What’s wrong with Meridian calendars? George C. Marshall High School and Meridian High School are only 1.4 miles apart, so why do the schedules look so different?
Meridian and Marshall are located in separate districts, so each school is run by different school boards with differing agendas and goals. Each district considers unique factors when curating a school calendar.
The policy describing the requirements for each year is the School Board Policy CC.
“[The policy] dictates that we do not have school on federal holidays, but we do have school on religious holidays, which is different from Marshall and McLean High Schools in Fairfax County,” school board chair Kathleen Tysse explained.
The school board policy document outlines the guidelines for creating the school calendar, including required religious holidays, teacher workdays, early release days, and adoption of the calendar. This is the document that differentiates us from surrounding counties.
The size, racial diversity and number of students, are the main factors for why our school calendars differ so vastly.
“Instead of having days off, we follow Regulation CC-R to acknowledge some of the religious holidays surrounding districts have off of school,” Tysse noted.
This document covers how FCCPS teachers are unable to schedule tests, field trips and sporting events on religious holidays.
FCPS has to be much more lenient for days given off due to higher religious diversity among its student body.
“FCPS is the ninth largest school division in the U.S. with 200 schools and centers. We serve a diverse population of more than 177,000 pre-kindergarten through grade 12 students, speaking 194 languages,” the FCPS website describes.
Conversely, the FCCPS website describes our smaller district.“Five schools serve over 2600 students, including some tuition students who live in communities outside the City of Falls Church.”
However, some students feel that they are misrepresented by the limited number of religious holidays.
“As a Jew, I want to be able to celebrate my holidays without missing school. I think it’s really unfair,” sophomore Eliana Henderson stated.
Despite the two school districts being so close in area, there’s different school boards creating the rules for each vicinity. Both of these schools have to take different things into consideration when making decisions, so the schedules will be different in the end.
