Majority of MCPS high school students... failed their first final exam

Montgomery County parents are alarmed after learning how many high school students failed their first final exams this school year. Now that data on failure rates is circulating, school officials say they will look into countywide exams, curriculum and student results.

The majority of Montgomery County Public Schools high school students enrolled in grade-level math courses such as algebra and geometry failed their first final exam, according to countywide school system data from 2012 final exams.

Of the high school students enrolled in Algebra 1, 61 percent failed; of those in geometry, 62 percent failed; of those in Algebra 2, 57 percent failed; of those in precalculus, 48 percent failed, according to the data.

Students who are not in advanced classes had much higher rates of failure.

School system administrators are setting up a study group to “get to the root of the issue,” said Erick Lang, the school system’s associate superintendent of curriculum and instruction.

“If you look at the data, you can’t help but be pretty shocked,” said Dylan Presman, PTSA president at Rockville High.

School board member Michael A. Durso (Dist. 5) of Silver Spring said the data, to him, is “a red flag.”

“My concern is ... a lot of times the curriculum and the tests don’t always match up,” Durso said.

Durso was Springbrook High’s principal for 13 years before being elected to the board in 2009.

He said math teachers have been worried for years about skimming through topics, without depth.

Presman is concerned that there is an issue of misalignment between the curriculum and exams.

Lang said other factors come into play, such as students’ motivation to study for the exams, which they do not need to ace to pass their courses.

Lang said his office has talked about this issue before hearing about it from principals this winter.

“We have kind of said there are a bunch of factors that weigh into this,” he said. “But we haven’t done anything.”

The data became public last week, when Presman received a chart showing countywide final-exam grade results from Rockville Principal Debra Munk, then sent it to his PTSA listserv. This data is stored privately in a school system database, although Lang said it has been published in reports previously...

Read the rest of this article at the following link:

Gazette: Principals, parents alarmed after many Montgomery high-schoolers fail math finals

County approves double-digit raises for employees on 8-1 vote

Union leader can finally take vacation in Bahamas

Montgomery Council Approves County Employee Compensation for Fiscal Year 2014

Statement of Councilmember Phil Andrews on Montgomery Council’s Approval of Compensation Plan for County Employees Says Council Approved Plan of ‘Excessive Pay Raises Agreed to by County Executive Leggett’

Are Montgomery schools looking for troublesome behavior by teachers?

By Editorial Board, Published: April 28

THE ARREST of a Montgomery County music teacher for allegedly possessing child pornography has prompted the question of whether warning signs went undetected or ignored. The criminal case against the teacher is likely to provide some answers, but it’s important that Montgomery school officials conduct their own investigation to determine whether procedures were properly followed or if safeguards need to be tightened.

Lawrence Joynes, a teacher at New Hampshire Estates Elementary School in Silver Spring, was arrested by Baltimore County authorities after a search of his Dundalk home allegedly resulted in the discovery of child pornography on his laptop computer. Since the Feb. 27 arrest, there has been concern among parents of New Hampshire Estates students that their children may have been victimized. There have been no charges to that effect but, The Post’s Donna St. George and Dan Morse reported last week, police said that some of what they described as inappropriate images confiscated from Mr. Joynes were taken inside the school. The attorney for Mr. Joynes did not return a call for comment.

Should alarm bells about the teacher’s behavior have prompted earlier action?

continues at link below:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/do-montgomery-schools-investigate-teachers-behavior/2013/04/28/7b69a9f0-aea7-11e2-8bf6-e70cb6ae066e_story.html

Interview with Joshua Starr: Excellence is Not a Zero Sum Game

Question:  What do you see as your greatest challenge in MCPS?

Joshua Starr:  MCPS is widely considered to be one of the best large districts in the country. While we have been very successful under the current national education agenda (although we still have significant student achievement gaps), it is necessary to redesign our architecture to enable us to prepare our children for 2025 and beyond. We've traveled to the Moon, but now we have to go to Mars; the system that got us to the Moon won't get us to Mars. In order to make the necessary changes, we must have a culture that values risk-taking, innovation, information-sharing, appropriate autonomy and collaboration. Engendering that culture is our biggest present challenge.

http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/living-in-dialogue/2013/01/interview_with_joshua_starr_ex.html

Chevy Chase Elementary Scores Technology Worth More than $45,000

http://www.edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2013/04/chevy-chase-elementary-scores-technology-worth-more-45000

School construction agency faulted for project oversight, incomplete records and missing reports

School construction agency faulted for project oversight, incomplete records and missing reports

$694,771 for Very Private MCPS Charter School - ZERO Accountability

On Wednesday, April 24, 2013, the Montgomery County Council held a hearing on various MCPS and pre-school programs.  One of the topics was the very private MCPS Charter School that is being funded by taxpayers. It's supposed to be a public charter school, and it is not supposed to be run by a private organization.  But, this is Montgomery County and there is no oversight of this school, and a private organization is running the school.

The BOE will hand this private charter school $694,771 for Fiscal Year 2014 with absolutely no oversight as to the operations of this supposed public school.

Listen to what Councilmember Valerie Ervin has to say when she finds out that the Council was given no information about this program for this April 24th hearing.

From the Council Packet prepared for this hearing: 
• Community Montessori Charter School: In FY13, the Board of Education budgeted $274,242 for a Community Montessori Charter SchooL It was expected that the school would serve 70 three and four-year old children. Because information about the program was not available prior to packet publication, the Committees may be interested in receiving an update from MCPS staff about the program

Mr. Money Mustache vs. Mrs. Montgomery County Union Jackson

What a contrast in personal financial management – and in life in general. Last week, the Gazette reported that Montgomery County employees Sedearia Wilson-Jackson and her husband Sean Jackson have been going through tough times because their taxpayer-funded income of $110,019 (plus overtime pay) has not gone up for a few years. Mrs. Wilson-Jackson is a police services assistant (whatever that is) and Mr. Jackson is a bus driver. Mrs. Wilson-Jackson is also a Montgomery County employees’ union boss and the Jacksons receive a county employee benefits package worth at least $25,000 per year, details not mentioned in the Gazette article.

A couple of days after the aforementioned Gazette article appeared, the Washington Post told the story of “Mr. Money Mustache”, a widely-read blogger whose real name is Pete. He and his wife and young son are living a comfortable and happy life in Colorado. At age 30, Pete and his wife retired after saving and investing enough money to afford to live comfortably for the foreseeable future. 

Mrs. Wilson-Jackson is dismayed that her family hasn’t been able to afford a trip to the Bahamas. Other sacrifices include sending their son to Montgomery College instead of an out-of-state, four-year college. According to the Gazette article, their son “was unable to attend his four-year college of choice in Florida but rather spent two-and-a-half years at Montgomery College.”

Meanwhile, Mr. Money Mustache, who lives on $25,000 per year of investment income, takes his family on “Great American road trips”, sometimes camping and sometimes staying at hotels in “a nice spot.”

So what’s all this have to do with education and accountability? Read Mr. Money Mustache’s perspective on that topic at Avoiding Ivy League Preschool Syndrome.

Enjoy!

MCPS 2012 Graduation Rate for Students with Disabilities Shockingly Low

The following numbers refer to the Four Year Adjusted Cohort Rate. The 4-Year Adjusted Graduation Rate is calculated by dividing total Diplomas Earned by the 4-Year Adjusted Cohort. Students who drop out of high school remain in the adjusted cohort—that is, the denominator of the graduation rate calculation.

Students with disabilities who need special education services are entitled to a free appropriate public education until they either earn a regular high school diploma or "age out" at the end of the school year in which they turn 21 years old. In many MCPS schools, it appears that only about HALF of the special education students are receiving diplomas. What is happening to the other half? Do they drop out? Are they moved off the diploma track? Time for the "equity warrior" Starr to come up with an action plan for students with disabilities, to increase the numbers of them making it to a high school diploma!

MCPS All Students: 87.40
MCPS All Special Education: 62.78

Wheaton HS: 41.67
Gaithersburg HS: 45.59
Paint Branch HS: 44.83
Kennedy HS: 48.94
Einstein HS: 56.25
Quince Orchard HS: 57.89
Richard Montgomery HS: 60.78
Springbrook HS: 57.50
Rockville HS: 57.69
Watkins Mill HS: 58.00
Northwood HS: 59.57
Blake HS: 58.33
Damascus HS: 67.44
Magruder HS: 72.44
Whitman: 71.79
Sherwood HS: 79.55
Northwest HS: 80.65
Churchill HS: 83.08
Walter Johnson: 84.62
Wootton HS: 90.91
Poolesville HS: 92.86

All data from www.mdreportcard.org

3rd Grade Student Asks: "Why did you give the curriculum to us before it was ready?"

Remember, MCPS gets royalties if the Pearson (MCPS) Forward curriculum sells! So listen to Superintendent Joshua Starr's answer about the Pearson/MCPS Curriculum 2.0.

$1,282,621 in County and Federal funds for program that refuses to serve students with learning disabilities

On April 24, 2013, the Montgomery County Council held a hearing to discuss various programs that serve County children.  One of the programs briefly discussed was the George B. Thomas Sr. Learning Academy, Inc.(GBTLA)   The hearing revealed that the GBTLA program will receive $1,096,621 in County funding between the County and MCPS in FY 2014.  

What the Council staff and MCPS did not disclose is that the FY 2014 budget also includes another $100,000 slipped in by Superintendent Joshua Starr from money taken from MCPS copier repairs and $86,000 funneled to the program from Americorps.

From the Council Packet (page 16-17)

The George B. Thomas, Sr. Learning Academy, Inc.
Provides Saturday school for mentoring and tutoring to a minimum of
3,200 Kids at 12 MCPS High Schools. $780,498
Council staff notes that the George B. Thomas Sr. Learning Academy has also been recommended for a community grant in the amount of $70,000 to support a development director. MCPS reports that it provides the following financial support for GBTLA:
16 • rental offacilities (12 sites) - $85,000;
• materials -$50,000;
• insurance - $20,000;
• transportation - $30,000;
• young scholars - $20,000; and
• 50 percent of the salary of the program coordinator.* 

*$42,529 is shown in the MCPS funding database for FY 2013.

Council packet also did not disclose the $86,000 in Americorps funds that are funneled to the GBTLA program.

Council's Staff packet did not reveal the $100,000 that will be handed over to the George B. Thomas Learning Academy in the MCPS FY 2014 budget as was revealed in our recent blog posting. 

Total County and Federal funding for this program that refuses to serve children with learning disabilities appears to be $1,282,621.

Parents, Students Protest Plans For Cell Phone Tower At Catholic School « CBS Los Angeles

Parents, Students Protest Plans For Cell Phone Tower At Catholic School « CBS Los Angeles

"Montgomery schools Superintendent Joshua P. Starr calls it Larry."

Gazette:  Montgomery superintendent says without federal standards, schools can focus on values

Chicago students skip standardized tests to protest

CPS students skip standardized tests to protest

Montgomery County lawmakers: Teacher raises won't narrow student achievement gap | WashingtonExaminer.com

Montgomery County lawmakers: Teacher raises won't narrow student achievement gap | WashingtonExaminer.com

"What do I tell the fellow parents when I am sitting in the PTA meetings?" asked Councilman Craig Rice, D-Germantown. "When I look at how long and how persistent this achievement gap has been, apparently what you've been doing hasn't helped."...
"I've had teachers say to me, 'I can't even get to students because there are so many students in the classroom,' " said Council President Nancy Navarro, D-Eastern County.But Starr disagreed that this change would result in the intended improvement. Rather than reduce class sizes, the school system tries to reduce student-teacher ratios by making sure there are more English as a Second Language and special education teachers.

National Assessment Of Educational Progress In Economics Finds Less Than Half Of 12th Graders 'Proficient'

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/24/national-assessment-educational-progress-economics_n_3146100.html?

$35,964 for Pedometers. Did your student get one?

The Board of Education bought $35,964 worth of pedometers this fiscal year. They did this in the last fiscal year, too.  This was an "extension" of a previous contract (no bids taken).

These pedometers cost at least $31 each. They are 5 funcion digital models. That means the BOE bought at least 1,160 of these fancy pedometers. (Doesn't appear to be one of the $19.99 ones) Seen one on your child?

Were these bought for students or were these a perk for the employee unions?

Starr Robbing High School Copiers to Send $$ to Private Company

Here's an interesting fact from Superintendent Joshua Starr's FY 2014 MCPS Operating Budget. 

Superintendent Starr is going to move $100,000 from MCPS to a private company without Board of Education discussion or vote! Obviously, that is not a legal budget item.  A Superintendent can't go around handing MCPS Operating Budget cash to private companies, right? 

The George B. Thomas Learning Academy is not a part of MCPS!  It is a private company.  In fact, as we have reported, the George B. Thomas Learning Academy even refuses to tutor students with special education needs.  But, no matter, Superintendent Starr is going to hand them $100,000! Starr is taking $100,000 from MCPS money used to lease and maintain copiers at MCPS high schools and hand it to this private company.

Tough luck for the high school teachers with copier needs, but a windfall for a private company!

Realignment  $100,000 from lease/maintenance duplicating to fund instructional materials for the George B. Thomas Learning Academy (Page 1-23)

-----------------------
April 26, 2013 Update on public funding for this private company.

School board denies bus route appeal in Germantown

...Hoffpauir was particularly concerned that the intersection of Kingsview and Clopper roads, near the school, still requires pedestrians to cross while left-turning traffic is directed through the crosswalk. But school staff argued at the March hearing that the intersection is clearly marked and equipped with a countdown-timer that shows how long pedestrians have left to cross.

 http://www.gazette.net/article/20130423/NEWS/130429827/1022/school-board-denies-bus-route-appeal-in-germantown&template=gazette

School Leader Group Proposes Change to Special Education Due Process

School Leader Group Proposes Change to Special Education Due Process

However, at least one advocacy group, the Baltimore-based Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, sees the AASA proposal as an attack on parents.

"AASA contends the due process system is inequitable and unpopular. The fix to inequality is not to do away with due process of law," said Denise Marshall, the executive director of the organization.

And S. James Rosenfeld, the director of the National Academy for IDEA Administrative Law Judges and Hearing Officers, also said the document outlining the proposal was "surprisingly insensitive" to the needs of children with disabilities and their families.

Pearson holds a five-year, $468 million contract through 2015 to provide the state assessment tests that students begin taking in third grade. While policies that led to the contract won unanimous approval four years ago, some lawmakers now say Pearson exerted excessive influence in the policy-making process.

As the Texas Legislature moves to uproot the state’s standardized testing program amid an outcry from parents and school leaders, state lawmakers have focused their criticism on Pearson, the publishing and testing company that develops the tests.
“Testing companies are in the business of making a profit, but let’s not confuse their mission — their mission is to create as many tests as they can and then grade them at as little cost as possible,” the chairman of the Senate Education Committee, Dan Patrick, Republican of Houston, said Tuesday at a hearing on a comprehensive education bill that would reduce the number of high-stakes tests students must pass to graduate...

Read full article at this link: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/21/education/texas-legislators-seek-to-pare-standardized-tests.html?ref=education&_r=0

“Pearson is a big company, and what they did was totally unacceptable.”

Pearson’s NYC misstep draws state education officials’ concern

No Bid Consultant Scores Big! $142,337 in March and another $33,564 in April!

Here's the name of the consultant:  Lenore Blank Kelner & Company.
It looks to be a small company as it is run out of a house in Silver Spring.

The owner of this "company" is an actress, director, author and educator according to this bio on the Kennedy Center website.

The "company" has been awarded a total of $175,911 in just 2 months! Wonder how much they will get in May? The job? Not acting, directing, writing a book, or educating.  The "company" has been hired by the BOE as a "Consultant for Title 1 Program Grant."  It must be one heck of a grant for the BOE to spend $175,911 on just the consultant.

The BOE took no other bids and there will be no discussion of this payment or of the job this consultant is expected to do for these sums.

One payment to this no bid consultant was on the March 2013, BOE Consent Agenda for $142,337 and another payment was on the April 2013, BOE Consent Agenda for $33,564.  Next month, how much more for this consultant?

Error by testing giant Pearson shuts 2,700 out of city's gifted and talented programs

Error by testing giant Pearson shuts 2,700 out of city's gifted and talented programs

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/exam-error-shuts-2-700-gifted-talented-programs-article-1.1322573#ixzz2RDIwbbZC

Starr's Red Zone Plan

Didn't Superintendent Jerry Weast's plan close the achievement gap?

The Washington Post: Montgomery County to announce program aimed at helping low-performing schools

Montgomery County education officials will identify about 10 schools in the district for extra support and resources under a new program that aims to help individual campuses boost performance.
Schools Superintendent Joshua P. Starr is expected to announce the details of the program at Tuesday’s Board of Education meeting...

...Starr said the plan will match lower-performing schools with central office administrators to provide more customized support that could help narrow the achievement gap and improve academic performance.
School officials hope to identify the strengths and weaknesses of each school, trying to avoid a one-size-fits-all approach. Such a strategy will allow the system to develop focused plans for improvement and more direct support for the schools.
“We will not be imposing one single program on all schools,” Starr said. “It just doesn’t work.”...

...The program would be different from the approach former superintendent Jerry D. Weast established, which was to designate “red zone/green zone” schools. That method allowed for more school spending at “red zone” schools, which were determined based on criteria such as the number of students who spoke English as a second language or qualified for free and reduced-price meals.

  11.0 Update on OSSI by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland

Councilmember Riemer unfamiliar with MCPS Code Red Drills?

Councilmember Hans Riemer has posted the following question on Facebook in reaction to today's front page Washington Post article. 

It would appear that Councilmember Hans Riemer is unfamiliar with MCPS Code Red procedures and school security issues in general.  

-----


From Facebook:

Options

Hans Riemer

Should any teacher who locks children into a classroom be fired immediately? Is there any legitimate reason for doing that at all?

Parents worry after Montgomery teacher’s arrest on child pornography charge

www.washingtonpost.com

Lawrence Joynes, who worked at New Hampshire Estates Elementary, faces a child pornography charge.

Parent, Teacher Complaints Brushed Aside: Washington Post Front Page

From today's Washington Post, page A-1:

Since Joynes’s Feb. 27 arrest, parents have questioned whether school administrators were watching him closely enough. Two parents said in interviews that they had told school officials about incidents they considered inappropriate. One reported that Joynes asked a child to call him “Daddy.” Another said the teacher made comments in front of second-graders about a relative being a drug addict. A third parent said at a school meeting that he had complained about Joynes, but did not describe his concern. School officials said publicly that significant action had been taken in that instance.

Two teachers said in interviews that they reported Joynes for actions they found worrisome, including locking classroom doors while he was inside with children.

***********

So, MCPS sends out the Community Superintendent to a meeting to mollify parents, who says the "complaints were handled the way they should be handled." The principal remains mum. The public relations chief (really? public relations at a meeting like this?) says MCPS will investigate....later.

Why aren't parent complaints ever taken seriously? I hope that the families at New Hampshire Estates are getting some answers from the Montgomery County Police Department, and have access to the Victim's Assistance program. They need answers....not "public relations."

Parents, Your Field Trip Fees to pay for Artificial Turf

Even Board of Education members couldn't understand this. 

Why is Superintendent Joshua Starr moving money from Field Trips to artificial turf purchases?  Board of Education member Phil Kauffman asked the following question (#27) and this is the printed answer that was posted to the MCPS web site.  

Are parents being overcharged for Field Trips to create a profit center to fund artificial turf purchases?  Why would any Field Trip money be moved to fund artificial turf, ever?

27. Chapter 8-59 under realignment notes a realignment of $40,000 from the Field Trip Fund to support artificial turf replacement costs. Please explain.

Budget page reference: 8-59

The Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) standard for high school stadium fields is a natural grass surface with an irrigation system. Stadium fields require a high level of maintenance that includes regular cycles of mowing, watering, fertilization, and aeration to maintain the fields in acceptable condition for various high school athletic events. Unfortunately, the majority of high schools and their Booster Clubs cannot make the financial commitment that is necessary to maintain a natural grass field in excellent playing condition. Therefore, there is a large disparity in the condition of stadium fields across the county.

The Department of Facilities Management (DFM) and the Interscholastic Athletics Unit staff have evaluated the use of artificial turf for MCPS high school stadium fields. Artificial turf provides a safe and durable surface for various athletic events and requires very little maintenance. The installation of artificial turf fields will eliminate the disparity in the condition of stadium fields among high schools across the county. The life expectancy of artificial turf fields is approximately ten years. The ten-year life-cycle cost to install artificial turf is approximately the same as the ten-year life-cycle cost to install and properly maintain a natural grass field.

A turf reserve fund has been created to build up funds necessary to cover future replacement of artificial turf after ten years.  The source of funding for this reserve fund is a portion of the Interagency Coordinating Board (ICB) fees that are charged for the rental of these turf fields, and the funds budgeted in the interscholastic athletics account that will no longer be needed to maintain the natural turf fields. 

During development of the FY 2014 budget, DFM estimated that annual payments of approximately $40,000 will be received from the ICB for the turf reserve fund.  Since there was excess appropriation available in the Field Trip Fund, appropriation was moved from the Field Trip Fund to the Real Estate Management Fund to cover the $40,000 that will be received from the ICB in FY 2014.

10 gap closing ideas from the 1990's

by Joseph Hawkins 

Recently, a reader of this blog said I was void of ideas—ideas that closed academic achievement gaps. That comment got me thinking—Am I really void of ideas? 

If we judged me on just me throwing ideas on the table—which I have been doing since the 1980’s, then heck no is the answer.  It is probably difficult to find any single Montgomery County resident who has tossed more ideas in the public domain than me, especially when it concern African American students and the achievement gap. 

Here are 10 ideas listed in chronological order—all 10 are from the 1990’s.  I could have easily cited another 20 ideas from just the 2000’s.  Most of the ideas come from columns and essays written for The Montgomery Journal (a local newspaper that went out of business), The Washington Post, and Education Week. 

Idea #1 (December 20, 1988):  provide black kids with better information about college.  “Establish a financial-aid clearinghouse to help black students find enough financial aid to handle the cost of college.”continues at this Patch link.

Criminalizing Children at School

Last Thursday, April 18th, the MoCo County Council's Education Committee and Public Safety Committee spent time discussing the issue of placing School Resource Officers (SROs) in public schools across Montgomery County.  The staff report is here.  Coincidentally, on the same day, a Montgomery Blair HS student was tasered by an SRO, and was sent to the hospital as a result.

Do the citizens of Montgomery County want SROs in the public schools here?

Below is an excerpt from an editorial in The New York Times, from April 18th.  to read the entire editorial, go here.

The National Rifle Association and President Obama responded to the Newtown, Conn., shootings by recommending that more police officers be placed in the nation’s schools. But a growing body of research suggests that, contrary to popular wisdom, a larger police presence in schools generally does little to improve safety. It can also create a repressive environment in which children are arrested or issued summonses for minor misdeeds — like cutting class or talking back — that once would have been dealt with by the principal.

Stationing police in schools, while common today, was virtually unknown during the 1970s. Things began to change with the surge of juvenile crime during the ’80s, followed by an overreaction among school officials. Then came the 1999 Columbine High School shooting outside Denver, which prompted a surge in financing for specially trained police. In the mid-1970s, police patrolled about 1 percent of schools. By 2008, the figure was 40 percent.

The belief that police officers automatically make schools safer was challenged in a 2011 study that compared federal crime data of schools that had police officers with schools that did not. It found that the presence of the officers did not drive down crime. The study — by Chongmin Na of The University of Houston, Clear Lake, and Denise Gottfredson of the University of Maryland — also found that with police in the buildings, routine disciplinary problems began to be treated as criminal justice problems, increasing the likelihood of arrests.

And:

The criminalization of misbehavior so alarmed the New York City Council that, in 2010, it passed the Student Safety Act, which requires detailed police reports on which students are arrested and why. (Data from the 2011-12 school year show that black students are being disproportionately arrested and suspended.)

Recall: Cheese Dippers used in MCPS lunches

Did your child get sick on a day when cheese dippers were served?

Rich Foods is a MCPS vendor.  Here are two articles about their recent recall.  The MCPS website does not identify the vendor.

Recalled Frozen Food May Have Ended up in Schools

"A spokeswoman for Harford County, Md. schools said last week that Rich Products had notified the district that it had recalled its pepperoni pizzatas. Some of the food had already been served in cafeterias."

-------

Rich Products Corp. recalls nearly 200K pounds of frozen food for possible E. coli contamination

Read more: http://www.wcpo.com/dpp/money/rich-products-corp-recalls-nearly-200k-pounds-of-frozen-food-for-possible-e-coli-contamination#ixzz2R7vD6W6x

Soccer Club Corp. STILL USING RM FIELD, Wants to Sub-Lease Also

Real Maryland Tryouts have been
 scheduled for the RMHS field.

Apparently, Superintendent Joshua Starr is easy to fool.  In his April 23, 2013, memorandum to the Board of Education (BOE), Superintendent Starr tells the BOE that the agreement with Maryland Soccer Enterprises to use the Richard Montgomery High School artificial turf field has been terminated and that the organization has no use for the field.

Here's what Superintendent Joshua Starr tells the BOE:

"It is our understanding that Maryland Soccer Enterprises, LLC has no planned use for the field."

Yet, plain as day, on the Real Maryland Soccer website is the use of the RM field by Real Maryland (the soccer club owned by Maryland Soccer Enterprises) in April and May! Long after the BOE supposedly "terminated" the agreement.  


But, no matter.  On Tuesday, April 23, 2013, the BOE will unanimously vote to give a company, that is still using BOE land, the right to sublease the BOE land.

Whatever.  

It's Montgomery County. No one pays any attention.

05.2.14 RM Amend Stadium Field Agree by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland

Previous post on this bizarre proposal by Superintendent Starr.

Parents, food service directors debate snacks sneaking into kids’ diets at school

From The Washington Post, April 14, 2013, thanks to ace reporter Lynh Bui.

Over the din of sixth-grade lunch hour at Takoma Park Middle School, a student put down his juice and hollered: “He’s a genius! An ice cream sandwich-sandwich!”

At the other end of the table, a 12-year-old boy who had just finished a hamburger began shoving two ice cream sandwiches stacked together into his mouth.

Popsicles and a bag of chips are as easy to buy as a salad and an apple in the cafeteria of this school in Montgomery County. School officials say the snacks are healthy, meeting strict guidelines for fat, sugar and calories. But those assurances aren’t enough for some Montgomery parents, who worry about artificial dyes, processed foods and the occasional “ice cream sandwich-sandwich” sneaking into their kids’ diets.

“It’s the basic mom question, which is, ‘Should this kid be eating this at all?’ ” said Karen Devitt, co-founder of Real Food for Kids — Montgomery.

Across the country, school lunch directors, nutritionists and parents like Devitt are asking the same question as the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) crafts new federal nutrition standards limiting sugar, fat and sodium for school snacks and drinks. The rules would be the first update to school snack guidelines in more than 30 years and would come as first lady Michelle Obama continues to take aim at childhood obesity. About one-third of children in the United States are either overweight or obese.

For the entire story go here.

"Equity Warrior" Wanna-Be Starr Spends $31K During January Fighting Families of Kids With Disabilities

Special education legal fees for outside counsel for January 2013 totaled $31,983. The year-to-date total of $233,976 is $1,224 (0.5 percent) lower than the same period in the previous year. Total year-to-date special education legal costs of $233,976 are $105,027 (31 percent) lower than the budgeted amount of $339,003.

The Jeffrey A. Krew bill for January 2013 totaled $31,983 and included work on five cases. Three cases involved administrative hearings ($28,822), and two cases involved appeals to federal or state court ($3,161).

Sentinel: Council Reviews School Budget for 2014

Full article is on Page 8 of this issue of the Sentinel:

http://data.axmag.com/data/201304/U22594_F205883/FLASH/index.html

Thomas Edison High School of Technology Tour

Guest Post from Alyce Ortuzar:

Thanks to Education Committee Chair Yvonne Hudson, League of Women
Voters of Montgomery County members were able to tour the Thomas
Edison High School, and we were all impressed. There are internships
and on-the-job training opportunities in Medical Careers; Network
Operations; Print Technologies & Digital Graphics; Architecture and
Computer-Aided Design (CAD) Technology; Interior Design; Building and
Construction trades (carpentry, electricity, heating and ventilation
and air conditioning, masonry, plumbing, and sheet metal skills);
Hospitality and Tourism; Restaurant Management; Cosmetology (nail
technology); and Automotive Technologies (auto body repair, dealership
training).

Automotive and construction teachers were especially enthusiastic
about the skills and higher math principles students incorporate from
their hands-on projects. One instructor lamented the short-sighted
decision not to include sheet metal in the new Thomas Edison campus
that is in the planning stages, because the opportunity to learn
important specific mathematical abilities and tools will be lost.

Elaine noted that “the students were all at work stations working
quietly and individually. I was impressed with the respect and
responsibility the teachers communicated to the students and the
independence of the students. It was a stark contrast to the
authoritarian classroom so many schools resemble, with an almost
oppressive environment on movement and independent thinking and
working. Teachers were really facilitators, which I believe in.
Everyone was engaged, and there seemed to be a lot of peer
cooperation. I came out with an exciting feeling about education,
which I haven't had in a while.” She was definitely envious.

Louisa characterized the tour as “a wonderful and informative outing.
Edison is like a gold nugget and needs to shine for more people to see
what a gem we have in the county. No one had a cell phone in hand and
the students were engaged, well behaved, and were learning skills that
can provide job opportunities since many students do not have clear
plans about their future. What a boost that would be for a young adult
to be skilled, employed, self-sufficient, and then possibly in a few
years begin to dream of greater opportunities.”

Ways the community can support these students include patronizing the
beauty shop and the café and donating a vehicle (call the office at
301.929.2181). A fundraising Community Fair planned for Saturday March
16th, from 9:30 am to 1:30 pm, includes a flea market and silent
auction (12501 Dalewood Drive, Silver Spring 20906).

Two of Superintendent Starr’s six Community Days take place Monday
March 11th (Northeast Consortium; Blake, Paint Branch, and the
Springbrook and Sherwood clusters) with a public Town Hall at Blake
High School at 7:30 pm; and Monday April 8th (Bethesda-Chevy Chase,
Walter Johnson, Walt Whitman clusters) with a public Town Hall at
Walter Johnson High School at 7:30 pm.

Although the Information Technology Networking Operations has a
waiting list, other programs are underutilized. Some schools do not
send any students to Edison, and the resources counselor is trying to
find ways around that.

It is important to note that staff and resources at the school have
been reduced, even though the Montgomery County state delegation just
voted to increase the salary of the school board.

Letter from Blair Principal Today

April 18, 2013

Dear Parents/Guardians:

You may have heard from your child today about an incident that occurred in our courtyard during today’s lunch period.  A student became very disruptive and defiant with staff and required police intervention.  The student assaulted our School Resource Officer and, subsequently, had to be restrained by police.  The student was transported to the hospital for an evaluation, accompanied by an administrator. 

 To ensure the safety of our students and school staff, MCPS Security Officers and members of the Montgomery County Police Department work closely together to ensure a positive, secure school environment. 

 Please have your child speak with school counselors or staff if they have questions or concerns about this incident.  My staff and I are always available to assist students.   Thank you for your support. 

                                                                         Sincerely,

                                                                         Renay C. Johnson

                                                                        Principal

Gazette: Montgomery school police officer tases 16-year-old girl

http://www.gazette.net/article/20130418/NEWS/130418863/1022/montgomery-school-police-officer-tases-16-year-old-girl&template=gazette

School resource officer uses Taser on MoCo student during confrontation

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/school-resource-officer-uses-taser-on-moco-student-during-confrontation/2013/04/18/f79b2ec4-a842-11e2-8302-3c7e0ea97057_story.html

NYC Public School Parents: This year's NYS/Pearson ELA exams: an Epic Fail

NYC Public School Parents: This year's NYS/Pearson ELA exams: an Epic Fail

Starr to make over Weast's Seven Keys

Jerry Weast's Seven Keys have hit quite a few bumps over the years, so it is no suprise that Superintendent Joshua Starr is going to make them over.  But, what will this do to Jerry Weast's reputation as a "renowned educator?"

The Washington Post: Montgomery County’s ‘Seven Keys to College Readiness’ will get a makeover

From Walter Johnson HS: NAACP Parent Council Breakfast with Starr

This Saturday, the NAACP Parent Council will meet with Dr. Joshua Starr, Superintendent of Montgomery County Schools and directly pose questions, concerns, just chat and eat breakfast! We have the chance to bring voice to our community's greatest concerns and "put a face" on the issues that affect our students today!  Let's build community and voice our issues. 

Any parent, student or community member is welcome to attend this meeting!  If you are not able to attend this Saturday's meeting, but would like a question or concern raised, please let me know...I'll carry your voice with me!

 

Date: Saturday, April 20th

Time: 8:30 AM to 11:00 AM

Place: 850 Hungerford Drive, Carver Educational Services Center (BOE Headquarters, across the street from Montgomery College at Rockville)

Looking forward to seeing you on Saturday!

"...contract gave Pearson too much control over the curriculum and the operation of important local functions..."

Missouri Education Watchdog: Common Core Costs $22 Million in One Alabama Distr...: Pearson is really cleaning up in the Huntsville, Alabama school district.  From The Report Card and Pearson $22 Million Contract With Hunts...

...The Report Card has published a series of articles pro and con about on the Common Core K-12 Standard now required in 46 states. Diane Ravtich, and Sandra Stotsky well known educational reformers have come out against the Common Core saying. Dr. Stotsky has asserted that the CCS will drive up costs and lower literary and educational standards. Paul Horton, history teacher at the University of Chicago Laboratory School has documented that Pearson, a $9 Billion publishing giant and CCS supplier has engaged in influence peddling. Diane Ravitch said: Pearson is overstepping the bounds of the role of a profit-making business. The corporation is acting as a quasi-government agency in several instances.”An Alabama official who wished to remain anonymous, sent us a copy of sweeping $21 Million five-year contract between Pearson and the City of Huntsville. Population 180,000. The official was concerned that the there were no competitive bids for the service, and that the contract gave Pearson too much control over the curriculum and the operation of important local functions. The contract gives Pearson a total grip on Hunstville schools because it controls student content, teacher training, the Information Technology Platform, and apparently testing.

Social Justice Warrior Starr Fails to Provide FAPE to Homeless Student with Disabilities

Social Justice Warrior Starr Fails to Provide FAPE to Homeless Student with Disabilities

January 2, 2013

Excerpts from the decision:

Based on the Findings of Facts #1, #2, #4, and #5, the MSDE finds that the MCPS has not ensured that the student has been provided with the special education and related services required by the IEP. In addition, based on the Findings of Facts #3 and #4, the MSDE finds that,
while the MCPS is beginning to provide educational services to the students placed by the DJS at the XXXX, there is no documentation that students are being provided with the special education and related services required by the IEP. Therefore, the MSDE finds that violations occurred with respect to this aspect of the allegation.

Based on the Findings of Facts #1, #3, and #5, the MSDE further finds that this student, who is
identified as a student with a disability under the IDEA, also meets the definition of a homeless
student, in accordance with the COMAR. Based on the Findings of Facts #2, #4, and #5, the MSDE finds that the MCPS did not ensure that he was provided with the protections afforded to homeless students in State-supervised care. Therefore, the MSDE also finds that a violation occurred with respect to this aspect of the allegation.

CORRECTIVE ACTIONS/TIMELINES:
The MSDE requires the MCPS to provide documentation by March 1, 2013 that the steps described below have been taken.
a. Students placed in State-supervised care at the XXXX are provided with a FAPE, in accordance with 34 CFR §§300.101, .111, .323, Md. Code Ann., Educ. §4-122, COMAR 13A.05.02.13 and 13A.08.07.03 and .04.
b. Students placed in State-supervised care who are homeless are provided with a FAPE, in accordance with 34 CFR §§300.101, .111, .323, Md. Code Ann., Educ. §4-122, COMAR 13A.05.02.13 and 13A.05.09.
Upon receipt of this documentation, the MSDE will re-verify the data to ensure continued compliance with the regulatory requirements, consistent with the requirements of The United States Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs/OSEP. In addition, the findings in the Letter of Findings will be shared with the MSDE’s Office of Quality Assurance and Monitoring
for Continuous Improvement for its consideration during present and/or future monitoring of the MCPS.
Documentation of all corrective action taken is to be submitted to this office to: Attention: Chief, Family Support and Dispute Resolution Branch, Division of Special Education/Early Intervention Services, MSDE.

  2013 f Ape Homeless by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland

Kojo Nnamdi Show: Educating Special Needs Kids

Educating Special Needs Kids

State credit cards at university used to dodge purchasing rules, auditors find

State credit cards at university used to dodge purchasing rules, auditors find

An audit report released Monday said purchases made on these two corporate purchasing cards, which had monthly limits of $400,000 or more, “were artificially split in order to bypass formal procurement policies,” which generally require competitive bids for purchases over $5,000.
In some cases, vendors of research and medical equipment used at the professional schools were asked to generate several invoices for a single purchase to avoid competitive bids. The team from the Office of Legislative Audits found that 15 orders from two medical supply firms totaling about $122,000 were split into two or more transaction to avoid the $5,000 limit. The purchases occurred from March 2009 to September 2011.

Read more: http://marylandreporter.com/2013/04/16/state-credit-cards-at-university-used-to-dodge-purchasing-rules-auditors-find/#ixzz2QdPwdtab 
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution

Jury: School board owes $90M for teen’s death

Jury: School board owes $90M for teen’s death 

Read more: http://thedailyrecord.com/2013/04/15/jury-school-board-owes-90m-for-teens-death/#ixzz2QdPJWjJ3

‘Sunshine’ lacking in snow days decision

Keep it open

BOE President Barclay on Diane Ravitch: "Ravitch doesn't own up to her role in NCLB or Bush era education reforms:

Board of Education President Christopher Barclay Tweeting

 from NSBA Conference in San Diego, California.

ACLU DEFENDS MONTGOMERY COUNTY STUDENT HARASSED FOR NOT STANDING FOR PLEDGE

DAMASCUS, MD - Despite free speech guarantees in the Bill of Rights, state law, and in the Montgomery County School System's Regulations, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Maryland once again is having to take action on behalf of a student in Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) who was repeatedly harassed and intimidated by teachers and an assistant principal for declining to stand while the Pledge of Allegiance (Pledge) is recited. This incident is the fourth time the ACLU has contacted Montgomery County Public Schools concerning students' rights to decline to participate in the Pledge of Allegiance since 2005, and the fifth such occurrence reported to us from Montgomery County in the same time period.

http://www.aclu-md.org/press_room/128

Starr Does Not Want Pearson Writing MCPS Assessments

Well, that is the message he is sending out when he is on the road.  But, back here in MCPS land, we know that Starr has partnered with Pearson and that Pearson is writing all of the annual assessments that our students are going to be given in the elementary grades.  Superintendent Starr, do you want to explain why you continue to support the Pearson arrangement but speak against it when you are on the road?

The following question and answer are from Superintendent Starr's presentation at the American Youth Policy Forum in February of 2013.

How can we get states to want districts to use methods of assessing student performance that cause us to want to teach students in ways that develop critical thinking skills? 

Starr suggested we should be crowd-sourcing standardized test creation. First, an incredible amount of money is used to develop standardized tests. In addition, more and more organizations are moving to crowd-sourcing for problem-solving because it works. There are more smart people outside your organization than inside your organization, he argued. Schools and districts would get better assessment questions if we became the validators of good assessment questions developed by kids, teachers, and parents

Lead Poisoning: The Ignored Scandal

A new book, Lead Wars: The Politics of Science and the Fate of America's Children, written by Gerald Markowitz and David Rosner, documents the studies conducted on toddlers in Baltimore by Johns Hopkins University in the 1990s.  Yes, that is right, the 1990s.  The study was conducted by researchers J. Julian Chisolm (deceased), and Mark Farfel.  This review, by Helen Epstein, in The New York Review of Books, recounts the studies and the effects on the children, whose parents were not told about the lead in their homes and whose children suffered the devastating effects of lead poisoning.

Excerpt:

In December 1993, a slum landlord in Baltimore named Lawrence Polakoff rented an apartment to a twenty-one-year-old single mother and her three-year-old son, Max. A few days after they moved in, Max’s mother was invited to participate in a research study comparing how well different home renovation methods protected children from lead poisoning, which is still a major problem endangering the health of millions of American children, many of them poor.

Congress had banned the sale of interior lead paint in 1978, but it remained on the walls of millions of homes nationwide, and there was no adequate federal program to deal with it. In Baltimore, most slum housing contained at least some lead paint, and nearly half of the children who lived in these houses had levels of lead in their blood well above that considered safe by the Centers for Disease Control. Max’s blood lead was low when he moved into Polakoff’s apartment, but Polakoff had been cited at least ten times in the past for violating Baltimore’s lead paint regulations, and several former tenants would later sue him for poisoning their children, so the boy was now in great danger.

The research study in which Max and his mother participated was run by two scientists affiliated with Baltimore’s Johns Hopkins University with support from the US Environmental Protection Agency. The scientists had formed a partnership with a local contractor, who identified slum landlords like Polakoff and urged them to rent preferentially to families with children aged six months to four years, just when they start crawling around the house and when lead exposure is most dangerous to the developing brain. If the parents agreed, their home would receive one of three different types of lead removal and their children—all of whom were healthy and normal and had low blood lead when they joined the study—would be given regular blood tests to see if their lead levels rose or fell

To read the entire review, go here.