The following blog article by Chester E. Finn, Jr., December 20, 2012, suggests that Montgomery County
"needs a versatile, smart, and courageous education-advocacy organization to make sure that the interests of school-system employees and their friends don’t trump those of children (and taxpayers). Today it doesn’t have one—nor, to my knowledge, does it have anyone to point out the things that aren’t working, the kids who are badly served, the schools that are poorly led, the choices that don’t really exist, and all the other things that the system is not keen to make known."
Wow. He also raises a few questions that need answering:
But in those situations, it’s vital to impose transparency via external audits and comparisons that such districts aren’t apt to do for themselves. How do 8th graders in Montgomery County compare—not just with each other or with Baltimore, but with Korea and Finland? Which schools are working well, and which really aren’t? Which truly “add value” to their pupils, and which just take smart, well-parented, upper-middle-class kids and keep them that way? How much per pupil does this system spend on special education versus the national average, and how many special-needs kids graduate from high school? How many of the kids taking AP courses then pass the AP exams? How many minority students are enrolled in the district’s International Baccalaureate program, and what is their rate of success? How many graduates of the county’s high schools must still take remedial courses in college? How many “eligible” students cannot get into “gifted and talented” classrooms due to the paucity of such programs? How many are turned away from the county’s acclaimed Montgomery Blair magnet high school program (which takes just 100 kids per year)? And much more.
Read the whole blog article by clicking HERE.
Thanks for posting. I would love it if you can point out the comment where says there is 1 MCPS employee for every 6.5 kids. My experience is that there is 1 teacher for every 25-30 kids. That mens there are 4 support people for every teacher! What do these 4 people do? I know we need janitors, principals, HR, and admin people, but 4 people to support each teacher seems a little high. Is it al the special education dollars? What do these 4 other people do?
ReplyDeleteWhy do we keep electing this pro-union BOE? We need a BOE that will ask these kinds of questions? Please pay attention MoCo voters.
Montgomery County already has a "versatile, smart, and courageous education-advocacy organization" and it is called the Parents' Coalition.
ReplyDelete@Anonymous, here is the text from the article:
ReplyDelete"Yes, it’s a good school system. It is also, for the most part, a prosperous, upscale system, much like Starr’s previous Connecticut venue. And of course, it’s expensive: For the next fiscal year, Starr has asked the county for a $49-million increase over the current budget, amounting to a total of $2.22 billion, which works out to $15,280 per pupil. The school system employs 22,230 people—one grown-up for every 6.5 kids. That’s a lot."
Yes, that that's the quote Ms Bienefeld. Sorry, my math is wrong though. It is 4 employees for every 26 students or 4 for every class. If one is the teacher, then that leaves 3 employees doing ? and 1 teacher teaching kids. Could it be school bus drivers 'driving' up the employee count? Still, I am at a loss. I would love to see a chart comparing MCPS G&A to other school districts and to private schools.
ReplyDeleteTo find out how the elected BoE allocates staff, read the new budget that just came out. It is on the MCPS website.
ReplyDeleteI understand that the Coalition is a "versatile, smart, and courageous education-advocacy organization" and I'm all for that. My question is what does it do other than gossip about minuscule matters and nit-pick. What I'd like to see from the Coalition is action. Words and whistle-blowing only go so far, especially if you have nothing to show for it.
ReplyDeleteWhat "Coalition" are you talking about?
DeleteYour kid is listening to commercial radio on their bus ride, right? No? That would be because the Parents' Coalition took action and Jerry Weast was forced to end his commercialization of public school buses.
Your local school's most recent audit of student activity funds is on the MCPS website because? Because the Parents' Coalition has been obtaining and posting those audits for years and providing sunshine to local school finances. The Parents' Coalition forced those documents to be made public and accessible to all parents.
Your child is paying a "lab fee" and a "towel fee" at their local public school? No? Again, that would be the Parents' Coalition going after those documents for years and documenting violations of the Maryland Constitution.
Lots more examples, you can read about our actions on this blog. Start with searching for "open meetings act" for one.
@Anonymous 12/24 4:57PM, we are all volunteers here. Step right up. You are the coalition. If you want more action than we can give you, step up and implement your plan of action. Everyone welcome. Want a change in the Pearson curriculum? step right up. Want a transparent discussion of the budget? step right up. Want the BOE to stop breaking the MD Open Meetings Act? step right up. Want to find out what happened at that offsite meeting held between the BOE and the County Council? step right up. This is your coalition. Join in. You want to see action? here's an old cliche: Be the change.
ReplyDelete