It finally happened! Tonight the School Committee for Quincy Public Schools unanimously voted to make Lunar New Year a holiday for the students!
The push for the holiday started with students five years ago. And it finally paid off.
The Quincy community showed up again and spoke in favor of the holiday. From students to grandparents and all in between. There was an overflow room for all the people that attended.
One of the student advisors to the School Committee spoke about how he does not celebrate Lunar New Year, but he knows that it’s it important to his fellow students. He mentioned that so many students take the holiday off that nothing new is started by teachers that day, so they often end up with busy work.
He talked about the importance of students being able to spend time with their grandparents on Lunar New Year. Just like he cherishes the sixteen Christmases that he was able to spend with his grandparents. Especially since he recently lost grandparents.
After everyone spoke, the Committee went into an Executive Session to meet with counsel, so we all had to leave. After about a half an hour, we were called back in. New School Committee Member Tom Leung read a statement into the record about the long road to this vote. Then the voting began!
It all happened so quickly that I think we were all a bit stunned. Finally it passed! It makes me feel good that Quincy is on the right side of history. With this being our nation’s 250th birthday, it’s about time.
