Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I like the breaks, it helps my HS stay on top of their studies and be able to have enough down time.

+1

I think it’s fine for high school, but for working parents with younger kids the inconsistent schedule is really hard.

It's not "inconsistent" if it's on a set schedule far in advance, which these days off are.

There is time to plan. I'm not saying it's easy or ideal, I get that it isn't. But calling it "inconsistent", as if schools just airily declare on a whim on Wednesday that the next Monday is a day off, whenever, is incorrect.

It’s inconsistent for my kid because that day of sitting around (I work outside the home) gets him in a funk. He would rather be in school.

I’m a liberal and I would prefer kids be in school through the holidays, with the exception a long weekend at the quarters, Thanksgiving, a 2-week period in the winter (doesn’t matter when), and a week in the spring.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I like the breaks, it helps my HS stay on top of their studies and be able to have enough down time.

+1

I think it’s fine for high school, but for working parents with younger kids the inconsistent schedule is really hard.

It's not "inconsistent" if it's on a set schedule far in advance, which these days off are.

There is time to plan. I'm not saying it's easy or ideal, I get that it isn't. But calling it "inconsistent", as if schools just airily declare on a whim on Wednesday that the next Monday is a day off, whenever, is incorrect.

Anonymous wrote:Kinda sad that you can’t just enjoy a day with your kids.

I enjoy the days I can spend with my kid but I, like a good number of parents, work. Luckily, DS is old enough to entertain himself at home for the day so we don’t need to pay for a camp to watch him this year. And yes, I would need to find coverage for him during the summer but there are more options for summer camp that DS enjoys.

But the child care is not the issue. Many kids need a stable routine. This screwed up calendar causes all sorts of issues for my kids friend with anxiety. He already struggles with going to school but giving him another day off makes going to school on Tuesday that much worse. It is another day for him to stress about school and issues and increases his anxiety. His family has a routine that makes this manageable that works reasonably well during a normal week but the extra day can lead to refusal to attend school.

He is not the only kid who has issues when their routine is disrupted. And there are the kids who have a required number of pull outs and push in help that are required to help them because of an IEP. Those are disrupted.

I know that you all want to blame it on working parents being annoyed about child care but it is about disrupting routines for kids who need routines.

I would far prefer a year round school with a 2 week break after the end of quarters and a 6 week summer vacation because I do worry about learning loss. For the same reason as I don’t like all these random days off. Most kids do far better with structure and a reliable schedule. The calendar does not provide that for the kids right now. I know that isn’t going to happen but I can dream.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you want more days in the school year, advocate for that. But if it's going to be 180 days no matter what, why is a day off here and there a big deal?

Because no teaching happens once the SOLs are held and yet we have weeks of school after....those count towards the 180 days but no real instruction happens. Is that what you want for your kids education? Imbecile.

So why don't you focus on what happens after the sols, or when they are administered? Having one day off for a holiday observed by a billion people around the world doesn't seem like it would be as important as that.

A billion people around the world, sure. But how many here to justify another missed day? And if that's the measure, why don't we have off for Chinese New Year?

There is now an O day for the Lunar New year, it might be a full day off but the Lunar New Year is recognized. I believe the date of the New Year festivities is slightly different among the culture that celebrate it so I have no idea which one they picked for the Lunar New Year.

And yes, a billion people celebrate Diwali around the globe but how many in the US? I am guessing that Christmas is not a Federal Holiday in many countries across the globe because it is not a commonly celebrated day off like it is in the US and Europe.

Christmas is a school and federal holiday in India.

Leftover from the colonizers

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I like the breaks, it helps my HS stay on top of their studies and be able to have enough down time.

+1

I think it’s fine for high school, but for working parents with younger kids the inconsistent schedule is really hard.

Working parents with young kids have before/after care that covers these teacher work days/non-Federal holidays.

This may be true for some, but it is not the case for my family. Our care arrangement does not cover all of these extra days off.

Anonymous wrote:Kinda sad that you can’t just enjoy a day with your kids.

Most people can enjoy one, or even 2, but 10 days off in 2.5 months is BS. You must not be employed

Kinda sad that you can’t just enjoy a day with your kids.

And don’t forget that Friday is 2 hr early release, 10/31 is another day off, followed by 11/8 and 11/11! Way to ensure that kids don’t have a full week of school in the fall, FCPS!

#FedHolidayOnly #KeepReligionOutOfSchools

I really should stop reading DCUM a full month before an election.

Anonymous wrote:We've had 3 (4?) religious holidays so far this year... and endless more to come.

Liberals fought hard to remove any entanglement between public school and Christian religion, now these hypocrites can't add enough religious holidays to the schedule.

Wish my kids were in school and learning. Wish the School Board even cared about that.

Funny how you'll be the first person to come back and reply "but we need the two week long vacation at Christmas for the immigrant families who travel home to visit their relatives". Immigrants/non-Christians are great when they serve their purposes, otherwise you're a racist a-hole. Christmas break and Easter break are a pain in the butt for those of who want to travel to visit our families - do you know how expensive it is to travel around your Christian holidays? I'd much prefer a two week break at the end of the quarter in January when it makes sense.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you want more days in the school year, advocate for that. But if it's going to be 180 days no matter what, why is a day off here and there a big deal?

Because no teaching happens once the SOLs are held and yet we have weeks of school after....those count towards the 180 days but no real instruction happens. Is that what you want for your kids education? Imbecile.

So why don't you focus on what happens after the sols, or when they are administered? Having one day off for a holiday observed by a billion people around the world doesn't seem like it would be as important as that.

A billion people around the world, sure. But how many here to justify another missed day? And if that's the measure, why don't we have off for Chinese New Year?

There is now an O day for the Lunar New year, it might be a full day off but the Lunar New Year is recognized. I believe the date of the New Year festivities is slightly different among the culture that celebrate it so I have no idea which one they picked for the Lunar New Year.

And yes, a billion people celebrate Diwali around the globe but how many in the US? I am guessing that Christmas is not a Federal Holiday in many countries across the globe because it is not a commonly celebrated day off like it is in the US and Europe.

Christmas is a school and federal holiday in India.

Anonymous wrote:If FCPS was threatened by vouchers this silliness would go away, look at he private school calendars of nearby schools, very few holidays and no teacher work days

https://school.saintagnes.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/2020-2021-School-Calendar-Parents.pdf

https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1570202101/potomac/dcgsyyegrw2szijs9tlo/2019-20CalendarGrid.pdf

My DD went to private school for two years -- they started two weeks after FCPS and also had off random days, just not the same ones as FCPS. They also had early release every Monday (which FCPS used to have about 9 years ago), 3-4 early release days twice a year for conferences, etc. Two teacher work days after a two week winter break, So, no, they didn't have off for Diwali, but they had a ton of days off and inconvenient times for working parents.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let me translate for OP:

"ugh, I hate having to take care of my own kids, wish I could go to Monday Barre class"

Yeah, if only it were that simple. I’d love to be going to barre class instead of paying private tutors to get my kids somewhat caught up after the scamdemic school closures, woke ideology run amock and now more holidays and days off. I think everyone and their beliefs should be celebrated but weve truly lost sight of the bigger picture here.

If we didn't have these days off, there would be a longer summer break during which more kids would forget more information. It's not like but for these holidays, kids would have more hours in the school year.

If FCPS was threatened by vouchers this silliness would go away, look at he private school calendars of nearby schools, very few holidays and no teacher work days

https://school.saintagnes.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/2020-2021-School-Calendar-Parents.pdf

https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1570202101/potomac/dcgsyyegrw2szijs9tlo/2019-20CalendarGrid.pdf