Sunday, May 12, 2019

Dozens of U.S. Cities, No Dec. 23 School --Only Other Open Major NE School District--Philly, Just for P.D.

     *Big cities w/o Dec. 23 school listed    *MORE petition for making Monday Dec. 23 a vacation day
UFT President for Eternity, Michael Mulgrew, uses the excuse that the curious December 23, 2019 New York City school schedule is handed down from Albany.

QUESTION: Mulgrew has such clout in Albany? Then why can he not get accomplished democratic autonomy for New York City? We have no home rule. We are a petty fief of the state. Maybe Mulgrew and the UNITY clan like it this way: a little number of players can negotiate with each other in secret, unlike locales school districts that putting the decision on whether to open December 23 up an open public discussion. This fiasco shows the failure of having mayoral control where major decisions impacting the schools are addressed behind closed doors.

It will be pretty awkward and difficult leading classes and getting work accomplished, when all the news and other media will be mentioning vacations having begun over the weekend. Students exposed to this will be mighty jealous and embittered. Of all the days school will feel like confinement, this will be it.

Other big cities, unlike New York City, closed on December 23:
Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Phoenix (break begins on Dec. 20), San Antonio, San Diego.
Philadelphia will be open on Dec. 23 --only for professional development.

Other Northeast cities with populations over 100,000, closed on Dec. 23, these districts have already released their 2019-2020 school year calendars:
Washington, DC, Boston, Baltimore,
Worcester, Providence, Springfield (Dec. 20 is a p.d. day), Rochester, YonkersStamford, Allentown, Cambridge, Lowell (Dec. 20: 'Holiday Vacation Begins at the Close of Day'), Manchester, NH (Dec. 20: early release for elementary schools), Waterbury, CT, Lakewood, NJ.

And others:
New Bedford, MA ('from the close of school on Dec. 20'), Brockton, MA, Quincy, MA 

Exceptions:
Woodbridge, NJ (4 hour day, Dec. 23)

To be determined:
Newark, Jersey City, Buffalo, Syracuse, Paterson, Edison, Elizabeth,
Bridgeport, New Haven, Hartford

PLEASE CLICK TO SIGN THE PETITION TO CHANCELLOR CARRANZA TO REMOVE DECEMBER 23 FROM THE NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION SCHOOLS SCHEDULE, AS NEARLY EVERY OTHER SCHOOL DISTRICT HAS DONE.


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