With Koch's endorsement, will Quincy School Committee make Lunar New Year a day off?

QUINCY − For the second year in a row, Quincy is debating how its public schools should recognize the most important holiday for their largest ethnic group. The school committee's vote on the 2024-25 calendar, scheduled for April 10, will decide if the district will observe Lunar New Year with a day off from classes.

Widely celebrated by Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean and other populations worldwide, Lunar New Year ushers in good luck and reconnects family and friends. Many in Quincy support having it off, but so far Quincy school officials haven't agreed. Under the current policy, students can receive an excused absence to stay home in observance of the holiday.

Last year, an online petition written by North Quincy High junior Angela Chen garnered 1,200 signatures but failed to persuade committee members to give Lunar New Year the same status as Christmas and Good Friday. The only member to support the change, Frank Santoro, lost his reelection bid in November.

Until recently, his replacement, Courtney Perdios, had been the only member to support Lunar New Year's inclusion. At a policy subcommittee meeting March 13, members Tina Cahill, Emily Lebo and Douglas Gutro voted to advance a calendar excluding Lunar New Year to the full committee for a vote April 10.

But at the following week's meeting, Lunar New Year received an endorsement from an influential member when the committee's chairman, Mayor Thomas Koch, announced his support, marking a change from his previous position.

"While my head tells me we can't give any more days off, my heart tells me this is a holiday we should be acknowledging officially on the school calendar," Koch said.

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According to 2020 census data, 30.8% of Quincy's population is Asian, making it the state's second most Asian city. Lexington, whose Asian population has almost doubled since 2010, now has the highest percentage statewide and is considering a change to include Lunar New year in its calendar, The Lexington Observer reported.

Quincy's student body has a higher concentration of Asians than its general population. State data shows 39.5% of Quincy's 9,695 students identify as Asian. The next-largest group, those identifying as white, makes up 37.1%.

Of the city's 19 schools, six have an Asian majority and five more have an Asian plurality. At the district's largest school, North Quincy High School, 54.2% of roughly 1,500 students identify as Asian.

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On Friday, Feb. 9, the day before Lunar New Year, 619 absences were recorded at North Quincy High, of which 70.4% were excused for the holiday. Other schools, including those with predominantly Asian students, showed no appreciable difference in attendance rates compared with previous Fridays.

In recent years, three Massachusetts school districts have changed their school calendars to include Lunar New Year as a day off. In 2020, Brookline added Lunar New Year, followed by Hopkinton and Wayland in 2022. Of these, Brookline has the largest number and proportion of Asian residents, who make up 19.2% of the town's population.

'It's Christmas.' Supporters say holiday recognition is a matter of respect

At the March 20 school committee meeting, several residents spoke in favor of adding Lunar New Year, including Santoro, the ex-committee member who alone voted for adding the holiday in 2023.

"On Jan. 29 next year, you should apologize to those students who are seeking perfect attendance and spend a day doing puzzles, watching movies and study periods," he said, arguing that teachers give little instruction due to high absence rates on the holiday.

Outside the Coddington building, parents supporting the change told The Patriot Ledger that the issue has become a matter of respect.

"We fought for it," said Truc Lai, a parent of two children in Quincy Public Schools. "Our kids were picketing. Students of all ages spoke in support of it. The school committee was not hearing it at all."

Truc said the lack of recognition harms a significant portion of the community.

"If people don't understand what Lunar New Year means, it's Christmas," she said. "Imagine not having Christmas off."

Shivpreet Singh, who has a daughter in Quincy schools, agreed.

"It is a clear sign that you don't respect it," Singh said. "As a person of color, our holidays don't matter to you. Our celebrations don't matter to you."

Perdios, who joined the Lunar New Year movement last year as a parent, told The Patriot Ledger in an email that the community has made its will known to the committee through survey results, demographic data, public demonstrations and comments at open forums.

She wrote that excused absences for the holiday are inadequate because they spoil perfect attendance records and force a choice between academics and family, "two things we on the school committee know are highly valued by the Asian American community, as they are in other communities."

Addressing concerns around the mandated 180 days, Perdios wrote that adding Lunar New Year would only tack on one additional day, a cost she said is far outweighed by the benefit to the Asian community. Perdios was the only member to respond to questions emailed to the committee by The Patriot Ledger.

Ambiguous survey results

Quincy School Superintendent Kevin Mulvey has released the results of a survey on possible changes to the school calendar sent to parents, students and staff. Respondents were asked if they agreed, disagreed or were neutral to the addition of Lunar New Year.

A plurality of parents (43%) and staff (42%) responded in favor of adding Lunar New Year to the calendar. Of students, 88% supported the addition.

A majority of students also supported adding Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Diwali and Eid Al-Fitr to the list of days off from classes, a result that drew chuckles from the committee. Lunar New Year received by far the strongest support from students compared to the other holidays.

Majorities in all three groups opposed beginning classes before Labor Day or collapsing February and April vacations into a single weeklong vacation in March. It has been argued that in exceptionally snowy years, another holiday would challenge the district's ability to hold the mandated 180 school days before June 30. Mulvey said classes can extend into July only with a waiver from the state.

'Who's not being recognized?' Opponents cite equity, practicality in rejecting calendar change

Committee members opposing the change cited majorities of parents and staff indicating a preference to preserve the existing calendar.

"Nobody want to go to school before Labor Day," Gutro said March 13. "Nobody wants to lose April and February vacation. That's crystal clear."

Another argument, articulated by Lebo at the March 20 meeting, states that adding Lunar New Year would elevate one ethnic group above others, leaving celebrants of other cultural holidays to feel excluded.

"Who's not being recognized?" Lebo asked. "Other people might feel like, 'What about me?'"

Koch pushed back against the notion that any resistance on the part of the school committee to changing the calendar represents a lack of respect.

"To suggest that the city does not respect our Asian community, I find a little offensive," he said.

The school department in particular has created and funded programming to ensure all students and families feel welcome, Koch said.

"We should be proud of that," he said. "It's not a question of respect."

Will 2025 be a new year for Lunar New Year in Quincy schools? Find out April 10

The school committee can vote on the 2024-25 calendar April 10. The policy subcommittee advanced a version of the calendar not including Lunar New Year for the full body's consideration. However, as Koch noted on March 20, the committee can propose and vote on amendments at will.

The meeting will be held at the Coddington School Administration Building at 34 Coddington St. Meetings typically begin at 6 p.m., but the schedule has not been released.

Just as last year, a crowd of Lunar New Year supporters is expected to attend, hoping 2025 will prove luckier than 2024.

"We'll be here on April 10," Truc said. "We're not going away."

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This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Vote looms in Quincy debate over Lunar New Year