Reply to Why doesn't MCPS include more than 1 snow day in the calendar?

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Reply to "Why doesn't MCPS include more than 1 snow day in the calendar?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I think it's because we've had light winters for the last several years so they just got used to not needing many snow days. I always thought that it was foolish to have anything less than 4 snow days baked into the calendar but that's purely my observation as a parent. Not sure what the insider reasons are.

I do think there was also the pressure to continue to recognize more non-Christian holidays (Diwali, Lunar New Year) in addition to MCPS's already recognized Jewish holidays. Also, the teachers' union strongly demanded more half days or non-instructional days to catch up on grading and/or PD.

So I think that squeezed out all of the snow days that used to be baked into the calendar.[/quote]

The PP is correct. I have one who's a HS senior, and one in college. When they started MCPs, there were 4 days included. We typically had more snowfall then + no Lunar New Year, Diwali, Eid, and Passover. Yes, I realize that all the previously mentioned days are not always off, but there has been a concerted effort to make them teacher work days.

Since my elder one started school, we always had Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur as days off.

MCPS can do what Loudoun County, VA does. There's the option to have a 9 week summer break vs a 10 week summer break. They get many days off during the school year & typically have more snow days too.[/quote]

Passover occasionally falls late, but it is often so close to Spring Break that non-Jews don’t notice it.

Having Passover off is the right thing to do. Kids will be up late for Seders two nights in a row. Everyone can learn from the message of surviving government tyranny and seeking freedom.[/quote]

MCPS excuses any student or teacher who takes a day off due to a religious holiday.  There is no need for the entire county to observe religious holidays that do not impact a large number of students.

We used to have a threshold of 15% absenteeism (teachers + students) in order to put a religious holiday on the calendar.  That threshold is why we have Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.  I don't even know if they'd meet the threshold currently, and Eid, Diwali, and Lunar New Year certainly would not.  There is no need to extend the school year by having these days off - if we feel the need to give a nod to them or to have a teacher workday, make them half days, which count toward 180.

And please don't say I'm being insensitive - we cannot possibly honor every religious holiday that occurs in such a diverse county - all religious holidays are important to those who celebrate them, as they should be.  But that's not the same as closing an enormous school system for holidays that a relatively small percentage of stakeholders celebrate.[/quote]

This. [/quote]

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