I think you’d be surprised at how outdated the systems are and how little people there know about how things are done in other places.
I pleaded to one of the staffers, who has a law degree from a prestigious university but has been working with MCPS a very long time —like many, many of the people in central office, to help me advocate to get our data online. She responded that then people could change the data. She seriously didn’t understand how it worked. In her position I couldn’t imagine that she hadn’t looked at databases on-line and done reports to inform her decision-making.
Look, if I told you all the processes that I found out about that are still done on paper instead of submitted on-line, you would be shocked. This is one of the first thinks [sic] Dr. Smith picked up on when he came to Carver. The explanation that was given was we invest as much money and focus as possible on classrooms, so systems got left behind.
Ms. Ortman-Fouse, if only you had made this public during the four years you were on the BOE.
ReplyDeleteJill advocated fiercely for students, teachers, and common sense during her tenure on the Board, even though she was not always taken seriously by all of her fellow Board members.
ReplyDeleteBut I have to ask, this is presented here as though Jill herself sent it to Parents' Coalition for publication, even though it reads more like something from a social media thread, where she has been historically frank about the obstacles she encountered. If the latter, why the "byline?"
"Fiercely?????" Please point to her "fierce" support of victims of sexual abuse by MCPS teachers. We must have all missed that.
DeleteWe didn't see her at the courthouse supporting victims.
We didn't see her making public statements supporting victims.
We didn't see her speaking out against MCPS policies that kept KNOWN sexual offenders in the classroom.
We didn't see her in Annapolis advocating for laws to keep public school students safe from sexual abuse.
Interestingly enough, we DID see Board of Education members from OTHER counties doing all of the above.
It is taken directly from FB posts and reprinted directly. The text was already public.
DeleteIf it was from a larger Facebook conversation then it should be cited as such so readers are fully informed.
DeleteYou just did that. Comments here are open to everyone.
DeleteJill Ortman-Fouse has blocked the Parents' Coalition on Twitter and individual members of PCMC on Facebook for years. Clearly, Ms. Ortman-Fouse did not want to be "for all kids." She did not want to track the work of the Parents' Coalition or the information we have posted from parents all over the County. Specifically, she did NOT want to read about the many arrests of MCPS staff for sexual abuse of MCPS students during her time on the Board of Education. The Parents' Coalition has brought a number of important sentences and trials to light. Court hearings that were not covered by any of the press where covered here. Yet, Ms. Ortman-Fouse blocked our Twitter feed. That's a pretty clear message to parents that Ms. Ortman-Fouse did not think the many arrests and guilty pleas and guilty verdicts that have happened over the last few years regarding these cases were important.
DeleteThere are many reasons people block others on Twitter. Honestly, if I had been misquoted or mis-attributed, I would do the same; by leaving it to commenters to provide citations or contexts for posts that come across as directly written by someone else *for you* (or to leave it up to them to prompt you to do it weeks later), you've only strengthened her case. :-( One doesn't need to even *see* your Twitter feed to read article right here from the source; it's a huge stretch to suggest that Blocking you on Twitter means she doesn't read anything you post here. For that matter, I don't really see many of your posts on Twitter, probably due to timing, but I do check in here weekly at least.
ReplyDeleteI've followed you guys for many years and am grateful for the light you've shined on a number of issues in MCPS, but this is not a shining moment for PC. :-/
Elected officials are not to block the public on their social media sites. You did see the ACLU intervene with the Governor on this issue, correct? Ms. Ortman-Fouse has not been misquoted or mis-attributed so your excuse does not apply. Ms. Ortman-Fouse began blocking members of the Parents' Coalition years ago, not this week. She has consistently been an elected official who blocked members of the public from social media, just like the Governor.
Deletehttps://www.baltimorebrew.com/2018/04/02/hogan-settles-aclu-suit-promising-not-to-block-critics-on-facebook/