Hello Montclair residents,

Recently my 11 year old 5th grader wrote a letter to her new Principal urging her to consider making Eid a school holiday.  This request was born out of the fact her world includes many family members and friends in New Jersey and New York who were off but she was not.  As she is my little activist, of course we encouraged her and support her stance.  

She pointed out that several other religious holidays were acknowledged and celebrated  but hers was not and this put a stress on her that she would like to eliminate.  An 'excused' absence is fine, but the work she misses still has to be made up (not the end of the world, but clearly not fair when compared to others).  She pleaded for inclusivity from her school and my wife and I plead for your support from and for our town.  

We, along with many of you, moved here because of the progressive and inclusive nature of this great suburb, but we are falling behind the eight ball when even our neighboring towns acknowledge and allow for this celebration. One out of every four people of the world at large celebrates Eid, and the number would be much higher when we are allowed to include our friends and neighbors if school were to be closed.  

We ask for your support in this very important issue to my family and many other families here in Montclair. Let's come together and make Laila's referendum a reality.  

With much gratitude,

The Khan Family