Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:APS teacher here familiar with some of the inner workings of central office/school board. Let me save you time, energy, and this 17 page thread: Your opinion doesn’t matter. The decision has been made. It’s Option 1 regardless of “community input”. Even reading the tea leaves of how each option was worded/presented one can deduce that. A slap in the face to teachers and the community for them trying to let us believe our opinion matters. If anyone believes it won’t be Option 1 I would be happy to set up a wager. You can pick the stakes.

What is the rationale for option 1? Why is this the option APS wants?

If there's such a compelling reason for option 1, why even offer a significantly different option? Obviously, there was no significant difference between options 2 and 3, since it was merely a difference in which week spring break happens (and a less choppy subsequent week in one of them). It takes a lot of balls to completely dismiss not just community input, or even teacher input, but your own appointed calendar committee's input. Everyone should flood the school board's inboxes.

DP. Okay, we'll flood the school board's inboxes telling them we LIKE and WANT Option 1. Having a two week Winter Break is the best for our family and we appreciate the other days off in the school year for observances of religious holidays other than our own. We also like the kids to be off on Federal holidays. All in all, Option 1 is the best option.

Actually, I was asking the APS teacher with knowledge of the inner workings for APS' rationale for option 1.
I'd like to know why Duran is recommending option 1, especially since community, teachers, and calendar committee ALL preferred options2/3.

NP APS staff- this is all under the idea of aligning to neighboring districts (specifically FCPS even though they have not released their calendar draft yet) lots of APS teachers actually asked for this last year, now I think there will be some regret when we go back on August 10th

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:APS teacher here familiar with some of the inner workings of central office/school board. Let me save you time, energy, and this 17 page thread: Your opinion doesn’t matter. The decision has been made. It’s Option 1 regardless of “community input”. Even reading the tea leaves of how each option was worded/presented one can deduce that. A slap in the face to teachers and the community for them trying to let us believe our opinion matters. If anyone believes it won’t be Option 1 I would be happy to set up a wager. You can pick the stakes.

What is the rationale for option 1? Why is this the option APS wants?

If there's such a compelling reason for option 1, why even offer a significantly different option? Obviously, there was no significant difference between options 2 and 3, since it was merely a difference in which week spring break happens (and a less choppy subsequent week in one of them). It takes a lot of balls to completely dismiss not just community input, or even teacher input, but your own appointed calendar committee's input. Everyone should flood the school board's inboxes.

DP. Okay, we'll flood the school board's inboxes telling them we LIKE and WANT Option 1. Having a two week Winter Break is the best for our family and we appreciate the other days off in the school year for observances of religious holidays other than our own. We also like the kids to be off on Federal holidays. All in all, Option 1 is the best option.

Actually, I was asking the APS teacher with knowledge of the inner workings for APS' rationale for option 1.
I'd like to know why Duran is recommending option 1, especially since community, teachers, and calendar committee ALL preferred options2/3.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:APS teacher here familiar with some of the inner workings of central office/school board. Let me save you time, energy, and this 17 page thread: Your opinion doesn’t matter. The decision has been made. It’s Option 1 regardless of “community input”. Even reading the tea leaves of how each option was worded/presented one can deduce that. A slap in the face to teachers and the community for them trying to let us believe our opinion matters. If anyone believes it won’t be Option 1 I would be happy to set up a wager. You can pick the stakes.

Also APS teacher and I agree. I’m focusing my energy on getting preservice reduced to 5 days.

+1. Five days is more than enough.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:APS teacher here familiar with some of the inner workings of central office/school board. Let me save you time, energy, and this 17 page thread: Your opinion doesn’t matter. The decision has been made. It’s Option 1 regardless of “community input”. Even reading the tea leaves of how each option was worded/presented one can deduce that. A slap in the face to teachers and the community for them trying to let us believe our opinion matters. If anyone believes it won’t be Option 1 I would be happy to set up a wager. You can pick the stakes.

What is the rationale for option 1? Why is this the option APS wants?

If there's such a compelling reason for option 1, why even offer a significantly different option? Obviously, there was no significant difference between options 2 and 3, since it was merely a difference in which week spring break happens (and a less choppy subsequent week in one of them). It takes a lot of balls to completely dismiss not just community input, or even teacher input, but your own appointed calendar committee's input. Everyone should flood the school board's inboxes.

DP. Okay, we'll flood the school board's inboxes telling them we LIKE and WANT Option 1. Having a two week Winter Break is the best for our family and we appreciate the other days off in the school year for observances of religious holidays other than our own. We also like the kids to be off on Federal holidays. All in all, Option 1 is the best option.

Anonymous wrote:APS teacher here familiar with some of the inner workings of central office/school board. Let me save you time, energy, and this 17 page thread: Your opinion doesn’t matter. The decision has been made. It’s Option 1 regardless of “community input”. Even reading the tea leaves of how each option was worded/presented one can deduce that. A slap in the face to teachers and the community for them trying to let us believe our opinion matters. If anyone believes it won’t be Option 1 I would be happy to set up a wager. You can pick the stakes.

What is the rationale for option 1? Why is this the option APS wants?

If there's such a compelling reason for option 1, why even offer a significantly different option? Obviously, there was no significant difference between options 2 and 3, since it was merely a difference in which week spring break happens (and a less choppy subsequent week in one of them). It takes a lot of balls to completely dismiss not just community input, or even teacher input, but your own appointed calendar committee's input. Everyone should flood the school board's inboxes.

Anonymous wrote:APS teacher here familiar with some of the inner workings of central office/school board. Let me save you time, energy, and this 17 page thread: Your opinion doesn’t matter. The decision has been made. It’s Option 1 regardless of “community input”. Even reading the tea leaves of how each option was worded/presented one can deduce that. A slap in the face to teachers and the community for them trying to let us believe our opinion matters. If anyone believes it won’t be Option 1 I would be happy to set up a wager. You can pick the stakes.

APS parent who agrees wholeheartedly. Having accidentally seen behind the curtain on another issue a few years ago, it makes everything so much clearer as to how they operate. These community surveys are ALWAYS utter BS. Just like the virtual school one that came out last week. They make a decision, pretend they haven’t finalized, seek input in hopes that it does go the way they want, then ignore results that are contrary and plow forward as originally planned.

They really should abandon the premise of community involvement. It’s a waste of time, effort, and money continuing with the ruse year after year.

Anonymous wrote:APS teacher here familiar with some of the inner workings of central office/school board. Let me save you time, energy, and this 17 page thread: Your opinion doesn’t matter. The decision has been made. It’s Option 1 regardless of “community input”. Even reading the tea leaves of how each option was worded/presented one can deduce that. A slap in the face to teachers and the community for them trying to let us believe our opinion matters. If anyone believes it won’t be Option 1 I would be happy to set up a wager. You can pick the stakes.

Also APS teacher and I agree. I’m focusing my energy on getting preservice reduced to 5 days.

APS teacher here familiar with some of the inner workings of central office/school board. Let me save you time, energy, and this 17 page thread: Your opinion doesn’t matter. The decision has been made. It’s Option 1 regardless of “community input”. Even reading the tea leaves of how each option was worded/presented one can deduce that. A slap in the face to teachers and the community for them trying to let us believe our opinion matters. If anyone believes it won’t be Option 1 I would be happy to set up a wager. You can pick the stakes.

Anonymous wrote:Keep the religious holidays, have school on Federal holidays but give teachers more leave so if they want to take those days off, they can.

Kind of an ironic proposal given the whole separation of church and state concept. The religious holidays are all clustered in the fall and make it very difficult to get into a routine just as school year starting. They need to go unless there’s a secular reason to keep them (reduced staffing). Kids/teachers can have excused absence and no tests those days. Otherwise it should be a normal school day. A parent in my kid’s class that celebrates Diwali is irate about all the holidays. She wants her kids in school so she can get the house ready for the big party that night! Many people who celebrate would rather take an excused absence in exchange for having school on the other holidays. APS needs to do a community survey of families.

Anonymous wrote:So… Duran gave the Central Office staff an extra two weeks of paid vacation, and he wants to take a week from his teachers? Why would anyone stay in the classroom?

Wait… I get it. With the Super’s proposed calendar, Central Office staff would get two weeks of Christmas Break. Since they don’t get summer (but now get Winter and Spring Break, and STILL accrue leave), this is a better deal for them. This is not ok. I’m a teacher. There’s hardly anyone at the Central Office now. The very few things they used to do to support me in my job are not happening. There’s no money for field trips, budgets are tight, and yet, they were able to just give them all an extra two weeks of paid leave last year?! And this calendar makes three. I’m afraid of repercussions, but please, somebody say something.

Keep the religious holidays, have school on Federal holidays but give teachers more leave so if they want to take those days off, they can.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The increase in instructional time is great. Back to 180 days. I'm very happy about that.

I’m a teacher, I’m furious. We’ve never started that early. Having the time off in the summer is one of the few, very important, perks of this job. It’s not the salary. The light workload. It’s the summer, and I’m losing a week of it?!

Blame the additional religious holidays, not 180. APS has always had 180/181 days of school until last year when they added the holidays.

APE pressured APS to add the extra days to get to 180, so that's why no one likes this year's options.

Yeah - adding one more day back to the calendar and making it the same minimum # of days it always used to be is the reason they're making school start two weeks before Labor Day....

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know anyone who likes all these religious holidays off. We celebrate the jewish holidays but would rather just take the excused absence if it meant there was school on the other days.

More people need to be comfortable saying this. The admin seems to be of the impression we can’t “honor” the world’s religions unless we take a token day off for each of them.

Yes, people who are actually practicing members of the religions need to speak up if they are opposed, not just the small loud groups (arlington’s liberals who love to speak for the poor and the conservatives who love to bash APS)

Anonymous wrote:I’m Muslim. To be honest I would prefer Eid to be an excused absence instead of a day off. There are just too many days off during the year. Having Eid recognized as a holiday on the calendar has been great of my kids. They feel included instead of outsiders. But that can be achieved by keeping Eid on the calendar, recognizing it as a holiday, and talking about it at school. We can do this for all the holidays, including Chinese New Year, Nowruz and the orthodox holidays which are currently not off. Everyone gets recognized but there is still school that day with an excused absence available for those who celebrate.

It already is an excused absence, all religious and cultural holidays are. It would be even better is if there were no test allowed on particular holidays. Education can happen, but no tests.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are a family that prefers to have a full two weeks for Winter Break. It gives us time to travel and get home to get the kids resettled before falling into the January/February rat race. It also helps a lot because we have college kids as well as elementary and secondary kids. Having the kids home longer during Winter Break is a good chance for everyone to see each other and relax. We like Option 1 for that reason. Personally, I like the Spring Break after Easter as it is in Option 3, but the plusses of Option 1 with the full two week Winter Break outweigh that preference.

I agree. I really like 2 weeks for Winter Break.

It is funny, I think, but those 3-4 extra days make such a big difference. It will be interesting to see which option ends up being selected.

He selected #1.

The school board gets final say, not the superintendent.

Time will tell but so does the past!