Reply to Howard County Changes Calendar: Why can't MCPS also prioritize instruction?

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Reply to "Howard County Changes Calendar: Why can't MCPS also prioritize instruction?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]It would be so easy for MCPS to pivot and make up the time:

March 20: Half day (give a nod to those celebrating Eid, but provide instruction to the majority of students)
April 15: Half day or 2 hour delay (or do two days of this - give time to teachers while prioritizing instruction for students)
Easter Monday:  Full day of instruction (Howard County got a waiver)
Wednesday, May 27: Half day (give a nod to those celebrating but provide instruction to the majority of students)
Add June 18.

My gosh, here a 5 (FIVE DAYS) that we could still tweak in the calendar to make up the time.  Not all of it falls before exams, but it's a start.[/quote]

And how about delay start of school on December 25 you know after everyone can open their presents. What about Kwanza?

And how about give a nod to Jews observing two early dismissal days in the Fall

And give the Hindu observers an early dismissal in the Fall

Anyone else? Buddhists? Other?[/quote]

This is why a PUBLIC school system should NEVER make calendar decisions for reasons of religion or culture.  Such decisions should be solely based on attendance.  While a holiday like Christmas certainly impacts staff and student attendance in a way that makes having school impossible, many of the holidays MCPS currently observes do not impact enough of the student/staff population to prevent school from taking place.  This is not an insult to any religion or culture, it's just a point of data.  Everyone in MCPS is encouraged to take an excused absence for any religious or cultural holiday that is important to them.  [/quote]

+ 1 Christmas is a federal holiday.  The rest need to go in terms of public school planning. Including and maybe especially Easter Monday.[/quote]

+ 1 million. Besides the Federal Holidays, MCPS should not make their calendar based on cultural and religious holidays. And if it so happens they planned f a NI that day, they should use those NI days.

I say this as a Hindu - while I am glad we got the NI day for Diwali, it should not be considered when coming up with the school calendar since we are a minority. When this was not the norm, we just used to take the day off and get an excused absence for religious purposes.

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