Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those of us who work in Congress, or have spouses that work in Congress, taking away that last week sucks completely. Just about the only time my husband will take off is the last two weeks of Congress while they are out of session. So now, it's one week. UGH.

Congress is out of session the entire month of August. Why is the first half off limits?

Because PP is classic DCUM drama-llama. Only 1 week! Sounds so much more awful than only 2! Or only 3!

Anonymous wrote:For those of us who work in Congress, or have spouses that work in Congress, taking away that last week sucks completely. Just about the only time my husband will take off is the last two weeks of Congress while they are out of session. So now, it's one week. UGH.

Congress is out of session the entire month of August. Why is the first half off limits?

For those of us who work in Congress, or have spouses that work in Congress, taking away that last week sucks completely. Just about the only time my husband will take off is the last two weeks of Congress while they are out of session. So now, it's one week. UGH.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And it will creep ... it will get earlier and earlier in August.

Yes. The goal is to shorten the break as much as possible so that there is less time for kids to forget what they have learned.

No. the goal has been to simply add in more instructional time BEFORE the SOLs versus after it. The state sets the testing window, and it typically starts in mid-May. Beginning school a week earlier gives one more week of learning before the tests. What PP is proposing doesn't make sense because the school year will be the same length of 180 days. If FCPS starts lengthening breaks inside the school year, i.e. giving a 2 week spring break and adding teacher planning days, then that would move the end date to later in June. Those types of moves would close the gap between the last day of school in June and the first day in August. I don't see any of that happening.

More time before the SOLs is the initial, short term goal here, but I think the longer term goal is to shorten the summer break. Kids forgetting what they learned the year before is a huge problem, so the more you can shorten that break time, the better. People won't agree to year round school, but if you keep starting school earlier and ending it later, you can get some of the benefits of year round school without having to get people to agree to year round school.

I think they might. When we had schools on the more accurately named modified calendar, both families and staff liked it.

We were in FCPS for several years and moved out of state last year. Our kids are in a year round ES now and they love it and I have to admit that I do, too. I'm a SAHM so I really enjoy having them home for a few weeks at a time throughout the year vs. one long summer break. We went to Disney World in late October when everyone else was in school, and we have a May break that allows us to go to the beach for a week before the pricey summer rental season starts. The schedule is great for my son - he needs the break to recharge. The working parents seem to really enjoy it, as well. Our area has camps available throughout the year for these breaks just the same as the DC area has summer camps - and it breaks up the cost a little throughout the year when your kids have to go to camp.

Anonymous wrote:It kind of screws us over on vacation time AND childcare for our little kids because we've always done our vacation the last week of August when preschool is closed but now our kindergartner will be in school that week so we will have to scramble for childcare for the preschoolers.

My preschool adjusted their calendar to match FCPS. I imagine it wouldn't be too hard to move that week up by 7 days if it was really a concern.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And it will creep ... it will get earlier and earlier in August.

Yes. The goal is to shorten the break as much as possible so that there is less time for kids to forget what they have learned.

No. the goal has been to simply add in more instructional time BEFORE the SOLs versus after it. The state sets the testing window, and it typically starts in mid-May. Beginning school a week earlier gives one more week of learning before the tests. What PP is proposing doesn't make sense because the school year will be the same length of 180 days. If FCPS starts lengthening breaks inside the school year, i.e. giving a 2 week spring break and adding teacher planning days, then that would move the end date to later in June. Those types of moves would close the gap between the last day of school in June and the first day in August. I don't see any of that happening.

More time before the SOLs is the initial, short term goal here, but I think the longer term goal is to shorten the summer break. Kids forgetting what they learned the year before is a huge problem, so the more you can shorten that break time, the better. People won't agree to year round school, but if you keep starting school earlier and ending it later, you can get some of the benefits of year round school without having to get people to agree to year round school.

I think they might. When we had schools on the more accurately named modified calendar, both families and staff liked it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And it will creep ... it will get earlier and earlier in August.

Yes. The goal is to shorten the break as much as possible so that there is less time for kids to forget what they have learned.

No. the goal has been to simply add in more instructional time BEFORE the SOLs versus after it. The state sets the testing window, and it typically starts in mid-May. Beginning school a week earlier gives one more week of learning before the tests. What PP is proposing doesn't make sense because the school year will be the same length of 180 days. If FCPS starts lengthening breaks inside the school year, i.e. giving a 2 week spring break and adding teacher planning days, then that would move the end date to later in June. Those types of moves would close the gap between the last day of school in June and the first day in August. I don't see any of that happening.

More time before the SOLs is the initial, short term goal here, but I think the longer term goal is to shorten the summer break. Kids forgetting what they learned the year before is a huge problem, so the more you can shorten that break time, the better. People won't agree to year round school, but if you keep starting school earlier and ending it later, you can get some of the benefits of year round school without having to get people to agree to year round school.

It was nice to be able to vacation the week before Labor Day in Disney world and I know of others who would vacation at the beach the week before Labor Day and other places when it was less crowded

I would rather have a longer summer then random days off in jan and feb and when we can't do outdoor things. We also can't do outdoor things with a long winter break, a longer summer is also better because you're more likely to find college students and others to watch your kids.

It kind of screws us over on vacation time AND childcare for our little kids because we've always done our vacation the last week of August when preschool is closed but now our kindergartner will be in school that week so we will have to scramble for childcare for the preschoolers.

Anonymous wrote:News flash - how about they get more efficient during the school year, have fewer school holidays in Jan and Feb when we usually have the most snow days, and still let the kids have a proper summer break?!

It's amazing how many days are wasted during the school year with the above holidays, not to mention half days where the kids watch movies or play on their electronics. What about that last day of school (2 hours) where absolutely nothing is accomplished and half the kids choose not to go anyway? Got to love FCPS - first they make teenage middle schoolers start school at 715a - 730a and now they start school in August just in time to have a 3 day weekend after the first week. Yet another way this country is going backwards in time.

Sad reality. And when you go to talk to principal, she/he comes with bs.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And it will creep ... it will get earlier and earlier in August.

I know it's not an issue for many and I agree that the school calendar should not be set to work around any one industry or group. It will though, be interesting to see how some of the local swim clubs deal with this calendar change. It's a big part of many communities around here and I think it will hurt some of the clubs that typically stay open through at least Labor Day since they won't have the high school workers come August.

Again, spare the "we don't need to work around your schedule" talk. I get it. Since I'm very involved in this part of our community I'm just interested in seeing how clubs can or can't adapt.

What do they do between Memorial Day and the end of school now? That's what they do. In a worst case scenario, they open at 3 for a week. But probably use local college kids (NOVA, GMU, etc), private school kids on a different school schedule. D.C., APS, MCPS, etc area pools have managed for years. It's one week, swim team is over, and there is muc, much less demand if most kids are in school-- mostly SAHMS with little ones.. So they deal-- possibly w/ shorter hours M-F for one week. The world keeps turning.

Between Memorial Day and the end of school is not an issue. Ours opens at 1:00 and college students are back for staffing. It becomes more difficult in August when college students return to school. That is the time high schoolers fill in the gaps. With high schoolers in school that can't happen. They won't open as early as 3:00 since the HS doesn't release until 3:00. We are looking at being open 4:30-8:00 heading up to Labor Day.

Again, I'm just saying it will be interesting to see how they adapt. It will be more difficult for the clubs currently struggling with memberships. If school starts continue to move back into earlier August that will also have a bigger effect.

Anonymous wrote:News flash - how about they get more efficient during the school year, have fewer school holidays in Jan and Feb when we usually have the most snow days, and still let the kids have a proper summer break?!

It's amazing how many days are wasted during the school year with the above holidays, not to mention half days where the kids watch movies or play on their electronics. What about that last day of school (2 hours) where absolutely nothing is accomplished and half the kids choose not to go anyway? Got to love FCPS - first they make teenage middle schoolers start school at 715a - 730a and now they start school in August just in time to have a 3 day weekend after the first week. Yet another way this country is going backwards in time.

You forgot to mention 4 or 6 days (two whole days each time) teachers are out of the classrooms because of "meetings". That strange new habit happens at our school. Kids are left under the supervision of subs who don't have a clue how to teach math and LA.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And it will creep ... it will get earlier and earlier in August.

I know it's not an issue for many and I agree that the school calendar should not be set to work around any one industry or group. It will though, be interesting to see how some of the local swim clubs deal with this calendar change. It's a big part of many communities around here and I think it will hurt some of the clubs that typically stay open through at least Labor Day since they won't have the high school workers come August.

Again, spare the "we don't need to work around your schedule" talk. I get it. Since I'm very involved in this part of our community I'm just interested in seeing how clubs can or can't adapt.

What do they do between Memorial Day and the end of school now? That's what they do. In a worst case scenario, they open at 3 for a week. But probably use local college kids (NOVA, GMU, etc), private school kids on a different school schedule. D.C., APS, MCPS, etc area pools have managed for years. It's one week, swim team is over, and there is muc, much less demand if most kids are in school-- mostly SAHMS with little ones.. So they deal-- possibly w/ shorter hours M-F for one week. The world keeps turning.

Anonymous wrote:And it will creep ... it will get earlier and earlier in August.

I know it's not an issue for many and I agree that the school calendar should not be set to work around any one industry or group. It will though, be interesting to see how some of the local swim clubs deal with this calendar change. It's a big part of many communities around here and I think it will hurt some of the clubs that typically stay open through at least Labor Day since they won't have the high school workers come August.

Again, spare the "we don't need to work around your schedule" talk. I get it. Since I'm very involved in this part of our community I'm just interested in seeing how clubs can or can't adapt.