If there’s a holiday you want off, all it takes is a well-placed email. Max Z., who goes to a public school in Massachusetts, got a scheduled day off to celebrate the Lunar New Year. Here's how:
He found the flexible days. Max leveraged a key reality about schedules: while you need to have 180 days in the school year, there are dozens of flexible days when teachers have professional development, mandatory training that can take a whole school day.
He emailed the principal. Here’s an email template similar to what Max sent to his principal.
- To
- [your principal's email]
- Subject
- Are you free to talk about a holiday for Lunar New Year?
Hi Mr./Ms./Dr. [Principal's last name],
Would you be open to considering a holiday or no-homework weekend for Lunar New Year, which is on [date of the holiday]?
We have a large population of Asian students who spend that day preparing for the holiday, one of the most important in Chinese culture. Giving them the flexibility to focus on family for the day would be invaluable. Moreover, many schools in [your state] like [Google other schools’ calendars] already have the day off—there’s a clear precedent for school communities respecting the Lunar New Year.
Thanks for considering this—I’m happy to meet in person to tell you more!
With hope and gratitude,
[Your name]
He pitched in person, too. Be ready to meet in person. When Max saw his principal in the halls a few days after sending the email, he stopped the principal, quickly making a pitch just like in the short, clear email. The principal asked Max to schedule a meeting with his secretary (if you don’t bump into the principal like this, asking the principal’s secretary in the Main Office to schedule a meeting right away is a great strategy).
Day off approved! But that’s half the story. Max first reached out to several teachers and student clubs for help. All of them were excited about the idea, but many did not dedicate time and effort to help. Max had the idea for a day off over the summer and didn’t implement it until May: between schoolwork, sports, and the stress that came from not getting support, he had a lot on his plate. Finally, Max leveraged his strong relationship with his English teacher to get the support he needed, asking the teacher to give him feedback on the email he’d been drafting.