Kaiser to Step Down as House Ways and Means Chair

Del. Anne R. Kaiser (D-Montgomery) announced via a short Facebook post Thursday night that she is stepping down as chair of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee.Kaiser said she had been selected to establish and lead a new Public Leadership Institute and expand her teaching role at the University of Maryland School of Public Policy.

“Given the responsibility to help foster leadership training and growth — especially for historically underserved populations in the region — I will step down as Chair of the Ways and Means Committee,” she wrote. “I intend — however — to serve the remainder of my term in the Maryland House of Delegates.”

Kaiser, who has represented District 14 in the House since 2003 and held the gavel at Ways and Means since 2017, held open the possibility of seeking another term in 2022 but said it was too early to say.

Kaiser and her fellow District 14 lawmakers — Sen. Craig J. Zucker, House Majority Leader Eric G. Luedtke and Del. Pamela E. Queen, all Democrats — filed for reelection months ago and announced their intention to run as a team...

https://www.marylandmatters.org/2021/10/28/kaiser-to-step-down-as-house-ways-and-means-chair/

Outrage growing among Montgomery County parents over death of 11-year-old

 https://www.fox5dc.com/news/outrage-growing-among-montgomery-county-parents-over-death-of-11-year-old?fbclid=IwAR1sSzuHsMgPNPBeeiZ46cIJrNrg-7ZVSpmZ0Cg9oya4SvLZ5Wm_G0wRXgE

Florida: Parkland school massacre victims reach $25 mln settlement with district

Oct 19 (Reuters) - Families of the victims of the 2018 school shooting in Parkland, Florida, have reached a $25 million settlement with the Broward County school district, according to media reports.

The agreement resolves 52 of 53 lawsuits filed by families against the district for negligence in the wake of the Valentine's Day shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported, citing David Brill, an attorney for the families...

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/parkland-school-massacre-victims-reach-25-mln-settlement-with-district-media-2021-10-20/

School Bus Driver ‘Sick Out' Spurs Charles County Maryland School District to Livestream Classes

Board of Education Funds Identity, Inc. $212,324 to operate Learning Center

From the October 26, 2021, Montgomery County Board of Education Consent Agenda: 

The 21st Century Community Learning Centers are funded by Grants as shown in this January 28, 2021, Board of Education memorandum.  

Is the Board of Education action above in addition to the Grant funds that have already been designated for these Learning Centers?  

Does the Board of Education know what they are paying Identity, Inc. to do at these Learning Centers?

Again, this item is on the Consent Agenda and the Board of Education approves these expenditures without ever seeing any documentation or contracts associated with these expenditures.

In Search Of: Superintendent – Rockville, MD

Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) is one of the largest school systems in the country serving 160,000 students speaking up to 158 languages. The school district has more than 24,000 employees with an annual operating budget of $2.8 billion. The Board oversees the work of the superintendent and the school system. Comprising eight members, the Board is the policy-making body responsible for the operation and general strategic direction of the school system. The Superintendent is appointed by the Board and serves as its executive officer and secretary-treasurer. The Superintendent is responsible for the overall administration of the school system and recommends appropriate action to the Board. Information about the school system is available on the MCPS website at www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org.

During the past 4 years with MCPS, outgoing Superintendent Jack R. Smith, Ph.D., working with the Board has been a steadfast champion for excellence and opportunity for all students. MCPS is committed to an All Means All approach to ensuring student success. While many of MCPS students achieve at the highest levels, not all have had access, opportunities, and resources needed to meet their full potential. MCPS is committed to addressing disparities in student outcomes by closing gaps in opportunity and achievement for all students, in all classrooms, in all of our schools. The MCPS All In: Equity and Achievement Framework provides the purpose, path, and plan to ensure success for all students. The Board commissioned a number of important studies such as the Metis Report and the Education Resources Strategies Report (ERS) to examine and provide data on equitable resource and program allocation to support the vision outlined in the Equity and Achievement Framework. The Board has emphasized a research-based approach to decision making with a commitment to using an equity lens. Some of MCPS’ accomplishments in recent years include the following:

• Four MCPS high schools made the top 500 in the 2019 U.S. News & World Report list of Best High Schools. MCPS had three of the top five high schools in the State of Maryland.

• In 2018, MCPS students took more than 40,000 Advanced Placement exams. Students earned a college-ready score (3 or higher) on 70.8 percent of those exams.
• In 2018, the percentage of AP exams taken by MCPS African American students (47.1 percent) that earned college-ready scores of 3 or higher is significantly higher than the percentage of exams for African American students in the nation (29.9 percent).
• In 2018, the percentage of AP exams taken by Hispanic students that earned college-ready scores of 3 or higher (55.2 percent) was greater than the percentage of exams for Hispanic students in the nation (42.5 percent).
• More than two-thirds (67.5 percent) of graduates from the Class of 2018 took at least one AP exam, compared with 49.1 percent in Maryland.
• More than half (53.1) of the Class of 2018 scored a 3 or higher on at least one AP exam while in high school—significantly higher than the state average of 31.6 percent.
•  In 2018, the percentage of MCPS African American and Hispanic graduates earning a 3 or higher on at least one AP exam surpassed the state average.
• The Class of 2019 earned an 1,119 average combined SAT score, surpassing both national and state averages. More than 75 percent of graduates took the SAT and MCPS Hispanic and African American students outperformed their peers across the nation.
• More than $393.0 million in scholarships was awarded to students in the Class of 2019.
• Forty-one schools received the National Blue Ribbon Schools Awards.
• Nine schools received the National Green Ribbon Schools Organizational Excellence.
• MCPS was the recipient of the 2010 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the highest presidential honor given to American organizations for performance excellence. The award recognizes performance excellence through innovation, improvement, and visionary leadership. MCPS is only the sixth school system to receive this award and is the largest, by far. In 2006, MCPS won Maryland’s most prestigious award for performance excellence—the U.S. Senate Productivity Award—for implementation of the Malcolm Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence, a management philosophy that focuses on continuous improvement in the constant pursuit of excellence.
• MCPS was named a 2010 finalist for the $1.0 million Broad Prize for Urban Education, qualifying MCPS graduates in the Class of 2011 for $250,000 in college scholarships. MCPS is the first district in Maryland and the Washington region to be named a finalist for this prestigious award.
• MCPS leads the state with more than 690 teachers certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, a national recognition of professional excellence.
• MCPS was named a Gold Medal school system for 15 consecutive years by Expansion Management magazine as a measure of the attractiveness of the school system to the business community.
• MCPS was nationally recognized for the professional development program for administrators, teachers, and supporting services staff. The program was featured in a 2010 case study by the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards.

The start date for the Superintendent is to begin on July 1, 2022. A slate of applicants will be presented to the Board in early January.  Please submit your application as soon as possible.    

https://hyasearch.com/job/superintendent-rockville-md/

In 2021, payments to Strathmore Hall Foundation total $249,155 even though MCPS students were not attending concerts at Strathmore Hall. #COVID-19

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, MCPS 5th grade students attended an annual fall concert at Strathmore Hall in North Bethesda. 

However, even thought the concerts were not held when schools were closed, Strathmore Hall was still being paid by the Board of Education.  Why?  

This is another no bid, no contract, no discussion vote of the Board of Education.  These items appear on the Board of Education's Consent calendar without supporting documentation or justification for these expenditures.   

In calendar year 2021, the payments to the Strathmore Hall Foundation total at least $249,155.

Source January 12, 2021 Board of Education Consent Agenda:  https://go.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Board.nsf/files/BWZMWB5CEBBE/$file/Procurement%20Contracts%20210112.pdf

Source October 26, 2021 Board of Education meeting:  https://go.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Board.nsf/files/C82J9S4C225F/$file/Procurement%20Contracts%20REVISED%20211026.pdf

Board of Education payments to Strathmore Hall Foundation:

FY 2022    $123,000*

FY 2021    $126,155*

FY 2020    $128,650

FY 2019    $122,650

FY 2018    $103,350

FY 2017    $  96,000

FY 2016    $  84,000

FY 2015    $  83,000

*Payments shown above in Board of Education meeting documentation. All other payments are from the MCPS Funding Accountability Database. 

Maryland school officials consider revising mask mandates, quarantine rules

With COVID-19 infections easing off as vaccination rates rise among students, Maryland state education leaders are considering re-evaluating current guidelines on mask mandates and quarantine policies.

“Higher vaccination rates mean lower levels of transmission and lower case rates,” said Mohammed Choudhury, the state superintendent in Maryland, at Tuesday’s state school board meeting...

https://wtop.com/maryland/2021/10/md-school-board-will-consider-revising-mask-mandates-quarantining-rules/?fbclid=IwAR2qzSMuyPLuk_QPTS3m1KygSzoxOKW19z44IJHARvhG0CZwjx6s_-YciGw

*119 Schools* on Maryland COVID-19 Outbreak Dashboard: Waters Landing Elem. School and Stone Ridge School in Montgomery County.

Previous weekly reports at this link.

Allegany High School Allegany 34 10/27/21

Bel Air Elementary Allegany 3 10/27/21

Braddock Middle School Allegany 30 10/27/21

Fort Hill High School Allegany 40 10/27/21

George Creek Elementary School Allegany 2 10/27/21

Mount Savage School Allegany 4 10/27/21

Mountain Ridge High School Allegany 32 10/27/21

West Side Elementary School Allegany 2 10/27/21

Chesapeake High School Anne Arundel 44 10/27/21

Crofton High School Anne Arundel 16 10/27/21

Crofton Meadows Elementary School Anne Arundel 2 10/27/21

Fort Smallwood Elementary School Anne Arundel 2 10/27/21

Frank Hebron Harman Elementary School Anne Arundel 3 10/27/21

Indian Creek School Anne Arundel 4 10/27/21

MacArthur Middle School Anne Arundel 6 10/27/21

Magothy River Middle School Anne Arundel 6 10/27/21

Meade Senior High School Anne Arundel 2 10/27/21

Monarch Global Academy PCS Laurel Campus Anne Arundel 36 10/27/21

Northeast High School Anne Arundel 32 10/27/21

Odenton Elementary School Anne Arundel 2 10/27/21

Old Mill Middle School North Anne Arundel 17 10/27/21

Richard Henry Lee Elementary School Anne Arundel 2 10/27/21

Southern Middle School Anne Arundel 24 10/27/21

St. John the Evangelist School Anne Arundel 2 10/27/21

Baltimore International Academy - East Baltimore City 12 10/27/21

Cardinal Shehan School Baltimore City 6 10/27/21

Friends School Baltimore City 41 10/27/21

Mother Mary Lange Catholic School Baltimore City 3 10/27/21

Saint Elizabeth School Baltimore City 3 10/27/21

The Belair-Edison School Baltimore City 7 10/27/21

The Mount Royal School Baltimore City 3 10/27/21

Arbutus Middle School Baltimore County 3 10/27/21

Calvert Hall College High School Baltimore County 14 10/27/21

Chapel Hill Elementary School Baltimore County 2 10/27/21

Edmondson Heights Elementary School Baltimore County 5 10/27/21

Franklin Elementary School Baltimore County 5 10/27/21

Franklin Middle School Baltimore County 3 10/27/21

Fullerton Elementary School Baltimore County 2 10/27/21

Lutherville Laboratory Baltimore County 5 10/27/21

McDonogh School Baltimore County 8 10/27/21

Owings Mills Elementary School Baltimore County 3 10/27/21

Parkville Middle Baltimore County 3 10/27/21

St. Joseph School Baltimore County 5 10/27/21

St. Paul's School Baltimore County 7 10/27/21

St. Ursula Catholic School Baltimore County 39 10/27/21

Summit Park Elementary Baltimore County 8 10/27/21

Barstow Elementary School Calvert 2 10/27/21

Dowell Elementary School Calvert 6 10/27/21

Mill Creek Middle School Calvert 11 10/27/21

Century High School Carroll 2 10/27/21

Manchester Valley High School Carroll 4 10/27/21

Mount Airy Middle School Carroll 2 10/27/21

Mt. Airy Middle School Carroll 2 10/27/21

Shiloh Middle School Carroll 2 10/27/21

Shiloh Middle School Carroll 2 10/27/21

Silver Oak Academy Carroll 7 10/27/21

Spring Garden Elementary School Carroll 2 10/27/21

North East Middle School Cecil 34 10/27/21

Perryville High School Cecil 22 10/27/21

Perryville Middle School Cecil 7 10/27/21

Thomson Estates Elementary School Cecil 4 10/27/21

Alphabet Education Inc at Mary B Neal Elementary Charles 2 10/27/21

St. Charles High School Charles 22 10/27/21

St. Mary's School Charles 4 10/27/21

North Dorchester High School Dorchester 22 10/27/21

North Dorchester Middle School Dorchester 26 10/27/21

South-Dorchester K-8 Dorchester 4 10/27/21

Brunswick Elementary School Frederick 4 10/27/21

Catoctin High School Frederick 25 10/27/21

Oakdale Middle School Frederick 6 10/27/21

Orchard Groves Elementary School Frederick 17 10/27/21

Route 40 Elementary School Garrett 3 10/27/21

Deerfield Elementary School Harford 5 10/27/21

Fallston High School Harford 2 10/27/21

Havre de Grace Elementary School Harford 18 10/27/21

Hickory Elementary School Harford 7 10/27/21

Joppatowne Elementary School Harford 4 10/27/21

North Harford Elementary School Harford 2 10/27/21

Columbia Academy Elementary and Middle School Howard 3 10/27/21

Fulton Eleentary Howard 2 10/27/21

Harper's Choice Middle School Howard 3 10/27/21

Oakland Mills Middle School Howard 2 10/27/21

Running Brook Elementary School Howard 4 10/27/21

Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart Montgomery 2 10/27/21

Waters Landing Elementary School Montgomery 3 10/27/21

St. Columba School Prince George's 3 10/27/21

Sudersville Middle School Queen Anne's 9 10/27/21

Carter G Woodson Elementary Somerset 42 10/27/21

Crisfield High School Somerset 28 10/27/21

Greenwood Elementary School Somerset 15 10/27/21

Somerset Intermediate School Somerset 29 10/27/21

Washington High School Somerset 21 10/27/21

Captain Walter Francis Duke Middle School St. Mary's 23 10/27/21

Esperanza Middle School St. Mary's 38 10/27/21

Father Andrew White SJ School St. Mary's 3 10/27/21

Great Mills High School St. Mary's 55 10/27/21

Hollywood Elementary School St. Mary's 6 10/27/21

King's Christian Academy St. Mary's 3 10/27/21

Leonardtown High School St. Mary's 78 10/27/21

Leonardtown Middle School St. Mary's 51 10/27/21

Margaret Brent Middle School St. Mary's 92 10/27/21

Oakville Elementary School St. Mary's 17 10/27/21

Piney Point Elementary School St. Mary's 40 10/27/21

Ridge Elementary St. Mary's 4 10/27/21

Spring Ridge Middle School St. Mary's 57 10/27/21

White Marsh Elementary School St. Mary's 7 10/27/21

Easton Elementary School Talbot 3 10/27/21

St. Michaels Elementary School Talbot 2 10/27/21

North Hagerstown High School Washington 11 10/27/21

Northern Middle School Washington 25 10/27/21

Western Heights Middle School Washington 32 10/27/21

Williamsport High School Washington 38 10/27/21

Salisbury Baptist Academy Wicomico 10 10/27/21

Buckingham Elementary School Worcester 13 10/27/21

Pocomoke Elementary School Worcester 9 10/27/21

Showell Elementary School Worcester 24 10/27/21

Snow Hill Middle School Worcester 26 10/27/21

Stephen Decatur High School Worcester 7 10/27/21

Stephen Decatur Middle School Worcester 11 10/27/21

Note: This dataset reflects public and non-public K-12 schools in Maryland that have COVID-19 outbreaks. Data are based on local health department reports to MDH, which may be revised if additional information becomes available. This list does not include child care facilities or institutes of higher education.

Schools listed meet 1 or more of the following criteria:

Classroom/cohort outbreak definition:

    1) At least two confirmed COVID-19 cases among students/teachers/staff within a 14-day period and who are epidemiologically linked, but not household contacts; or

School-wide outbreak definition:

    2) Three or more classrooms or cohorts with cases from separate households that meet the classroom/cohort outbreak definition that occurs within 14 days; or
    3) Five percent or more unrelated students/teachers/staff have confirmed COVID-19 within a 14 day period (minimum of 10 unrelated students/teachers/staff).

Cases reported reflect the current total number of cases. Schools are removed from the list when health officials determine 14 days have passed with no new cases and no tests pending. Archival data is available through the COVID-19 open data catalogue.

These data are updated weekly on Wednesdays during the 10 a.m. hour. MDH is continuously evaluating its data and reporting systems and will make updates as more data becomes available.

https://coronavirus.maryland.gov/pages/school-resources

The Federal Government Gave Billions to America’s Schools for COVID-19 Relief. Where Did the Money Go?

The Education Department’s limited tracking of $190 billion in pandemic support funds sent to schools has left officials in the dark about how effective the aid has been in helping students.

After the pandemic shut down schools across the country, the federal government provided about $190 billion in aid to help them reopen and respond to the effects of the pandemic. In the year and a half since millions of children were sent home, the Education Department has done only limited tracking of how the money has been spent. That has left officials in Washington largely in the dark about how effective the aid has been in helping students, especially those whose schools and communities were among the hardest hit by the pandemic.

“We’ve been in the pandemic now for nearly a year and a half,” said Anne Hyslop, the director of policy development at the education advocacy group Alliance for Excellent Education. “There is a responsibility to the public to make sure the funds are spent responsibly, but also make sure that the funding that is spent is accountable to supporting students and educators.”..

...In January 2021, the federal education department opened up an investigation into Fairfax schools because of “disturbing reports involving the district’s provision of educational services to children with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.” Asked on Tuesday about the status of the Fairfax investigation, the Education Department's press office did not have that information readily available...

https://www.propublica.org/article/the-federal-government-gave-billions-to-americas-schools-for-covid-19-relief-where-did-the-money-go

Board of Education Continues Approving No Bid Consulting Contracts/Payments without Ever Seeing Contracts or Justification for Expenditures

The Montgomery County Board of Education has been approving the expenditure of tens of thousands of dollars a year to the above company for what?  

The Board of Education doesn't know and never asks.  The Board of Education never sees the contracts or invoices connected to this expenditure.  

Every year the Board of Education simply approves this payment as an "extension" of some previous invoice or contract, or as a procurement based on another school systems purchase.  

10 years ago the Parents' Coalition researched this consulting arrangement and at that time the best we could determine was that this consultant is being paid to fill out forms related to obtaining rebates from the federal government.  In 10 years could MCPS have trained someone how to fill out these forms and saved the consulting fee? 

https://go.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Board.nsf/files/C82J9S4C225F/$file/Procurement%20Contracts%20REVISED%20211026.pdf

11-Year-Old Boy Dies After Collapsing in Montgomery County Classroom

The boy's mother said he had been complaining of pain in his chest and throat for nearly a month, but she didn't think she could afford a hospital visit.

A family is inconsolable after the loss of an 11-year-old boy who died after suffering a sudden medical emergency and collapsing in his Montgomery County classroom Monday.

The boy, William Edilzer Cabrera Lozano, was in the fifth grade. After he collapsed, he was transported to a medical center where he died, officials said.

“That’s my son William… I love him so much. I don’t know how to live without him,” his mother, Santos Mercedes Cabrera Lozano, said. “I’m alone, I’m a single mother.”

According to Cabrera Lozano, William took the bus to Farmland Elementary in Rockville, Maryland, on Monday morning like he did every day. But shortly after arriving to class, William felt sick...

https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/11-year-old-boy-dies-after-collapsing-in-montgomery-county-classroom/2852193/?_osource=SocialFlowFB_DCBrand&fbclid=IwAR3C_E9Y3Qrj9cealZ-O9-fCiyw7_wo-0MHv-2L24m1CUUnmjYb2l9OEg3s

‘WE ARE DROWNING’: HUNDREDS OF TEACHERS RALLY AGAINST UNDERSTAFFING

For more than a half hour, hundreds of cars driven by Montgomery County Education Association members circled the large Montgomery County Public Schools’ (MCPS) Board of Education parking lot and drove out into the street. They were rallying to demand the hiring of additional teachers, bus drivers and other support personnel. They also urged MCPS to honor their contract which grants them periods to plan, grade and eat lunch or at least compensate them for the extra work.

Claudia Gargiulo, a seventh and eight grade Spanish teacher at Cabin John Middle School, called her workload “suffocating.”

Gargiulo, who has taught at MCPS for 10 years, said she feels bad standing at the microwave for two minutes to warm up her lunch. Besides her normal five classes, she now is being asked to take on a sixth class. Add that to her morning duties and after school meetings on Mondays, and “our pace in working is frenetic,” she said...

https://www.mymcmedia.org/we-are-drowning-hundreds-of-teachers-rally-against-understaffing/

County Council Virtual Youth Town Hall Meeting with BOE Pres Brenda Wolff & SMOB Hana O'Looney, Oct 27 7pm

Council to Host Virtual Youth Town Hall meeting with Montgomery County Board of Education President Brenda Wolff and Student Member of the Board Hana O’Looney on Oct. 27 at 7 p.m. 

Students are encouraged to sign up to participate on Zoom or watch on County Cable Montgomery, YouTube and Facebook

ROCKVILLE, Md., Oct. 26, 2021—The Montgomery County Council will host a virtual Youth Town Hall meeting tomorrow, Oct. 27 at 7 p.m., with Montgomery County School Board President Brenda Wolff and Student Member of the Board of Education Hana O’Looney to learn more about the issues currently impacting young people across the County. The virtual Youth Town Hall also will include information about some of the resources available for young people focused on mental health and wellness as well as after-school activities and will provide an opportunity for students to ask questions about planning for the future of Montgomery County.

“I’m thrilled to host our Youth Town Hall and hear directly from our students about the issues impacting them,” said Council President Hucker. “Our young people have faced immeasurable hardship and challenges over the past year and a half and it’s critical that we listen to their needs and concerns and respond accordingly. As our next generation of leaders, student voices need to be heard and our policies and decision-making must center around their well-being and success.”

"We must listen to our students if we expect them to learn, to thrive and be ready for life after school," said Board of Education President Brenda Wolff. "The ongoing pandemic and returning together, after so many months of virtual and hybrid learning, is revealing, unsurprisingly, that our kids are dealing with so much in their lives. These opportunities to connect will help us know what and how to support them in school."

“This event will truly be a unique experience in that it will be focused on the youth experience of Montgomery County,” said Student Member of the Board Hana O’Looney. “Especially now, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and 18 months of online learning —not to mention existential threats such as climate change— it is more important than ever for our policymakers to be centering our voices. I encourage students to show up, speak out, and demand the changes they seek for an improved County —I'll see you there!”

Representatives from the Black and Brown Coalition for Educational Equity and Excellence, the Collaboration Council For Children, Youth and Families, Choose Respect Montgomery, EveryMind, Montgomery Recreation and the Street Outreach Network will join the meeting to share information about resources for young people across the community.

The virtual Youth Town Hall will be conducted through a Zoom webinar and will be streamed live on the Council’s web page via YouTube (MoCoCouncilMD) and on Facebook Live (MontgomeryCountyMdCouncil) and can also be watched on County Cable Montgomery on channels 30 (Fios), 1056 (RCN) and 996 (Xfinity).

Montgomery County Public Schools students need to register to receive their student-service learning hours for advocacy. Please go here to register. Students who attend private school or home school can register here. 

 

# # # 

 

View all Council press releases: https://www2.montgomerycountymd.gov/mcgportalapps/press_List.aspx?id=01

Contact:          
Sonya Healy
240-777-7926, Sonya.Healy@montgomerycountymd.gov

Additional Contact:
Lucia Jimenez
240-777-7832, Lucia.Jimenez@montgomerycountymd.gov

MCPS EDUCATORS PLAN RALLY TO EXPOSE UNDERSTAFFING PROBLEMS

Educators from Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) “will take to the streets Tuesday afternoon” to demand the hiring of additional teachers, paraeducators and bus drivers and increased compensation for those forced to do extra duties due to the hiring shortage.

Montgomery County Education Association (MCEA) will hold a car picket and rally at 5 p.m. at the school district headquarters on Hungerford Drive in Rockville to demand that MCPS and the Board of Education stop pulling teachers out of their preparation and lunch times to help out in quarantined classes and classes where there is no substitute to lead the class.

An MCPS spokesperson said Tuesday that the staff was involved in the Board of Education meeting and would not be able to supply information on understaffing at this time.

According to a press release from MCEA, MCPS rejected a class action grievance, noting that these problems aren’t “widespread enough” to warrant universal action...

https://www.mymcmedia.org/mcps-educators-plan-rally-to-expose-understaffing-problems/

MCPS 5th grader dies after falling ill at Farmland Elementary school

 ROCKVILLE, Md. (7News) — A Farmland Elementary school fifth-grader died Monday after falling ill at school, Montgomery County Public Schools officials confirm.

The student reportedly got ill inside the classroom and the school nurse was called. The school nurse determined 911 needed to be called. The school was placed into "shelter in place" mode while first responders tried to help the child.

The child was taken to an area hospital where they were pronounced dead...

https://wjla.com/news/local/farmland-elementary-fifth-grade-student-dies-illness?fbclid=IwAR0b7_6ZqkVE40DjNnOwJWyifJnwXYNgrVJFpTLmPNEGgVkOdyDRhMtkRB0