Thanksgiving just passed, and amidst the giving thanks, turkey feasts and vacations, many Sequoia students are wondering why we have school on Monday and Tuesday of Thanksgiving week instead of getting the whole week off.
“I feel like just two days of school aren’t really that necessary,” junior Roman Pepa said.
Pepa’s sentiment seems to be shared among other students and their families. Absences on Monday and Tuesday of Thanksgiving week are noticeably higher than usual, with many being due to truancy or family vacations.
Even among staff, the reasons for why we have school on these two days are unclear.
“I think it’s for the midwinter break,” Administrative Vice Principal Gary Gooch said, referring to the week-long vacation we get in February, also known as Ski Week or Presidents’ Week. “Maybe we took those two days then.”
Other staff members reference communal votes and polls that have led to this decision.
“We have not chosen to do a whole week [off],” physics teacher Ben Canning said. “It’s not the administration choosing, it would be the school community. Usually, teachers vote through [the Sequoia District Teachers Association]. But oftentimes the board will poll the community about it as well.”
In the 16 years that Canning has taught at Sequoia, the school has changed from getting just Thursday and Friday off to getting Wednesday, Thursday and Friday off. However, even with the additional day off, having school on Monday and Tuesday can cause difficulties for Sequoia staff members with children in different school districts that get the entire week off.
“My son doesn’t have to go to school [on Monday and Tuesday], so we had to get childcare,” Gooch said. “It’s very expensive.”
Even still, Canning—a parent himself is neutral about whether we get Monday and Tuesday off.
“If you take the two days off here, then you just have to add them in someplace else, like starting earlier, which is not fun, or going later in the summer, which is also not fun,” Canning said.
In addition, although absences are higher on these days and pose an interruption to teachers’ instruction, Canning realizes that this is not unique to Thanksgiving break.
“There are also lots of other disruptions that happen throughout this time,” Canning said. “There’s the AMC math contests where, all of a sudden, my second period is completely out, and a few other things.”
Still, many students and families delay or skip their vacations (or absenteeism) to attend school on Monday and Tuesday.
“Personally, I would skip [Monday and Tuesday] if there was no work to do, but there is work to do,” Pepa said. “I don’t want to risk having missing assignments and getting that stuff piled up on me. So that’s why I choose to go to school.”