Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The same families who complain about the lack of available snow days are the ones who are booking vacations for the entirety of winter and spring break and the day after school gets out.

Where are we supposed to find these days without cutting into established breaks and holidays?

What's your source of data for your assertion that the parents complaining have this excessive vacation day taking pattern?

You sound like you're making up things to fit your desired narrative that there's no possible solution that would allow students to get 180 days of education per year.

There is no solution to get 180 separate calendar days with a full summer and religious holidays and a day off after every quarter and that is without snow days.
The way certain states do it with 990 hours being equivalent to 180 days is best so breaks stay intact and the students still get their time.
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The problem in NoVA isn't the law but all the random staff workday closures.

It would be very easy to do:
- Get rid of transition day (go back to 1/2 day orientation the week before school starts)
- Religious holidays become 1/2 days unless they impact 15% or more of MCPS students and teachers (we didn't use to have religious holidays at all that didn't meet this threshold - this would include Eid, Diwali, and Lunar New Year, for sure)
- All teacher work days become 1/2 days.

At a minimum, this would provide at least 7 days (to be used to shorten length of time it takes to get to 180 and/or to add a few snow days). Done.
I'm a teacher, and it really bothers me that the majority of the time we do not go to school five days a week. People underestimate how much this impacts the learning momentum of our students. We spend a lot of time just reviewing where we were the last time we saw each other because we're always off. Let's just start and end school at a reasonable time but actually go to school steadily during the year for the most part.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The same families who complain about the lack of available snow days are the ones who are booking vacations for the entirety of winter and spring break and the day after school gets out.

Where are we supposed to find these days without cutting into established breaks and holidays?

Shorten summer holidays from 10 weeks to 9 weeks like others have said above. Other districts do this (like Virginia).

I better get a raise if you shorten my summer break.

Why? You still have to teach 180 days a year. They’re just spread out differently.

And herein lies the dilemma. MCPS staff are happy with the lack of snow days built into the calendar because they keep their longer summer breaks and don’t have to teach the required number of full days of instructions (just some BS June half days added into the calendar where Taylor says “no instruction will go on anyway because we know you all have other plans.”

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The same families who complain about the lack of available snow days are the ones who are booking vacations for the entirety of winter and spring break and the day after school gets out.

Where are we supposed to find these days without cutting into established breaks and holidays?

Shorten summer holidays from 10 weeks to 9 weeks like others have said above. Other districts do this (like Virginia).

That looks like it's been done anyways. Summer is June 18-August 23 or 24 (67 or 68 days) for students and June 19-August 16 (less than 2 months) for teachers and that is if there are no makeup days added in June! It is way too short for teachers.

Not all of Virginia just Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William.

That’s a whole lot of Virginia starting earlier than MCPS. There’s no need to be held hostage to MCPS teachers who want a longer summer break and benefit each year because our kids aren’t getting the 180 days of instruction they’re supposed to receive by law.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The same families who complain about the lack of available snow days are the ones who are booking vacations for the entirety of winter and spring break and the day after school gets out.

Where are we supposed to find these days without cutting into established breaks and holidays?

Shorten summer holidays from 10 weeks to 9 weeks like others have said above. Other districts do this (like Virginia).

I better get a raise if you shorten my summer break.

Why? You still have to teach 180 days a year. They’re just spread out differently.

Anonymous wrote:The same families who complain about the lack of available snow days are the ones who are booking vacations for the entirety of winter and spring break and the day after school gets out.

Where are we supposed to find these days without cutting into established breaks and holidays?

Move transition day to the Friday before school starts. For this year, October 17th should have been a day of school. Grading days are half days. Done.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The same families who complain about the lack of available snow days are the ones who are booking vacations for the entirety of winter and spring break and the day after school gets out.

Where are we supposed to find these days without cutting into established breaks and holidays?

What's your source of data for your assertion that the parents complaining have this excessive vacation day taking pattern?

You sound like you're making up things to fit your desired narrative that there's no possible solution that would allow students to get 180 days of education per year.

There is no solution to get 180 separate calendar days with a full summer and religious holidays and a day off after every quarter and that is without snow days.
The way certain states do it with 990 hours being equivalent to 180 days is best so breaks stay intact and the students still get their time.
-
The problem in NoVA isn't the law but all the random staff workday closures.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The same families who complain about the lack of available snow days are the ones who are booking vacations for the entirety of winter and spring break and the day after school gets out.

Where are we supposed to find these days without cutting into established breaks and holidays?

Shorten summer holidays from 10 weeks to 9 weeks like others have said above. Other districts do this (like Virginia).

That looks like it's been done anyways. Summer is June 18-August 23 or 24 (67 or 68 days) for students and June 19-August 16 (less than 2 months) for teachers and that is if there are no makeup days added in June! It is way too short for teachers.

Not all of Virginia just Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The same families who complain about the lack of available snow days are the ones who are booking vacations for the entirety of winter and spring break and the day after school gets out.

Where are we supposed to find these days without cutting into established breaks and holidays?

Shorten summer holidays from 10 weeks to 9 weeks like others have said above. Other districts do this (like Virginia).

And actually use your contingency days if you insist on a ridiculously low number of days built in. -DP

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The same families who complain about the lack of available snow days are the ones who are booking vacations for the entirety of winter and spring break and the day after school gets out.

Where are we supposed to find these days without cutting into established breaks and holidays?

Shorten summer holidays from 10 weeks to 9 weeks like others have said above. Other districts do this (like Virginia).

I better get a raise if you shorten my summer break.

Anonymous wrote:The same families who complain about the lack of available snow days are the ones who are booking vacations for the entirety of winter and spring break and the day after school gets out.

Where are we supposed to find these days without cutting into established breaks and holidays?

What's your source of data for your assertion that the parents complaining have this excessive vacation day taking pattern?

You sound like you're making up things to fit your desired narrative that there's no possible solution that would allow students to get 180 days of education per year.

Anonymous wrote:The same families who complain about the lack of available snow days are the ones who are booking vacations for the entirety of winter and spring break and the day after school gets out.

Where are we supposed to find these days without cutting into established breaks and holidays?

Shorten summer holidays from 10 weeks to 9 weeks like others have said above. Other districts do this (like Virginia).

The same families who complain about the lack of available snow days are the ones who are booking vacations for the entirety of winter and spring break and the day after school gets out.

Where are we supposed to find these days without cutting into established breaks and holidays?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They need to add in more snow days into next year's calendar.

You mean 2027-2028? The one for next year (2026-2027) is done already and only has 1 day again.

The stupidity of MCPS making the same mistakes over and over again and shortchanging our kids education time in the process

Anonymous wrote:They need to add in more snow days into next year's calendar.

You mean 2027-2028? The one for next year (2026-2027) is done already and only has 1 day again.

They need to add in more snow days into next year's calendar.