As the MCPS Board of Education continues to map out the 2019-2020 academic calendar, one of the issues on the table is spring break. Much to the dismay of many students and staff, spring break for the 2018-2019 school year will only be four school-days long and six days in total. However, the Board may reverse this change for next year and is currently considering either a ten-day break or a six-day break.
Like the current calendar, both calendar options would allow for a 182-day school year, and the first two days of spring break would serve as make-up instructional days. Under the six-day break plan, there would be non-instructional professional days for teachers at the end of each quarter. If the Board decides to revisit the ten-day break, the professional days would become early-release days.
According to Bethesda Magazine, much of the Montgomery County community has voiced their support for the traditional longer break. For many students and teachers, spring break is more than a time to sleep in and do nothing—it is also a chance to refuel and spend time with family.
“Usually, I try to make it a definite break from work. I think it’s important for everyone to take breaks. It helps us be better students and teachers,” social studies teacher Noah Grosfeld-Katz said. “This year I’m going to Paris, but typically I just stay home and watch TV.”
This year’s shorter six-day break, which starts on Tuesday, April 17, could also inconvenience students and staff who hope to travel during their time off. “A lot of families plan vacations during this time, and students would be missing school if they go on vacation during spring break because it’s so short,” junior Vickie Tan said.
For high schoolers, spring break is also a crucial time to work or study for AP tests, which take place throughout the first half of May.
“I really wish we could have a longer break because there’s going to be a lot less time to finish my homework and study for APs. I don’t know how I’m going to fit that time into my schedule this year when there’s going to be class during the day and homework to get done every night,” junior Jennifer Li said.
As Bethesda Magazine states, the Board has already decided to close school on Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, December 23 and one day at the end of second quarter based on community feedback. With little flexibility left, eliminating full non-instructional professional days is one of the only options to extend spring break.
“I think this all speaks to the big problem with the governor’s executive order demanding that the school calendar be a certain way without getting input from the jurisdictions,” Mr. Grosfeld-Katz said. “I need days off in the middle and at the end of the quarter to do work, so I don’t know how my schedule will be impacted.”
Likewise, students also perceive the inconveniences of the trade-off for a longer spring break.
“Days off during the school year do give us more time to catch up on the workload, especially with long term projects that are less prioritized than next-day homework,” Li said. “I think there should generally be fewer days off in second semester but more days off in first semester since having a longer break second semester would give everyone some time to relax.”
According to Bethesda Magazine, the board will decide on a calendar in November. Both calendar options have their advantages and disadvantages, but popular support for the ten-day break indicates that students and staff anticipate that the tradeoffs will be worth it.
Article by MoCo Student staff writer Helen Qian of Richard Montgomery High School