As a student in FBISD, I am deeply affected by our 2024-2025 school calendar. This calendar not only makes school start earlier, but also adds five extra minutes to the school day, and still ending the school year after Memorial Day. Their justification for a short summer and long school year? Adding more, very unreasonable, holidays in between such as a six day holiday in October that we really don’t need.

This calendar is filled with too many holidays which, while may seem like a joyous break for some, is actually a huge inconvenience for athletes, band members, cheerleaders, dancers and many more students involved in extracurricular activities. These breaks disrupt our training schedules or mean practicing on holidays because we can't go too long without practice if we want to keep our skills sharp. The six day weekend in October is during a time called ‘Bandtober’ to all people participating in marching band, which happens to be a very stressful time with contests every Saturday, practice practically everyday, and football games. That six day holiday is nothing but practice and competition for these kids.

School being an extra five minutes is also not needed. They already extend the school day a few years ago and are trying to do it again. Why? Unless they explain a good reason to have those five minutes I don’t see why they are needed. School already feels too long and unless it goes towards a longer lunch I don’t see the point. Those five minutes also justify having more holidays because what is an extra five minutes in the school day compared to having an extra full day of learning?

Moreover, this issue extends beyond just the students. Working parents are left scrambling to find childcare during these numerous breaks. This not only adds unnecessary stress but also financial burden on families who may already be stretched thin.

For all students in general, extended breaks can lead to academic regression as they tend to forget materials learned prior to the holiday period. This creates an additional hurdle when they return back from their break - having to relearn or review what was previously taught instead of progressing forward with new knowledge. It creates more work for the teachers as they have to reteach everything again.

We propose that the school district reassess its calendar taking into account not just traditional holidays but also considering its impact on student's academic progress and extracurricular commitments as well as parent's work schedules. Out of all three calendar options, B is the most inconvenient for everyone. I along with many students, teachers, and parents were furious when finding out the winning calendar and I haven’t heard about a single person who chose it, so I don’t understand how it could have been the victor if it had so many negatives. 

We need your support to demand a recount and show that this calendar should not have been chosen! Sign this petition now and help us bring about a change that will benefit everyone involved - students, parents and teachers alike with a calendar that has a later start date, keeping the time school gets out the same, and a reasonable amount of holidays!