Anonymous
Post 12/07/2015 14:10     Subject: Earlier start date proposed for MCPS
Anonymous wrote:Please email the BOE today if you have any concerns.


Yes, whatever your concerns, please let the BOE know. They vote on Tuesday! Many parents have no idea that this calendar change is pending.
Anonymous
Post 12/07/2015 14:07     Subject: Earlier start date proposed for MCPS
In order to accommodate the Muslim religious holiday we are now going to inconvenience all the working parents who now have to find some type of childcare for 2 days (8/22,23) because school will now start on Wednesday instead of a Monday. I guess we don't matter.
Anonymous
Post 12/07/2015 14:00     Subject: Re:Earlier start date proposed for MCPS
Anonymous wrote:My MIL who lives in New England can't believe that we don't get more days off. They start after Labor Day, are off for RH & YK, close for Columbus Day, Veterans Day AND Patriots Day, and also get a week-long February vacation in addition to winter break and spring break. There are more half days and at least as many Professional Days. They only get out a few days later than we do. Every year she asks for us to come visit her during February vacation and every year I have to tell her that doesn't exist here.

The parents here (or at least on DCUM) would flip with that kind of school schedule. I personally would love it. And yes, DH and I both WOH full time. How do states decide the minimum # of instructional days, and why is there so much of a difference among states?

Sorry this was off-topic for MD public schools, but it is interesting to see how other states schedule their calendars. Back on-topic, I do not think that MCPS should be rearranging the calendar for this religious holiday that doesn't seem to be presenting an operational issue. If it's truly an operational issue, then they should just close schools for staff and students and move the school year back by one day if they really need to be that rigid. One extra day off isn't going to prevent kids from getting into Harvard..


Have you compared to the schools in New England how long are their school days? My friends in MN told me they have less school days, but their school days are longer. So if count by hours, they have longer school year than ours. MCPS elementary schools only have 6hrs 25mins each day, the shortest school days I have ever heard.
Anonymous
Post 12/07/2015 13:47     Subject: Earlier start date proposed for MCPS
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Move it to a different week?


I am not going to detail everything but no, that isn't possible. MCSL runs a certain amount of weeks in the summer. My child then goes to sleepaway camp. The end of the summer is the only time for vacation. I had already put a lot of work into figuring out this schedule and this is the first year in the many years we've had kids in MCPS that the calendar has changed like this.


It hasn't changed yet. Please, if you haven't yet done so, write to the Board and tell them you oppose the proposed change.
Anonymous
Post 12/07/2015 13:44     Subject: Earlier start date proposed for MCPS
Anonymous wrote:Move it to a different week?


I am not going to detail everything but no, that isn't possible. MCSL runs a certain amount of weeks in the summer. My child then goes to sleepaway camp. The end of the summer is the only time for vacation. I had already put a lot of work into figuring out this schedule and this is the first year in the many years we've had kids in MCPS that the calendar has changed like this.
Anonymous
Post 12/07/2015 13:41     Subject: Earlier start date proposed for MCPS
Anonymous wrote:Camp $$ should be pretty refundable at this early date.


You shouldn't presume to know everything about every camp and family situation/plans. It is not too early to be buying tickets and making camp plans. In fact. that is what is required for the best rates and for a spot. It's probably true that refunds might be available for camps that are located in Montgomery Cty that very week but that doesn't cover all summer plans.

The calendar was first proposed over a year ago and MCPS has always opened one week before Labor Day. This is a significant change and there was not enough public notice.
Anonymous
Post 12/07/2015 13:41     Subject: Earlier start date proposed for MCPS
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Camp $$ should be pretty refundable at this early date.


It would be refundable but then our child couldn't go to sleepaway camp next summer. That is a disruption that is caused by the late notice.


I don't mean this as criticism of you, PP. I understand that you're doing everything you need to do, but it's sad that we live in a world that 9 months in advance is short notice.
Anonymous
Post 12/07/2015 13:40     Subject: Earlier start date proposed for MCPS
Move it to a different week?
Anonymous
Post 12/07/2015 13:37     Subject: Earlier start date proposed for MCPS
Anonymous wrote:Camp $$ should be pretty refundable at this early date.


It would be refundable but then our child couldn't go to sleepaway camp next summer. That is a disruption that is caused by the late notice.
Anonymous
Post 12/07/2015 13:34     Subject: Earlier start date proposed for MCPS
Camp $$ should be pretty refundable at this early date.
Anonymous
Post 12/07/2015 13:30     Subject: Earlier start date proposed for MCPS
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I felt no annoyance at all about the closure for a Muslim holiday until it completely messed up the calendar.


Why do you think that it "completely messes up the calendar" to start on the preceding Wednesday?


Because it basically means a week when you can't take a family vacation. We can't take one earlier because we already signed up for camps that end the week before, thinking we could travel the week before school starts.
Anonymous
Post 12/07/2015 12:27     Subject: Earlier start date proposed for MCPS
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:

Christmas is a state and federal holiday.


So are Columbus Day and Veterans Day.


And they were taken away for Jewish holidays. What is your point? Do you want to have school on Christmas Day? 96% of of Christians and 80% of non-Christians celebrate Christmas in the US which is 91% of the country. That is actually MORE people than any non-religious holiday including Thanksgiving where only 83% celebrate. Sure the school can say they will open. Even if they forced teachers and staff to come in, there would be 3-4 kids tops in each class that would show up. But yes, keep proving your point on Christmas. It isn't getting old.


They were? You were in Montgomery County before MCPS started closing for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur (whenever MCPS started doing that; I still don't know when that was), and before then, MCPS closed for Columbus Day and Veterans Day?


Yes the same exact year, 1973 for MCPS and 1979 for HCPS


I don't think that this is correct. The BoE cited absentee rates for Rosh Hashanah in 1973. Therefore there was school on Rosh Hashanah in 1973.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/school-board-approves-calendar-policy-amid-debate-about-muslim-holidays/2015/09/11/16aef05e-5893-11e5-b8c9-944725fcd3b9_story.html

Also, other school districts in Maryland don't close for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur and also don't close for Columbus Day or Veterans Day. In fact, I looked at five or six calendars for school districts in Maryland and didn't find any that do close on those two federal holidays.





They were both the years that the accepted holidays were decided upon by the board. My guess is it started in the following school calendar year or two after so either 1974-75 or 1975-76.

Many school districts starting to remove those two holidays when they added on other holidays or days off, especially once teachers were mandated paid work days in their contracts. Instead of adding days to the calendar, some counties were removing holidays. Heck, I remember getting off for GW and Abe's birthdays in ES. They combined them and switched it to just President's Day in the 70's.

Anyway, there are still counties like St Mary's, Calvert etc.. that have off for these holidays. Only Mont, Fred, How, and Balt County give off for Jewish holidays. The rest of the counties still have school on Jewish holidays. My guess is that their absentees are similar to what ours is for Eid right now. Not enough for a day off.
Anonymous
Post 12/07/2015 12:19     Subject: Re:Earlier start date proposed for MCPS
My MIL who lives in New England can't believe that we don't get more days off. They start after Labor Day, are off for RH & YK, close for Columbus Day, Veterans Day AND Patriots Day, and also get a week-long February vacation in addition to winter break and spring break. There are more half days and at least as many Professional Days. They only get out a few days later than we do. Every year she asks for us to come visit her during February vacation and every year I have to tell her that doesn't exist here.

The parents here (or at least on DCUM) would flip with that kind of school schedule. I personally would love it. And yes, DH and I both WOH full time. How do states decide the minimum # of instructional days, and why is there so much of a difference among states?

Sorry this was off-topic for MD public schools, but it is interesting to see how other states schedule their calendars. Back on-topic, I do not think that MCPS should be rearranging the calendar for this religious holiday that doesn't seem to be presenting an operational issue. If it's truly an operational issue, then they should just close schools for staff and students and move the school year back by one day if they really need to be that rigid. One extra day off isn't going to prevent kids from getting into Harvard..
Anonymous
Post 12/07/2015 12:16     Subject: Earlier start date proposed for MCPS
Anonymous wrote:I felt no annoyance at all about the closure for a Muslim holiday until it completely messed up the calendar.


Why do you think that it "completely messes up the calendar" to start on the preceding Wednesday?
Anonymous
Post 12/07/2015 12:14     Subject: Earlier start date proposed for MCPS
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
I just finished re-watching the meeting.

Dr. Docca does say later than the school year calendar gave up Columbus Day and Veteran's Day for the 2 RH and YK.

O'Neill and Smondrowski were interested in using the MCEA teacher conference day as a day of instruction. Smondrowski's voice was rather quiet - she was talking to/with Barclay when he was speaking, but you could tell that was her point. She also wanted to reduce the calendar to 183 days, but there are payroll issues with the union on that option. (Plus the reality that 183 days is really not enough.)

My letter to the BOE is ready. To me, a big thing is that Facilities requested extra time without a major systemwide change which now is being fully ignored.



Then what did the other school systems that don't close on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur give Columbus Day and Veteran's Day up for?


Maybe they liked how MCPS was using the two days as an observation day and parent/teacher conference day. Or maybe they realized that it was a lot more fun to end the school year 2 days earlier in June!



Probably not, because they don't do that.

I just looked it up, and the school district I went to, in the Midwest, doesn't close on Columbus Day or Veteran's Day either. The first day of school was August 24 this year, and the last day will be May 25, for 175 days of school, including one-hour early dismissal every Thursday.