Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In all the fighting over the first day of school, no one paid attention to the last. I emailed and emailed. June 18 is late to be getting out. And, folks, the religious holidays are why. That’s the difference. I’m happy if they keep them. But they need to find other days to cut.

??? 180 school days is Virginia law. I don’t understand the opposition to this.

The religious holidays are only four days. They could keep them and get rid of other random days off (like grade prep days) and have kids come to school on veterans day.

Great! And yes they could. But they won’t. Someone suggested they go to school on Veterans Day and their response was “no” because a lot of veterans live around here. They won’t get rid of any of the holidays. So we are stuck with an absurd ending date. And still going to school before Labor Day!

I think it's sad that everyone is eager to eliminate Veterans' Day as the holiday off. We should be HONORING the sacrifices of those who have protected and served this country. I suppose folks think going on family picnics and long weekends "celebrating" Memorial Day.....those who DIED protecting and serving this country, is enough. But there are a lot of people who have done so and have not yet died. It's nice to honor them while they're still around to feel the honor.

Nobody ever suggests eliminating Columbus Day now Indigenous Peoples' Day; and they surely would never suggest eliminating Juneteenth as a day off if school extended beyond that date. What about Presidents' Day? That seems like one of the silliest holidays, imo.

I don't understand all the people insisting on a full two weeks winter break but then griping about getting out too late in June and/or starting before Labor Day. You can't have it all folks.

Well, you know what? We had pretty close to “it all” last year. We had 2 weeks of winter break, started one week before Labor Day, got our earlier then June 18, AND had the religious holidays. But some people got upset because we had 990 hours but not 180 days. So APS added more days. We have 13 snow days built in.

The main thing is, there needs to be consistency. For example, federal holidays off only. Or, only religious holidays where at least X percentage of staff/students are likely to be absent. Adding religious holidays randomly is a no-win, because you can’t include everyone.

By some people you mean a lobbying group named Arlington Parents for Education. They lobbied heavily for 180 days. Even though a lot of them have their own kids in private school, they still want to control public ed for the rest of us.

180 school days is Virginia law. https://law.lis.virginia.gov/admincode/title8/agency20/chapter131/section150/#:~:text=The%20standard%20school%20year%20shall,in%20grades%20kindergarten%20through%2012.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In all the fighting over the first day of school, no one paid attention to the last. I emailed and emailed. June 18 is late to be getting out. And, folks, the religious holidays are why. That’s the difference. I’m happy if they keep them. But they need to find other days to cut.

The religious holidays are only four days. They could keep them and get rid of other random days off (like grade prep days) and have kids come to school on veterans day.

Why do you think grade prep days are less important than religious holidays?

I work in APS and I agree. When I taught in NY we never had grade prep days. Especially now with electronic grading. So dumb.

I’m guessing you don’t teach elementary. Writing personalized comments for each child takes hours. Now that I’m in middle school, grade prep is a much faster process.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In all the fighting over the first day of school, no one paid attention to the last. I emailed and emailed. June 18 is late to be getting out. And, folks, the religious holidays are why. That’s the difference. I’m happy if they keep them. But they need to find other days to cut.

The religious holidays are only four days. They could keep them and get rid of other random days off (like grade prep days) and have kids come to school on veterans day.

Why do you think grade prep days are less important than religious holidays?

I work in APS and I agree. When I taught in NY we never had grade prep days. Especially now with electronic grading. So dumb.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In all the fighting over the first day of school, no one paid attention to the last. I emailed and emailed. June 18 is late to be getting out. And, folks, the religious holidays are why. That’s the difference. I’m happy if they keep them. But they need to find other days to cut.

??? 180 school days is Virginia law. I don’t understand the opposition to this.

The religious holidays are only four days. They could keep them and get rid of other random days off (like grade prep days) and have kids come to school on veterans day.

Great! And yes they could. But they won’t. Someone suggested they go to school on Veterans Day and their response was “no” because a lot of veterans live around here. They won’t get rid of any of the holidays. So we are stuck with an absurd ending date. And still going to school before Labor Day!

I think it's sad that everyone is eager to eliminate Veterans' Day as the holiday off. We should be HONORING the sacrifices of those who have protected and served this country. I suppose folks think going on family picnics and long weekends "celebrating" Memorial Day.....those who DIED protecting and serving this country, is enough. But there are a lot of people who have done so and have not yet died. It's nice to honor them while they're still around to feel the honor.

Nobody ever suggests eliminating Columbus Day now Indigenous Peoples' Day; and they surely would never suggest eliminating Juneteenth as a day off if school extended beyond that date. What about Presidents' Day? That seems like one of the silliest holidays, imo.

I don't understand all the people insisting on a full two weeks winter break but then griping about getting out too late in June and/or starting before Labor Day. You can't have it all folks.

Well, you know what? We had pretty close to “it all” last year. We had 2 weeks of winter break, started one week before Labor Day, got our earlier then June 18, AND had the religious holidays. But some people got upset because we had 990 hours but not 180 days. So APS added more days. We have 13 snow days built in.

The main thing is, there needs to be consistency. For example, federal holidays off only. Or, only religious holidays where at least X percentage of staff/students are likely to be absent. Adding religious holidays randomly is a no-win, because you can’t include everyone.

By some people you mean a lobbying group named Arlington Parents for Education. They lobbied heavily for 180 days. Even though a lot of them have their own kids in private school, they still want to control public ed for the rest of us.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In all the fighting over the first day of school, no one paid attention to the last. I emailed and emailed. June 18 is late to be getting out. And, folks, the religious holidays are why. That’s the difference. I’m happy if they keep them. But they need to find other days to cut.

The religious holidays are only four days. They could keep them and get rid of other random days off (like grade prep days) and have kids come to school on veterans day.

Great! And yes they could. But they won’t. Someone suggested they go to school on Veterans Day and their response was “no” because a lot of veterans live around here. They won’t get rid of any of the holidays. So we are stuck with an absurd ending date. And still going to school before Labor Day!

I think it's sad that everyone is eager to eliminate Veterans' Day as the holiday off. We should be HONORING the sacrifices of those who have protected and served this country. I suppose folks think going on family picnics and long weekends "celebrating" Memorial Day.....those who DIED protecting and serving this country, is enough. But there are a lot of people who have done so and have not yet died. It's nice to honor them while they're still around to feel the honor.

Nobody ever suggests eliminating Columbus Day now Indigenous Peoples' Day; and they surely would never suggest eliminating Juneteenth as a day off if school extended beyond that date. What about Presidents' Day? That seems like one of the silliest holidays, imo.

I don't understand all the people insisting on a full two weeks winter break but then griping about getting out too late in June and/or starting before Labor Day. You can't have it all folks.

Well, you know what? We had pretty close to “it all” last year. We had 2 weeks of winter break, started one week before Labor Day, got our earlier then June 18, AND had the religious holidays. But some people got upset because we had 990 hours but not 180 days. So APS added more days. We have 13 snow days built in.

The main thing is, there needs to be consistency. For example, federal holidays off only. Or, only religious holidays where at least X percentage of staff/students are likely to be absent. Adding religious holidays randomly is a no-win, because you can’t include everyone.

By some people you mean a lobbying group named Arlington Parents for Education. They lobbied heavily for 180 days. Even though a lot of them have their own kids in private school, they still want to control public ed for the rest of us.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In all the fighting over the first day of school, no one paid attention to the last. I emailed and emailed. June 18 is late to be getting out. And, folks, the religious holidays are why. That’s the difference. I’m happy if they keep them. But they need to find other days to cut.

I emailed too. I was fine with started earlier. The people who complained about starting too early didn't seem to understand that meant getting out later. Kids are going to be in school for a certain number of days. I'd rather they start earlier and use the time for learning instead of wasted time in June after testing.

But, too many people whined about starting earlier in August and were too dim to see that would mean getting out later in June so here we are.

No, they have shortened summer break & lengthened the school year. That’s what people were protesting. And APS would not even commit to an earlier end date even if we had started earlier.

It's completely logical that we could have had an earlier end date if you and all your friends had not successfully lobbied for a later start date. You couldn't figure this out? You only have yourself to blame here.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In all the fighting over the first day of school, no one paid attention to the last. I emailed and emailed. June 18 is late to be getting out. And, folks, the religious holidays are why. That’s the difference. I’m happy if they keep them. But they need to find other days to cut.

I emailed too. I was fine with started earlier. The people who complained about starting too early didn't seem to understand that meant getting out later. Kids are going to be in school for a certain number of days. I'd rather they start earlier and use the time for learning instead of wasted time in June after testing.

But, too many people whined about starting earlier in August and were too dim to see that would mean getting out later in June so here we are.

No, they have shortened summer break & lengthened the school year. That’s what people were protesting. And APS would not even commit to an earlier end date even if we had started earlier.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In all the fighting over the first day of school, no one paid attention to the last. I emailed and emailed. June 18 is late to be getting out. And, folks, the religious holidays are why. That’s the difference. I’m happy if they keep them. But they need to find other days to cut.

I emailed too. I was fine with started earlier. The people who complained about starting too early didn't seem to understand that meant getting out later. Kids are going to be in school for a certain number of days. I'd rather they start earlier and use the time for learning instead of wasted time in June after testing.

But, too many people whined about starting earlier in August and were too dim to see that would mean getting out later in June so here we are.

Anonymous wrote:I was surprised by the superintendent's recent email on snow days stating that Arlington has 13 school days that can be taken before we would need to start making up days for snow days. I'm a teacher and all for snow days, but couldn't we just add in 5 additional days and move to virtual after. Do we really need to attend 13 days over what the VDOE requires?

Also on Grade Prep Days, they aren't just for strictly grades. They are the only time during the school year that we get additional time for planning/work in our classrooms without being forced into professional developments that are poorly developed. SPED teachers especially need this time for compiling data collection for quarterly progress reports.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In all the fighting over the first day of school, no one paid attention to the last. I emailed and emailed. June 18 is late to be getting out. And, folks, the religious holidays are why. That’s the difference. I’m happy if they keep them. But they need to find other days to cut.

The religious holidays are only four days. They could keep them and get rid of other random days off (like grade prep days) and have kids come to school on veterans day.

Great! And yes they could. But they won’t. Someone suggested they go to school on Veterans Day and their response was “no” because a lot of veterans live around here. They won’t get rid of any of the holidays. So we are stuck with an absurd ending date. And still going to school before Labor Day!

I think it's sad that everyone is eager to eliminate Veterans' Day as the holiday off. We should be HONORING the sacrifices of those who have protected and served this country. I suppose folks think going on family picnics and long weekends "celebrating" Memorial Day.....those who DIED protecting and serving this country, is enough. But there are a lot of people who have done so and have not yet died. It's nice to honor them while they're still around to feel the honor.

Nobody ever suggests eliminating Columbus Day now Indigenous Peoples' Day; and they surely would never suggest eliminating Juneteenth as a day off if school extended beyond that date. What about Presidents' Day? That seems like one of the silliest holidays, imo.

I don't understand all the people insisting on a full two weeks winter break but then griping about getting out too late in June and/or starting before Labor Day. You can't have it all folks.

Well, you know what? We had pretty close to “it all” last year. We had 2 weeks of winter break, started one week before Labor Day, got our earlier then June 18, AND had the religious holidays. But some people got upset because we had 990 hours but not 180 days. So APS added more days. We have 13 snow days built in.

The main thing is, there needs to be consistency. For example, federal holidays off only. Or, only religious holidays where at least X percentage of staff/students are likely to be absent. Adding religious holidays randomly is a no-win, because you can’t include everyone.

Anonymous wrote:In all the fighting over the first day of school, no one paid attention to the last. I emailed and emailed. June 18 is late to be getting out. And, folks, the religious holidays are why. That’s the difference. I’m happy if they keep them. But they need to find other days to cut.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Proposing to start last week in August, end the middle of the third week in June which is 3 days later later than we usually end.
https://go.boarddocs.com/vsba/arlington/Board.nsf/files/CXSREA6D9A52/$file/H-4%202024-25%20%26%202025-26%20Proposed%20School%20Year%20Calendars.pdf

Also looks like March 5 of this school year will be a student holiday. Surprise!
https://go.boarddocs.com/vsba/arlington/Board.nsf/files/CXSRFZ6DD911/$file/H-3%202023-24%20Revised%20School%20Year%20Calendar.pdf

So glad next year will be our last in APS. My senior will have my permission to end early and/or skip as much of the last two weeks they can or want to.
Third week of June is just ridiculous.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm very grateful for senior experience next year. It is INSANE to still be in school on June 18th.

That seems like a normal time for the end of school. ??

Starting in August is weird.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was surprised by the superintendent's recent email on snow days stating that Arlington has 13 school days that can be taken before we would need to start making up days for snow days. I'm a teacher and all for snow days, but couldn't we just add in 5 additional days and move to virtual after. Do we really need to attend 13 days over what the VDOE requires?

Also on Grade Prep Days, they aren't just for strictly grades. They are the only time during the school year that we get additional time for planning/work in our classrooms without being forced into professional developments that are poorly developed. SPED teachers especially need this time for compiling data collection for quarterly progress reports.

This. When is the last time we actually used 13 snow days? And how much instruction is really going to happen that last half week in June? It's absurd.

They are predicting a snowier winter this year. Given that schools around here close on the threat of rain and the possibility of maybe a light flurry, we may need every one of these 13 days. Can't wait to see what happens if day 14 is due to a huge blizzard knocking out power and (some) students can't connect to the internet for online distance learning.....

I don’t think we’ve ever used 13 snow days. Even as a kid when I lived here we didn’t use that many.

Only once in the 90s when they added an extra hour to each day at the end of the year. 96 maybe?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was surprised by the superintendent's recent email on snow days stating that Arlington has 13 school days that can be taken before we would need to start making up days for snow days. I'm a teacher and all for snow days, but couldn't we just add in 5 additional days and move to virtual after. Do we really need to attend 13 days over what the VDOE requires?

Also on Grade Prep Days, they aren't just for strictly grades. They are the only time during the school year that we get additional time for planning/work in our classrooms without being forced into professional developments that are poorly developed. SPED teachers especially need this time for compiling data collection for quarterly progress reports.

This. When is the last time we actually used 13 snow days? And how much instruction is really going to happen that last half week in June? It's absurd.

They are predicting a snowier winter this year. Given that schools around here close on the threat of rain and the possibility of maybe a light flurry, we may need every one of these 13 days. Can't wait to see what happens if day 14 is due to a huge blizzard knocking out power and (some) students can't connect to the internet for online distance learning.....

I don’t think we’ve ever used 13 snow days. Even as a kid when I lived here we didn’t use that many.