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Malden explores changing school calendar to reflect more cultures

Print | Comments () Posted by Marcia Dick April 30, 2012 08:42 AM

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The following was submitted by Ward 1 School Committee member Jennyfer Cabral:

The Policies and Procedures Subcommittee will host a public forum on
Monday, April 30 at 5 p.m. in the City Council chambers at Malden Government Center.

"We are reevaluating the school calendar. We recognize that our community is filled with many different religions and cultures, which is what makes Malden so unique and wonderful.

"Our calendar currently only reflects major Christian and Jewish holidays. We would like to respect everyone’s traditions by designing a calendar with flexibility. In order to do that, it has been proposed that we give students and teachers two observation days, thereby allowing them to observe according to their own beliefs."

Proposed is to have No Test or Project Days on:

2012

September 17 & 18: Rosh Hashanah

September 26: Yom Kippur

October 26: Eid Ul-Adha

2013

February 11: Chinese New Year

March 29: Good Friday

Please note: school will be open and classess will be held

"We are also working with the Teacher’s Union to reflect new wording in their respective contracts for the new observation days. This has not been voted by the School Committee. It has been tabled until the next meeting, so that the subcommittee can hold this public forum, to ensure we receive everyone’s input on the new proposal."

Please e-mail me your comments and concerns to jencabral11@gmail.com.