This week the city's public school students will come back for just one day of school, and parents say the awkward schedule is throwing a wrench in their vacation plans. Students are expected to show up for school on Wednesday, September 8th after celebrating Labor Day, but have Thursday and Friday off for Rosh Hashanah. To protest, they've turned to Facebook.
The Mother's Agenda of New York says on their page, "We are calling for a BOYCOTT on September 8th of all NYC Public Schools. Summer vacation ends when parents send their children back to school on Monday, September 13th." And many city educators agree, saying there's not much that can be taught in that one day. "It's just going to be a day of baby-sitting," said one teacher. "I expect that a third of the kids won't even show up," said James Eterno, a social-studies teacher at Jamaica HS in Queens. "So I understand [the boycott], but I don't necessarily endorse it."
The DOE says the scheduling is not ideal, but blames the teachers' union for not accepting a plan that would have make the start date September 13th and the end of the year June 9th. They also called the boycott "irresponsible." But teachers understand the frustrations. One English teacher said, "I'll spend the first day getting to know the kids, making seating arrangements, getting kids prepared for the new year. And then the following Monday I'll have to do the whole thing again. It's not a productive use of time."
