Anonymous
Post 08/15/2023 10:42     Subject: Proposed APS Calendar Policy
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:The reason why schools are often polling places, is because they're fixed locations. It makes it easier for people to vote when they go to the same place in their neighborhood, and that's a very good thing.

Schools where I grew up were used as polling places. Schools stayed open. They used the gym for polling and just locked the doors between the gym and school building. They held PE outside those days.


We can’t lock the doors between the doors and the rest of the building. All school doors can be opened from the inside, even if locked on the other side.

Of course the doors can be opened from the inside for egress. They just cant provide access from the gym into the school by the public. It's just like how the swim facility at WL has community access on weekends, but the school is locked.

If there are updates needed to locks or doors, that seems more affordable for the community than closing schools
Anonymous
Post 08/15/2023 10:32     Subject: Proposed APS Calendar Policy
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:The reason why schools are often polling places, is because they're fixed locations. It makes it easier for people to vote when they go to the same place in their neighborhood, and that's a very good thing.

Schools where I grew up were used as polling places. Schools stayed open. They used the gym for polling and just locked the doors between the gym and school building. They held PE outside those days.


We can’t lock the doors between the doors and the rest of the building. All school doors can be opened from the inside, even if locked on the other side.
Anonymous
Post 08/15/2023 10:18     Subject: Proposed APS Calendar Policy
Anonymous wrote:The reason why schools are often polling places, is because they're fixed locations. It makes it easier for people to vote when they go to the same place in their neighborhood, and that's a very good thing.

Schools where I grew up were used as polling places. Schools stayed open. They used the gym for polling and just locked the doors between the gym and school building. They held PE outside those days.
Anonymous
Post 08/15/2023 10:10     Subject: Proposed APS Calendar Policy
The reason why schools are often polling places, is because they're fixed locations. It makes it easier for people to vote when they go to the same place in their neighborhood, and that's a very good thing.
Anonymous
Post 08/15/2023 10:08     Subject: Re:Proposed APS Calendar Policy
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:APS doesn't care about APs. They are only using them as an excuse. If they cared about APs they wouldn't be pushing 2-week winter breaks as the minimum, and they wouldn't be pushing the combination of new holidays, more teacher work days, and unnecessary days off like election day. Put all those together and even with the earlier start date, kids taking AP classes are basically in the same place (or worse) than they were ten years ago.


+1. There is literally no good reason rooted in education to adopt this policy. Many other districts in the country are starting and ending earlier, but they are working in dedicated chunks with breaks in-between - not this choppy disruptive crap APS and FCPS are pushing.

The top 3 reasons seem to be: (1) more paid holidays for back office staff; (2) more paid holidays for back office staff; and (3) addressing childcare issues for the APS staff who chose to live in FCPS. Winning points in the Woke Olympics seems to be a distant fourth, at least until the ACLU or the Satanists put an end to the selective picking and choosing of religious celebrations. But see reasons 1-3 above.


How do we get back to the days of making decisions based on providing the best education possible? That's what APS' mission is. Period.
Anonymous
Post 08/15/2023 10:05     Subject: Re:Proposed APS Calendar Policy
Anonymous wrote:APS doesn't care about APs. They are only using them as an excuse. If they cared about APs they wouldn't be pushing 2-week winter breaks as the minimum, and they wouldn't be pushing the combination of new holidays, more teacher work days, and unnecessary days off like election day. Put all those together and even with the earlier start date, kids taking AP classes are basically in the same place (or worse) than they were ten years ago.


+1. There is literally no good reason rooted in education to adopt this policy. Many other districts in the country are starting and ending earlier, but they are working in dedicated chunks with breaks in-between - not this choppy disruptive crap APS and FCPS are pushing.

The top 3 reasons seem to be: (1) more paid holidays for back office staff; (2) more paid holidays for back office staff; and (3) addressing childcare issues for the APS staff who chose to live in FCPS. Winning points in the Woke Olympics seems to be a distant fourth, at least until the ACLU or the Satanists put an end to the selective picking and choosing of religious celebrations. But see reasons 1-3 above.
Anonymous
Post 08/14/2023 11:53     Subject: Re:Proposed APS Calendar Policy
APS doesn't care about APs. They are only using them as an excuse. If they cared about APs they wouldn't be pushing 2-week winter breaks as the minimum, and they wouldn't be pushing the combination of new holidays, more teacher work days, and unnecessary days off like election day. Put all those together and even with the earlier start date, kids taking AP classes are basically in the same place (or worse) than they were ten years ago.
Anonymous
Post 08/14/2023 11:48     Subject: Re:Proposed APS Calendar Policy
Anonymous wrote:Of course we all have our own particular personal preferences, but my big takeaway from the process is that APS leadership is pushing a policy that will make permanent a bunch of criteria that are widely unpopular. When surveys have been given, a solid minority of respondents want school to start two weeks before Labor Day, yet no revision of the proposal has accounted for it.


I'm sorry what surveys showed that?? And why should a "solid minority" get its way? They might represent a plurality if you split the remainder between "start after labor day" and "start the week before labor day", but that'd be bad survey design more than anything else.
Anonymous
Post 08/14/2023 11:18     Subject: Re:Proposed APS Calendar Policy
Of course we all have our own particular personal preferences, but my big takeaway from the process is that APS leadership is pushing a policy that will make permanent a bunch of criteria that are widely unpopular. When surveys have been given, a solid minority of respondents want school to start two weeks before Labor Day, yet no revision of the proposal has accounted for it.
Anonymous
Post 08/14/2023 02:29     Subject: Proposed APS Calendar Policy
Anonymous wrote:I don't think the two weeks before labor day is because of all the random days off. I think that is a general push to start earlier because AP tests, etc. Remember a lot of school districts have already started (CA, GA etc). That said, I'd love fewer random days off!


The trend is starting earlier and ending earlier. APS is only doing the former. I’d prefer an earlier start because it’s hot AF in august and would prefer being in an air conditioned school then. The weather is usually much nicer in June and would rather be out of school by then.
Anonymous
Post 08/13/2023 23:11     Subject: Proposed APS Calendar Policy
School should end no later than the first week of June. Start a week before Labor Day if they must. But cut holidays and other days out of school to make it happen. Love in January they go to school 2/5 Mondays. And random Wednesdays off. Ridiculous.
Anonymous
Post 08/13/2023 20:57     Subject: Proposed APS Calendar Policy
PP here. Hate AP obsession in APS. Still I’m so confused by the not learning so we should end school early. Why won’t they still do nothing but just do nothing earlier?
Anonymous
Post 08/13/2023 20:32     Subject: Proposed APS Calendar Policy
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I don't think the two weeks before labor day is because of all the random days off. I think that is a general push to start earlier because AP tests, etc. Remember a lot of school districts have already started (CA, GA etc). That said, I'd love fewer random days off!


AP tests? You’re telling me kids need to go to school in August for some perceived advantage on a test they’ll take the following May? People in this county seriously need to relax.


The point is that the school year is misaligned with testing. We can start earlier and end earlier. Because everything happens in April and May, there is absolutely no reason for kids to go to school in June. It’s all babysitting at that point.


Totally disagree. Hate that APS is wholly beholden to AP exams. That’s the whole sales pitch now, as far as I can tell, at least at YHS & Wakefield. I’ve hated the stupid SOLs for years. I mean, kids in APS are well prepared to take a test but can’t write a critical paper to save their life. The latter is way more important to me.


Umm trust me. No learning is happening in June whether students take AP classes or not. My kids are in elementary school. They learn nothing in June. At the ver least, we can end one week early.
Anonymous
Post 08/13/2023 20:23     Subject: Proposed APS Calendar Policy
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I don't think the two weeks before labor day is because of all the random days off. I think that is a general push to start earlier because AP tests, etc. Remember a lot of school districts have already started (CA, GA etc). That said, I'd love fewer random days off!


AP tests? You’re telling me kids need to go to school in August for some perceived advantage on a test they’ll take the following May? People in this county seriously need to relax.


The point is that the school year is misaligned with testing. We can start earlier and end earlier. Because everything happens in April and May, there is absolutely no reason for kids to go to school in June. It’s all babysitting at that point.


Totally disagree. Hate that APS is wholly beholden to AP exams. That’s the whole sales pitch now, as far as I can tell, at least at YHS & Wakefield. I’ve hated the stupid SOLs for years. I mean, kids in APS are well prepared to take a test but can’t write a critical paper to save their life. The latter is way more important to me.

I promise you that no one is working on critical writing in June.

My kid watched two movies a day the last two weeks of school. They covered the full Minions series. Really serious learning was taking place.
Anonymous
Post 08/13/2023 19:32     Subject: Proposed APS Calendar Policy
I agree that APS should ideally work with the county to switch polling places away from schools so schools can be open and in the meantime at least have school on Veteran's day so there isn't so much disruption in early Nov. But honestly that would take both political will and coordination with the county and there are probably better ways to spend that energy.

I'm the PP who mentioned AP tests. I'm not defending that rationale but I think it is a factor in the decision. Whether it should be or not is another question.