Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As I read this bill, it would permanently exempt MCPS from the State’s school day requirement applying to all other schools. It has nothing to do with a waiver or severe weather. Unlike every other school in Maryland, MCPS can do 170 days or so rather than 180 days. How’s this happening as emergency legislation. Am I missing something? Have educational experts been invited to testify?

Legislation was passed in July, giving Anne Arundel county permission to go by hours. MCPS is simply following on their heels, and will likely be followed by other counties in Maryland. Not sure why the legislature just didn't change the law last summer. It seems odd to do it piecemeal for each county. In this case, I think the "emergency" status relates to the legislature addressing it more quickly than it might have so that it can aid the county this year due to the extreme weather.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As I read this bill, it would permanently exempt MCPS from the State’s school day requirement applying to all other schools. It has nothing to do with a waiver or severe weather. Unlike every other school in Maryland, MCPS can do 170 days or so rather than 180 days. How’s this happening as emergency legislation. Am I missing something? Have educational experts been invited to testify?

Legislation was passed in July, giving Anne Arundel county permission to go by hours. MCPS is simply following on their heels, and will likely be followed by other counties in Maryland. Not sure why the legislature just didn't change the law last summer. It seems odd to do it piecemeal for each county. In this case, I think the "emergency" status relates to the legislature addressing it more quickly than it might have so that it can aid the county this year due to the extreme weather.

Anonymous wrote:As I read this bill, it would permanently exempt MCPS from the State’s school day requirement applying to all other schools. It has nothing to do with a waiver or severe weather. Unlike every other school in Maryland, MCPS can do 170 days or so rather than 180 days. How’s this happening as emergency legislation. Am I missing something? Have educational experts been invited to testify?

Anonymous wrote:6 Day school week then

Anonymous wrote:When is this voted on?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the best solution is to make the days longer to be honest. At the current school length, a lot of instructional time is "wasted" on much needed relationship building, especially in the secondary level. If we were to make each class like 20 minutes longer we could allow for teachers to have that vital 10-15 minutes of relationship building each day and still have a solid 45 minutes of instruction. This would allow for teachers to know their students better and for students to trust their teachers more. I believe it would improve just about every aspect of the day from classroom management to performance.

You could then go to a 4 or 4.5 day school week and give staff and students a much needed break every week to reset.

You said the quiet part out loud. This isn't just about snow days. People are going to try to use this to try to push through a shortened school week.

No, we shouldn't add even more days off. Adding time to the the day doesn't let you get through more material in elementary school. You wouldn't have enough days to get through all the lessons.

Anonymous wrote:I think the best solution is to make the days longer to be honest. At the current school length, a lot of instructional time is "wasted" on much needed relationship building, especially in the secondary level. If we were to make each class like 20 minutes longer we could allow for teachers to have that vital 10-15 minutes of relationship building each day and still have a solid 45 minutes of instruction. This would allow for teachers to know their students better and for students to trust their teachers more. I believe it would improve just about every aspect of the day from classroom management to performance.

You could then go to a 4 or 4.5 day school week and give staff and students a much needed break every week to reset.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They need to prepare to pay staff and teachers when the year is extended. By extending the school year, it eats into days that they could work a summer job.

The calendar isn't being extended. This is using the make-up days already in the calendars. These are already covered by the compensation for salaried staff.

This is true, but misses a point that the previous poster was making.

If school ended "on time," teachers would be able to start summer employment. Some need that employment to pay the bills. Teachers are paid for a certain number of days each year. They did not "work" the snow days, so those days do not count towards that total. However, for pay purposes, they were paid on the snow days. They will now work the extended days without pay. Contractually, this is good because they worked the number of days they should work and were paid for those days, just paid "in advance" (on the snow day, not on the extended day).


I understand this is what the teachers contracted to do. In a way, they need to "take a deep breath and get to work." However, everyone deserves a well planned out calendar. If we had a well planned out calendar this year with contingency days that would actually work (not using someone's religious holiday), then we would not be in this place now where families with vacations need to decide if they pull their students out of school or not and teachers with summer jobs need to decide if they are going to take leave in order to do their second job.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the best solution is to make the days longer to be honest. At the current school length, a lot of instructional time is "wasted" on much needed relationship building, especially in the secondary level. If we were to make each class like 20 minutes longer we could allow for teachers to have that vital 10-15 minutes of relationship building each day and still have a solid 45 minutes of instruction. This would allow for teachers to know their students better and for students to trust their teachers more. I believe it would improve just about every aspect of the day from classroom management to performance.

You could then go to a 4 or 4.5 day school week and give staff and students a much needed break every week to reset.

This would be killer for elementary schoolers. The day is already so long for them. They would do better with shorter days but more of them. They need consistency.

I disagree. Our schools days in MCPS feel short to me compared to VA districts where ES is 8:40-3:40 and HS is 7:25-2:25.

Maybe then MCPS would finally give elementary kids the required minimum amount of PE!!!