Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Eliminate Rosh Hoshana, Eid and Yom Kippur as holidays? They are not state-mandated holidays and serve a very small percentage of the student population.

Businesses don't close to let their employees off for those days and I know Jewish people who work those days because they don't want to take the vacation days. It seems odd that MCPS closes for those days.

Two of the four options do that. Does that mean that you favor those two options? Then you should tell the BoE that.

(Easter Monday and Easter Friday, in contrast, serve a very small percentage of the student population but are state-mandated holidays. Why?)

Um, because most people celebrate Easter (even if only in a secular way) and they enjoy traveling for spring break. The Jewish and Muslim holidays that fall on random days during the week don't lend themselves to vacation breaks.

My work doesn't close for Easter Friday or Monday... odd how that affects nobody

Anonymous wrote:Yet another perspective...

Well I do get the elementary school families and the child care issue of the random days off, it was really good for high schoolers to do college visits those days. Now they have to miss instruction to go visiting schools.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Eliminate Rosh Hoshana, Eid and Yom Kippur as holidays? They are not state-mandated holidays and serve a very small percentage of the student population.

Businesses don't close to let their employees off for those days and I know Jewish people who work those days because they don't want to take the vacation days. It seems odd that MCPS closes for those days.

Two of the four options do that. Does that mean that you favor those two options? Then you should tell the BoE that.

(Easter Monday and Easter Friday, in contrast, serve a very small percentage of the student population but are state-mandated holidays. Why?)

Um, because most people celebrate Easter (even if only in a secular way) and they enjoy traveling for spring break. The Jewish and Muslim holidays that fall on random days during the week don't lend themselves to vacation breaks.

My work doesn't close for Easter Friday or Monday... odd how that affects nobody

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Eliminate Rosh Hoshana, Eid and Yom Kippur as holidays? They are not state-mandated holidays and serve a very small percentage of the student population.

Businesses don't close to let their employees off for those days and I know Jewish people who work those days because they don't want to take the vacation days. It seems odd that MCPS closes for those days.

Two of the four options do that. Does that mean that you favor those two options? Then you should tell the BoE that.

(Easter Monday and Easter Friday, in contrast, serve a very small percentage of the student population but are state-mandated holidays. Why?)

Um, because most people celebrate Easter (even if only in a secular way) and they enjoy traveling for spring break. The Jewish and Muslim holidays that fall on random days during the week don't lend themselves to vacation breaks.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Eliminate Rosh Hoshana, Eid and Yom Kippur as holidays? They are not state-mandated holidays and serve a very small percentage of the student population.

Businesses don't close to let their employees off for those days and I know Jewish people who work those days because they don't want to take the vacation days. It seems odd that MCPS closes for those days.

Two of the four options do that. Does that mean that you favor those two options? Then you should tell the BoE that.

(Easter Monday and Easter Friday, in contrast, serve a very small percentage of the student population but are state-mandated holidays. Why?)

Um, because most people celebrate Easter (even if only in a secular way) and they enjoy traveling for spring break. The Jewish and Muslim holidays that fall on random days during the week don't lend themselves to vacation breaks.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Eliminate Rosh Hoshana, Eid and Yom Kippur as holidays? They are not state-mandated holidays and serve a very small percentage of the student population.

Businesses don't close to let their employees off for those days and I know Jewish people who work those days because they don't want to take the vacation days. It seems odd that MCPS closes for those days.

Two of the four options do that. Does that mean that you favor those two options? Then you should tell the BoE that.

(Easter Monday and Easter Friday, in contrast, serve a very small percentage of the student population but are state-mandated holidays. Why?)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Eliminate Rosh Hoshana, Eid and Yom Kippur as holidays? They are not state-mandated holidays and serve a very small percentage of the student population.

Businesses don't close to let their employees off for those days and I know Jewish people who work those days because they don't want to take the vacation days. It seems odd that MCPS closes for those days.

Two of the four options do that. Does that mean that you favor those two options? Then you should tell the BoE that.

(Easter Monday and Easter Friday, in contrast, serve a very small percentage of the student population but are state-mandated holidays. Why?)

Anonymous wrote:In this case, start by making the Easter holidays snow days.

I am completely in favor of this, but here's the issue. The state will not grant a waiver to make Good Friday a possible "snow day." They will allow schools to use President's Day or Easter Monday, but MCPS does not wish to do so because they have to pay holiday pay to supporting services. One of two things must happen, in my opinion:

1) MCEA or some other group needs to petition the state legislature to remove these two holidays as mandated school holidays. OR

2) MCPS must negotiate with the supporting services union to get them to agree to work for regular pay if any of those days are used as snow days. They used Easter Monday as a make-up day a couple of years ago, and it cost them a lot of extra Monday.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How should the teachers union address the state-mandated Good Friday and Easter Monday issue?

Go out as a UNION and request to the state that they remove one or both of these days as state mandated so the BOE of each district can handle the 180 days better, the kids get a full week of Spring Break without another day off in the beginning or the end (depending on when they have Spring Break) for either Good Friday or Easter Monday. As a matter of fact, why not just make Spring break after 3rd quarter and then you don't even need a Q3 planning half or full day. Teachers get a whole week to grade and report before 4th quarter. Because really neither are a holiday that kids need to be out of school for and Easter is on a Sunday so there is no need to have any days around it off. I say this as a Catholic. I much rather Jewish families fasting for Yom Kippur be off from school than my kids on Easter Monday doing nothing.

Unfortunately the state can't do that. Only the General Assembly can do that. It's state law.

Anonymous wrote:Eliminate Rosh Hoshana, Eid and Yom Kippur as holidays? They are not state-mandated holidays and serve a very small percentage of the student population.

Businesses don't close to let their employees off for those days and I know Jewish people who work those days because they don't want to take the vacation days. It seems odd that MCPS closes for those days.