Reply to Superintendent's Calendar Recommendation for 2026-27

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Reply to "Superintendent's Calendar Recommendation for 2026-27"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Dec 23 isn't christmas eve.
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It is not. I care more about the day before Thanksgiving. I know everyone has their own preferences, but bringing back the half day before Thanksgiving is just adding in hours for the sake of school hours. Teachers who don't take leave are exhausted from parent conferences. Meaningful instruction does not happen. 50-60% of students do not attend, depending on the grade - a lot are already traveling or do not bother. It is more beneficial to have the day. The holiday is one of the most celebrated because there is no religious significance. It makes more sense to allow families, students and staff to have that time than to have some of the other proposals.[/quote]

The same is true for the 23rd.

This calendar is not about meaningful instruction. It's about putting in the minimum needed to be able to apply for a waiver.[/quote]

I don't feel that Dec. 23rd is as important as the day before Thanksgiving, but by making Dec. 23rd a half day, it is definitely not about instruction. A full day on Dec. 23rd would be more meaningful. [/quote] December 23rd is pointless too but a half pointless day is better than a full pointless day. Many schools around the country (practically all states south or west of Maryland) have TWO FULL weeks off! The issue is that Maryland requires 180 separate calendar days even if some are lost to weather. If they only required 176 they could have the day before Thanksgiving, two week winter break and the same rest of schedule.[/quote]

If they only required 176 MCPS would happily provide 170 and get a waiver for the other 6 days. Then we are down two weeks of instruction. At that point I have to ask the question, at what point does losing instructional days not matter? I assume you think 3 days is fine. What about 5 or 10?[/quote] In that case they would have lost 4-6 days of instruction not 10. The day before Thanksgiving and December 21-23 maybe called instructional days but there is nothing getting done. Just a bunch of people out and others looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas (even non Christians who enjoy the holiday season). So school being closed December 21-January 1 would not lose any instruction it's the law to be open 180 days regardless of weather that causes that. School being closed the day before Thanksgiving makes complete sense too and some places even take that entire week off despite it being less than a month before the next break.[/quote]

You're assuming they would continue to schedule 181 days of instruction which is cute [/quote]

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