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Parents and teachers urge Quincy Public Schools to recognize Lunar New Year as an official school holiday
Summary
Dozens of speakers at the Jan. 8 open forum urged the school committee to add Lunar New Year to the district calendar, citing high absenteeism among Asian students and asking administrators to prevent testing or graded assignments on that date.
At the Open Forum portion of the Jan. 8 Quincy Public Schools meeting, multiple parents, teachers and community members urged the district to recognize Lunar New Year as an official school holiday or otherwise formally excuse students who observe the holiday.
Speakers said Lunar New Year observance drives a high number of absences at several schools and urged the superintendent and school committee to treat the day as a recognized holiday rather than a series of excused absences. Many speakers described long-standing community practice and family observance and asked the district to prevent major tests or graded assignments on the date to avoid penalizing students who are absent for cultural observance.
“Please don't treat Lunar New Year as a sick day. It is not an excuse,” said Kim Horrigan, a Quincy parent with three children in the district, citing that roughly 40% of students identify as Asian and saying the holiday gives students cultural identity and family time. Kim Vu, an English-learner teacher at Atlantic Middle School, told the committee she sees more than 90% of her students identifying as Asian immigrants and said for many families the one day they take off each year is Lunar New Year.
Other speakers provided school-level absentee estimates: a commenter said Parker Elementary has about 60% Asian-American enrollment and that absences on Lunar New Year can reach similar proportions in some schools; speakers asked the district to communicate clearly to staff and families that students observing the holiday should not face testing or new assignments and that principals should avoid scheduling major assessments on that date.
Speakers also offered practical suggestions: one attendee suggested teachers and students use the day to trade cultural experiences or invite students who remain in class to learn about the holiday; another suggested building classroom-level networks of families or teachers willing to host small cultural gatherings as childcare alternatives. Several speakers asked the superintendent and mayor to send a district-wide communication reminding staff not to assign tests or new graded work on the day and to treat absences for Lunar New Year as excused if families notify schools.
Speakers noted upcoming calendar dates: in 2025 Lunar New Year falls on Wednesday, Jan. 29; in 2026 it falls during the school vacation week (Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026). Several commenters requested the committee explicitly list Lunar New Year as a holiday on the calendar rather than leave it to parents to request excused absence.
The transcript records no formal vote or committee action at the Jan. 8 meeting to change the district calendar. Committee members asked clarifying questions during some presentations and thanked speakers for their testimony; the issue was not resolved and would return to future discussions if committee members schedule it for an agenda.
