School Committees add 3 new holidays to calendar

Above: As of this morning, all three NSBORO Schools districts have adopted the above calendar for the next school year. (images edited from draft calendar)

This morning over zoom, the Southborough School Committee met to revote on the 2025-2026 school calendar recommended by the Superintendent and a super-majority of the NSBORO Calendar Advisory Working Group.

Four committee members stuck with their original decisions (2-2). The tie-breaking fifth member supported adding to, rather than subtracting from, holidays in the calendar.

The decision means that all three of the NSBORO school districts will continue to be on the same page for the school year calendar.¹ Last week, also in split votes, the Northborough and Regional committees adopted the new calendar.

The version adopted was “Calendar 1”, which adds adds Diwali, Lunar New Year and Eid al-Fitr as days to be observed as days off. That is in addition to the currently observed Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Good Friday.

Only four of those holidays will impact the calendar next year, since Eid al-Fitr and the first day of Rosh Hashanah fall on weekends. You can view the draft of the adopted calendar for 2025-2026 here.

Voting on the next school year’s calendar is done annually by the three school committees. If the committees choose to continue with the same model in future year, it nets out to 3-5 holidays per year in subsequent years. (Click links to see the potential calendars for 2026-2027 and 2027-2028.)

There was no discussion of “Wellness Days” that the district has used in varying ways over the past few years. On those days, teachers had been instructed to not assign homework or tests. Although the language was still in the legends of draft calendar options, none actually included any.

For working parents that are concerned about issues caused by the holidays. . .

Based on the discussion at last week’s meeting, the committees expect the administration to work with extended day programs and possibly collaborate with outside groups (including parent-teacher organizations) on childcare/programming options.

(Scroll down for my recap of the working group’s pros and cons for calendar options.)

Members Grappled with Calendar Issues and Impacts

Although eliminating all religious holidays wasn’t a motion that was up for vote, it was the calendar version (#4) that two members (and several members on the other NSBORO school committees) preferred. And it appeared to be the second choice for the majority of committees’ members who ultimately voted to add holidays.

Vice Chair Roger Challen noted that since the joint committees’ meeting last week, the committee received more public feedback. He described it as advocating for Calendar 4, which he characterized as the only other calendar that had significant support as the first choice of the working group.

Later, member Kamali O’Meally clarified that some of the correspondence was in favor of reconsidering all the options. And she reminded that they had been receiving opinions and feedback for 1-2 years which was less clear in showing a community preference. (In prior meetings, working group members described the community as very split on the issues. For every argument in favor of an option, they heard an opposing point of view.)

Superintendent Gregory Martineau recapped the working group’s votes on the four calendars. That included a 50% “not support” for Calendar 4. (You can see the vote counts in my article from yesterday here.)

Prior to today’s vote, Chair Chelsea Malinowski agreed with those who preferred Calendar 4 as more inclusive. The argument was that it doesn’t force committee members to decide whose holidays are worth honoring and whose aren’t.

Alan Zulick, who was absent from last week’s vote, told the committee he didn’t agree that taking away holidays from some community members increased inclusivity.²

Malinowski pointed out that adding holidays extends the calendar to later in June. She highlighted that in recent budget discussions, they had just cut $130K in the capital expense budget for improving air conditioning at Trottier Middle School.

O’Meally reminded that the difference between Calendars 1 & 4 are only a few days and there randomly hot days in April and May. She advocated that as climate change increases heat issues in the buildings, the district needs to address that problem regardless of the school calendar.

Laura Kauffmann said she had spoken to a number of parents in the community and was struggling with the issues raised. In the end, she continued to support Calendar 1.

The discussion also acknowledged the operational challenge for the school administration if Southborough adopted a different calendar than the one chosen by Northborough and Regional. There would be differing schedules for transportation, cafeteria staff, etc. (No one noted that already happens to some extent, since the K-8 schools have differing half days for parent teacher conferences, and those aren’t taken by the high school.)

O’Meally clarified that her decision wasn’t based on making operations easier for the administration. Both she and Malinowski stressed to the public that all of the members of the committee had been truly listening to community feedback and were making decisions based on that, rather than their own personal preferences.

Calendar Options with Pros and Cons

A memo from the Superintendent included some of the data the working group reviewed and the following the pros and cons they discussed based on public feedback, discussions, and the data.

Calendar 1, the approved calendar, includes six religious holidays. (Depending on the year, that is 3-5 days, since some of the holidays can fall on weekends or breaks.)

Advantages:

• By giving full days off for various religious observances, the calendar shows respect for the diverse religious practices within the community.
• Ensures students and staff observing these holidays can fully participate in religious events without missing schoolwork or taking personal time.
• The calendar has defined days off, providing clarity for families planning around religious holidays.
• More religions are acknowledged.
• Many of our neighboring towns are already observing multiple religious holidays.
• Provides time off for high school students who report high levels of stress at the beginning of the year (the Wellness aspect).

Disadvantages

• Frequent no-school days may interrupt the continuity of learning and can be challenging for families needing consistent school schedules.
• With additional days off, learning can be challenging when you get into the depths of June.
• No school days are clustered, especially heavily in the fall, which creates additional challenges early in the year.
• Who are we missing?
• How do we handle new requests for holidays we are not acknowledging? What are the criteria for adding another day off?

Calendar 4 removes all religious/cultural holidays (except for federal/state holidays)

Advantages:

• The calendar offers a predictable schedule without interruptions for religious holidays, making it easier for families and staff to plan their time.
• This secular approach ensures no religious group is favored except the Christian community, whose holiest days and seasons are baked into the federal holiday calendar, promoting equality across the school community.
• The absence of additional no-school days helps maximize the number of instructional days, potentially enhancing learning opportunities.
• This calendar offers the ability to gain traction at all levels, from elementary to high school.
• Routines and rigor can be predictable.
• Several surrounding towns adhere to this approach.

Disadvantages:

• Families and staff who wish to observe religious holidays must take personal time off, which could lead to increased absenteeism. The lack of recognition for any religious observances might be seen as disregarding the diverse religious practices within the community, raising concerns about inclusivity.
• Despite aiming for continuity, unplanned absences on religious holidays could disrupt classroom dynamics, especially if many students or staff are absent simultaneously.
• Students may feel “penalized” for taking a religious holiday, and the workload will still be expected to be complete. While learning may be enhanced for some, it becomes more stressful for others who have to catch up.
• Federal holidays are based on a Christian normative calendar, and by living by this, we are not doing our part to reduce the impact of the dominant culture.
• Does not actively promote support of a diverse set of faiths and cultures.
• This is a loss for Jewish faith members and may be perceived as the result of others coming forward.

Two other options were discussed at a combined meeting in December, when the committees’ received an update on the calendar work and provided feedback to the working group. Neither were discussed as serious considerations at the meetings last week or this morning.

Calendar 2 would treat all six religious/cultural holidays as half days.

Advantages:

• Offers partial accommodation by recognizing religious observances while maintaining some instructional time.
• If no tests or homework are given on the half-days, it is easier to miss for those who observe the holiday.
• Half-days minimize the impact on the overall school schedule compared to full no-school days, allowing for better continuity in learning.
• Students and staff who do not observe the holidays can still attend part of the school day, providing some flexibility for families.
• Half-days provide increased professional development time for educators, which is always needed.

Disadvantages

• Half-days can be challenging for parents needing to adjust childcare or transportation schedules.
• Those observing religious holidays may still feel rushed, as half a day may not be sufficient for full participation in their practices.
• Who are we missing?
• Half-days might make scheduling and consistency more complex for the school administration and families. would need to be strategic about scheduling time on learning
• The calendar is a reduction of student time on learning over the course of an academic year.
• Half-days may create learning and homework challenges to keep up with missed assignments.
• Certain religious observances are based on the Gregorian Calendar and therefore the days are not evenly distributed across the school calendar.
• Calling the half-days Wellness Days may cause confusion. Calling the half-days Religious Observance Days may make some feel uncomfortable or not included.
• Implications for families and for those observing

Calendar 3 would keep the current Jewish holidays (Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur). Good Friday and the new holidays would be treated as half days.

Advantages

• This hybrid approach attempts to balance full-days off for significant holidays and half days for others, aiming to accommodate a wide range of observances.
• By reducing the number of full no-school days, the calendar aims to minimize disruptions while still acknowledging religious diversity.
• This model respects many religious events with full days off, showing sensitivity to cultural practices.
• This approach represents the practice of equity, where the nature of religious obligations and observances of specific days drive whether a full or half day is granted rather than a sense of obligation to do the same thing for everyone, irrespective of need.

Disadvantages

• The combination of full- and half-days may create confusion for families and staff, complicating planning and consistency.
• Half-days can be challenging for parents needing to adjust childcare or transportation schedules.
• Deciding which holidays receive full days versus half days might be perceived as favoring certain religious groups over others, potentially leading to concerns about fairness.
• The PR and communication of this approach are more complex, but it can be done (as in other school districts that have distinguished between holy days that are just no homework nights and those that are days off).
• Those observing religious holidays may still feel rushed, as half a day may not be sufficient for full participation in their practices. Or half day may be the wrong part of the day, so it is not really responding to the obligation for everyone. E.g., Eid prayers are in the morning, so half a day does not help.
• The half days provide possible PD but not when we need it, as it is based on observances.

To see the memo with more details, including the links to the draft calendars, go to page 5 of the packet of the March 12th Combined School Committees meeting here.

1. The ten Northborough-Southborough public schools usually have varying half days to deal with K-8 parent-teacher conferences, curriculum nights, etc. But they traditionally have the same full days for the 180 day school calendar.
2. Due to a technical glitch on my end, I only was able to catch the beginning and very end of Zulick’s remarks.