learning. The only ones who really care are...parents.

Not sure why we want kids to experience the same 9-5, 5 day a week grind of so many of their parents.

Because many of us parents have to work and we need our kids in school while we work!

No matter how much you want it to be true, school is not daycare. Teachers are not daycare providers. You chose to have kids. You choose to work. It is 100% on you to figure this out.

Aaaaaand that’s why I send my kids to private school. Teachers like this.

I’m not a teacher. I’m a parent who accepts responsibility for my kids. I’ve never considered the school a daycare center.

Fine, if you say so. I used to teach in a public school. Watching teachers spin this kind of garbage is why my kids will never see the inside of a public school.

I’m sure the schools are happy that you and your kids are gone. You sound like an entitled jerk.

I do feel entitled to a functional school schedule, yes. And of COURSE it's child care. The people who deny it are making asses of themselves.

You’re getting the state required instructional days/hours. That is all you are entitled to.

Actually, we're not getting the required hours of INSTRUCTION b/c FCPS is fudging the numbers by counting 100 mins of "walk to the bus" and "walk to the classroom from the bus"-time as "instructional time" --- when we all know that it is NOT instructional time. You might think that is no big deal, but that 100 min of lost instructional time per week adds up to another week and a half of school lost b/c FCPS is being dishonest. Lunch and recess don't count as "instructional" time. Walking to the classroom from the bus or walking to the bus from the classroom are not legitimate instructional time.

Your math makes no sense at all. If my daughter is in school from 9:20 to 4:20, that is 7 hours. If I remove an hour for lunch and recess that is 6 hours. 6 hours x 180 days is 1080 hours, more than the requirement. No one is counting “walking to the bus” time. That happens prior to 9:20 and after 4:20. Please stop buying into every rumor you hear.

^^ Sorry, just double checked the times. They go until 4:05pm. So 5 hours and 45 minutes x 180 = 1035. Still more than 990.

Minor point: you didn't count the 5 early release days as "half days" (which gets you to the 990).

More important point: FCPS gives us "just enough" scheduled time to meet the requirements.... but have you ever considered what happens when there are snow days (i.e. no school), early release for weather, or 2 hr delays for weather --- WHEN THERE ARE NO MAKE UP DAYS?

If you only have 990 hours scheduled, and you tell people that they never have to make up snow days because the snow days are "built in" -- something is fishy! If there are NO snow days/late arrivals/early releases (for weather), THEN your kid gets the required minimum. If there are ANY snow days, delays, early releases throughout the year, your kid is simply getting gipped out of their required educational time. Welcome to FCPS.

5 early release days (10 hours) gets you to 1025, not 990. That is still 35 hours extra which equals 6 days of snow.
When it’s all said and done, it’s probably pretty close to 990.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let's get down to specifics. Review the holiday list here. Which dates would you get rid of and why?

https://www.fcps.edu/calendars/standard-school-year-calendar

Get rid of:
- 26 Sep (Rosh Hashanah) -- not needed as holiday
- 5 Oct (Yom Kippur) -- not needed as holiday
- 10 Oct (Indigenous Peoples') -- not needed as holiday
- 24 Oct (Diwali) -- not needed as holiday
- 31 Oct (Halloween) -- not needed as holiday
- 11 Nov (Veterans) -- not needed as holiday
- 3 Mar -- not needed as holiday
- 14 Apr (Orthodox Good Friday) -- not needed as holiday (they should time spring break to be at the end of the quarter and include a teacher workday on the Friday before or Monday after)
- 21 Apr (Eid) -- not needed as holiday


Add in:
- Week long "fall break" at the middle or end of Oct (best to be timed at the end of the quarter)


Keep:
- 4-day Labor Day break
- Election Day
- The 2 week winter break
- The 3-day Thanksgiving break
- The holiday for MLK
- The 4-day holiday at the semester's end in January
- The holiday for President's Day
- Spring break (best to be timed at the end of the quarter and move the end-of-quarter teacher workday to the Friday before Spring Break or the Monday after)
- Memorial Day

I would be very happy with that. Now we are going to see a ton of posts on why we are culturally insensitive and why every group needs it's special day off.

I don't want a two week winter break. I want breaks that align to the end of the quarter. The only reason that break is when it is is because of YOUR RELIGIOUS HOLIDAY THAT I DON'T CELEBRATE AND DON'T PLAN MY LIFE AROUND. Life is not about Christianity. GET OVER IT YOU PSYCHOS.

The majority of parents in FCPS do want a 2-week winter break. I would love to have winter break align with the end of the semester though! Unfortunately, I think you are stuck with winter break encompassing Christmas and New Years. Next year, how about we start the school year a week earlier in August and then have our winter break from the 23rd of Dec through the 7th of Jan?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let's get down to specifics. Review the holiday list here. Which dates would you get rid of and why?

https://www.fcps.edu/calendars/standard-school-year-calendar

Get rid of:
- 26 Sep (Rosh Hashanah) -- not needed as holiday
- 5 Oct (Yom Kippur) -- not needed as holiday
- 10 Oct (Indigenous Peoples') -- not needed as holiday
- 24 Oct (Diwali) -- not needed as holiday
- 31 Oct (Halloween) -- not needed as holiday
- 11 Nov (Veterans) -- not needed as holiday
- 3 Mar -- not needed as holiday
- 14 Apr (Orthodox Good Friday) -- not needed as holiday (they should time spring break to be at the end of the quarter and include a teacher workday on the Friday before or Monday after)
- 21 Apr (Eid) -- not needed as holiday


Add in:
- Week long "fall break" at the middle or end of Oct (best to be timed at the end of the quarter)


Keep:
- 4-day Labor Day break
- Election Day
- The 2 week winter break
- The 3-day Thanksgiving break
- The holiday for MLK
- The 4-day holiday at the semester's end in January
- The holiday for President's Day
- Spring break (best to be timed at the end of the quarter and move the end-of-quarter teacher workday to the Friday before Spring Break or the Monday after)
- Memorial Day

I would be very happy with that. Now we are going to see a ton of posts on why we are culturally insensitive and why every group needs it's special day off.

I don't want a two week winter break. I want breaks that align to the end of the quarter. The only reason that break is when it is is because of YOUR RELIGIOUS HOLIDAY THAT I DON'T CELEBRATE AND DON'T PLAN MY LIFE AROUND. Life is not about Christianity. GET OVER IT YOU PSYCHOS.

Then go into the school if you so wish. Get a jump on the return from Christmas Break.