com·mon·wealth (kmn-wlth)
n.
1. The people of a nation or state; the body politic.
2. A nation or state governed by the people; a republic.
3. The official name of some states in the United States (Massachusetts, Pennsylvania,Virginia and Kentucky)
4. Used to refer to a self-governing, autonomous political unit voluntarily associated with the United States, namely, Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands.
All Commonwealths are States, but not all States are Commonwealths.
I'm a PA resident since birth. My schools always had Veterans' Day (Observed) off, and the first day of hunting season. Hell, even if they did have school the first day of hunting season, only 1/4 of the school would show up.
Zen, where does this friend live? Maybe it's a charter school she's talking about?