Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) has reached out to parents regarding the potential removal of Christmas and other religious holidays to increase classroom time.
In a recent email, FCPS requested feedback on possible changes to the school calendar, as reported by 7News.
The email stated, “Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) values your input as we plan our upcoming school calendar. Please complete a short survey to share your priorities and perspectives. This will be considered as part of the calendar planning process. Your feedback is important. Please take a few minutes to respond.”
One of the survey questions proposed the option of eliminating religious holidays, including Christmas, to allow for more instructional days. The question asked was, “If your school calendar requires any of the following changes, which one would you be most likely to accept?”
One suggested option was to “eliminate holidays that recognize religious and cultural observances, such as Christmas, Diwali, Eid al-Fitr, Rosh Hashanah, and other holidays,” according to 7News.
Additional options given included shortening winter and spring breaks, reducing federal holidays, and possibly making the day before Thanksgiving a school day.
Parents were also asked about their satisfaction with the current school calendar and to rank how important it is to take time off for religious holidays versus maintaining the existing length of winter and spring breaks.
The study did not propose any options that would provide students with additional time off or lessen teachers’ working hours.
This email initiative followed numerous requests from parents for FCPS to ensure five in-person school days each week, as noted by 7News. Presently, there are fewer than five days of instruction each week.
Furthermore, the school board is already revising next year’s calendar, having voted to start the school year with Veterans Day in April and to shorten the early release schedule for elementary schools from the 12th to the 8th. A proposal to do away with the Indigenous Peoples’ Day holiday was rejected with a 7-4 vote.
Stephanie Aurora Lundquist, a mother of three FCPS students, responded, voicing her concerns about perceived bias against Christianity from district leaders. In a recent FOX News interview, she said, “In 2022, the school board decided to alter spring break specifically to detach it from Easter, and then in 2024, the county’s governing council resolved to observe Transgender Visibility Day on Easter. This is just a small part of a larger issue that reflects their anti-Christian bias.”
Lundquist also pointed out the negative consequences of the current calendar on student performance.
“Sometimes you wake up and wonder if your child has school that day. Meanwhile, about 25 percent of Fairfax County students struggle with reading, writing, and math. Those planning days and workdays just distract from what truly matters: the kids are not doing well,” she said.
“All they need to do is revert to something more like a 1990s calendar that prioritizes a standard five-day school week, regular winter and spring breaks, and redirect resources from these questionable surveys back to schools,” Lundquist added.
FCPS responded to 7News, stating they are “committed to developing an academic calendar that works best for our students, staff, and families.”
The district also mentioned ongoing outreach efforts to families, including the survey, aimed at identifying priorities for the future school calendar regarding five-day weeks, the lengths of breaks, and religious and cultural observances.
Attempts to contact FCPS for further comment were unsuccessful prior to publication.
