Explain ridiculously early 2023/24 start date?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We don't have to do 180 days - we could use hours but the SB insists on doing 180 days.
We have two weeks off for winter break and one week off for spring break and many religious holidays - those days all add up to elongate the calendar.
We used to start post-Labor Day which I liked. The SB wanted to change it for really no legitimate reason - & at the time claimed that moving the start before labor day would help with AP prep and SOL prep. The dumb thing was that SOL prep was already backloaded as much as possible so it made no difference to move the calendar up for that and it was a real red herring in the whole decision- leaving only AP test prep affected - and those same kids are the same ones likely with less time now to work on the common app before school starts - so it's all a wash for them anyway.

Literally every year when they do these surveys, the majority want an August start. So everyone clamoring about Labor Day, most parents wanted an August start.

Some....I have talked to many that want after Labor Day start or to get out earlier.

Read the stats from the survey. The majority of parents want to start in August, not after Labor Day.

Sometimes Labor Day is not until September 6 or 7, and starting after that seems too late.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Reading this makes me so happy that I’m almost done with FCPS. I will no longer be subject to the school calendar. Yay me!

Lucky! We’re just a couple years in and I do wonder what FCPS was like in the good ol’ days. (Was there ever a period of time where the SB seemed generally invested in the kids vs their own agendas? Rhetorical.) Someone mentioned the August start date only happened a few years ago—what was the impetus to ever change that? Was the winter break ever less than 2 weeks? I can’t handle 12 more years of bickering over the calendar each school year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Arlington, Loudoun and Prince William Counties have all seen the light and shortened their winter breaks this year. They have 12 days (including weekends) and FCPS has 17 days (including weekends.)

That is ludicrous.

Until we have a school board that stays in their own lane and puts educating our kids at the forefront of their mission, this is going to perpetuate. More staff development days, more religious holidays, longer winter and spring breaks…. Why do they have off Veteran’s Day?! They used to be in school and honor the Veterans with special programs.

Comical complaint in a thread about the summer being too short.

Seems fitting as the response was tied to the 17-day never ending winter break.

The calendar is so front-heavy with teacher workdays, staff development, federal holidays, religious holidays, etc… That is also when a lot of the assessments happen in ES.

But hey—there’s May with just ONE day off for Memorial Day. The month/holiday/time of year when kids would welcome extra time around that long weekend with nicer weather and pools being open.

Most pools don't open until Memorial Day weekend and the water is cold.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reading this makes me so happy that I’m almost done with FCPS. I will no longer be subject to the school calendar. Yay me!

Lucky! We’re just a couple years in and I do wonder what FCPS was like in the good ol’ days. (Was there ever a period of time where the SB seemed generally invested in the kids vs their own agendas? Rhetorical.) Someone mentioned the August start date only happened a few years ago—what was the impetus to ever change that? Was the winter break ever less than 2 weeks? I can’t handle 12 more years of bickering over the calendar each school year.

The change to an August start date was billed as getting fcps an early June end to the school year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can someone explain this to me? I’ve heard it’s because a group of parents complained that kids go too few teaching hours before AP exams compared to other states.

I know it’s not because of snow…because we’ve had none recently!

It’s also ridiculous in this area- given that August is recess.

The AP exam thing is real.

The converse to this is the parents who want a cheap beach vacation in late August.

[Anonymous]

June is a waste of time in school because teachers plow through all the material before the SOLs which are held in early to mid May. This means the last 4 weeks of school are boring projects and often without a grade.

[Anonymous]

50% of kids in the US aren’t passing AP exams as it is so I really don’t see why we need to start a week or two earlier for them. College Board releases these scores every year. US kids do terrible on the exams.

Regardless, I don’t care when we start. But the goal needs to be out as early in June as possible. Once we pass the SOLs and Memorial Day, there isn’t meaningful learning happening in school. 3 weeks of school in august/September isn’t equivalent to 3 weeks of school in June. You can’t start new material or maintain good spirits from the kids trying to do stuff on June 16. So letting us go as early in June as feasible is better for everyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:50% of kids in the US aren’t passing AP exams as it is so I really don’t see why we need to start a week or two earlier for them. College Board releases these scores every year. US kids do terrible on the exams.

Regardless, I don’t care when we start. But the goal needs to be out as early in June as possible. Once we pass the SOLs and Memorial Day, there isn’t meaningful learning happening in school. 3 weeks of school in august/September isn’t equivalent to 3 weeks of school in June. You can’t start new material or maintain good spirits from the kids trying to do stuff on June 16. So letting us go as early in June as feasible is better for everyone.

As someone who has proctored dozens of AP exams, half the kids shouldn’t be there. Every year I see kids draw pictures in the booklet rather than take the test, leave the written portion empty, complete the scantron without looking at the questions, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:50% of kids in the US aren’t passing AP exams as it is so I really don’t see why we need to start a week or two earlier for them. College Board releases these scores every year. US kids do terrible on the exams.

Regardless, I don’t care when we start. But the goal needs to be out as early in June as possible. Once we pass the SOLs and Memorial Day, there isn’t meaningful learning happening in school. 3 weeks of school in august/September isn’t equivalent to 3 weeks of school in June. You can’t start new material or maintain good spirits from the kids trying to do stuff on June 16. So letting us go as early in June as feasible is better for everyone.

If the end date was moved up a week, so would SOL dates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:50% of kids in the US aren’t passing AP exams as it is so I really don’t see why we need to start a week or two earlier for them. College Board releases these scores every year. US kids do terrible on the exams.

Regardless, I don’t care when we start. But the goal needs to be out as early in June as possible. Once we pass the SOLs and Memorial Day, there isn’t meaningful learning happening in school. 3 weeks of school in august/September isn’t equivalent to 3 weeks of school in June. You can’t start new material or maintain good spirits from the kids trying to do stuff on June 16. So letting us go as early in June as feasible is better for everyone.

As someone who has proctored dozens of AP exams, half the kids shouldn’t be there. Every year I see kids draw pictures in the booklet rather than take the test, leave the written portion empty, complete the scantron without looking at the questions, etc.

Taking the test is optional. Why do they attend?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:50% of kids in the US aren’t passing AP exams as it is so I really don’t see why we need to start a week or two earlier for them. College Board releases these scores every year. US kids do terrible on the exams.

Regardless, I don’t care when we start. But the goal needs to be out as early in June as possible. Once we pass the SOLs and Memorial Day, there isn’t meaningful learning happening in school. 3 weeks of school in august/September isn’t equivalent to 3 weeks of school in June. You can’t start new material or maintain good spirits from the kids trying to do stuff on June 16. So letting us go as early in June as feasible is better for everyone.

If the end date was moved up a week, so would SOL dates.

That’s fine. It would better align with AP tests.

[Anonymous]

FCPS needs to tighten up its schedule. Yes, teachers have more administrative work than in the past but they have been doing it for years now. Judicious use of subs would allow teachers to do all the additional non-teaching functions during their regular work day.

Maybe the overhead at Gatehouse could help lighten the load for teachers rather than create more work for the front line teachers.

The need to start early to do well on AP exams is a weak excuse. Many states still start the day after Labor Day, have adequate school breaks and kids that receive 4s and 5s on AP exams on a regular basis.

Kids in fall sports have always started in August and families have arranged vacation schedules accordingly.

Inability to adopt a sensible calendar, yet another reason why FCPS is continuing its downward slide.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We don't have to do 180 days - we could use hours but the SB insists on doing 180 days.
We have two weeks off for winter break and one week off for spring break and many religious holidays - those days all add up to elongate the calendar.
We used to start post-Labor Day which I liked. The SB wanted to change it for really no legitimate reason - & at the time claimed that moving the start before labor day would help with AP prep and SOL prep. The dumb thing was that SOL prep was already backloaded as much as possible so it made no difference to move the calendar up for that and it was a real red herring in the whole decision- leaving only AP test prep affected - and those same kids are the same ones likely with less time now to work on the common app before school starts - so it's all a wash for them anyway.

Literally every year when they do these surveys, the majority want an August start. So everyone clamoring about Labor Day, most parents wanted an August start.

Some....I have talked to many that want after Labor Day start or to get out earlier.

Ok. This district is huge. I can say I spoke to many who like the August start.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:AGREED!!!

But they did all those surveys and we have a lot of transplants in the NOVA region from the south who think school should end at memorial day and start again in mid-August. It does not make sense to anyone who lives here long term and realizes that the government basically shuts down in August - which has a ripple effect to private sector. We should have summer from mid-June until Labor Day, possibly the week before Labor if it's a particularly late one.

Although the real issue is that the school year is too long because they added tons of professional development days that the teachers don't even want, and they added lot of religious holidays to assuage their guilt of tying spring break to Easter (again, wanted on the surveys because it helps FCPS line up with other districts) and giving a "Christmas" break.

I think it's from all the woke transplants from the north who have to build in 54 O days. Wish all of the liberal transplants would go back to their failing liberals states. sigh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Simply don’t understand it. Raised in PA. Started school the day after Labor Day, had Columbus and Veterans days off, Thanksgiving, Friday after Thanksgiving and the following Monday (first day of hunting season) off in the fall. Two week break at Christmas, both Presidents birthdays in February, spring break week at Easter and out no later than June10th.

No teacher in service days, no days of at the end of the quarter, no CRT training, etc. All teacher training, usually a week or less, done in August.

Worked fine then, could work now.

Really? Can't you just give it a rest? Come on.

I heard they do try to do some crt/brainwashing nothing. Is this not true?