PPS makes Muslim holiday Eid al-Fitr a vacation day

For the first time next school year, Eid al-Fitr will be a vacation day for the Pittsburgh Public Schools.

The district announced the decision as it asked the community to complete a survey to choose the first day of the 202122 school year for teachers and students.

District community members have until Friday to fill out the survey. The school board will vote on the calendar next week.

The district said it decided to make the Muslim holiday, which means “feast of fastbreaking,” a vacation day after receiving input from families.

Terry Kennedy, the board’s second vice president, credited former school board candidate Ghadah Makoshi for requesting that the district make the holiday a vacation day and said it was “a very positive addition to our calendar.”

“I think it’s the right thing to do for our Muslim families,” Ms. Kennedy said Wednesday evening at a school board meeting. “Certainly they deserve to be able to observe their holy days without having to worry about what is going on with school.”

Eid al-Fitr is the first of the two major Muslim holidays, the

second being Eid al-Adha, according to the Pittsburgh chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

During Eid al- Fitr, which celebrates the end of Ramadan, Muslims offer public prayers, visit friends and family, and work to strengthen family and community bonds, according to CAIR Pittsburgh. Some communities also hold multicultural bazaars and other activities following communal prayers, the organization said.

CAIR Pittsburgh said it is pleased that the district recognized the holiday.

“We welcome this decision to recognize Eid alFitr within the Pittsburgh Public Schools’ calendar,” Christine Mohamed, the organization’s executive director, said in a statement. “It’s a necessary step and we appreciate the school district’s attentiveness to the diversity of its students and families in our community. We hope other school districts … surrounding Pittsburgh follow suit.”