Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Posts like this anger me so much. If the bill passes, MCPS will still be required to have school for the required hours. There is no point in saying it has to happen in 180 days or more. We meet the hourly requirement at approximately day 163. VA and many other states have been doing hours only for years. Saying schools have to meet both hours and days is arbitrary and unnecessary.

So you’re okay with 17 fewer days of school? Seems to me the hour requirement should be increased….

You're not very intelligent, are you?

DP. Strange post given that's exactly what the other poster wants- fewer days.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Posts like this anger me so much. If the bill passes, MCPS will still be required to have school for the required hours. There is no point in saying it has to happen in 180 days or more. We meet the hourly requirement at approximately day 163. VA and many other states have been doing hours only for years. Saying schools have to meet both hours and days is arbitrary and unnecessary.

So you’re okay with 17 fewer days of school? Seems to me the hour requirement should be increased….

You're not very intelligent, are you?

The hours vs days of instruction debate is interesting to me. I personally support it but it does potentially lead to the adoption of longer school days and 4 day school weeks like they do in a lot of Western districts. I personally love the 4 day school week model and there is a ton of concrete data that proves it not only increases productivity as both teachers and students don't feel the slog of 5 days, but also saves the district millions in building utilities. The downside is it places a burden on families to have to figure out childcare for 1 day a week.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Posts like this anger me so much. If the bill passes, MCPS will still be required to have school for the required hours. There is no point in saying it has to happen in 180 days or more. We meet the hourly requirement at approximately day 163. VA and many other states have been doing hours only for years. Saying schools have to meet both hours and days is arbitrary and unnecessary.

So you’re okay with 17 fewer days of school? Seems to me the hour requirement should be increased….

The hourly requirement in Maryland, 1170 hours for high school, is one of the highest in the nation. Yes, I'm absolutely ok with having a less than 180 days of school in the event of harsh winters like this one. I'm also ok with virtual learning for a few days in the event of an ice storm. And I'm absolutely ok with separating church and state by eliminating religious and cultural holidays unless they impact absenteeism (of teachers and students) at a level of at least 15%. And I'm absolutely ok with making teacher work days (for professional development or grading) into half days so that they count as school days. And I'm absolutely ok with starting school at the end of August and ending by the first week of June.

The children will not wilt if they attend school for 1000+ hours per year and go at a steady pace, as opposed to being disrupted at every turn by a day off that doesn't impact many people at all. MCPS enthusiastically (and rightfully) allows excused absences for any religious or cultural holiday that impacts any staff member or student.

Anonymous wrote:Posts like this anger me so much. If the bill passes, MCPS will still be required to have school for the required hours. There is no point in saying it has to happen in 180 days or more. We meet the hourly requirement at approximately day 163. VA and many other states have been doing hours only for years. Saying schools have to meet both hours and days is arbitrary and unnecessary.

So you’re okay with 17 fewer days of school? Seems to me the hour requirement should be increased….

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What a terrible bill. I hope this doesn't pass and I will be writing my legislators. And OP, don't you dare blame this on Muslim complaints that targeting Eid as the only make-up day to be used this year screwed up the calendar (particularly from your privileged position as a Jewish person whose religion has 3 days on the MCPS calendar).

The blame falls fully on MCPS which only put in 1 snow day into the calendar, put in 3 makeup days it didn't intend to use (including April 15 which the MCPS union blocked because teachers want that day off), and didn't submit a virtual learning plan for snow emergencies that it promised in 2024.

Where did I blame this on the Muslim community? I simply said that MCPS calendar cannot accommodate holidays for every group and to get rid of all of them, including mine and including Christian holidays.

You didn’t blame anyone, and it’s offensive that a poster would accuse you.

Posts like this anger me so much. If the bill passes, MCPS will still be required to have school for the required hours. There is no point in saying it has to happen in 180 days or more. We meet the hourly requirement at approximately day 163. VA and many other states have been doing hours only for years. Saying schools have to meet both hours and days is arbitrary and unnecessary.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The hyserics of this group. MCPS already meets both requirements of 180 days AND is OVER the required hours. All this would help with this year is used the hours we are over, to help use for days.

In the future, MCPS could either opt to choose 180 days OR a minimum number of hours. Like many states already do.

Don't move to Colorado if you're so obsessed with school year length.

Once upon a time MCPS was one of the top school districts in the country. That’s what I want for my kids. All this bill does is give MCPS more incentive to close schools. That is absolutely not what I want.

And once upon a time, you could buy a house for $20,000, survive on a single income, and didn't have to worry about your kids being groomed online. Times change, the county's demographics have massively shifted, and MCPS will never be the same as it was 30-40 years ago. Anyone thinking they can recreate the past is in for a big disappointment.

I at least don’t want them to further deteriorate the education they offer. Allowing them to disregard minimum days is one step further to degrading the education our kids are offered

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The hyserics of this group. MCPS already meets both requirements of 180 days AND is OVER the required hours. All this would help with this year is used the hours we are over, to help use for days.

In the future, MCPS could either opt to choose 180 days OR a minimum number of hours. Like many states already do.

Don't move to Colorado if you're so obsessed with school year length.

Once upon a time MCPS was one of the top school districts in the country. That’s what I want for my kids. All this bill does is give MCPS more incentive to close schools. That is absolutely not what I want.

And once upon a time, you could buy a house for $20,000, survive on a single income, and didn't have to worry about your kids being groomed online. Times change, the county's demographics have massively shifted, and MCPS will never be the same as it was 30-40 years ago. Anyone thinking they can recreate the past is in for a big disappointment.

Anonymous wrote:The hyserics of this group. MCPS already meets both requirements of 180 days AND is OVER the required hours. All this would help with this year is used the hours we are over, to help use for days.

In the future, MCPS could either opt to choose 180 days OR a minimum number of hours. Like many states already do.

Don't move to Colorado if you're so obsessed with school year length.

Once upon a time MCPS was one of the top school districts in the country. That’s what I want for my kids. All this bill does is give MCPS more incentive to close schools. That is absolutely not what I want.

Anonymous wrote:MCPS already goes well above the required hours. Whoever thinks they are trying to pull a "fast one" hasn't done spent any time actually researching the bill or done a comparison to other states' requirements.

It does NOT let them have fewer school days.

Are you a shrill for the teachers union or MCPS? That’s literally what the plain language of the bill does. Right now MCPS is required, as every other district, to provide both days AND hours. The bill would say “eh, hours is fine.” I want more school for my kids, not less.

The hyserics of this group. MCPS already meets both requirements of 180 days AND is OVER the required hours. All this would help with this year is used the hours we are over, to help use for days.

In the future, MCPS could either opt to choose 180 days OR a minimum number of hours. Like many states already do.

Don't move to Colorado if you're so obsessed with school year length.

MCPS already goes well above the required hours. Whoever thinks they are trying to pull a "fast one" hasn't done spent any time actually researching the bill or done a comparison to other states' requirements.

It does NOT let them have fewer school days.

Anonymous wrote:They need to prepare to pay staff and teachers when the year is extended. By extending the school year, it eats into days that they could work a summer job.

But extending to June 26 has been a makeup day possibility all along.

Anonymous wrote:I feel like school PTAs need to get on this quickly.MCPS is trying to pull a fast one before parents catch up, with support from some state legislators. Would this only change this year or future years? When is the vote?

This would be a permanent exemption… MCPS would like us to think it’s just about the mess this year but it’s not. This lets them have fewer school days in perpetuity.