Arrowhead in Session on MLK Day
Martin Luther King Jr. Day was celebrated this past Monday, January 15th, as it is every third Monday of January. Many schools across the country were not in service on this federal holiday; however, Arrowhead carried on with normal classes.
In the United States, federal buildings are shut down on MLK Day, such as the post office, in addition to the stock market being. According to Emily Richmond of The Atlantic, all schools in Washington DC are closed, in addition to a vast majority of schools across the country. If so many schools are closed in observance of MLK, then why does Arrowhead choose to remain open?
“Twelve federal holidays exist in the USA,” says AHS superintendent Laura Myrah. “Arrowhead is in session for a few of them, and not for others. Often, school districts work to honor regional or cultural holiday norms when determining their school calendars. For example, though Easter and Good Friday are not federal holidays, it would seem the majority of the people in our region or at least school district would not be happy if we had school in session over those days. “
AHS sophomore Jesse Adams says, “I think we should have off school on MLK day. It’s more important than Labor Day and we have Labor Day off every year. It’s also just a super important day and other schools, like LCL [Lake Country Lutheran] that is literally right down the road, have off. MLK Day is a day of realizing the achievements of MLK and a beacon of activism for black people. It’s also for the recognition of the past struggles and current struggles African American people have to deal with and have dealt with. If we are going to have school, Arrowhead should at least donate a portion of the school day in remembrance of him.”
“Martin Luther King Jr. was obviously an important person, but I don’t think we should miss an entire day of school because of him,” says AHS junior Jackson Ashby. “MLK was all about increasing the education and mindset of people all over the world, so we should be in school learning to honor him. Half of the people complaining about us having school are the ones that just want a day off.”
“Could we have off school on the federal holidays of MLK Day, and/or Columbus Day, and/or Veterans’ Day? Sure. However, we would need to make up those days somewhere in the calendar, perhaps attend school the day before and/or after Thanksgiving, and on Good Friday, and the day after Easter. Or, we could have off school all of those six days listed, but then finish out the school year six-seven days later in June in order to meet the number of required instructional minutes. I don’t believe that option would be favored here, either,” says Myrah.
