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Quincy parents and community urge school committee to make Lunar New Year a district holiday
Summary
Multiple Quincy residents, parents and the citywide PTO urged the School Committee to add Lunar New Year to the Quincy Public Schools calendar, citing the district’s large Asian student population, low attendance on the day, and unanimous city council support.
Dozens of community members told the Quincy School Committee on Dec. 11 that Lunar New Year should be an official Quincy Public Schools holiday.
At the meeting’s open forum, parents and advocates stressed the holiday’s cultural importance and its prevalence in the district. "According to [data] in 2023, 40 percent of our student population is of Asian heritage," Grace Young Jay said while reading a letter from the Quincy Citywide PTO. Speakers described repeated, multi-year efforts to have the committee add Lunar New Year to the school calendar and said low student attendance on the holiday shows families already honor it.
Speakers framed the request as an inclusion and equity issue rather than a political matter. "We consider this a very important celebration," Frank Santoro said. Shivpreet Singh and others argued that recognizing Lunar New Year is consistent with the district’s demographic realities and urged the committee to use the flexibility available in calendar-setting.
Several speakers noted outside support. Thuy Leung said the city council unanimously voted to recognize the day and urged the committee to follow. Advocates described growing community organizing over four years, including petitions and outreach to city leaders.
The committee did not take a final vote on the holiday during the Dec. 11 meeting; the request was presented during the public-comment period and referred to the committee’s calendar and policy review process for later consideration.
