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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I didn't like the calendar this year at all.

Some of it was outside of the school's control. The [b]snowcrete [/b]never-ending closure was an anomaly that frustrated me, but I can't [i]really [/i]blame on FCPS. This was the second year in a row of pretty bad snow and the county has got to develop a better plan to clear it if snow is going to be a more regular occurrence in our region. The closures for [b]special elections[/b] were also frustrating. I appreciated that they at least tried to combine them with TWs, but they just felt like one more thing on top of a bad situation.

Overall, though, there were entirely too many [b]TWs[/b]/SPs. Do teachers really need 2.5 days at the end of every quarter? On top of that, as an elementary parent, we had these completely unjustified monthly half-days. I was annoyed last year when they introduced them to help teachers learn a last-minute new curriculum, but at least there was a reason for them. This year they just...decided to keep them for fun?

I really don't mind a few extra student holidays to allow minority religion families to celebrate some of their major holidays. Part of what I like about living in Fairfax is how diverse it is and I liked that the days off prompted my kid to ask why and learn a little bit about Yom Kippur and Ramadan and Diwali, in addition to Christmas and Easter. It doesn't cover every holiday, nor is that feasible, but I like the message that it sends. And since sometimes those holidays fall on weekends or over the summer, I would leave them alone. This year happened to fall a lot mid-week and was exacerbated by the other closures, but generally-speaking, if we reigned in the TWs and monthly half-days, I think the calendar could be a lot better without having to throw holidays under the bus. [/quote]

Were there more TW/SP days though? Teachers have had 195 day contracts for years. 5 or 6 TW days fall before school starts and 1 or 2 fall after it ends. The rest fall somewhere in between.

I’d be ok with eliminating the early release days, but I think a TW should occur around the time 4th quarter grades  are due (now).

ES Teacher [/quote]

There was a TW the day after Memorial Day but I’m sure most teachers actually used it for vacation. [/quote]

That was too early to start the kids still had lots of graded work to do.[/quote]

That is what the afternoon of the 17th and the TW day on the 18th are (supposedly) for. Of course, if you’re trying to takeoff early, that’s not a convenient day.[/quote]

What? You can’t work on grades after they are sent home. Progress Reports are sent home with the students in the last day of school. Grades are due a week or so before that. [/quote]

Not for high school. They get mailed later.[/quote]

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