Reply to Proposed APS Calendar Policy

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I’m shocked they voted 4-1 to keep the calendar starting the last week of Aug and not align with FFX on the start date.

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They voted 4-1 to start in August because they wanted to give parents a bone. They know we are angry at the religious holidays but are two scared to address it. The only person who has the guts to speak out against it is Goldstein. We can’t start the last week of August, have a 180 day year, have all these holidays off and then also end by second week of June. I am pissed at the June end date. Very little learning happens in June. Since we are starting last week or August let’s get rid of the religious holidays and end first week of June. [/quote]

I don't like the late end date either, almost nothing happens in June after SOLs and APs. total waste. I was completely fine with starting 2 weeks pre Labor Day because you know, instruction. [b]Guess that's not a value for others.[/b] [/quote]

I value instruction, which is why I oppose all the religious holidays that create chopped up weeks. FWIW, I went to a school that started after Labor Day, recognized practically zero federal holidays, took 1 week for spring break and no more than 10 for winter break, and we had consistently higher AP scores with a lower socioeconomic population than APS. Heck, even APS had higher AP scores when we had a post Labor Day start.

Length means nothing- it’s consistency that drives the better outcomes. This calendar lacks that. It’s inclusive of Syphax’s need for paid days off and nothing else. [/quote]

Have you had kids actually take AP classes in APS? Have you had the experience of the teacher not having time to cover all the material before the exam? And there wasn't class time to review for the exam? And then there's a month after the exam that's they try to fill up.

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I TOOK AP exams, and I got 5s (highest score) on them. All while starting after Labor Day.

FWIW, my teachers kept us engaged. Granted it wasn’t at the same pace, but we had final exams. [/quote]

Good for you. You're a genius. Not everyone is. Some - many - kids benefit from more time.

They would also benefit from their teachers having time to teach all of the material which is not happening in APS. [/quote]

I wasn’t alone, and believe me I’m no genius. My teachers figured it out.  Only the best got assigned AP classes.

But here’s an idea- if the teachers need more time, how about we give it to them? There’s no one out there practicing all 5 major world religions as determined by APS. Consolidate the days off and suddenly you have more time to teach without dragging things out all year. [/quote]

This just smacks of I had to walk uphill to school both ways so kids today should too. Glad this worked out for you and your friends. A lot of kids and teachers could use more time to prepare for the AP exams. Not sure why everyone is so dead set on starting later at the cost of instruction. [/quote]

I’m an APS teacher.  APS is K-12 (even some Pre-K).  The entire school population should not be held hostage for such a small segment of the study body.  Think of another alternative.[/quote]

Starting school one week earlier is holding you hostage? When many, many other districts start even earlier? I think you need some perspective.

Also I dunno what you mean by small percentage of the school population. Doesn't APS have a goal for every student to take an AP class? And you know the thing about kids? They tend to grow. Those pre schoolers will take AP exams too in time.

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APS is a higher than average portion of the population that [b]works in some capacity with or for the federal government.[/b] August is really the only down time most have to spend time with their families.

[b]Are they supposed to get new jobs and potentially give up pensions[/b] so someone doesn’t have to submit a note to get an excused absence on a religious holiday? [b]Are they supposed to completely reorder their lives [/b]so some kid doesn’t have to do makeup work on a day off they chose to take? Why should the choices of a minority trump the needs of the majority? Seriously.

AP classes aren’t for everyone. They are supposed to mimic the pace and rigor of college classes, which is why you get college credit for them if you do well on the exam. If all your kid can handle is kid-level work at kid-level pace, that is fine and completely acceptable because they are in fact kids. But the expectation for AP is that you are going to be working hard inside and outside the classroom. No participation trophies are awarded just for showing up. [/quote]

Most federal employees are not restricted to August as their time off. 
You're being overly dramatic. So these handfuls of families can take vacation in early August and the long Labor Day weekend instead of the third or fourth weeks of August. Congress closes over the winter holidays, too. 
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