Quincy won't make Lunar New Year a school holiday for now
QUINCY - The Lunar New Year won't be a school holiday in Quincy next year.
The school committee has been looking into it, but a spokesperson told WBZ-TV Friday they decided not to make any changes to the 2023-24 school holiday calendar because the next Lunar New Year "falls on a Saturday."
Quincy has one of the highest Asian populations in Massachusetts. Asians make up 30-percent of the city's population, according to U.S. Census data.
North Quincy High School junior Angela Chen started the petition to add the holiday on the school calendar.
"As a student, I believe Quincy should recognize it to embody diversity and inclusion," she told WBZ last month. "This is one of the only times that distant families along with close families can gather around together because most of the time, a lot of family members are working and they don't really have a specific holiday just designated to celebrate."
The committee "agreed to continue to discuss the issue for future calendars where Lunar New Year falls on a scheduled school day, along with more outreach on the topic to the school community," the spokesperson said.
