{"id":2163136,"date":"2024-01-30T14:46:02","date_gmt":"2024-01-30T19:46:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/connecticut-school-district-removes-veterans-day-and-columbus-day-from-holiday-calendar\/"},"modified":"2024-01-30T14:48:27","modified_gmt":"2024-01-30T19:48:27","slug":"connecticut-school-district-removes-veterans-day-and-columbus-day-from-holiday-calendar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/connecticut-school-district-removes-veterans-day-and-columbus-day-from-holiday-calendar\/","title":{"rendered":"Connecticut school district eliminates Veterans Day and Columbus Day from holiday schedule"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fconnecticut-school-district-removes-veterans-day-and-columbus-day-from-holiday-calendar%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2163136&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p><!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\"><br \/>\n<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><html><body><\/p>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Stamford Public Schools removed Veterans\u2064 Day from its calendar. (Spencer Platt\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>OAN\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oann.com\/tag\/elizabeth-volberding\">Elizabeth Volberding<br \/><\/a>11:30 AM \u2063\u2013 Tuesday, January 30, 2024<\/h2>\n<p>Following a problematic vote \u2064by the school board last week \u200cto remove Veterans Day and Columbus \u2062Day from the \u2064district\u2019s official holiday calendar, the Connecticut school district is now facing extreme\u200d backlash.<\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1663871513696-art-3\" style=\"min-width: 320px; min-height: 50px; text-align: center;\">  \t<script>  \t\tgoogletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1663871513696-art-3'); });  \t<\/script>  <\/div>\n<div class=\"ad-slot__ad-label\">Advertisement<\/div>\n<\/p>\n<p>According to a local media outlet, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stamfordadvocate.com\/local\/article\/stamford-columbus-veterans-day-holiday-18625833.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the Stamford Advocate<\/a>, the school board decided in a 5-3\u200d vote on Tuesday night to \u2062eliminate the day off for students attending\u2064 Stamford Public Schools in Connecticut \u200cfor at least the next two upcoming years. <\/p>\n<p>During\u2063 the meeting on Tuesday, \u2063board member Joshua Esses decided \u2062to remove the holidays from the academic \u2063calendar,\u200d claiming that the school year ended in mid-June, \u200cwhich \u200c\u201ccuts too much into summer.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>\u201cWe should make \u2063it \u200cshorter because it\u2019s better \u200ceducationally for our students,\u201d Esses stated, regarding the academic year, which is mandated by state legislation\u2064 to hold at least 180 teaching days for students.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>In addition, Esses recommended \u2064eliminating \u2064the religious holidays Eid al-Fitr\u2064 and the second day of Rosh Hashanah from the number of official holidays for\u2063 similar reasons. However, that decision was not supported, according to the outlet.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore,\u200b Esses highlighted that Veterans Day\u200b and Columbus Day would instead \u200cbe acknowledged with teachings about the significance of each \u200don the day of, which is a state mandate.<\/p>\n<p>Nevertheless, the school board\u2019s move accumulated backlash \u200cfrom veterans and Italian Americans.<\/p>\n<p>The move was a \u2062\u201cgut punch\u201d to Alfred\u200d Fusco, who is a veteran and \u2064founding member of the Italian American service organization UNICO in Stamford. Fusco \u2062made a\u200b statement to reporters, declaring that the school district\u2019s decision was a poor move.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>\u201cIt was a gut punch. It\u200c was terrible. It had \u2062no\u2064 inclination,\u201d Fusco said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>However, the school district justified their decision, highlighting that there are other\u200b districts in Connecticut that keep\u200c schools operating \u200con the holidays.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>\u201cStamford Public Schools already hosts many events in recognition of our \u2064local veterans, and we look forward \u2063to continuing that tradition on Veterans\u2019 Day \u200bin 2024 and 2025,\u201d a spokesperson for Stamford Public Schools explained in \u2063a statement. \u201cIn addition, our Teaching and Learning Department will be working to develop programming about Columbus Day that will be presented to students in recognition of that federal holiday.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The controversy centered largely on the unique purpose of\u2062 Columbus Day, which some progressive Americans have rejected in favor of Indigenous People\u2019s Day in recent years\u200d due to \u201cthe tainted history regarding the treatment of native individuals\u201d by Italian explorer Christopher Columbus.<\/p>\n<p>Versha Munshi-South, who is on the \u2062Connecticut school board, explained that she \u200dwatched a class lecture\u200b that was\u2063 called \u201cColumbus: \u200cHero or \u2062Villain?\u201d at Dolan Middle School. She mentioned that it made her reexamine the holiday.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>\u201cThe students were using primary sources to investigate the true history of Columbus and I can tell you that based on primary source \u2062research, no, they\u2063 did not conclude\u200c that Columbus was a hero,\u201d \u200cMunshi-South said. \u200c\u201cI don\u2019t think it makes sense to teach\u200d students \u200done thing in class and then have\u200b Columbus Day off. \u200dIt\u2019s a \u2063mixed message for students.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>A spokesperson\u200c for Stamford Public Schools made a concluding statement regarding the \u200celimination of the two\u2063 days off for the holidays in an academic calendar.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>\u201cOn Tuesday, January 23<sup>rd<\/sup>, the Stamford BOE approved the 2024-25 and 2025-26 Stamford \u200dPublic Schools calendars following passage of a motion to have schools remain open on Columbus Day and Veterans Day,\u201d the spokesperson stated. \u201cSeveral\u200b neighboring districts already \u200ckeep schools open on Columbus Day and\/or Veterans Day,\u200c and both Columbus Day and Veterans Day will be acknowledged on the \u2062Stamford Public Schools calendar with \u2063other holidays and religious observances that occur when school is in session.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote data-service=\"twitter\" data-category=\"marketing\" data-placeholder-image=\"https:\/\/c3.oann.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/complianz-gdpr\/assets\/images\/placeholders\/twitter-minimal.jpg\" class=\"cmplz-placeholder-element twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Happening Now: A\u2063 school board in Connecticut has voted to remove Veterans Day and Columbus Day from the school\u200d calendars.  This decision came after it was proposed by one of the \u2063board members.  <\/p>\n<p>The board member Joshua Esses also proposed removing the second day of the Jewish\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/MCBNt6hGgz\">pic.twitter.com\/MCBNt6hGgz<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8Travis\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@Travis_in_Flint) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Travis_in_Flint\/status\/1752086603575574691?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 29, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script type=\"text\/plain\" data-service=\"twitter\" data-category=\"marketing\" async data-cmplz-src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Stay informed!\u200c Receive breaking\u2064 news blasts directly to your\u2063 inbox for free. Subscribe here. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oann.com\/alerts\">https:\/\/www.oann.com\/alerts<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"rc-widget-10bad2\" data-rc-widget data-widget-host=\"habitat\" data-endpoint=\"\/\/trends.revcontent.com\" data-widget-id=\"278641\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"dpsp-share-text\" style=\"margin-bottom:10px\"> \t\t \t\tShare this post!\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>California Governor Gavin Newsom and his administration continues to attempt to push radical\u200d far left measures however some California officials are pushing \u200bback.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>Division grows within the Republican Party as the Missouri Freedom Caucus is \u2063kicked off their committee assignments.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>The latest developments in the Middle East have created a\u200b polarizing approach to how we should respond to our enemies. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>with Kim\u200b Yeater<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>The first human patient has received an implant from brain-chip startup Neuralink and is \u2064recovering well.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>A near-term \u200cglobal\u200d slowdown is causing\u200b pain, including bankruptcies, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/elon-musks-neuralink-implants-brain-chip-in-first-human\/\" title=\"Elon Musk implants brain chip in first human at Neuralink\">scrapped initial public offerings<\/a> \u2064and production cuts.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>January 29, 2024 \u2013 6:18 AM PST (Reuters) \u2013 Microsoft\u00a0(MSFT.O)\u00a0is expected to report\u200b a 15.8% jump in quarterly revenue, its \u2064best growth\u2026 <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>X is in the process of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/murdaugh-trial-juror-says-clerk-of-court-influenced-her-verdict\/\" title=\"Juror claims court clerk influenced her verdict in Murdaugh trial\">hiring\u200b 100 content moderators<\/a> for a new office in Austin, Texas that will focus on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/49ers-storm-back-in-second-half-to-stun-lions-reach-super-bowl\/\" title=\"49ers rally in second half, shock Lions, make it to Super Bowl\">fighting child abuse content<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> rnrn  <\/p>\n<h2> What actions, if\u200b any, do you anticipate \u2063Stamford Public Schools will take\u2062 in\u200d response to the backlash and criticism surrounding the removal\u2064 of Veterans Day and Columbus Day from the calendar<\/h2>\n<p><span>  Stamford Public Schools Faces Backlash After Removing Veterans Day and Columbus Day from Calendar<\/p>\n<p>In a controversial \u200bmove by the school board of Stamford Public Schools in Connecticut, the official holiday \u200ccalendar has been revised to exclude Veterans Day and Columbus Day. The decision, which was made in a \u200b5-3 vote, has \u200csparked intense backlash from the local community and beyond.<\/p>\n<p>The Stamford\u200c Advocate, a local media outlet, reported on the board&#8217;s decision to eliminate these\u200d two holidays from \u2062the district&#8217;s \u2063calendar for the \u2063next two years. During the meeting, board member\u2064 Joshua Esses argued that the school year already ends \u200cin \u2063mid-June, cutting into\u200d the summer break. He believed that shortening \u200bthe academic year would be more \u2062beneficial for students&#8217; education.<\/p>\n<p>Esses also recommended removing Eid al-Fitr and the second day of Rosh Hashanah, two religious holidays, for similar reasons. However, this suggestion did\u200b not receive support from the board.<\/p>\n<p>Instead of granting \u2063a day off, Esses proposed acknowledging \u2062Veterans Day and Columbus Day\u200c through educational teachings about their significance. This aligns\u2062 with state legislation, which mandates that schools provide at\u2062 least 180 teaching days\u2062 for students.<\/p>\n<p>Unsurprisingly, this decision has been met with strong \u200copposition from various groups, particularly veterans and Italian Americans. \u200bAlfred Fusco, a veteran and founding member of the Italian \u200cAmerican service organization UNICO in Stamford, expressed his disappointment, referring to the board&#8217;s move as a &#8220;gut punch.&#8221; According to Fusco, the decision was\u2062 made\u200c without any consideration\u200c or inclination.<\/p>\n<p>While the \u2064school district justified its decision by pointing out that other districts in Connecticut keep\u2064 schools \u2063open on these holidays, the controversy \u2063surrounding\u2063 Columbus Day played a significant role in the backlash. In recent \u2062years, some\u200d progressive Americans have rejected Columbus Day in favor of Indigenous People&#8217;s Day \u200cdue to the controversial history and treatment of native\u2062 individuals by the Italian explorer.<\/p>\n<p>One school\u200b board member, \u200bVersha Munshi-South, mentioned watching a lecture at Dolan Middle School called &#8220;Columbus: Hero or Villain?&#8221; \u2063This lecture made her reexamine the holiday and concluded that it sends mixed\u2064 messages to students when they are taught one thing in class but have a\u200d day off\u200d to\u2062 commemorate Columbus.<\/p>\n<p>Stamford Public\u2062 Schools defended its decision \u2062by stating\u200c that the two holidays will still \u200bbe acknowledged \u2062on the school calendar, along with other holidays and religious observances that occur \u200cwhen school is \u200cin session.<\/p>\n<p>It is \u2062evident that the removal of Veterans Day and Columbus Day from the calendar has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrats-decry-tlaibs-offensive-comments-but-dismiss-censure-votes-as-distraction\/\" title=\"Democrats condemn Tlaib's 'offensive' remarks, but downplay censure votes as a 'distraction'.\">sparked considerable controversy<\/a> and criticism. \u200dWhile the board&#8217;s intention may \u2063have been to prioritize education, \u200dit is\u200d crucial to consider the sentiments and significance \u200bassociated with these holidays, especially \u200bto veterans and Italian Americans. Moving forward, it will be interesting to \u200bsee how the \u2064school district addresses these concerns and whether any changes or compromises are made.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Stamford Public Schools faced backlash after removing Veterans Day and Columbus Day from their official holiday calendar following a controversial vote by the school board<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2368,"featured_media":2163137,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/c3.oann.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/1-1.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[542],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2163136","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-oann"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/c3.oann.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/1-1.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2163136","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2368"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2163136"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2163136\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2163137"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2163136"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2163136"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2163136"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}