Breaking news: MCPS CLOSES ACHIEVEMENT GAP

If you live in Montgomery County, Maryland, you might not be aware of what the rest of the USA is told about Montgomery County's public school system.

Here is a Boston news article with a quote that MCPS is the only school district in the USA to have closed the achievement gap.

The marketing of the MCPS "brand" has been successful! The $10 million communications department budget paid off. (Yes, the "branding" of MCPS has been the topic of discussion at a number of Board of Education meetings.)

Is this our reality?

...“Montgomery County is the only district in the country that has successfully closed the achievement gap,” Decter said. “They have special education inclusion, intervention in every grade to make sure students advance. Our vision is her reality.”

Full article at link:
Newton picks new school superintendent - Newton - Your Town - Boston.com

...The decision followed a week of interviews, tours, and public forums involving the three candidates. During today’s two-hour meeting, the board held a straw vote in which Fleishman was backed by all but one member, Margie Ross Decter, who favored Marks.
‘‘I think she’s exactly what we need when you look at all the criteria,’’ Decter said. ‘‘I’m a show-me person, and Dr. Marks has shown in her career how she can rise to the occasion.’’
Decter said Marks could bring some of the tremendous achievements of Montgomery County to Newton. “Montgomery County is the only district in the country that has successfully closed the achievement gap,” Decter said. “They have special education inclusion, intervention in every grade to make sure students advance. Our vision is her reality.”Decter's colleague, Geoffrey Epstein, said he preferred Fleishman because he had more direct experience with the nuts and bolts work of district management at a much earlier point in his professional life.
“Dr. Marks was part of a very high performing school system, but it's important to ask how many of its great aspects are attributable to her,” Epstein said. “The budget puck didn't stop with her. She's a very engaging educator at the end of her career trajectory, but I'm less sure she can transfer her experience here.”
After the straw vote, Decter joined the rest of her colleagues in backing Fleishman. ‘‘I thought all three of them were stars, and David Fleishman was the rising star,’’ she said. ‘‘There’s no question that Fleishman is also a great study.’’..