Anonymous wrote:British schools have 8 weeks summer, 4 weeks Christmas, 3 week spring break. The students and teachers are refreshed each trimester. Southern Hemisphere schools use a quarterly system (reverse summer) They have 7 weeks summer (Dec/Jan), 2 weeks Easter, 3 weeks end June, 2 weeks September. I think there is a lot to be said for starting mid August and having proper Christmas and Spring breaks (2plus weeks each)

Those schedules sound better than ours.

British schools have 8 weeks summer, 4 weeks Christmas, 3 week spring break. The students and teachers are refreshed each trimester. Southern Hemisphere schools use a quarterly system (reverse summer) They have 7 weeks summer (Dec/Jan), 2 weeks Easter, 3 weeks end June, 2 weeks September. I think there is a lot to be said for starting mid August and having proper Christmas and Spring breaks (2plus weeks each)

Anonymous wrote:Is it even a remote possibility that we could get rid of standardized testing? I thought "no way, no how". We couldn't ditch MSA last year. And my 5th graders gets to waste a couple of days after Spring Break with MSA Science this year.

Write your representatives in Congress. A federal law (No Child Left Behind) passed by Congress in 2001 requires the MSA/PARCC/whatever testing.

Is it even a remote possibility that we could get rid of standardized testing? I thought "no way, no how". We couldn't ditch MSA last year. And my 5th graders gets to waste a couple of days after Spring Break with MSA Science this year.

It's refreshing to hear that teachers support having a more consistent school year with less days off. It's amazing how many months we have with multiple days off and half days. They have also confirmed what I knew from talking to a lot of teachers I know, that professional days are essentially a day off for me most teachers if they have kept up with their grading.

I third that motion. I am also an MCPS teacher. The previous poster is absolutely correct. Students really struggle with the on and off nature of our school year with so many holidays and other disruptions. We would benefit immensely by plowing through the school year at a steady clip and incorporating a longer summer on our calendar.

I am an MCPS staff member. To me, in an ideal world, there would be no mandated testing, no teacher professional days, and no days off for elections, minor non-religious holidays and the like. I find that students go nuts with the on-off nature of the school year. Snow days are an added problem. I would prefer to plow through and have a longer summer.

One reason I am in favor of the longer summer season is because, honestly, I think the students would benefit more from the continuity of a school year with fewer holidays than by having a shorter summer. I am also in favor of the longer summer so that everyone gets a chance to really rest and regroup from the school year. Students would have a longer period of time to pursue other interests and would be more attractive candidates for jobs because they would be available for a longer period of time. Teachers who work would in the summer would also benefit from the longer summer season. As a kid, we had such a school year and certainly didn't suffer from it. Think of all the time that is wasted during the school year as it now stands. By tightening up the calendar and wasting less time on testing and other wasteful activities, I believe we could accomplish more and still have the benefit of a longer summer vacation.