My main goal of this letter is to bring attention to the fact that for the second year in a row the Warren County School District has not saw fit to allow their students and staff to honor Veterans Day with their families.

Last year, as I was reviewing the school year calendar I noticed that School was not closed on Veterans Day. I wrote a letter to the principal of Sheffield stating my displeasure, and noted that maybe it was an unfortunate oversight on the school districts part in omitting such an important and revered holiday from its schedule.

I also thought maybe they didn’t suspend classes for that day because in 2020 Veterans Day fell on a Wednesday, so not real conducive for a “day off” in the middle of the week right?

Wrong, schools were closed the Monday and Tuesday prior to Veterans Day on Wednesday. Now, again this year, the district has overlooked the federal holiday.

Again this year the district has suspended classes on Monday, Nov. 8 for parent teacher conference day (which is needed), and Tuesday, Nov. 9 as a professional development day (again probably needed), but not on Thursday, Nov. 11? Why can’t they group some of their conference and training days with Veterans Day?

But here is where it gets interesting, the school district veils other Federal Holidays as more “professional development days”, and “Energy days”, such as Martin Luther King Jr. day on Jan. 17 (Professional Day), Feb. 18 is an “Energy Day” which strangely enough equates to a long weekend because there is a “Professional Day” on Feb. 21 which is Presidents Day.

I am not sure why Veterans Day is being overlooked all together. They can’t even be bothered to veil it as a “professional day” like they do other federal holidays! My letter last year obviously went nowhere, and got no one’s attention, which is fine. I didn’t write it expecting anything other than maybe some schedule changes for this school year. I guess I was wrong; it was too much to ask.

So, again this year, my children will not be attending school on Veterans Day. Instead we will go pay our respects at our military family members’ graves, and teach them the importance of never forgetting the Veterans of the past, present, and the future that have, and will sacrifice so much for our freedoms.

Maybe it doesn’t seem like a real issue to the person who is reading this, and that’s fine, but it means a lot to folks like me that still have pride in America and respect for the bravery, and sacrifice by common Americans to keep us free.

Even though I fully believe every day is Independence Day, and every day is Veterans Day, I think we should be honoring them on the day specifically set aside to do so, and not glazing over it like it doesn’t exist because it doesn’t conveniently fall on a Monday or Friday.

Adam Hennessy is a Sheffield resident.