Reply to Melanie Meren's FB post about the calendar

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Melanie Meren just posted this on Facebook:

The School Board has heard from many families regarding the lack of full, five-day school weeks this year and the significant burden this places on families who must navigate complex and often costly childcare arrangements. In the 2025-26 school year alone, partial weeks occurred more than half the time, functioning as an informal “childcare tax” that falls hardest on our hourly-wage and most vulnerable households.
To address these challenges, I am collaborating on a new draft policy to be circulated among my School Board colleagues that aims to consolidate overlapping directives into a single, unified framework. A primary goal is to prioritize five-day school weeks as the default standard to restore instructional continuity and provide families with stability they need. 
Another goal is to clarify the Superintendent’s responsibilities in developing the student calendar while ensuring the School Board reviews and approves it as part of our annual work cycle. 
My goal is to have the calendar beginning in SY 26-27 adjusted to increase the number of five-day school weeks. 
I’ll keep the community updated as work proceeds.
Sincerely, 
Melanie

So, reach out to your Board and have your opinions heard! Don't wait for some dumb and poorly designed survey to land in your spam folder.[/quote]

It is clear from Meren’s post that she is concerned about the childcare costs to families.  She does not cite academics as one of her concerns.

FCPS staff and leadership are all aware that the content in ES does not require a full five days.  Parents should also be aware of this in order to be fully informed during any policy change discussions. [/quote]

Then— crazy idea here— use the time to teach children more than the bare minimum required.

Or, end elementary school two weeks earlier than middle and high school so the kids can start summer (and summer plans which prioritize kids) sooner.[/quote]

+1.  Why is everyone afraid of their kids learning more than the bare minimum required for a test?[/quote]

We aren’t. We just don’t need the childcare and can handle the 4 day weeks and random days off here and there. If that helps teachers, I’m all for it. [/quote]

Teachers signed up for this job. Why do they need to only work 4 days a week? We don't need religious holidays.  We don't need weeks off in the winter. We don't need 5 days off for Memorial Day.  
Kids shouldn't be getting the bare minimum!  You won't convince me otherwise.[/quote]

And likewise you won’t convince me that we absolutely need 5 day weeks. [/quote]

No, "we" don't need it, but the students do.  [/quote]

What is the "students MUST have 5 days" based upon? A social norm? The fact YOU have to work 5 days a week? What makes 5 days a week for 180 total days, the "bare minimum"? What if the school year was initially designed to be 160 days and the standards and units made to reflect that? Would 180 days be over doing it?

HS kids go to school 5 days a week, roughly 7.5 hours a day. Why couldn't they go 4 days for 9 hours? Why couldn't they go 6 days a week for 6 hours a day? Instead of 180 days a year, how about 210 days a year, but shorter days? Or 150 days a year, but longer days?

Why does it HAVE to be 5 days?[/quote]

It doesn't need to be anything. We are just arguing that the level and quality of education isn't that great in FCPS. We could do better for the kids and we could teach to a higher level than a mediocre test. We could strive to provide kids with a consistent, predictable calendar.  Aiming to meet the VA state minimum is a low bar in my opinion.  Mediocrity shouldn't be the goal. [/quote]

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