New York City’s Department of Education has decided to take three vacation days away from the February break due to the loss of school days caused
New York State requires public schools to have 180 days of school and most districts plan for more than that in case of potential snow days. This school year is already short by 5 days, so to avoid any more days lost, vacation was cut.
During the storm, students were wondering how Mayor Bloomberg was going to compensate for this unexpected week off from school. “I thought we would have to come in for a few days at the end of the year, but I never expected him to actually take days away,” said Junior Aman Kaur. “I’d rather go to school in July. The summer is a much more relaxing time,” said Freshmen Belinda Wong. “He should add days instead of take them away.”
Students were shocked and disappointed to hear that their break was reduced to only two days. “This was a time for my whole family to go on vacation,” said Junior Brian Shtab. “I know we have other breaks but this was the most convenient for all of us and they just took it away.” Freshman Aqib Sadique said, “It’s not fair. We were so bored with no electricity and Internet during the hurricane and we weren’t having fun. Now we aren’t allowed an opportunity to actually enjoy days off until Spring Break.”
Others were indifferent towards the change. “I wouldn’t mind going to school during the break if school ended at 1:46 and all bands met,” said Junior Joshua Merai. “I think a lot of students aren’t going to take these days seriously so it would be smart to make them shorter.”
Some students questioned how inconsiderate this decision was. “I thought Obama declared the storm a natural disaster. People lost their lives and homes. We shouldn’t be punished for something that was not in our ability to control,” said Sophomore Sandy Zhu. “Losing vacation days in February is devastating because its not fair that we have to go to school for something we didn’t cause,” said Sophomore Saad Ahmed. “I don’t believe three extra days will help the teachers get up to where they are supposed to be in the curriculum especially since it’s a new semester.”
Seniors, on the other hand, aren’t as affected by this sudden change. “Honestly, it doesn’t really matter to me,” said Fariha Hussain, “We have college classes anyway and seniors don’t have much to do in February except wait to be accepted into college, so it wouldn’t make a difference.”
