All MCPS High Schools Will Have Wellness Centers by Start of Next School Year [Only ONE bidder for project.]

...Keller Brothers, Inc., which has done other work for the school district, was awarded the construction bid at that meeting for a maximum of $6,848, 200. Keller Brothers, which is located in Mount Airy, was the only bidder...

https://www.mymcmedia.org/all-mcps-high-schools-will-have-wellness-centers-by-start-of-next-school-year/

Albornoz ‘Deeply Alarmed’ About Lack of Staffing MCPS Faces Next School Year

Montgomery County Education Association (MCEA) President Jennifer Martin testified in April at a Montgomery County Council budget hearing that 1,443 Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) employees gave notice that they plan to resign or retire.

Council President Gabe Albornoz told MyMCM that the council is “deeply alarmed and will assured the council is supporting MCPS in their recruitment efforts”...

https://www.mymcmedia.org/albornoz-deeply-alarmed-about-lack-of-staff-mcps-faces-next-school-year/

Is the adult in your child's classroom a licensed Maryland Educator? Find out here.

 

Educator Look-Up

Use our Public Search to verify a Maryland Educator Certificate. 

https://www.marylandpublicschools.org/about/pages/dee/certification/index.aspx

Loudoun Co. schools tighten social media access for middle school students

Public schools in Loudoun County, Virginia, are attempting to rein in misuse of social media by middle school students on school-issued Chromebooks.

The School Board’s Technology Steering Committee Wednesday night will discuss social media access for students, and hear about recent challenges and changes in an informational briefing.

While social media access and usage on mobile phones is largely between parent and child, access to social media and websites on school-provided Chromebooks for students is restricted...

https://wtop.com/loudoun-county/2022/06/loudoun-co-schools-tighten-social-media-access-for-middle-school-students/

Victim, 14, speaks out about how Fairfax County prosecutors handled predator criminal case

 

They tried to pressure me into making a decision without my family present and they treated me more of like the perpetrator rather than the victim of a crime,” said “Julie” who is now 16 years old.

Julie, not her real name, said she’s been traumatized. First, by a manipulating online predator. Then, by the Fairfax County Commonwealth Attorney's Office...

https://wjla.com/features/i-team/fairfax-county-virginia-attorney-general-steve-descano-commonwealth-attorney-officer-14-year-old-victim-prosecutors-predator-criminal-case-ryan-duarte-investigation-child-pornography

SAT/ACT scores no longer required for University System of Maryland admissions

PRINCESS ANNE, Md. (WBFF) — SAT and ACT standardized test scores will no longer be required for admission to member institutions of the University System of Maryland, the University System of Maryland (USM) Board of Regents voted Friday.

Each university can set its own policies regarding standardized test scores, but most of the 12 institutions including the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and the University of Maryland, College Park supported the policy...

https://foxbaltimore.com/news/local/satact-scores-no-longer-required-for-university-system-of-maryland-admissions?fbclid=IwAR240Ehm3IydEYFCHk17x7LAEG7GIlfk-CJS1VKEqeNReMrP3cc8tZqP9KM

ASK the Candidates for Mont. Co. State's Attorney: @MCSAONEWS @tomformoco2022 @MirekuNorth @PerryPaylor How would YOU respond if the FBI announced the arrest of a former @mcps elementary school teacher?

@MCSAONEWS @tomformoco2022 @MirekuNorth @PerryPaylor Last summer the FBI released info on a former @mcps elem. teacher that detailed possible sexual abuse of elem. students. No statement from MoCoSAO, no statement from @mcps, no outreach to past students, no investigation 1/2

— Parents' Coalition (@PCMC1) June 22, 2022

Breaking: Former Board Acres Elem. @mcps SCHOOL TEACHER PLEADS GUILTY TO POSSESSION OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY [@mcps Personnel File Exposed by FBI]

Remember when this former MCPS Broad Acres Elementary School teacher was arrested in August of 2021 by the FBI in Buffalo, New York? 

As part of Richard Scherer's arrest the FBI RELEASED information from this former MCPS teacher's personnel file.

The Parents' Coalition reported on that information in a series of blog posts that can be read at this link. 

Richard Scherer has now plead guilty to a child pornography charge. The FBI press release is below. 

Part 5 in our series is linked below.  Was any of the information in Richard Scherer's personnel file ever reported to Montgomery County Police? 

Were the victims of these acts ever counseled or advised of their rights?  Some of these students could still be in Montgomery County Public Schools. They were elementary school students when Richard Scherer was their teacher. 

Are "students first" in Montgomery County Public Schools or is that just a public relations line used by Superintendent Monifa McKnight? 

Thursday, August 5, 2021

PART 5 - WHAT @mcps @mocoboe KNEW in 2011: MCPS substantiated that SCHERER rubbed the girls’ backs to see if they were wearing a bra, touched the girls’ thighs, commented on their breasts and periods, and asked the girls if they loved him.  

Scherer (Richard) Plea by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland on Scribd

MCPS Faces Teacher Shortage for Next School Year

As the Montgomery County Public School year comes to a close Friday, the district needs to hire hundreds of teachers and other staff members for the upcoming year.

As of June 13, there were 581 unfilled positions. Meanwhile, 973 teachers have indicated they will be resigning or retiring.

When the previous school year ended, 668 – about one-third fewer – teachers had indicated their plans to resign or retire, according to a spokesperson for the Montgomery County Education Association...

https://www.mymcmedia.org/mcps-faces-teacher-shortage-for-next-school-year/

Fairfax Co. teacher arrested after police say search of her home turns up child pornography

A middle school teacher from Springfield, Virginia, is under arrest after police said a search of her apartment turned up child pornography.

Fairfax County police said the investigation into Kristine Knizner, 28, began on Tuesday, with a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children...

 https://wtop.com/fairfax-county/2022/05/fairfax-co-teacher-arrested-after-police-say-search-of-her-home-turns-up-child-pornography/

Fairfax Co. bus driver, attendant charged with felony neglect after 3-year-old suffers head injury

A Fairfax County Public Schools bus driver and an attendant were arrested and charged last week with felony child neglect after a special needs student suffered a severe head injury, according to Vienna Police.

Authorities said Vienna officers responded to a school bus stop on March 18 for an argument between an FCPS bus driver and a child’s parent after the child had been injured on the bus riding home from school...

https://wtop.com/fairfax-county/2022/05/fairfax-co-bus-driver-attendant-charged-with-felony-neglect-after-3-year-old-suffers-head-injury/

Indoor Air Quality Guide for Teachers

Breathe Easier. More Focused Students.

Why should you care about indoor air in your classroom?

• We spend 90% of our lives in buildings. We spend 27 years of our lives in bed! As a result, most of the chemicals that we inhale are from indoor air. Indoor air has more chemicals than outdoors.
• The concentrations for most chemicals indoors are higher indoors than outdoors. This is due to 1) emissions from building products, people, cleaning agents, cooking, and consumer products (toys) and 2) chemical reactions indoors.
• We inhale more air mass per day then we drink water mass. Hence, we tend to inhale more unintentional chemicals per day than we drink.
• We care about what goes into our students’ bodies. We require a permission slip for our students to use sunscreen and or take medicine. Hence, we care how chemicals get to our students’ skin and mouth. We should also be concerned with chemicals that get to our students lungs...

http://poppendieck.com/IAQ/Classroom.html

Mayra Ramos, a parent at Montgomery Blair HS, tells me she ran from work after hearing about the lockdown.

Mayra Ramos, a parent at Montgomery Blair HS, tells me she ran from work after hearing about the lockdown. She reunited with her daughter Meleny (10th grade) as we were speaking. pic.twitter.com/Zli7DNUx4s

— Michael Hernández (@MHernandezTV_) June 16, 2022

SERIOUS WORKPLACE INJURY: Jones Lane Elementary School in Darnestown, Montgomery County. ~2:45PM Friday,

SERIOUS WORKPLACE INJURY: Jones Lane Elementary School in Darnestown, Montgomery County. ~2:45PM Friday, man serious to critical after Zero-Turn Mower overturned on top of him. Bystanders freed man from under mower. Medics now transporting him to a Trauma Ctr.

— Cordell (@CordellTraffic) June 17, 2022

Cellphone rules change for Fairfax Co. students this fall

Cellphones will be banned in most places when public school students return to classes at the end of summer break in Fairfax County, Virginia. The Fairfax County School Board voted 8-4 Thursday to ban cellphones during class and in bathrooms and locker rooms, other than for emergencies. High schoolers will be allowed to use their phones in between classes and during lunch...

https://wtop.com/fairfax-county/2022/06/cellphone-rules-change-for-fairfax-co-students-this-fall/?fbclid=IwAR2qjxFVmfJ_7OaKQ0oW9COIXalppNC0FKtc-ZUQvN5QSqnfgmZnMFgkgeU

ICYMI @MCPSAthletics noted a change to student 💉 requirements: “Vaccination for COVID-19 is strongly recommended for student-athletes, but is no longer required. This change to the vaccination requirement applies to summer conditioning and the upcoming fall season.”

ICYMI @MCPSAthletics noted a change to student 💉 requirements: “Vaccination for COVID-19 is strongly recommended for student-athletes, but is no longer required. This change to the vaccination requirement applies to summer conditioning and the upcoming fall season.” https://t.co/ttvEiOK7rU

— Stephanie Ramirez (@RamirezReports) June 17, 2022

We celebrate Juneteenth

Families of color drive surge in homeschooling, as one family sweetens the lessons

WASHINGTON (7News) — Homeschooling is surging and the families its attracting defy the traditional notions of who homeschools and why.

Parents, who say they're done with school politics, inequitable treatment and a one-sized-fits all approach are finding creative solutions to maximize their child's abilities and educational experience.

For aspiring 6th grade baker and entrepreneur, Tyce Yorke, it means cake design is part of his curriculum...

https://wjla.com/features/i-team/homeschooling-pandemic-learning-covid-19-families-of-color-cooking-baking-dc-virginia-maryland-yorke-family-unschooling-black-hispanic?fbclid=IwAR37pUH1okbjHsp9KbmJBeQ4btP6THLXyeGBgpnKVZGG8JEmxlPABeWPcP0

Fairfax Co. schools may limit cellphone usage beginning next year

Students in Fairfax County, Virginia, may have fewer opportunities to use their cellphones during the school day starting next year.

Under a proposed revision to the “Student Rights and Responsibilities” handbook, cellphone use for most students would be prohibited during all classes as well as visits to the bathrooms and locker rooms...

 https://wtop.com/fairfax-county/2022/06/fairfax-co-schools-may-limit-cellphone-usage-beginning-next-year/?fbclid=IwAR0KuCtbUIcjpDI4x_chg09FammvyZ7Y1rUkg-a3Hoc8fD5wCPGet55PqmU

COVID-19: Montgomery County in High Transmission Rate. Maryland Positivity Rate 10 - 14.9%

 

Maryland

State Health Departmentexternal icon 

7-day Metrics
Cases	9,765
% Positivity	10-14.9 %
Deaths	48
% of Population ≥ 5 Years of Age Fully Vaccinated	81.2%
New Hospital Admissions (7-Day Moving Avg)	61.29

https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#county-view?list_select_state=Maryland&data-type=Risk&null=Risk