Last week, the calendar subcommittee of the School Committee struggled with questions that have vexed dozens of courts and legislatures: Should the public schools close for religious holidays? If so, how many, and which ones? How can the schools simultaneously demonstrate respect for religious diversity and maintain the separation of church and state?
negatives. It makes people aware of what is going on with other faiths. The only drawback is that students get out for vacation a day or two later.”
—David Gilfix
elementary school teacher
The issue first arose at the School Committee’s March 1 meeting, as members discussed the school calendar for 2010-2011. Superintendent Thomas Jefferson pointed out that Harvard had a practice—but not a policy—of closing for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Committee member Patricia Wenger noted that, as Harvard becomes more diverse, the schools could be asked to close for a larger number of holidays. “We’re a public school,” she pointed out. “We have policies based on the separation of church and state.”
At the March 15 School Committee meeting, then-member Stu Sklar proposed a motion to close on the Jewish holidays for the upcoming year, while appointing a subcommittee to develop a policy that would guide future practice. At the same meeting, a number of parents and students took the microphone to support closing on the Jewish holidays, which has been school practice since 2004.
The School Committee established a calendar subcommittee, chaired by Wenger and including representatives from the parents, students, teachers, and community at large. The nine-member subcommittee met once in June and then dispersed for the summer. Over the intervening months, one student member resigned, reportedly as the result of a hostile e-mail from a town resident about the calendar issue.
The second meeting, on Sept. 23, showed a group far from consensus. With several members of the public in attendance, the first issue was whether to allow public comment. Eventually, the subcommittee agreed to accept public comment at the end.
Bromfield teacher Kathleen Doherty, president of the Harvard Teachers Association (HTA), explained that the teachers had voted not to take a position on the issue. “We are a diverse group, and there are people on all ends of this topic,” she said. “I don’t want you to think this is an easy way out,” she added.
Parent Bruce Leicher stated, “I’m not sure that people understand the hurt of raising the issue [of keeping school open on the Jewish holidays] in the community … I believe that the community must be more welcoming. I view this as a secular purpose, not a religious purpose. I don’t worry about having a Christmas tree on the Common because it is a respectful thing … The core is making people welcome—that is a secular purpose.”
Leicher asserted that spring vacation week is organized around Good Friday, but Doherty responded that it is organized around Patriots Day. The fact that Good Friday falls within the vacation week in 2011 is a coincidence, but one that may create the perception that schools are celebrating a Christian holiday.
Community representative Steve Kendall raised the issue of Muslim holidays, saying that some students had been out of school for Eid this year. Kendall argued that the best way to treat everyone equally would be to eliminate school closings for the holidays, but not to penalize any student for taking such a day off. He also suggested that students who have an important secular reason for being absent—such as volunteering for a charity work day or having a crucial college interview—should not be penalized. The rights of non-theists should also be considered, he told the meeting.
Elementary school teacher David Gilfix asked the group to consider the benefits, rather than the problems, of recognizing the holidays. “From my point of view,” he said, “the benefits outweigh the negatives. It makes people aware of what is going on with other faiths. The only drawback is that students get out for vacation a day or two later. I don’t see how this trumps the appreciation that the town shows for all the faiths.”
The group briefly discussed a plan developed by the Ann Arbor school system. The Ann Arbor school calendar shows Muslim, Jewish, and Christian religious holidays. Each holiday is ranked with one, two, or three stars, to indicate its significance within the religion, based on recommendations from members of the religious group. On three-star holidays, schools may not schedule any major exams, standardized tests, tryouts for teams or plays, or other one-time events such as proms. Two-star holidays are treated much like an absence for illness, with students permitted to make up missed work but with no special accommodations in the overall school schedule. One-star holidays receive no special consideration.
Many schools have gone to the Ann Arbor model with success, according to Wenger. She noted that Naomi Stonberg, who is legal counsel for the Harvard school system, spoke positively of the Ann Arbor model. Wenger also pointed out that there are more than 40 major religions whose holidays the schools might someday have to consider.
Several subcommittee members, as well as residents who attended, expressed doubt that the schools would make a serious effort to accommodate students who were absent. Judith Hoffman said, “The reality is that when students take a day off, they suffer. When they walk into school the next day, they are behind.” But Doherty insisted that the teachers could make the necessary changes. “Whatever the community decides, we will implement,” she said.
A number of subcommittee members emphasized that, no matter what is done with other holidays, schools will continue to be closed on Christmas. “Society is organized to respect the Christian religion,” Leicher said, “so making a ‘neutral’ policy is not really neutral.”
The trend of discussion strongly suggested that, had a vote been taken, the subcommittee would have recommended closing the schools for the major Jewish and Christian holidays. However, the group had originally agreed not to make any recommendation except by consensus. As a result, each member can submit his or her own statement to the School Committee, with no recommendation from the subcommittee as a whole. The members agreed to meet perhaps one more time, to deliver their statements.
