Start school after Labor Day, like they used to!

My kid’s k-8 private does not care as long as the kid isn’t behind academically. They don’t say that, but everyone knows. I’m sure private HSs are different.

Our school goes back 9/4 but there will be kids in every grade who don’t show up until 9/9 because they were traveling but couldn’t go earlier because they’d miss summer swim/baseball/water polo/tennis/horse camp. These are the same families who leave early for every single break no matter how it’s schedule. Thanksgiving break is now all week, but they’ll miss the Thursday and Friday, too. We’ll get back from winter break some years on a Wednesday but they’ll return the next Monday or Tuesday. During the year or two after Covid it was even worse. We knew a lot of private school families who stayed enrolled but “homeschooled” during the winter and went to ski houses or beach houses in Hawaii. It was insane and I don’t know why school didn’t unenroll them.

It’s maddening because it does end up affecting the other kids because no matter what teachers say, they’re not heartless. They’ll spend time in class catching the kids who were absent up or getting them started on projects so they won’t miss out. So the kids who show up regularly end up wasting a ton of time.

This is why we are applying out this year- I want my child to be in an environment that is less driven by wealth and the attitude that parents are the school’s “customer”.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you’re in public school sure. That doesn’t fly in most private schools.

BS

Privates do not care don’t be stupid

You’re in the wrong private. Ours absolutely does. You get six missed CLASSES not days a semester before you have an attendance meeting.

Does this actually happen or it’s just written in the rule book?

FWIW I’ve noticed a lot of the “rules” in the rule books are never actually followed thru on. Public and Private. We were in a DC public that never had a truancy officer contact us after my daughter was enrolled in two courses at the same time by an admin on mistake and marked absent from one over 20 times. In the VA private, I noticed specific rules even around technology/arrival/departure and even lunch were never actually enforced.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you’re in public school sure. That doesn’t fly in most private schools.

BS

Privates do not care don’t be stupid

You’re in the wrong private. Ours absolutely does. You get six missed CLASSES not days a semester before you have an attendance meeting.

Anonymous wrote:If you’re in public school sure. That doesn’t fly in most private schools.

lol the more you spend the let time you go. There are no truancy officers for privates. You can miss a lot of school in privates. They have given up on Thanksgiving. It is now a full week off.

Are these friends of your kid? How do you know where they’re all on vacation?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I will never understand why school starts before September 1. What a stupid system to start school in August. And why does school start when it is hot as hell and when people take vacations?

People can plan their vacations around school, just like they plan it around holidays. There is this thing called free will. You are actively making a choice to do this, which speaks to your personal priorities.

Yes, my personal priority is for my kids to have a nice childhood and not to be sitting in a classroom in August.

As a teacher, I promise you that no one really cares. Do we have to do our job and reach to you, as a parent, because the child has not shown up? Of course. We document how many days missed, what we did to notify you and then thats it. Unless your child misses the max number of school days throughout the year that would require a meeting of retention, then nothing happens. The work will be there when your child gets back. Be it we grade it or not, is up to the teacher.

Anonymous wrote:Just a few years ago wasn’t everyone complaining that school started too late and they pressured the school boards to start before Labor Day? Now they did that and people are complaining that it starts too early and interferes with vacation?

Schools result can’t win.

Clearly I need to go back to school.

Schools can’t win.

Just a few years ago wasn’t everyone complaining that school started too late and they pressured the school boards to start before Labor Day? Now they did that and people are complaining that it starts too early and interferes with vacation?

Schools result can’t win.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And the already overworked teachers are now spending time catching these vacationers up.

I start teaching my AP classes on day 1. If you miss the first week of school, you missed 50% of the material for our first test. I receive emails every year from parents who expect me to stay after to tutor their kids or excuse them from the first test. It’s aggravating, especially because these are unexcused absences.

I don’t expect to get sympathy on DCUM, but hopefully a few “who cares?” posters can learn that the teachers who have to work harder care.

You don’t “have” to work harder. Let them bomb the first test.

Agreed you do not have to work harder. And my sympathy that you have to continually reply to peoole who think the world revolves around them. My recommendation, template a standard response email, save a copy of the school calendar to your desktop along with the excused absence policy and your syllabus. Then reply w/templates response, attach attach attach.

Anonymous wrote:If you’re in public school sure. That doesn’t fly in most private schools.

BS

Privates do not care don’t be stupid

Anonymous wrote:If you’re in public school sure. That doesn’t fly in most private schools.

And if you aren’t involved in sports. Doesn’t fly there either.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We all learned that no one really cares when Covid hit. I’ll never prioritize attendance again like I used to. We will go on family trips when we want because it’s cheaper and family is more important that a mundane assignment a teacher is no doubt recycling from teachers pay teachers. FCPS sucks.

“No one cares”? It’s supposed to be the parents who care. I don’t know who think was supposed to care but it’s always been the parents job to do the right thing

This. And get over your Covid issues. It was a crisis and people did the best they could. Most people don’t want their kids to go through the struggle of being behind again.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My HS freshman has her first two homework yesterday. Next week has two quizzes, and one more the day after they return from Labor Day break. I have heard her friends also talk about how quizzes are starting so early.

Does the public want to raise the standards? Or lower them?

I can’t keep up.

Public standards are a joke.