Anonymous wrote:It’s about staffing. There are too many Jewish staff members for the system to be able to function.

This is why schools are closed. It is absolutely a staffing issue.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s about staffing. There are too many Jewish staff members for the system to be able to function.

Why is that the case for the school system but not other county agencies?

Because other county agencies don’t need an actual person to supervise a class full of students. Teaching is unique in this way compared to other jobs. You can’t just take leave for a day whenever you want, unless you can get a substitute to cover your classes. Generally not an issue, but around major holidays/breaks the principal has to approve leave. For example, we aren’t just allowed to tack on a day before and after a 3day weekend without a sub and approval.

MCPS has had Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur off since the 1970s due to a large population of Jewish teachers and students. It couldn’t operate safely without enough coverage of classes. Christmas and Easter are off because it is a state holiday. Whether or not that’s necessary operationally is besides the point. MCPS has chosen to put some of the scattered professional days on some of the other holidays, because they have to go somewhere and those are days that teachers can take off if desired without needing coverage.

If you really want to understand the calendar, watch the BOE meetings this fall when they discuss next year’s. If you want the history, watch some of the old meetings 2016-2019 where they were trying to figure out how to fit 180 school day between a late Labor Day and June 15 with all the state mandated holidays, Election Day, and mandatory number of make up days. They really hashed out every little detail about why each thing is in the calendar.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:With respect and appreciation for all families observing Yom Kippur, what would be the practical impact of granting all observing students and employees excused absences and PTO? Would the school system be too understaffed to function?

How old are your children? You must be an elementary parent.

+1. I’m sorry your kid is bored and you need to find childcare. We feel this way on Christmas and stores and restaurants and various other places you’d go aren’t even open. This is part of living in a society that is respectful toward all religions, not only yours.

I grew up in a school district in NY that was predominantly Jewish. We got all the Jewish holidays, and time off around Passover, but never anything for a Christian holiday, apart from Christmas. There was no such thing as Easter Monday, and we might have school on Good Friday of spring break was not aligned to that week.

They give so many days off that are random, may as well align them to people’s celebrations.

Here's the full list from MD DoE for calendar year 2022:
https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/01glance/html/holidayp.html

022

January 17 (Monday) Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Birthday (observed)
February 21 (third Monday) Presidents' Day
April 15 (Friday) Good Friday through Monday after Easter
May 30 (Monday) Memorial Day
November 8 (Tuesday) Election Day
November 24 (fourth Thursday) Thanksgiving Day
November 25 (fourth Friday) American Indian Heritage Day
December 24 (Saturday) Christmas Eve through New Year's Day**

Maryland requires 180 days of instruction, requires Christmas eve and day off, and requires Good Friday and Easter Monday off, and has had hard start and stop dates.

MCPS figures the rest for itself based on staffing and some accommodation of other holidays celebrated by lots of people - Rosh Hoshana, Yom Kippur, Diwali, Eid, and the Lunar/Chinese New Year being the main ones - that might impact instruction.

Anonymous wrote:It’s about staffing. There are too many Jewish staff members for the system to be able to function.

Why is that the case for the school system but not other county agencies?

Can someone summarizes which religious or cultural holiday do MCPS follow/observe? Include all Jewish, Christian, Asian, Hispanic, and African American?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I thought schools were supposed to be separate from religion.

Well given they give off for Christmas & Easter where is exactly is that line?

You can not be this dumb?

Easter is on a Sunday.

Lol and yet Easter Monday is always a day off. Nice try. Maybe, I don’t know, do some research before you mindlessly post?

DP, I'm originally from CA, and we did not get Monday after Easter off.

MoCo is heavily Jewish, and that's why we get these days off.

We don't get days off for every single various religious days -- Muslims, Hindus, etc.. Today, our offshore India team is off due to a holiday, but here in the US, the Indian American students in other school districts are in school.

It's purely about staffing issues.

DP. The Easter thing is a red herring. We all get off for Christmas and Christmas Eve, no exceptions ever.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I thought schools were supposed to be separate from religion.

Well given they give off for Christmas & Easter where is exactly is that line?

You can not be this dumb?

Easter is on a Sunday.

Lol and yet Easter Monday is always a day off. Nice try. Maybe, I don’t know, do some research before you mindlessly post?

Well the weird thing is that Easter Monday is not even a holiday in the US, but it is in other countries. I grew up in the South and its not recognized hardly at all b/c its mainly Roman Catholics that celebrate- not many of those where I'm from. (Also our Spring Breaks were not tied to Easter, that's a weird thing we found when we moved to this area).

It is odd. In Maryland, Easter Monday is a statutory holiday, so it isn't a matter of discretion for the local boards of education unless there is a need to make up days due to weather closures, and even that requires the approval at the State level.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I thought schools were supposed to be separate from religion.

Well given they give off for Christmas & Easter where is exactly is that line?

You can not be this dumb?

Easter is on a Sunday.

Lol and yet Easter Monday is always a day off. Nice try. Maybe, I don’t know, do some research before you mindlessly post?

Well the weird thing is that Easter Monday is not even a holiday in the US, but it is in other countries. I grew up in the South and its not recognized hardly at all b/c its mainly Roman Catholics that celebrate- not many of those where I'm from. (Also our Spring Breaks were not tied to Easter, that's a weird thing we found when we moved to this area).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I thought schools were supposed to be separate from religion.

Well given they give off for Christmas & Easter where is exactly is that line?

You can not be this dumb?

Easter is on a Sunday.

Lol and yet Easter Monday is always a day off. Nice try. Maybe, I don’t know, do some research before you mindlessly post?

Anonymous wrote:I thought schools were supposed to be separate from religion.

Sure. If you're ok having Winter Break moved from December to another time (like the end of the 2nd quarter in January) then yes. And Spring Break too, should be uncoupled from Easter.

I am ok with these things, but many people are not.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I thought schools were supposed to be separate from religion.

Well given they give off for Christmas & Easter where is exactly is that line?

You can not be this dumb?

Easter is on a Sunday.

Nice try, but spring break covers Holy Week and Easter Monday. Doesn’t cover Passover unless it happens to line up.