Why in heavens name-pre sukkos Daycamp

amother

↑ NeonGreen ↓

Wed, Oct 09 2024, 9:51 pm

Ema of 5 wrote:

It’s not new though. This has been the way it is for years. And even if it IS the first time a school is doing it, the school calendar was sent out for sure by the first day of school, maybe even before that. So it’s not like all of a sudden the school woke up and decided “hey, let’s make an extra day off.” Working moms know the calendar. Yes, it’s hard, but it’s not as if this was just thrown on anyone randomly at the last second.

Knowing 4 weeks ago that they would be off is really no help. I'm still taking a lot of unpaid days for yom tov. I still need to struggle to find childcare for the hardest days. And plenty of times my kids schools do throw it last second and make ammendments to their calender to give even more time off.

amother

Coral

Wed, Oct 09 2024, 10:04 pm

Not all schools are the same so I'll talk about ny school. Wife of a Rebbi. The principal decides the calendar. He gives a half day off before erev yomtov because many families travel and need that time.
Not the parent body's business but I have seen many principals treat their hired teachers worse than slaves. When you complain about teachers, consider this. It's not the teachers you want to be upset at.

amother

Ebony ↓

Wed, Oct 09 2024, 10:15 pm

amother Carnation wrote:

Im fine with the days off as long as tuition accounts for it. The schools want to give extra perks, by all means but it should be on their dime not mine.

There are very few schools days in October this year as is but we pay full tuition for the month. As long as aligns reasonably with the actual YT, then it is what it is. But if you decide to take extra days off, such as erev erev Yom Tov, or as in my high school daughters case - erev erev erev YT, then we deserve a tuition discount.

Regardless of the schedule, there are 180 days of school a year and that's where your tuition goes. When we get an extra day off here, we lose it elsewhere.

amother

Turquoise ↓

Wed, Oct 09 2024, 10:26 pm

On the flip side....
My son has off 5 days of the year.
Erev rosh hashana, erev yom kipur, erev succos, erev pesach and erev Tisha b'av. They have half day ever shevuos and half day taanos esther, half day tzom gedalia.
They do go half hour later on chanuka.
I'd like for him to have a day off there and there!
The boys even go an hour later every isru chag. No it's ands or buts.

But my girls.... oh the girls.... from 5th grade and up they are almost off more days than not. Almost all of Nissan, my kid was dismissed on Tuesday before rosh hashana at 12:40. I'm assuming it'll be the same for next Tuesday. (That I think was amazing this year. Not so much last year!)
2-3 random days off on chanuka.
No Fridays. But they go Sundays between succos and until 1 before the last sunday before purim (excluding chanuka) then every Sunday unless it's the week of shevuos....
Sometimes a random Sunday off.
Sometimes a random early day.
Officially all those off days (including no friday) was to "help" out for yom tov.
Last year it was so challanging. I don't think 5th graders are ready for it.
My kids school is the only one who starts this crazy schedule in 5th grade. All the other schools in my town start at 6th grade which I think is much more appropriate. Last year was so hard. But now I can see how much she matured and even if she isn't a help always, she isn't a huge drag to have around on those busy days. Last year it was all about "I want this" "I wanna do that" "I'm bored" "so and so is going here/there doing this/that. I want too" "this house is so boring" "take me here" "I don't have what to do"
Finally she'd go for a ride around the block. she's the only kid from that school in her grade so no 5th graders were off. The 6th graders were actually busy! And then she'd come home feeling so rejected after knocking on 20 doors, becuase noone was available to join her. Then I had to deal with her emotions.... Shudddddeeeer when I think back!

amother

↑ Turquoise

Wed, Oct 09 2024, 10:37 pm

amother Carnation wrote:

I don't know, I pay tuition for the year. It's broken up in 12 plateable chunks so it's not a huge lump sum ($$k) for all kids at once.

Even though school ends early June, I still pay June, July and August, I can decide to send to the school affiliated camp. But then it's a separate camp price/fee. And I also need to pay transportation too.

So your not paying for the single days, but just portions of the yearly tuition price.

amother

↑ Carnation ↓

Wed, Oct 09 2024, 10:37 pm

amother Ebony wrote:

Regardless of the schedule, there are 180 days of school a year and that's where your tuition goes. When we get an extra day off here, we lose it elsewhere.

Ha! I wish. There definitely isn't 180 days in my kids school calendar. They get away with it because who will report them?

I just counted the days on my kids school calendar - 159 days to be exact.

amother

↑ Carnation

Wed, Oct 09 2024, 10:43 pm

amother Turquoise wrote:

But I expect to get the full service for the yearly tuition. If they cut the service, for less than the required number of days, then they should cut the fees.

The school year is supposed to consist of 180 days. We make allowances where its mandated, I.e. YT etc. But when they keep cutting days for their own perks, and undercut the 180 required days, then that should reflect somewhere. Instead, we are getting the short stick on both ends. Our tuition rates are skyrocketing and the numbers of school days is declining.

amother

↑ NeonGreen

Wed, Oct 09 2024, 10:43 pm

amother Ebony wrote:

Regardless of the schedule, there are 180 days of school a year and that's where your tuition goes. When we get an extra day off here, we lose it elsewhere.

Not all schools have 180 days. My kids school doesnt. And do we count 3 hour Fridays as a full day? What about the 3 hour fast days, lag boomer, and wtvr other random half day they give?

amother

↑ Ebony

Thu, Oct 10 2024, 12:22 am

amother NeonGreen wrote:

Not all schools have 180 days. My kids school doesnt. And do we count 3 hour Fridays as a full day? What about the 3 hour fast days, lag boomer, and wtvr other random half day they give?

I obviously can't speak for all schools. I teach English in a boys yeshiva in Brooklyn. Sundays and Fridays don't count because there's no English, neither do half days, and we definitely have 180 days. Some years it works out better than others. Some years we end up having school on isru chag. It just depends. My daughters are in a more academic BY school and Fridays count because they have English for a bit, and they end up having much more leeway with days off than my school.

amother

DarkGreen

Thu, Oct 10 2024, 1:53 am

amother Lightpink wrote:

What about the working moms? Why doesn't anyone fargin them a day of not having to struggle to find child care?

Why do rebbes and morahs get more days off than regular working people? it's a job just like our office jobs.

If anything it's way more important for rebbes and teachers to have work than someone in an office, because when they have an off day, they're affecting (and often messing up) the schedules of the 28+ families of the kids in their class.

But schools don't think of the parents when they make their schedules.

amother

Clear

Thu, Oct 10 2024, 4:44 am

Are you all from US?

Where I live we are the minority that our school has on tuesday.
My boys school had half day on erev rpsh hashono but are not having tuesday.

And I am taking the day off as we are going away and dont want to travel on erev yomtov.

I know In London they all have school on tuesday and Im surprised.

I think in America there is no time to breathe.

Hashem_Yaazor

Thu, Oct 10 2024, 6:57 am

amother DarkGreen wrote:

There's no one single entity called "schools".

My kids' school absolutely thinks about parents' need to work. They cut out a PD because of this on the calendar plus added extra days at the end of last year when summer break turned out to be longer than usual, and still didn't raise tuition despite having to compensate teachers for working more.

At the same time, we're off Tuesday (my high schoolers are off Monday as well). Many need that day for traveling due to getting a day's drive away from the East Coast. It's not for the teachers to cook.