I'm wondering which areas of the country get the Jewish holidays off. Nearly all public schools in NYC metro get it off. What's kind of silly is that we have 2 days off for Rosh Hashanah after the FIRST day of school. So we go in Wednesday the 8th with the kids, then get that Thursday and Friday off. What other areas of the country get them off? I've always wondered.
I live north of Chicago, and we get the holidays off if they are during the week. This year, we get Rosh Hashanah. It starts at Sundown on Wednesday, so we go to school on Wednesday but get Thursday off. Since Yom Kippur is on a weekend, we don't get anything off for that. We do not miss school for Passover.
I grew up in Southern Illinois and I didn't even know what the Jewish High Holidays were. Needless to say, we didn't get out of school for them.
We don't, but staff are able to take off any religious holidays. Absences because of religious holidays also aren't counted against our students.
NE Florida does NOT get them off. In fact my Jewish co-worker had to take her personal days in order to have them off. In New Orleans where she worked before they didn't get them off either but they wouldn't have to use their own personal days for religious holidays.
We get off for Yom Kippor (well not this year because it is on a weekend), but not for Rosh Hashanah.
We don't get any of those days off so people have to take vacation or sick days if they want to be off.
I grew up in South Florida- we don't get those days off. Now I live in Chicago - (City) and we can take religious days, (as can the kids) they don't count towards our sick count- and are excused for the kids but I've never taken them off. I'm not that religious.
My kids (Long Island public schools) get them off. Obviously the Catholic schools where my husband and I teach will be open. But any Jewish teachers are free to take the days off.
The school system where I grew up had a very high Jewish population and was off for some of the holidays, particularly Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. My school does not offer this but our schedules are flexible enough that administrators can wink at it if we take the time.
We do not, and we did not where I went to school or where I previously worked. However, I only ever remember having 2 Jewish students the whole 8 years I worked in my last building. I don't know any students who are Jewish in my current school, or in the school I went to high school in. There was one teacher in my high school, and maybe 3-4 in my last school that were Jewish. No teacher is Jewish in my current school that I know of. I am pretty sure we can take days of for religious holidays and not use sick or personal time, though.
I'm in PA. My district: no Jewish holidays kid's: Off Thursday for Rosh Hashanah dh: Off Thursday and Friday for Rosh Hashanah I think most PA districts by me have it off, mine is the odd one that does not. I grew up in NY state (Rockland County) and we always had off for both Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur if they fell on weekdays.
South Louisiana does not get them off but we do get off for Mardi Gras which is a Catholic tradition. At my last school (it was a Catholic school), we had 2 Jewish teachers and they were allowed those days off.
My district does, although it will be interesting to see what happens in the next decade or so - we have very few Jewish students anymore, mostly just teachers, and I'd be willing to say that probably the majority of them started working for the district long enough ago that they'll be retiring soon, in large numbers. We go back the seventh, have school the 8th, then off TWO days for Rosh Hashanah. Which is one more day than my MIL, who teaches at a Jewish preschool, gets. We also get Yom Kippur off if it is during the week. The first "week" of school will be interesting this year. I'm thinking of trying some different stuff from what I'd usually do since it's not enough time to really get into anything and then there's a 4-day weekend.
We don't. I teach at a non-denominational private school, so we don't. We also don't get off for Good Friday, Ramadan, or any other religious holidays. Some schools around here do get off for those things.
I'm in NJ- we get them off. It's not silly, it's respectful. We have 2 teacher days next week. Then Labor Day. Following week will be 2 days with students and then Rosh Hashanah. By the week after that I'll be ready to hit the ground running with curriculum.
No. And I know it's complicated, but it seems to make much greater sense to me to delay the start of school until Monday... And just kind of thinking aloud here...I don't know a single Jewish person.
I agree that it's respectful to have the holidays off, but it is kind of silly to schedule the school year so that you only have one or two days before that happens. The district I live in moved their start date back to Aug. 30, which helps a little, I think.
I understood what you meant by silly, and I totally agree. Edit: Okay, I see now that you weren't the one who originally said "silly". This post should have been directed at Rachael84. A little planning goes a long way.
We don't get off here, and our district only has a few Federal holidays that we do not have school: Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas and Memorial Day
I didn't mean "silly" in that aspect. I meant that we have 2 days off after the kids come back for one day. Idiot Mayor Bloomberg was thinking about pushing the start date back, because it's kind of pointless for kids to come back 1 day and then have a 4 day weekend. That's all I meant.
No, we don't get them off. I've always found it a little strange, but there is not a large Jewish population in my area for whatever reason. I'm pretty sure students and staff are allowed to take religious holidays off as an excused absence, though.
We do not get them off in South Texas, but there isn't a large population here. As a matter of fact, I can count on one hand the number of Jewish students I've taught in the last 18 years, and I've only taught with one Jewish coworker!
Virtually every district in the NY metro area gets both days off for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Spring Break also aligns with both passover and easter.
I think that what keeps it from being silly is that these are not holidays, they're Holy Days. So it's not all Valentines and cupids, they're days of fasting and prayer for people of the Jewish faith. The timing this year is unfortunate, being the same week as Labor Day. So lots of districts are faced with a 2 day school week, the very first week of school. (But no one complains about a 3 day week for Thanksgiving.) Like everything else, the timing has its bright side. Those of you who are effected can meet your classes, get a look at what you're dealing with, and (if you're not commenorating the Holy Days), have a 4 day weekend to get your planning done. As for me: I'll have to figure out child care. But at least there will be less traffic, with most of the school busses off the road
