Ramaz Cuts February Break
Over the past few years, various controversies have polarized the Ramaz community, though none are as debated as the number of days given off in February. It affects each division and family directly. Students complain that the number of vacation days from school are sparse; parents complain that they are too numerous. February break, an eight day long vacation in the week leading up to Presidents Day, was introduced two years ago and has been the subject of disagreement among both parents and administration ever since. The vacation breaks up the long stretch from Winter vacation in December to Pesach in April. The Ramaz community has recently received news that this newly instituted break will be discontinued as of February 2020. The announcement specified that this alteration was made “with the goal to ensure minimal disruption of learning.”
“The break was introduced two years ago as a two year trial,” according to Head of School Mr. Jonathan Cannon. The decision to revert to a five-day break was made for a few reasons, he said. The first reason was “to maximize the number of instructional days (days when students are in school).” The second was “to ensure time for teacher Professional Development as with many educational innovations taking place, it is only fair to our teachers to help them feel prepared.” The third is that the school “recognizes that many of our families have two parents working outside of the home and it is very difficult for them to take off time from work or find alternative child care and activities.”
For the Upper School more specifically, the break was problematic. Following midterms, students would have a one-day long intersession and then only two weeks of class for the second semester. It felt strange to just start again and then be slammed with a break. Dean of Faculty Ms. Miriam Krupka said regarding the break, “From an administrative teacher perspective, I felt that educationally it was not a responsible vacation, but personally I really enjoyed it.” “From an administrative teacher perspective, I felt that educationally it was not a responsible vacation, but personally I really enjoyed it.” — Ms. Krupka
Out of all three divisions, high school students are the most impacted by the shortened February break. To many, the elongated week served as a time for rejuvenation after a rigorous midterm examination period. In the Early Childhood Center, Lower School, and Middle School divisions, Martin Luther King weekend has evolved into a four day weekend with Monday off as a National holiday and Friday instituted as a “development day.” Many families leverage the long weekend for quick getaways or simply just to relax. For Upper School students, the mid- January break arrives right before midterms and is used by students accordingly to prepare for the forthcoming test period. In the previous years, an intersession consisting of two or three schools days off was subsequently given to Upper School students as a break following exams. This year, Upper School students received only one day off following exams–a Friday–as an intersession. The second-semester sessions resumed on the following Monday. The elongated President’s break, which evolved from a five-day weekend to Friday through Tuesday, grew into an eight day break from Monday through the following Monday, adding three additional vacation days. The extra three days off in February were presumably added as a backlash against unofficial student-run trips over the then four-day January intersession, which were looked down upon both for their cost and lack of supervision.
Now, students and families are left questioning: better or worse? Some families feel relieved of the pressure to occupy their children for a full week off in February, while yet others appreciated the chance to take a longer family break over an off-peak holiday week. Others that have siblings in other schools and parents that can not take off from work find this break very conflicting because of its timing. Mr. Jay Klotz, a teacher in the science department, feels that “although it is nice to have off, I always thought that this break was useless for families with students that do not all attend Ramaz because other schools do not have off in the week before presidents weekend.”
For the Upper School students around whom the controversy stems, there is seemingly no upside with President’s break cut short and intersession remaining as a one-day break from school. “I had to push myself through the two weeks after midterms leading up to President’s break because I did not have anytime to rest before second semester started,” said Gabi Potter ’20. Many students are already anxious over the change and speculating as to whether the administration will add on an additional day to the January intersession. Potter specified, “I hope they will give us a longer intersession in exchange.” First time midterm taker Caroline Schwartz ’22 “enjoyed [her] first intersession.” She added that she “was not worried about not getting enough time to sleep because [she] knew there would be enough time on February break to rest.”
Unless the calendar is amended in 2020, students will need to wait until early April for an elongated break.
