The Waterbury School board will consider whether to recognize two Muslim holidays on the school calendar on Thursday night.
According to The Republican-American, a petition with nearly 300 signatures is seeking recognition of the holidays Eid Al-Fitr and Eid Al-Adha. The petition asks that the days be recognized on the school calendar and that teachers and staff avoid scheduling tests, field trips and other events on those days.
Eid Al-Fitr marks the end of the month-long fast of Ramadan and will be on July 17 this year, so it will not occur during the regular school year. Eid al-Adha, which commemorates Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son, will happen on September 23.
According to Charles Stango, President of the Waterbury Board of Education, Thursday night is a workshop meeting, so no vote will take place. Rather, the board will discuss the proposal tonight and decide whether it should appear as an item on the next official board meeting, February 5.
Naved Khan, a member of Waterbury’s Islamic American Society of Connecticut, there are around 2,000 families who identify as Islamic within the greater Waterbury area.
