Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I work for APS, and am looking at FCPS's current calendar. They have TWO days off after Easter? And had TWO entire weeks off for Winter Break this year! We don't even have the Monday after Easter off. It's a full, regular school day.

As someone else said, it’s the end of the quarter. I’ve been teaching in FCPS for a long time and I don’t remember ever having this Monday as a workday - it’s just how the calendar fell this year and will be different next year because Spring Break always changes.

Spring break should be at the same time every year based on a secular schedule like end of 3rd quarter/start of 4th quarter. It is a very long haul next year between early January and mid-April.
It could easily be March 31-April 4, 2025 with April 18 as a standalone day off.

100% this.

I find it funny that the same people who say “winter break isn’t for Christmas, it’s long because we’re so multicultural and people need to go overseas” don’t say anything about spring break being specifically tied to Easter (and don’t deny it, it was written that way in the survey). Most other parts of the country have spring break the same week every year and it’s usually not tied to Easter which means people can actually find affordable flights. It’s so expensive to travel around Easter.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I work for APS, and am looking at FCPS's current calendar. They have TWO days off after Easter? And had TWO entire weeks off for Winter Break this year! We don't even have the Monday after Easter off. It's a full, regular school day.

As someone else said, it’s the end of the quarter. I’ve been teaching in FCPS for a long time and I don’t remember ever having this Monday as a workday - it’s just how the calendar fell this year and will be different next year because Spring Break always changes.

Spring break should be at the same time every year based on a secular schedule like end of 3rd quarter/start of 4th quarter. It is a very long haul next year between early January and mid-April.
It could easily be March 31-April 4, 2025 with April 18 as a standalone day off.

I am looking forward to a later spring break next year - it will be warmer where we like to travel.

Anonymous wrote:The school yr is long for staff because they demanded a two wk winter break, unlike all our neighboring jurisdictions. We can all finish earlier or start later without that nonsense.

Most places have 2 weeks off for winter break outside the Northeast and Maryland. It's extreme SD/TW days and some religious closures that wouldn't have a mass absence problem. Extending spring break is fine but some other off days should be removed.

Anonymous wrote:The school yr is long for staff because they demanded a two wk winter break, unlike all our neighboring jurisdictions. We can all finish earlier or start later without that nonsense.

You know that the majority of the parents in the survey asked for two week winter break as well, right?

The school yr is long for staff because they demanded a two wk winter break, unlike all our neighboring jurisdictions. We can all finish earlier or start later without that nonsense.

Teachers actually have to work? Boo effing hoo. 🙄

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The winter and spring breaks are way too long. One week at Christmas is plenty. A 12 day spring break is absurd.

The winter break has been the same for many years( like 8-10 years) they most likely will not change that. The two days after Easter is NEW this year. They used to go back on Monday. Not sure what the change was for BUT this year the quarter ended right before spring break. Last year they had spring break and then came back for 4 days and then it was end of quarter( which was really wonky.

The end of the quarter is the reason. Next year it will not be that way. But the days off will still be there - they’ll just be at a different time.

It's best when spring break is longer than when days off are separated by a week or two. Spring break should be between 3rd/4th quarter maybe the first full week of April at the latest not based on a holiday that can be up to 3 or 4 weeks apart from year to year is ridiculous.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I work for APS, and am looking at FCPS's current calendar. They have TWO days off after Easter? And had TWO entire weeks off for Winter Break this year! We don't even have the Monday after Easter off. It's a full, regular school day.

As someone else said, it’s the end of the quarter. I’ve been teaching in FCPS for a long time and I don’t remember ever having this Monday as a workday - it’s just how the calendar fell this year and will be different next year because Spring Break always changes.

Spring break should be at the same time every year based on a secular schedule like end of 3rd quarter/start of 4th quarter. It is a very long haul next year between early January and mid-April.
It could easily be March 31-April 4, 2025 with April 18 as a standalone day off.

Anonymous wrote:The winter and spring breaks are way too long. One week at Christmas is plenty. A 12 day spring break is absurd.

People often travel to see relatives out of state or overseas during winter break. It’s a very multicultural area, and not everyone has their family living in the same town. I do think the 12 day spring break is too long, but that’s just because we didn’t travel this year.

The previous school board was terrible at scheduling.

The new one should ditch those calendars thrown together by the last group and start fresh

Anonymous wrote:I was originally thinking the OP was talking about next year, but now realize they were referring to 2025-2026. I just looked at that calendar. I don't care so much about start end date but the amount of Tuesday and Thursday Holidays the first few months is going to be hard for momentum. But that is the day the holiday falls on so you can't change it.

No, you can't change them but you can choose to not observe them. Unfortunately, the wokesters on the School Board can't admit they screwed up the calendar, so we're probably stuck with this insanity forever.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is what happens when you add in all the extra religious and cultural days.

If only someone had the critical thinking skills to consider this earlier.

The FCPS school board rarely even comes close to critical thinking.

Seems to be that you are not using your critical thinking skills because you are failing to understand that shorter summers are better for education/skill retention in the majority of kids.

You better tell that to the School Board, because that isn't their justification for a longer school year.

And there are plenty of resources for kids that need supplemental learning over the summer. Too bad they don't take advantage of them.

I was originally thinking the OP was talking about next year, but now realize they were referring to 2025-2026. I just looked at that calendar. I don't care so much about start end date but the amount of Tuesday and Thursday Holidays the first few months is going to be hard for momentum. But that is the day the holiday falls on so you can't change it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is what happens when you add in all the extra religious and cultural days.

If only someone had the critical thinking skills to consider this earlier.

The FCPS school board rarely even comes close to critical thinking.

Seems to be that you are not using your critical thinking skills because you are failing to understand that shorter summers are better for education/skill retention in the majority of kids.

A shorter summer means less learning loss. Sorry that you, Elizabeth, and Charlotte can only spend 9 weeks with your kids at your beach houses this summer and your poor husbands can only come up 8 of those 9 weekends, but I think you'll survive.