M-W High School student’s hard work pays off with no school on Muslim holiday

After years of lobbying, a Monroe-Woodbury High School senior’s goal has become a reality.

In June of his freshman year, Zayed Kadir began lobbying school district officials to give students the day off for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr after he and fellow students Bisma Malik and Sowa Joarder, juniors at the time, overheard parents lamenting that their children did not have off from school for the holiday celebrating the end of the holy month of Ramadan with a feast and gift giving.

“They seemed concerned that their children may be placing more importance on going to school rather than their faith,” Kadir said at the time. “I had heard stories of kids whose parents made them attend school on Eid, as well as students who chose to celebrate and consequently missed important exams. The choice between attending school for a crucial test and celebrating a religious holiday should not be one that students have to make.”

Kadir had productive interactions about the matter with members of the school board and former Superintendent of Schools Elsie Rodriguez, who, at the time, said adding a holiday such as Eid to the calendar – a template of which is produced by BOCES – is complicated by the fact that Eid’s date changes every year.

Discussions continued as Tracy Norman replaced Rodriguez as superintendent after the 2023-24 school year. A 2024 petition created by Kadir at change.org garnered 322 supportive student signatures.

The efforts paid off.

“Beginning in the 2024-25 school year, Eid al-Fitr was first listed on the school calendar,” Kadir said. “This year, on March 20, it was again listed on the calendar and as a Superintendent’s Conference Day, which is a day off for students meaning no Muslim students had to worry about missing assignments or work while we celebrated Eid. We went from no recognition to recognition but no day off to recognition and a day off. I believe this superintendent and school board will continue on this path. I am happy to be ending my time in high school with this being done.”

Attempts to obtain comment from the school district were unsuccessful by deadline.