Another parent here who scheduled appointments months ago for the 21st so my kids wouldn’t have to miss school, and now they will.

If the de facto rule is that we need to have the same schedule as Fairfax because teachers' kids go there, then APS should just stop trying to come up with their own schedule and say "we follow the FCPS schedule." Fairfax doesn't seem to make stupid mistakes all the time like APS. Let's stop paying the APS staff member for this task, as they just get it wrong anyways.

How about you all don't elect school board members that will cave to this group and that group - set the calendar and leave it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not sure why Arlington got the date wrong - FCPS and Loudoun have had the correct date this whole time. Someone messed up.

Because they don't really care and there aren't many people who celebrate Diwali in APS anyway. This is just for woke points. They should have the Orthodox Holidays off if they want to give days off that a sizable population of the school (students and staff) celebrate but they are just following the other districts.

I would like to see a coherent rationale from APS admin on why they have chosen to observe certain holidays and not observe other holidays. They added them in a few years ago, so they have data on attendance before the added holidays.

They elected to go down this slippery slope of recognizing some religions...which now opens the door to others who will seek the same day-off recognition. You either observe ALL religions or NONE. Considering that even some school administrators have remarked about the lack of convincing 5 day school weeks, it's time to recognize none.

Of course, now that they've opened this Pandora's box, eliminating one or many religious observations means hurt feelings, mass attendance at school board meetings, and religious-fueled pressure on the board. What a mess.

If anyone wants to write to the school board and superintendent, along with the chief of staff and head of policy. here are their email addresses all in one place.

bethany.zechersutton@apsva.us,
miranda.turner@apsva.us,
mary.kadera@apsva.us,
kathleen.clark2@apsva.us,
zuraya.tapiahadley@apsva.us,
superintendent@apsva.us,
brian.stockton@apsva.us,
steven.marku@apsva.us

Never seen so much incompetence from a single school system!

This is why we homeschool.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not sure why Arlington got the date wrong - FCPS and Loudoun have had the correct date this whole time. Someone messed up.

Because they don't really care and there aren't many people who celebrate Diwali in APS anyway. This is just for woke points. They should have the Orthodox Holidays off if they want to give days off that a sizable population of the school (students and staff) celebrate but they are just following the other districts.

I would like to see a coherent rationale from APS admin on why they have chosen to observe certain holidays and not observe other holidays. They added them in a few years ago, so they have data on attendance before the added holidays.

If we removed them we could start after Labor Day

Or they could end before Father’s Day. There are a lot of high school academic summer programs that start the last week of school in June.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not sure why Arlington got the date wrong - FCPS and Loudoun have had the correct date this whole time. Someone messed up.

Because they don't really care and there aren't many people who celebrate Diwali in APS anyway. This is just for woke points. They should have the Orthodox Holidays off if they want to give days off that a sizable population of the school (students and staff) celebrate but they are just following the other districts.

I would like to see a coherent rationale from APS admin on why they have chosen to observe certain holidays and not observe other holidays. They added them in a few years ago, so they have data on attendance before the added holidays.

If we removed them we could start after Labor Day

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not sure why Arlington got the date wrong - FCPS and Loudoun have had the correct date this whole time. Someone messed up.

Because they don't really care and there aren't many people who celebrate Diwali in APS anyway. This is just for woke points. They should have the Orthodox Holidays off if they want to give days off that a sizable population of the school (students and staff) celebrate but they are just following the other districts.

I would like to see a coherent rationale from APS admin on why they have chosen to observe certain holidays and not observe other holidays. They added them in a few years ago, so they have data on attendance before the added holidays.

Anonymous wrote:I'm not sure why Arlington got the date wrong - FCPS and Loudoun have had the correct date this whole time. Someone messed up.

Because they don't really care and there aren't many people who celebrate Diwali in APS anyway. This is just for woke points. They should have the Orthodox Holidays off if they want to give days off that a sizable population of the school (students and staff) celebrate but they are just following the other districts.

I'm not sure why Arlington got the date wrong - FCPS and Loudoun have had the correct date this whole time. Someone messed up.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What's Diwali?

5 day “Festival of Lights” holiday for many religions with South Asian roots.

https://www.britannica.com/video/Diwali-festival-significance-traditions/-283960

It’s created throughout the Desi diaspora and in the U.S., four states with large Desi populations recognize it as a state holiday.

I am not Desi and don’t practice any of the religions that celebrate it, but I lived down the street from an Indian family for nearly 30 years. It meant a lot to their kids to have a day of school both for practical reasons and as recognition that their culture mattered.

Maybe nobody has ever told you this, but it's offensive for someone who is not Indian to use the term Desi. Please stop referring to Indians as Desi if you are not Indian yourself.

Anonymous wrote:They tell parents not to have their kids miss school but when we listen and try to schedule doctors appointments for random days off, they move them without proper notice or warning. It is ridiculous.

This and then they’re constantly yammering about attendance.

Come up with a reliable schedule, stick to it.

Anonymous wrote:What's Diwali?

5 day “Festival of Lights” holiday for many religions with South Asian roots.

https://www.britannica.com/video/Diwali-festival-significance-traditions/-283960

It’s created throughout the Desi diaspora and in the U.S., four states with large Desi populations recognize it as a state holiday.

I am not Desi and don’t practice any of the religions that celebrate it, but I lived down the street from an Indian family for nearly 30 years. It meant a lot to their kids to have a day of school both for practical reasons and as recognition that their culture mattered.