Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The calendar seems longer than when I was a kid… maybe by about 2-3 weeks? My memory isn’t great though. I wonder what teachers think of the shortened summers? That always seemed like the best perk of the job.

As someone whose DD starts with FCPS this fall...teachers are paid as contract employees based on days - usually 195-day contracted employees - they get paid once a month and have to ensure they budget correctly because they don't get paid the "summer" months. So this might have something to do with it. Although I also see it as a downside because they'd have less summertime to get a 2nd job which many teachers do.

Anonymous wrote:The calendar seems longer than when I was a kid… maybe by about 2-3 weeks? My memory isn’t great though. I wonder what teachers think of the shortened summers? That always seemed like the best perk of the job.

Anonymous wrote:People suggesting multiple weeks long breaks throughout the year are delusional. How much in a bubble are you that you think everyone else has the time and money to travel during those times? Talk about inequitable. The kids whose parents can’t afford to travel need childcare and there is no one to staff it when college students are not available. Not to mention many teachers would hate this schedule. It would push even more of them out of the profession. Who wants to deal with re-acclimating a classroom full of kids after several weeks off multiple times per year? People here think only of their own families and situations. The school board’s biggest mistake was sending out a survey about the calendar. It makes something simple so overly complicated trying to “let everyone’s voice be heard”. Why we can’t just do things like every other school district in this part of the country, I don’t know.

Anonymous wrote:If we are starting in August, why aren’t we ending in May. I swear, public schools are so inefficient.

Anonymous wrote:People suggesting multiple weeks long breaks throughout the year are delusional. How much in a bubble are you that you think everyone else has the time and money to travel during those times? Talk about inequitable. The kids whose parents can’t afford to travel need childcare and there is no one to staff it when college students are not available. Not to mention many teachers would hate this schedule. It would push even more of them out of the profession. Who wants to deal with re-acclimating a classroom full of kids after several weeks off multiple times per year? People here think only of their own families and situations. The school board’s biggest mistake was sending out a survey about the calendar. It makes something simple so overly complicated trying to “let everyone’s voice be heard”. Why we can’t just do things like every other school district in this part of the country, I don’t know.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People suggesting multiple weeks long breaks throughout the year are delusional. How much in a bubble are you that you think everyone else has the time and money to travel during those times? Talk about inequitable. The kids whose parents can’t afford to travel need childcare and there is no one to staff it when college students are not available. Not to mention many teachers would hate this schedule. It would push even more of them out of the profession. Who wants to deal with re-acclimating a classroom full of kids after several weeks off multiple times per year? People here think only of their own families and situations. The school board’s biggest mistake was sending out a survey about the calendar. It makes something simple so overly complicated trying to “let everyone’s voice be heard”. Why we can’t just do things like every other school district in this part of the country, I don’t know.

Nah, most of my teacher colleagues either a) don't care, as long as their schedule mirrors their kids' schedules, or b) would prefer a shorter summer to eliminate summer brain drain and the chaos of the first month back. The first quarter stinks because it's so much review. Coming back from winter break is 30 minutes of reacquainting ourselves to rules and procedures and moving on.

As a secondary teacher, all I care about is getting my days in before the AP exams. Doesn't matter to me if they are full weeks or short weeks, as long as I have an equal number of days with A/B classes and they happen before mid may. June days are worthless, August days are great.

Anonymous wrote:Why do parents like the long summer? After about 6 weeks, my kids lose interest in camps! I find they are expensive and their schedule never really works for me (plus, I have several different kids at different camps so I'm running all over the place half the day!) I can't take that much time off work so I'm working all sorts of crazy hours to compensate.

But when I suggest doing something like the British system (4-6 weeks off a few different times a year), parents say they like the long summer. What is to like about it?

Anonymous wrote:If we are starting in August, why aren’t we ending in May. I swear, public schools are so inefficient.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do parents like the long summer? After about 6 weeks, my kids lose interest in camps! I find they are expensive and their schedule never really works for me (plus, I have several different kids at different camps so I'm running all over the place half the day!) I can't take that much time off work so I'm working all sorts of crazy hours to compensate.

But when I suggest doing something like the British system (4-6 weeks off a few different times a year), parents say they like the long summer. What is to like about it?

We use the swim club that we belong to a lot in the summer. We swim, take lunch or dinner, the kids play, and there are social activities. Why would people join for only 6 weeks?

Oh sweetie, you know those clubs are open in the evenings, right? Ours opens Memorial Day weekend and we go after school three times a week until school ends - the kids love it! And same in September - they are open evenings until mid-September (as long as the weather holds and they can find lifeguard staff) and it's so much fun on weekdays after school!

Anonymous wrote:People suggesting multiple weeks long breaks throughout the year are delusional. How much in a bubble are you that you think everyone else has the time and money to travel during those times? Talk about inequitable. The kids whose parents can’t afford to travel need childcare and there is no one to staff it when college students are not available. Not to mention many teachers would hate this schedule. It would push even more of them out of the profession. Who wants to deal with re-acclimating a classroom full of kids after several weeks off multiple times per year? People here think only of their own families and situations. The school board’s biggest mistake was sending out a survey about the calendar. It makes something simple so overly complicated trying to “let everyone’s voice be heard”. Why we can’t just do things like every other school district in this part of the country, I don’t know.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do parents like the long summer? After about 6 weeks, my kids lose interest in camps! I find they are expensive and their schedule never really works for me (plus, I have several different kids at different camps so I'm running all over the place half the day!) I can't take that much time off work so I'm working all sorts of crazy hours to compensate.

But when I suggest doing something like the British system (4-6 weeks off a few different times a year), parents say they like the long summer. What is to like about it?

We use the swim club that we belong to a lot in the summer. We swim, take lunch or dinner, the kids play, and there are social activities. Why would people join for only 6 weeks?