Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
The schoolboard formed a committee that spent months, perhaps even the past year, to come up with exactly that recommendation. But then the school board completely ignored the committe's recommendation and came up with this crazy mess of zero days, most of which are not celebrated as a major holiday for any of the fcps families. The committee took input from faith and community leaders, as well as other things like demographics and attendance.

Sorry, but you people REALLY need to start paying attention to the school board meetings and agenda.

THIS

We could have had just four days off based on a year of thoughtful planning from an interfaith group of stakeholders that the SB tasked with calendar planning. Instead, the Open Fairfax people were like "No, put our kids in school all the days!" and the SB slapped together this O day disaster within a month or so.

Also, side note: the O is for Religious Observance days (O for Observance). It's not a zero. They're not "zero days."

Except that’s not what happened. FCPS did not consult their lawyer, and when they did just before adopting the calendar, heir legal counsel told them the 4 days off was illegal, because there was no showing of secular need. And the lawyer was right. Of course, FCPS being FCPS, they then pushed through something even less legal with no notice to the community.

FCPS is a public school. Establishment clause and Lemon Test say we should not get religious holidays off (or hold school and not teach) without a secular need. There is a secular need for Christmas— too many a sense to run school. They discovered there was no secular need for the 4 holidays because there was a bump in absences, looking at historical data.

I have my issues with Open FCPS. But, this isn’t on Open FCPS. It’s on the SB for not bringing in their lawyer much earlier in the process.

Except it is. Here is an article citing the need to adjust the calendar for pandemic loss: https://wtop.com/fairfax-county/2021/02/fairfax-co-school-board-considers-new-calendar-to-address-learning-loss-from-pandemic/

And you can see from the March 18, 2021 SB minutes when they were supposed to vote one calendars A, B, or the slapped together C after community participation that the SB suddenly has a long list of totally unrelated concerns. Open FCPS MO is to throw out everything they can think of and hope something sticks. SB members used the pandemic loss Open FCPS argument to delay the calendar vote and then found a different argument to justify changing the calendar options.

This is all despite the fact that absenteeism data doesn't account for kids and teachers who don't feel they can miss on their holidays. Those families lost out on the faith equity the SB created a task force to address in the first place and a second time through these ridiculous O days, which do not address the ongoing problem of teachers scheduling things they're not supposed to (which was a rule, though less stringent) before.

Anonymous wrote:My DS said no test or quizzes, but new material was taught in 2 of his 3 classes yesterday - one an AP class. Happy about that - at least the AP classes are moving along.

As they should!

Those who felt the need to be absent because of a holiday should take it upon themselves to catch up.

My DS said no test or quizzes, but new material was taught in 2 of his 3 classes yesterday - one an AP class. Happy about that - at least the AP classes are moving along.

My MS reported a day of Kahoot! and learning about the holiday but no real subject-related educational activities despite not a single kid being absent from any of their classes.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:ES parent here. Our teachers most definitely did not follow the rules. My child had a new math lesson with new content today. Plus new homework supporting that content.

Good. After a year of learning loss, creating 15 more days on learning loss and justifying it in a public school based on religion is ridiculous. The sooner someone challenges this 100% illegal setup, the better.

It’s actually only 11 days, but ok.

And for kids on a block schedule in MS/HS, it’s 22 days. Which is not okay.

No it’s not. Math is not your strong suit. First of all, there are only a total only of 11 O days for the 21-22 school year. Not sure how you extrapolate to 22. A teacher on here explained it a while ago too. It’s 5 days on A days, and 6 days on B days. This is for the whole year. So it balances out.

They can be catch up days. Give the kids a break.

You must work for the School Board with this attitude. The last thing kids need is more days off.

+1

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:ES parent here. Our teachers most definitely did not follow the rules. My child had a new math lesson with new content today. Plus new homework supporting that content.

Good. After a year of learning loss, creating 15 more days on learning loss and justifying it in a public school based on religion is ridiculous. The sooner someone challenges this 100% illegal setup, the better.

It’s actually only 11 days, but ok.

And for kids on a block schedule in MS/HS, it’s 22 days. Which is not okay.

No it’s not. Math is not your strong suit. First of all, there are only a total only of 11 O days for the 21-22 school year. Not sure how you extrapolate to 22. A teacher on here explained it a while ago too. It’s 5 days on A days, and 6 days on B days. This is for the whole year. So it balances out.

They can be catch up days. Give the kids a break.

You must work for the School Board with this attitude. The last thing kids need is more days off.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:ES parent here. Our teachers most definitely did not follow the rules. My child had a new math lesson with new content today. Plus new homework supporting that content.

Good. After a year of learning loss, creating 15 more days on learning loss and justifying it in a public school based on religion is ridiculous. The sooner someone challenges this 100% illegal setup, the better.

It’s actually only 11 days, but ok.

And for kids on a block schedule in MS/HS, it’s 22 days. Which is not okay.

No it’s not. Math is not your strong suit. First of all, there are only a total only of 11 O days for the 21-22 school year. Not sure how you extrapolate to 22. A teacher on here explained it a while ago too. It’s 5 days on A days, and 6 days on B days. This is for the whole year. So it balances out.

They can be catch up days. Give the kids a break.

"If a Jewish students need to be observant to such a degree that they can’t keep up with school (once they are given ample time for makeups and have the chance to meet with the teacher), then they belong in a Jewish school. The vast majority of students a who are not Jewish should not lose a day of education because of a religious minority. "

This. It's that simple. And true for other religions and cultural observances.

I'm 100% fine with divorcing spring break from Easter. It shouldn't be hooked to Easter really; people don't tend to travel as much for it and it's more of a one day holiday not the week-long extravaganza xmas is.

I"m also fine with a week off at xmas time instead - so that we get from Xmas Even off (maybe 12/23 too at msot) through 1/1. That is a logistical reality that a huge % of people would simply not come if school were open.

But the reality is that school can operate just fine for all other holidays and cultural days. So it should not be closed nor should learning be banned on those days. But kids DO need teh time to make it up.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:ES parent here. Our teachers most definitely did not follow the rules. My child had a new math lesson with new content today. Plus new homework supporting that content.

Good. After a year of learning loss, creating 15 more days on learning loss and justifying it in a public school based on religion is ridiculous. The sooner someone challenges this 100% illegal setup, the better.

No not good. We don’t want rogue teachers not following the rules. Not fair to the Jewish kids at all today.

Why do Jewish kids need special treatment?

Because a lot of them are smart and in advanced classes where it’s more difficult to catch up after an absence? Look, I’m not Jewish, but that culture, religion, genealogy or whatever it is seems to cultivate a high number of superior students. I await the backlash…

Look, not enough miss to have an impact on school operations. So, it’s unconstitutional. Which ai get you are fine with. But I’m not. If a Jewish students need to be observant to such a degree that they can’t keep up with school (once they are given ample time for makeups and have the chance to meet with the teacher), then they belong in a Jewish school. The vast majority of students a who are not Jewish should not lose a day of education because of a religious minority. And maybe you think Rosh Hashonana deserves and exception. But, How do you feel about your kid not learning on Bhodi Day and Threvassa?

+100000000

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:ES parent here. Our teachers most definitely did not follow the rules. My child had a new math lesson with new content today. Plus new homework supporting that content.

Good. After a year of learning loss, creating 15 more days on learning loss and justifying it in a public school based on religion is ridiculous. The sooner someone challenges this 100% illegal setup, the better.

No not good. We don’t want rogue teachers not following the rules. Not fair to the Jewish kids at all today.

Why do Jewish kids need special treatment?

Because a lot of them are smart and in advanced classes where it’s more difficult to catch up after an absence? Look, I’m not Jewish, but that culture, religion, genealogy or whatever it is seems to cultivate a high number of superior students. I await the backlash…

Look, not enough miss to have an impact on school operations. So, it’s unconstitutional. Which ai get you are fine with. But I’m not. If a Jewish students need to be observant to such a degree that they can’t keep up with school (once they are given ample time for makeups and have the chance to meet with the teacher), then they belong in a Jewish school. The vast majority of students a who are not Jewish should not lose a day of education because of a religious minority. And maybe you think Rosh Hashonana deserves and exception. But, How do you feel about your kid not learning on Bhodi Day and Threvassa?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:ES parent here. Our teachers most definitely did not follow the rules. My child had a new math lesson with new content today. Plus new homework supporting that content.

Good. After a year of learning loss, creating 15 more days on learning loss and justifying it in a public school based on religion is ridiculous. The sooner someone challenges this 100% illegal setup, the better.

No not good. We don’t want rogue teachers not following the rules. Not fair to the Jewish kids at all today.

Why do Jewish kids need special treatment?

Because a lot of them are smart and in advanced classes where it’s more difficult to catch up after an absence? Look, I’m not Jewish, but that culture, religion, genealogy or whatever it is seems to cultivate a high number of superior students. I await the backlash…

So, contact your teacher - just like anyone else - and ask for makeup material to catch up on your own. Not a difficult solution. The fact that 98% of the students in FCPS have to be punished because a Jewish kid does not want to miss a class is ridiculous.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The schoolboard formed a committee that spent months, perhaps even the past year, to come up with exactly that recommendation. But then the school board completely ignored the committe's recommendation and came up with this crazy mess of zero days, most of which are not celebrated as a major holiday for any of the fcps families. The committee took input from faith and community leaders, as well as other things like demographics and attendance.

Sorry, but you people REALLY need to start paying attention to the school board meetings and agenda.

THIS

We could have had just four days off based on a year of thoughtful planning from an interfaith group of stakeholders that the SB tasked with calendar planning. Instead, the Open Fairfax people were like "No, put our kids in school all the days!" and the SB slapped together this O day disaster within a month or so.

Also, side note: the O is for Religious Observance days (O for Observance). It's not a zero. They're not "zero days."

Oh but they are!

+1

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:ES parent here. Our teachers most definitely did not follow the rules. My child had a new math lesson with new content today. Plus new homework supporting that content.

Good. After a year of learning loss, creating 15 more days on learning loss and justifying it in a public school based on religion is ridiculous. The sooner someone challenges this 100% illegal setup, the better.

It’s actually only 11 days, but ok.

Well 11 days of learning loss is totally better.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:ES parent here. Our teachers most definitely did not follow the rules. My child had a new math lesson with new content today. Plus new homework supporting that content.

Both my kids reported nothing new and that teachers mentioned this was due to it being an O day.

+1. DD is a senior. She said that English teacher told them they could work quietly on college essays and the other two classes were literally “sit there and be quiet”. It’s the third week of school. Nothing to review. Last night, I scheduled a college visit for her next weeks O Day. Going forward, , she can stay home and do college applications 1st semester and senior skip in the spring. If they aren’t going to teacher, she can get what she needs to do completed at home and enjoy sleeping in. After last year, aim nit sending her to just sit there.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:ES parent here. Our teachers most definitely did not follow the rules. My child had a new math lesson with new content today. Plus new homework supporting that content.

Good. After a year of learning loss, creating 15 more days on learning loss and justifying it in a public school based on religion is ridiculous. The sooner someone challenges this 100% illegal setup, the better.

It’s actually only 11 days, but ok.

And for kids on a block schedule in Ms/HS, it’s 22 days. Which is not okay.