This just in…
TO: All PWCS Staff
FR: Keith Imon, Associate Superintendent for Communications and Technology Services
RE: School Board Changes January 20 School ScheduleDear Colleagues:
As a result of School Board action at its meeting on Wednesday, December 3, this years Prince William County Public School calendar has been revised. January 20, 2009 (Inauguration Day) will now be a school holiday for all students and staff. In exchange, Presidents Day, which falls this year on February 16, will be a regular school day. This calendar adjustment will be in effect every four years on Inauguration Day effective January 2009.
All schools and School Division offices are closed on Monday, January 19, in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and on Tuesday, January 20, for Inauguration Day.
More information will be forthcoming on elementary level parent/teacher conferences and the high school testing schedule.
Thank you.
I’m sorry, but I remember watching presidential inaugurations when I was in grade school — Ronald Reagan in 1981 when I was in 6th grade and Jimmy Carter in 1977 when I was in 2nd grade. Teachers turned on the TVs in our classrooms so we could watch the event and they used it as an opportunity to teach about U.S. history and government. I’ll never forget seeing the split TV screen in 1981 showing Reagan being sworn in on one half and the plane carrying the newly-freed U.S. hostages out of Iran on the other. Now, PWC students (and those in any other school districts that are doing the same) will not have that educational experience. How many kids will actually go to the event and learn something vs. how many will simply now have a four-day weekend?
Furthermore, what kind of message are we sending to people when kids are given the day off when a new president is sworn into office, but take away the day honoring Presidents George Washington and Abraham Lincoln? This is a knuckle-headed decision driven by the teachers’ union, which has been making noise about this for the past few weeks. You can bet that if John McCain and Sarah Palin were being sworn in that there wouldn’t have been such a change in the calendar. And does anyone want to take bets on whether kids will have the day off in 2013, despite what is written in this memo, if a Republican wins the presidency? Didn’t think so.
Filed under: Education, Prince William County Politics
[...] at Virginia Virtucon posts a memo from Prince William County Schools Associate Superintendent Keith Imon TO: All PWCS Staff FR: Keith Imon, Associate Superintendent for Communications and Technology [...]
Jim,
Considering that six of the eight School Board Members (who made this decision) are Republicans, how do you come to the conclusion that this has anything to do with Obama being elected? This is the first I’m hearing this but, knowing the Members as I do, I find it very hard to believe that this was politically motivated. It seems much more likely that this made sense with respect to the Federal holiday, teacher needs and use of potential snow days.
Close in schools systems, especially DC, should close that day. If they have anywhere near the touted 4 million people, traffic will be a horror. But Prince William is not close in.
Good point Rick. That and the fact that DC and the surrounding counties probably will be a bigger mess than usual in terms of traffic. This could be a safety issue since crowds are expected to be in the millions. It makes sense unless of course you are a Republican with an agenda.
The generic Presidents Day occurs EVERY year. THIS year’s inauguration IS different and you know it. Nothing similar will ever happen again. It’s a FIRST in the nation’s history.
Rejoice and tell you own children how special this inauguration is. If you don’t go to DC, sit down with them at home and watch the swearing-in on the telly.
Mosippan:
Yes, this is a first. It’s the first socialist president.
LH – Live with it!
“Yes, this is a first. It’s the first socialist president.”
Based on what, progressive taxation? That would make Teddy Roosevelt, one of McCain’s heroes, our first “socialist” President. Which is just as ridiculous as calling Obama one.
“Yes, this is a first. It’s the first socialist president.”
Thata’s rich. With a departing administration that has nationalized the credit and banking industries…
Rick, the decision was made after the PWEA brought pressure to bear on administrators and the Board. This has been building over the past month. At first, because of some requests for the day off from a handful of teachers who wanted to go, employees were told they could take excused leave. That wasn’t good enough, though. Do you really think such pressure would have been present had the election gone the other way? I’m disappointed that the board members caved to the PWEA’s silly demands.
As far as “federal holiday, teacher needs and use of potential snow days” — PWC has more snow days than it ever uses ever since they eliminated the half-day Thursdays for teacher planning a few years back. (Those days are NOT given back at the end of the year, either.) Most rank and file teachers who I have heard from so far are upset that the Presidents’ Day holiday is being taken away. Many teachers and families make plans for that long weekend months in advance. As the memo points out, this decision also messes up the timing for “elementary level parent/teacher conferences and the high school testing schedule.”
Mo, obviously you missed something with recent American History. Presidents’ Day is NOT a generic holiday honoring all presidents as many mistakingly believe. It honors only Washington and Lincoln, both of whom were born in Feb. In fact, the legal name of the federal holiday remains “Washington’s Birthday.” When Obama does something great and noteworthy other than being elected and having a certain skin pigment, THEN he can be honored with a day off.
While I’ll grant you the historical significance of the 2009 Inauguration, students would be better served watching it in school and having lessons tailored to it incorporated into that day. I’ll guarantee you that more kids would see the event and learn something about it if they were in school than simply by turning them loose and giving them the day off.
Kevin, there won’t be crowds in PWC and traffic on residential streets where school buses go and schools are located isn’t likely to be much heavier than normal. If anything, children are being discouraged from attending the swearing-in because of the crowds.
“Inaugural Nudge: Leave The Little Guys at Home”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/03/AR2008120303396.html?nav=rss_metro
Rick, Obama himself has admitted to his socialist sympathies. He wrote about it in one of his memoirs. You know, the one that so many people talk about, but almost no one has actually read.
He wrote about choosing to associate with “Marxist professors” and attend “socialist conferences”. Those are Obama’s own words.
http://virginiavirtucon.wordpress.com/2008/10/28/obama-carefully-chose-to-associate-with-marxists/
He was a member of the New Party founded by members of the Democratic Socialists of America in the 1990s and actively sought their endorsement in the Dem primary for his state senate seat.
http://virginiavirtucon.wordpress.com/2008/10/08/evidence-emerging-that-obama-was-member-of-socialist-new-party-in-the-90s/
So, yes, Obama is/was a socialist. That being said, I’m heartened that he has appointed a supply-side economist to his economic team. And I’m actually an old acquaintance of one of his other top economic advisors, Austan Goolsbee.
Riley -
You say that parents have made plans for the long Presidents Day weekend. How much thought do you suppose they give to Lincoln and Washington while they are away? It has become just another “reason” for big sales.
When Washington’s Birthday was held on the proper day, no matter what day of the week, people thought about the reason for the holiday. Now it’s just another 3-day weekend.
Wouldn’t surprise me if one day the Fourth of July will be celebrated on the nearest Monday!
Actually, Presidents’ Day is the busiest day at Mount Vernon each year. It is a giant draw for many families with kids. (It helps that they have free admission on that day.) So, I’d say that quite a few people, particularly if they are at Mount Vernon, the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial or other historical locales — whether in the D.C. area or other places in the U.S., do give quite a bit of thought to those two giants of American history.
Aside from that, the entire week before Presidents’ Day is used in schools, particularly at the elementary level, to educated students about Washington and Lincoln.
I’ll agree with you on holding Washington’s Birthday on the proper day. We should return to that.
If President’s Day were such an important holiday, Hallmark would make greeting cards.
Yo, Riley!!!!!!!!
Cherry pies and all. I’d like that!
See, Mo, once again we can agree. Already have my cherry pie in the freezer. I buy a nice fresh one each October out at Nall’s Farm on Route 7 out in Berryville and freeze it.
Kevin:
How a Holiday Gets Its Greetings
http://corporate.hallmark.com/Newsroom/How-Holiday-Becomes-Card-Sending-Occasion
Hallmark was founded in 1910 and began making cards for holidays in the decade that followed. To respond appropriately to the public’s celebration needs, Hallmark has always paid close attention to trends and monitored demand for holiday products.
While consumer demand is an important part of the overall equation, it alone is not enough to prompt Hallmark to create greeting cards for holidays. Some holidays lend themselves to sending cards more than others. When evaluating a potential holiday offering, we consider: 1) “sendability” (How likely are consumers to send cards for this occasion?) and 2) whether or not there is a large enough market across the United States to justify manufacturing products for it.
In the digital age, e-cards continue to be popular for some holidays and occasions, especially those such as Groundhog Day and Earth Day. E-cards offer Hallmark ways to help people connect at times when they find less need for a tangible paper card. This technology also provides us with a new avenue to test the demand people have for potential products for new occasions and situations.
BlueMountain.com e-cards does have President’s Day cards. There are no Inauguration Day cards, but there are sympathy cards, which could be used as a substitute.
The liberal illuminati is so powerful… and so dumb. I hope they realize in a few years that they are going to regret this, once they figure out that he’s not as wonderful as they’ve been thinking.
Try getting around Ferry Farm on President’s Day.
Jim, I love your blog, but have to tell you this had nothing to do with any kind of pressure from PWEA. You should know better than that, especially since you know most of us. With regard to my vote… I brought this issue up four years ago and supported it then. At that time there was not enough support for it. I would not have supported the motion if it was a one time thing. Also, we have not always had President’s Day as a holiday. We only recently added it to our calendar. The majority of the board would not have supported adding a day to the end of the year, or a day after the SOL’s. What would really help us as a board with regard to planning is if we had the ability to start school before Labor Day (like a majority of the other counties do in VA), but we do not. This limits what we can do with the calendar every year. If you have any other questions please call me.
This is getting out of hand. It is not history to swear in a new President. It is not history to swear in a Democrat. If people want to say it is history because Obama happens to be half black, then that flies in the face of what Obama has said and what MLK said over forty years ago.
A county in Alabama has already named a holiday after Obama who has not served a single day as President. It is simply amazing the cult of personality that is going on.
I wonder if he fails will these same people who are celebrating a “first” will blame him because he happens to be half black? I have a feeling they won’t.
At least when I was a kid, Fairfax County schools closed on inauguration day. Although I think I would have rather been in school than freezing my butt off during Bush 41′s parade…
Why would we tell our kids that it’s a holiday to honor the first president, I guess it is not inportant anymore.
Yes our country did change the color of a president elect but he has not even served a day yet ,an our schools is telling our kids that President Washington is being replaced by President Elect Obama..
Our children should be in school learning not a home / daycare playing….
Julie, perhaps a better solution would have been to shift the day off from MLK Day on Mon., Jan. 19 to Tue, Jan. 20. To me that would have been more appropriate if kids are to get Inauguration Day off at all.
Riley Great Post! I give more weight for the enabling our children to enjoy the experiences of being with their friends and peers to enjoy the inauguration. Yeah our kids should be in school. Give me a ruler, scotch tape and paper and lets make signs of protest! Lets burn our lunch cards (Opps..bad idea) Priceless! BTW…Nixon inauguration for me!
It is a historic day – but not because of anything this president-elect has done – just his skin color.
Pigment is not a measure of greatness I’m afraid.
Riley is right on – the PWCS Board is bluntly saying that an inaguration is more important than honoring Lincoln and Washington.
The intent of President’s Day and every other holiday is to focus the nation on those purposes. It’s fitting and instructive to annually recall the pivotal presidencies of Lincoln and Washington. It’s fitting and particularly instructive to annually honor our Veterans. And all the rest.
I don’t really mind the day off for the inaguration so that kids can suposedly attend. PWC is that close in so it’s reasonable enough. But why did it have to be a trade? The trade is wrong-headed and offensive.
The PWCS Board’s decision should be modified, or reversed. They should undo the insult to two of our nation’s most important presidents and, if they must, make inaguration day an extra school day off every four years. Or don’t do it at all.
Lincoln’s birthday is Feb 12. Washington’s birthday is Feb 22.
Tom Kopko – Lets honor those two properly.
Let’s have those two days as holidays rather than combining them and make the combined “birthday” on the Monday closest to those two dates. Of course, the Monday decision is so that there’ll be a three day weekend. That makes it so convenient. No dishonor in that, right?
mosippan – you can propose whatever you want, but I think the holiday as it stands works well to accomplish both purposes.
I’m told that the Board will be reconsidering the decision at their Dec. 17 meeting, thanks to Chairman Milt Johns.
Here is an idea…why not trade Inauguration Day for Martin Luther King Day? I am sure the good folks won’t be rioting in the streets due to the “change” right? Rigggghhhttt…….
[...] a stir a few days ago when he pointed out that the Prince William County School Board saw it fit to exchange Presidents Washington and Lincoln for President Obama. Well now Stafford County has decided how to deal with Inauguration Day. The Stafford County [...]
Okay boys and girls, settle down and get over yourselves!! I’m hoping my kids don’t fall upon this blog like I did. All I wanted to know was when school would start in 2009, and instead I got a bunch of adults acting like children. WHO REALLY CARES???? I would have prefered my children be in school watching and learning, but because they weren’t I made sure they were at home watching and learning. Try it sometime!! Such sore losers….grow up!
During all past Inauguration Days that I’ve spent in school, I have never been allowed to watch the actual Inauguration during the school day. We always had to proceed like it was a regular day, so by giving students the day off we actually have the opportunity to participate in the ceremonies or watch the inauguration on television, rather than be forced to miss the experience sitting in a classroom learning about everything BUT what is actually going on in our country. If you actually cared about the effect seeing the inauguration has on growing students, you would let go of your hatred for Obama and realize that it is the school systems who are inhibiting your child. Get your facts straight!
First, it was ridiculous that they were going to take away Presidents’ Day honoring Washington and Lincoln so students could have Inauguration Day off. Second, the schools in the past SHOULD have shown the inaugurations and taught about them. Third, in the end this didn’t happen. Fourth, why so wound up over something that happened nearly a year ago. And finally, what are you doing reading and writing comments on blogs at 3 AM?