Our Student Member of the Board and Montgomery County Changes
- Debkanya Mitra- Editor and Founder
- Apr 19, 2016
- 2 min read
Eric Guerci is the current Student Member of the Board of Education in Montgomery County. His term expires on June 30, 2016. He has helped pass “the most significant, student-friendly changes to systemwide testing in more than a decade.”(1) The Board has chosen to take away exams in middle school courses. Next year, all high school exams will be eliminated, and replaced with “integrated assignments.” These “integrated assignments” are unit tests, projects, and papers.
In the upcoming school year, we will have a day off on September 12th, for Eid, a very important Muslim holiday, celebrating sacrifice(2). The Equality for Eid Coalition had started fighting for a day off, two decades ago. A majority of the Board’s Members voted for the measure, though there have been concerns about “how the time would be made up.”(3)
From a written statement by Eleanor Clemens Cope, a 6th grade student who petitioned the county last year:
Petition to MCPS School Board from CCES students: We are asking the MCPS school board to close schools for the Eid holidays. Imagine having to take an exam on Christmas or Passover!
The two most important Muslim holidays are Eid al-Adha and Eid al-Fitr. Eid al-Adha includes a feast and charity for the poor and needy, and Eid al-Fitr is a celebration marking the end of Ramadan, a month of fasting during daylight hours. These holidays are a time for prayer, visiting with family, feasting, and gifts.
School districts in at least four states (Michigan, Massachusetts, Vermont, and New Jersey) have already begun closing for these two Muslim holidays. The US is home to 2.6 million Muslims and they are the largest non-Christian group in 20 states. In Montgomery County in 2010, about 13 out of every 1,000 people is Muslim, and many of these might be kids.
MCPS schools are closed on Christian holidays like Christmas and Easter, and on Jewish holidays like Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Why not Eid? Imagine having to take an exam on Christmas or Passover! Our Muslim staff and students should have their important holiday treated the same as other religions. We are asking the MCPS school board to close schools for the Eid holidays. Help us show the school board just how many people want to help Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha be respected just like Jewish and Christian holidays.
Pyle will vote in the 39th Annual SMOB Elections on April 27. Our school usually receives posters detailing the views of the top two candidates that are hung up in our hallways. The selection of the top two candidates has not yet been posted on the MCPS Website.
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