Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone think work will actually be done on that Monday. Don't sweat it if your kid will miss. If it is anything like the day before Thanksgiving or Winter Break, all my kids do is watch movies.

Your kids watch movies in school before every break? Sad.

Yes, it is sad - high school & middle school

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone think work will actually be done on that Monday. Don't sweat it if your kid will miss. If it is anything like the day before Thanksgiving or Winter Break, all my kids do is watch movies.

Your kids watch movies in school before every break? Sad.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Why does anyone have a right to get mad about making up the days at the end of the year? It is the written policy! But Starr didn't follow thru with it. 100% the make-up days don't change next year either.

Why? Because it's a bad policy. This should now be clear to everybody. It would be foolish of MCPS not to change their contingency calendar for next year.

It has always been the policy. You are supposed to follow it good or bad if you send your child to school there. Why didn't you complain about it before? I am fine with it as long as they extend the 3rd marking period to even the days out. I much rather would have had that.

Anonymous wrote:I honestly think parents just don't really care or appreciate education anymore. Growing up, no one missed school for vacations, you had to be on your death bed to not go to school and school rarely closed for snow. It just isn't that way anymore. No one cares and it shows in most parents and students attitude. Hey, even the teachers didn't want to teach. Some were on here complaining yesterday.

More people rather have that week off than make up the days and this is why the BOE easily asks for waivers. They know the required days are not of importance anymore. The majority like the easy way out. So it was a simple decision.

That's not how I remember it.

I grew up in MCPS and we had the same number of snow days. If we went over, we had to make up snow days at the end of the year. They were totally useless days back then, basically babysitting and my guess is that it will be the same thing today.

Anonymous wrote:Taking away Easter Monday happened before, about 10 years ago when I was in high school (2003 or so, the announcement is in the MCPS press release archive). We were on vacation still and didn't go, no big deal. This isn't unprecedented.

The problem with adding it as a regular contingency plan is that schools must be closed Easter Monday by MD state law and counties are having to get a waiver to be open. So how can you put it on the calendar? That isn't on MCPS, it's on the state.

I wonder what the state requirements are for a contingency calendar.

I honestly think parents just don't really care or appreciate education anymore. Growing up, no one missed school for vacations, you had to be on your death bed to not go to school and school rarely closed for snow. It just isn't that way anymore. No one cares and it shows in most parents and students attitude. Hey, even the teachers didn't want to teach. Some were on here complaining yesterday.

More people rather have that week off than make up the days and this is why the BOE easily asks for waivers. They know the required days are not of importance anymore. The majority like the easy way out. So it was a simple decision.

What they did makes so much more sense than going into the following week. But, MCPS really needs to reevaluate where they put the contingency days on the calendar in the future.

Anonymous wrote:
Why does anyone have a right to get mad about making up the days at the end of the year? It is the written policy! But Starr didn't follow thru with it. 100% the make-up days don't change next year either.

Why? Because it's a bad policy. This should now be clear to everybody. It would be foolish of MCPS not to change their contingency calendar for next year.

Taking away Easter Monday happened before, about 10 years ago when I was in high school (2003 or so, the announcement is in the MCPS press release archive). We were on vacation still and didn't go, no big deal. This isn't unprecedented.

The problem with adding it as a regular contingency plan is that schools must be closed Easter Monday by MD state law and counties are having to get a waiver to be open. So how can you put it on the calendar? That isn't on MCPS, it's on the state.

Does anyone think work will actually be done on that Monday. Don't sweat it if your kid will miss. If it is anything like the day before Thanksgiving or Winter Break, all my kids do is watch movies.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Its okay, it is one day, the schools are going to be 1/2 empty.

Tell that to my 5th grader who has perfect attendance. We take school seriously in our house. We did what the county asked and left the week open for snow day make-ups. But I guess the families that blew it off, signed up for camps and vacations and then complained got what they wanted. Less school to have to deal with. It is really sad that more people are excited school is ending early than upset that the plan in place was pulled out and changed because...??

This is a great learning opportunity for your 5th grader. Life doesn't always work out the way you want it to. It isn't fair, but sometimes that's the way the ball bounces. Missing a day of school certainly won't kill her.

I guess you never strived for perfect attendance as a kid? It is a big deal. I did it twice in 13yrs and it was an awesome feeling. We also had parties and certificates and shook hands with the principal but my guess is that they don't that anymore.

And really, it is the BOE fault for backing out of a plan that was a written policy. One they expected the parents to abide by.

If it is such a big Fing deal to you, COME BACK EARLY.

I did have perfect attendance a couple of times. Not a major milestone for me. Whatever floats your boat. My parents were both teachers. I don't believe in taking kids out of school for trips and I treat my kids' education the same way my parents treated mine - very seriously.

Things happen. Move on. Perhaps it could be a learning opportunity for you, too.

There is also no guarantee your child won't come down with strep or a major sinus infection in the spring. My kid had strep one year in May and missed 4 days because of it. That's life. Those were the only 4 days he missed. I didn't go around crying about it, and neither did he.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So many parents were extremely vocal about their insistence that the days not be waived, that the state listened. Parents whose vacations are impacted by school Easter Monday should be just as vocal.
In MCPS, there is never a way to make everyone happy.

No kidding. If MCPS doesn't make up the days, that's bad. If MCPS makes up the days at the end of the year, that's bad. If MCPS makes up the days on any specific day before the end of the year, that's bad.

I'm sticking with my plan of blaming Joshua Starr for the weather.

Why does anyone have a right to get mad about making up the days at the end of the year? It is the written policy! But Starr didn't follow thru with it. 100% the make-up days don't change next year either.

Anonymous wrote:The problem with the plan is that it is impossible to plan for both possibilities. People pay for camps, camps get set up to run and hire staff for that week. People plan vacations. You have to assume that school will be out that week and make plans accordingly.

So if there suddenly is school - what happens? Camp staff don't get paid? Ordered food etc rots? Parents lose money paid for camps?

It isn't so easy to just say leave that week open and either there will or won't be school. At some point you have to make a plan either way.

If it is the plan, you keep the time open as the plan tells you too. There are a million camps in this area. You do not have to pay for them in January. And no one should be taking a vacation that week. It is snow make-up days. It says it on EVERY calendar issued by MCPS. They are in limbo until April 1st. THEN you make plans once they aren't used. To just randomly change the make-up policy 2 weeks before Spring Break when people can not get refunds, change airfare, etc... is not fair and is absurd.

IF they change the plan next year and have Easter Monday on the plan, I won't plan a vacation with that day in mind. Same as i did this year when i read the MCPS calendar. Simple as that. Don't we teach our kids to follow directions? Ironic.

^^^oh, and Curriculum 2.0 too.