"Thomas Edison High School is a Jewel"

Public Comment presented to the MCPS Board of Education on November 11, 2010.

Good evening. I am Theresa Defino and I am here as a parent of two MCPS students, boy-girl twins actually. Both attend Richard Montgomery High School, and my son also attends Thomas Edison High School where he is currently learning about brake jobs in the morning auto-tech program before heading back to his home school. My oldest daughter graduated from RM in 2007 and is a senior at the Art Institute of Chicago. I thank you for holding this hearing and for giving me the opportunity to speak.

I'm here to talk about Thomas Edison, but before I do I want to briefly add my support for a proposed elementary school in Rockville. The severe overcrowding, particularly at Beall Elementary is not only affecting the current students, but the lack of capacity for future students has meant a halt to Beall's Grant II, an affordable housing development planned for the Beall Elementary area that many of us fought for years to see built. So thank you for investigating a new school.

Now, as I said, I'm here for Thomas Edison High School. We do not yet have a PTSA--we're working on that--but I'm sort of the stand-in secretary. I have a lot to say, and not a lot of time, so I apologize if I run long.

So I'll tell you our bottom line right away: We want Thomas Edison to continue as the county's dedicated career and technology education school, serving, as it does now, all MCPS students regardless of where they live and what home school they attend.

As I am sure you recall, MCSP applied for a federal grant that would have merged or consolidated Wheaton with Edison.

Among the many problems with the grant were that it was developed basically in secret with no input from Edison parents or staff and did not reflect current programs, and we all breathed a sigh of relief a when the grant was not received.

But now, we again have no idea what is going to happen with Edison because there is another mystery. In early 2009, MCPS staff established the Edison Programs/Facilities Project Team, which had a clear mission, deliverables and a time table. The team was to deal ONLY with Edison's current programs, and future needs, and it had many months to complete its work. Its charge was to "determine workforce demands, best practices, and student interests to revise or develop innovative Career Pathway Programs that attract students, especially those from underrepresented populations, and lead to credentials and high-wage careers in high-demand fields. The project team will identify changes to the high school educational specifications to reflect new or updated programs." 

Membership included representatives from Edison parents, teachers and staff, community business leaders and officials from Montgomery College. This Project Team's existence is briefly described in your CIP materials in Chapt. 4, under "other programs."

Yet after only a few months work, MCPS abruptly halted that team, which by that point had not produced any recommendations. It has never met since. What appears to have taken its place is a 35 to 50-person roundtable, of which I am a member, whose charge is to discuss the "relationship between Edison and Wheaton"--as if a merger like that envisioned in the grant is the very foundation for our work.

But where are the data to show that a merger would benefit, rather than harm, Edison? When did we have that discussion?

Working with an MCPS-paid facilitator, we are supposed to come up with "approaches" but no recommendations, and a summary of our work will go to Dr. Weast--but not to you. You will receive only his recommendation.

We roundtable members had our first of five, two-hour meetings Tuesday night. Remember we are addressing TWO schools. Let me emphasize the timeframe--we have 10 hours to complete all our work--even less, really, because our "approaches" are due at our next meeting-- compared to many months allotted to the now-dead Project Team.

By the way, to follow along with what we are supposed to be doing, you should request a copy of the binder we received. It lays out our charge and an extremely aggressive timeline.

We believe things are happening all out of order--or not happening at all. Architects have already been hired for a feasibility study, yet there are no educational specifications--and we have no idea who is going to develop those. That is not part of the nebulous charge of the powerless roundtable--which, as I've said, cannot even make recommendations. Will the building match the programs? Who knows?

Thomas Edison is a jewel. It is unique. For 27 year years it has educated thousands of MCPS students who have gone on to successful careers and onto college. In the 2009 school year alone, Thomas Edison students earned a total of 545 articulated college credits to Montgomery College -- at $171 per credit that comes out to about $93,195 in college tuition saved by attending this "under-enrolled" school. It also serves a large minority and special needs population as well.

We want to see Thomas Edison modernized. We want to see programs that reflect current needs and evolve to meet future needs, and a building that adapts as needs change. So please don't take it off the CIP but put aside this roundtable process and consider reconstituting the Project Team to review Edison ALONE.

And give parents, students and staff a real role in shaping its future.

Thank you.

Theresa Defino

MCPS Parent