Religious Holidays on Chelmsford's School Calendar Under Discussion

CHELMSFORD, MA - Chelmsford Public School parents are speaking up about religious holidays traditionally included on Chelmsford’s school calendar, others they wish were included and how to handle the situation when students aren’t at school for religious holidays not recognized on the school calendar.

The committee ultimately wanted, according to meeting minutes from its Jan. 5, 2016 meeting, to address the issues of teachers having to take sick days on religious holidays and the idea of having no homework on religious holidays, which some parents had said they understood to be a policy.

During a Tuesday, Jan. 26 School Committee meeting included a public input session to continue discussing the calendar and religious holidays policy.

Several members of the Jewish community in Chelmsford spoke up at that input session to say that their children had been unfairly singled out or penalized since the Chelmsford schools calendar does not include days off from school for holidays besides some Christian days, such as Good Friday.

Rabbi Shoshana Perry of Congregation Shalom pointed out the Chelmsford schools had, in the past, chosen to start school on Rosh Hashanah. She went on to point out that the calendar unfairly includes a number of Christian holidays, but it could be modeled on the Westford or Boston school calendars which list the high holy days of multiple major faiths so that teachers are aware.

“It’s not secular, it’s educational,” Perry explained of the Boston and Westford calendars that note high holy days of multiple faiths. ”It’s educating teachers who come from different traditions, like ‘Oh wow, this student, this is going to be a really important day in his life tomorrow. I know somethings going on.’ It makes them thoughtful and conscious that people are different.”

A public working session in early March will allow residents to offer further input before the 2016-17 calendar is finalized. The date is to-be-determined.