Friday, September 30, 2022
Tradition at Bel Pre ES helps students get to and from school safely
Tradition at Bel Pre ES helps students get to and from school safely: MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now) — Staff at Bel Pre Elementary School have taken the school buses to and from school with students during the first week of school for the last seven years…
Thursday, September 29, 2022
Thurs. Oct. 6th Meeting to Discuss Plan to Park 22 @mcps School Buses at Each of These High Schools: Magruder/Wootton/RM/Rockville/Gaithersburg/Watkins Mill
The Montgomery County/MCPS Plan to move part of the MCPS Shady Grove Bus Depot to Seven Locks Road only moves some of the school buses currently in the Shady Grove Bus Depot. The rest of the school buses will be parked at 6 high schools. The MCPS Shady Grove Bus Depot can't be removed from its current location without the use of the parking lots at these 6 high schools.
The meeting shown below on October 6th will only discuss moving some of the Shady Grove Bus Depot school buses. It's time for the Board of Education to discuss their plan to take over the parking lots of these 6 high schools and turn them into bus depots.
Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland: Tues. 8/23/22: Board of Ed to Delegate Authority to Park 33 Buses at Each High School - Magruder/Wootton/RM/Rockville/Gaithersburg/Watkins Mill (parentscoalitionmc.blogspot.com)
Federal charge in fentanyl death of Montgomery County high school student
In April, Mikiyas Maryie Kefyalew, 24, of Silver Spring, Maryland, was charged with the state crime of distribution of a narcotic...
Federal charge in fentanyl death of Montgomery County high school student - WTOP News
Wednesday, September 28, 2022
Election 2022: Board of Education Virtual Candidates Forum - Thursday October 13th at 7 PM.
Topic
Board of Education Candidates Forum
Join the League of Women Voters and the Montgomery County Council of PTAs and our many co-sponsors to hear the Board of Education candidates as you prepare for the General Election on November 8th.
MODERATOR: Dr. Janelle Wong, American Studies, University of Maryland
CANDIDATES:
At large: Mike Erickson & Karla Silvestre
District 1: Grace Rivera-Oven & Esther Wells
District 3: Scott Joftus & Julie Yang
District 5: Valerie Coll & Brenda Wolff
MODERATOR: Dr. Janelle Wong, American Studies, University of Maryland
CANDIDATES:
At large: Mike Erickson & Karla Silvestre
District 1: Grace Rivera-Oven & Esther Wells
District 3: Scott Joftus & Julie Yang
District 5: Valerie Coll & Brenda Wolff
Families unable to access funds from college savings program following audit ‘issue’
Silver Spring resident Brian Savoie began setting aside money for his son’s college tuition nearly 20 years ago, when his first-born, Caleb, entered kindergarten. Now, facing a fall semester tuition payment, the Savoie family cannot access all of the money in their account due to a glitch in one of Maryland’s tuition savings programs.
Administrators of the Maryland Prepaid College Trust acknowledge the problem. They say that during a switch-over to a new vendor, an audit raised concerns as to whether interest earnings were being calculated accurately. That led to the interest portion of accounts like the Savoies’ to be frozen...
Are you looking for a quick and easy was to explain the steps necessary for safer indoor environments? Here it is.
Are you looking for a quick and easy was to explain the steps necessary for safer indoor environments? Here it is. A collaboration between the engineer @joeyfox85 and the artist @calgaryhester. Thanks https://t.co/nUZoCombuY
— Jim Rosenthal (@JimRosenthal4) September 20, 2022
Tuesday, September 27, 2022
Montgomery students are meeting literacy expectations but are behind in math
Math scores were lower, with 61.2 percent of students meeting expectations; lower than the 64.1 percent target...
Montgomery students are meeting literacy expectations but are behind in math - The Washington Post
Monday, September 26, 2022
Breaking: Board of Ed. Ditches Plan to Replace 1/2 Home Team Bleachers with a Cell Tower Compound at new Woodward High School. @mocoboe @mcps
The Parents' Coalition has learned that the Board of Education has dropped their plan to replace half of the home team bleachers at the new Woodward High School stadium with a cell tower compound.
Below are two images showing approximately what the Board of Education had planned. The images below use the Walter Johnson High School stadium as an example of what a typical MCPS athletic stadium looks like.
The Woodward High School cell tower compound would have replaced the home team bleachers on one side of the field. Spectators for the home team would have been restricted to the other side of the field. But as of today, the Board of Education has apparently declined to pursue this construction project.
The red area below shows the location of the planned telecommunications tower compound at the new Woodward High School athletic stadium. The image is of the current Walter Johnson High School athletic stadium.
Students Improve in Literacy; But Fall in Math at Secondary School Level
According to information released at the Thursday board of education meeting, there was a 13% increase by second graders in literacy and an 11% increase by fifth graders. Eighth graders improved their literacy achievement scores by 3% and eleventh graders improved by 2%...
Excellent chart giving pros and cons of different air cleaning techniques. This should be distributed to every school administration so that they can adequately assess what they are purchasing.
Excellent chart giving pros and cons of different air cleaning techniques. This should be distributed to every school administration so that they can adequately assess what they are purchasing. It is pretty hard to go wrong with fans and filters. https://t.co/8elGBBCgTi
— Jim Rosenthal (@JimRosenthal4) September 20, 2022
Thursday, September 22, 2022
Will @mocoboe Violate the Maryland Open Meetings Act today? Objection Filed.
Today's Closed Session Resolution contains only uninformative boilerplate language and is not in compliance with the Maryland Open Meetings Act law.
Janis Zink Sartucci (signature attached)
Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, MD
Formed in 2002, the Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland seeks to achieve the goals of coherent, content-rich curriculum standards; high expectations combined with timely remediation and acceleration; a wider range of educational options for parents and children; greater transparency and accountability; and meaningful community input.
Gaithersburg v. NW Football Game Had Only 3 Referees
I directly asked about how many referees were on the field. I was told 3, but they are allocated up to 6. So half the amount of referees they could have had. Saw on a football parent forum this issue come up. Dr. Sullivan pointed to national referee shortage @DCNewsNow https://t.co/642NEox4NF
— Cheyenne Corin ✨ (@CheyenneCorin) September 21, 2022
Wednesday, September 21, 2022
Way to go Berkley Public School District!
Another public school system has a real time IAQ dashboard that displays room level IAQ parameters!https://t.co/rBGvMLUdIs
— Dustin Poppendieck (@Poppendieck) September 20, 2022
Way to go Berkley Public School District! pic.twitter.com/5LSDchM6Ri
Tuesday, September 20, 2022
#UPDATE2 . @fox5dc has been asking @MCPS to confirm coach involvement in last Friday’s Gaithersburg/Northwest HS football game fight. Now my colleague @Mia_FOX5DC ’s discovered an assault charge was filed yesterday. *Appears Gburg’s AD filed against NW’s head football coach.
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1572297555232587778.html
#UPDATE2
— Stephanie Ramirez (@RamirezReports) September 20, 2022
.@fox5dc has been asking @MCPS to confirm coach involvement in last Friday’s Gaithersburg/Northwest HS football game fight. Now my colleague @Mia_FOX5DC’s discovered an assault charge was filed yesterday. *Appears Gburg’s AD filed against NW’s head football coach. https://t.co/wRlGPuUvPD pic.twitter.com/GgcVJBE3HQ
#UPDATE @MCPS says this letter on the Gaithersburg/NW HS football fight on 9/16 was sent later Monday.
#UPDATE @MCPS says this letter on the Gaithersburg/NW HS football fight on 9/16 was sent later Monday.
— Stephanie Ramirez (@RamirezReports) September 20, 2022
•both schools forfeiting Sept. 23rd games
•JV games will not be played this week, may be rescheduled for later
•investigation continues @fox5dc https://t.co/kjlEhzHOwe pic.twitter.com/14hK1u2l9n
While she isn’t cocky and flamboyant like, say, the district’s first superintendent, Jerry Weast...
But in the end the final choice for the job was right here all along.
Whitney Oakley, chosen from among a field of more than 30 candidates, was already on the Guilford County Schools staff as acting superintendent, and before that, deputy superintendent to her predecessor, Sharon Contreras.
In fact, Oakley is a Guilford County native who attended Guilford County Schools from grades K through 12 and held her first teaching job here.
Today she has two children enrolled in GCS schools.
Her firm local roots also make her an anomaly.
No Guilford County Schools superintendent before her was born, raised and educated here. Not Contreras. Not Maurice “Mo” Green. Not Terry Grier. And not Jerry Weast...
...While she isn’t cocky and flamboyant like, say, the district’s first superintendent, Jerry Weast, or Terry Grier (who was its most inventive, but sometimes irked even his allies), there is a quiet assurance in her manner...
Allen Johnson: A native daughter embraces her biggest challenge | Columnists | greensboro.com
Revised Personal Mobile Device Policy in Place for MCPS Students
... “Thank you to MCPS for involving multiple stakeholders, including students, cluster directors, parents and teachers,” said Lisa Cline, former chair of MCCPTA’s Safe Technology Committee. “The cellphone task force worked for years gathering feedback and studying the adverse effects phones in the class can have on academics and cyberbullying. The importance of removing cell phones and other devices that distract from the teacher and learning cannot be overstated.”..
Monday, September 19, 2022
A Dangerous Scenario that Puts @mcps Children at Risk. How many times do I have to protest against the deficiencies in a system before someone listens? @mcps @mocoboe Synergy-ParentVue-MyMCPS
How many times, how many ways do I have to say, “it's not working?" How many times do I have to point out the failures and the problems? How many times do I have to protest against the deficiencies in a system before someone listens? Or does it really matter that I'm unhappy with a system, as long as those who have imposed this on us are happy?
How many times should I listen to “we've heard you and we're working on it”? How many times do I have to repeat myself? Or is the problem simply that I'm speaking as a voice of one? If that's the case, tell me, how many people do I need to gather to say the same things, to ask the same questions? Tell me, how many voices you need to hear before you listen, how many pitchforks do you need to see?
For those of you who don't know what I'm questioning, let me be clear. It's the pride and joy of MCPS, ParentVue, Synergy and all of the related and unrelated portions thereof. A system of communications that is not user friendly and certainly a challenge for people with minimal experience in dealing with online applications. It's a system that frequently is down or at best temperamental, as it has been all day, again.
This is the system that allows parents to receive notifications when assignments are graded and to be able to go in to see the grades. This is the system that will tell the parents that their child has failed to do an assignment or gotten a zero on the assignment, not because that's the truth but because they system has to be fed. But that is a dangerous scenario that puts children at risk. That in itself is an ugly scenario that last year, an Associate Superintendent assured me would be remedied, but it hasn't been.
So, my question is still what will it take, how many voices do you need to hear? Tell me and I will gather them all. Since I originally posted this on Social Media and as emails to the Superintendent as well as all of the BOE, I have gotten a response.
The following day, the Superintendent asked one of her newly appointed staff members to contact me, which she did immediately. We've had a phone conversation and several emails, as well as phone conversations with other MCPS staff and multiple emails. It's strange, they appear to be listening, none of them appear to understand that their primary duty is to protect the bureaucracy. In fact, they asked to continue the discussion and for more input from the community.
Now, is your chance. Let me hear about your experiences with Synergy, ParentVue, Canvas. Send me your issues and concerns and I will submit them to MCPS, no names will be used. Please feel free to email me at paintedpetalsandmore@gmail.com . Don't let me stand alone, give me your input.
Heinz Weverink
MCPS Parent
Sunday, September 18, 2022
The report, a copy of which also was obtained by The Washington Post, concluded that “alcohol was stored and served from Chair Anderson’s office(s)” and that it was “reasonable to conclude, most of Chair Anderson’s senior staff and Montgomery County Planning Board members were aware of these activities.”
...A photo sent by the tipster, authenticated by the IG and included as part of the report, shows two shelves in a cabinet stocked with approximately 20 bottles of alcohol and mixers. A second photo, provided by Anderson to the IG, showed the cabinet was later emptied.
Details of the inspector general’s findings were first reported by ABC7, which obtained a copy of the confidential report.
The report, a copy of which also was obtained by The Washington Post, concluded that “alcohol was stored and served from Chair Anderson’s office(s)” and that it was “reasonable to conclude, most of Chair Anderson’s senior staff and Montgomery County Planning Board members were aware of these activities.” The report said, however, there was no evidence alcohol was consumed during working hours and while there was no evidence of “direct coercion to participate,” one person told the IG that there was “self-pressure to participate to fit in.”
Anderson told the IG he was aware of the commission’s policy, which prohibits the “manufacture, distribution, sale, presence or use of controlled substances and alcohol in the workplace, M-NCPPC vehicles, and other agency property.”..
Montgomery official apologizes for keeping alcohol in his government office - The Washington Post
Vision Zero? Large ground-mounted equipment boxes, double utility poles, and large/tall equipment bases within streetlight poles are destined for our MoCo neighborhood streets.
Attachments of antennas and equipment to telephone poles obstructs visibility of children at play, students at bus stops, and smaller stature pedestrians.
Adverse impacts of pending ZTA 22-01 on Montgomery County Vision Zero Strategies (briefing @ Tuesday Montgomery County Council meeting).
Large ground-mounted equipment boxes, double utility poles, and large/tall equipment bases within streetlight poles are destined for our neighborhood streets. What will this mean for your neighborhood sidewalk?
Saturday, September 17, 2022
A Montgomery County Official Kept An Incredibly Well-Stocked Office Bar. We Made Him A Cocktail Menu
A whistleblower reported Casey Anderson’s liquor cabinet, which reportedly has more than 30 bottles of liquor in it, along with citrus squeezers and other bar tools, ABC7 reported. An investigation by the Inspector General of the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, which administers the county planning board, turned up at least three employees who acknowledged drinking alcohol in Anderson’s office, according to the report. In a statement to ABC7, Anderson apologized for keeping the bar at the office.
Montgomery Council launches probe of official who kept well-stocked bar in his office
...In an interview, Council President Gabe Albornoz (D) said he and his colleagues are “very concerned” about Anderson’s practice of drinking at work and have launched their own review.
“The Council oversees Casey, because he is a political appointee,” said Albornoz. “So whatever action is taken will be the council’s responsibility.” He said the panel cannot disclose details because they consider the issue to be a personnel matter.
Albornoz declined to speculate on potential sanctions, but he said the council would be guided in part by how the commission has handled instances in which other employees have engaged in similar conduct.
“There are factors that are going to be considered. Scope and any sort of precedent. We’re looking at commission rules [as well as] how as the commission handled other incidences in which alcohol has been involved with merit-level employees to see if there is some guidance,” he said. “All of those are factors that we’re going to weigh.”..
Friday, September 16, 2022
WATCH: A fight breaks out between players and coaches during the Northwest & Gaithersburg high school football game
WATCH: A fight breaks out between players and coaches during the Northwest & Gaithersburg high school football game (🎥Kyle Walsh)
— 7News DC (@7NewsDC) September 17, 2022
More video from the chaotic scene in the parking lot, where arrests were made https://t.co/1dw23adxOm pic.twitter.com/QvVfZPdC9q
News4 cameras capture this fight between students and police after an earlier brawl between Gaithersburg and Northwest High Schools football teams during tonight's game at Gaithersburg @nbcwashington
News4 cameras capture this fight between students and police after an earlier brawl between Gaithersburg and Northwest High Schools football teams during tonight's game at Gaithersburg @nbcwashington pic.twitter.com/kFzI7ADoVD
— Tom Lynch (@TomLynch_) September 17, 2022
Planning Board Chair had alcohol in office: there may have been “self-pressure to participate to ‘fit in.’” #PersonInPositionOfAuthority
...The OIG made clear that it found no evidence that Anderson’s drinking took place during normal working hours nor did it find evidence that Anderson directly coerced anyone to participate, but rather that there may have been “self-pressure to participate to ‘fit in.’”
In 2014, the Montgomery County Council appointed Anderson to be the Planning Board Chairman. In turn, it oversees him in an official capacity.
On Tuesday, the council held a lengthy closed session to review Anderson's conduct. M-NCPPC Inspector General Renee Kenney attended that meeting to answer any questions. The council only has the ability to discipline M-NCPPC members, like Anderson, who it appoints...
Montgomery Co. official had full bar in office, drank with employees, OIG report says | WJLA
A DIY air purifier that costs under $100 to make is taking America’s classrooms by storm [But not @mcps @mocoboe !!!]
Taneja found a potential answer in the same place many of us look: online. Reading about a do-it-yourself air filtration system designed to reduce aerosol particulates, he realized he could construct such a model for his own home at a fraction of the cost of a commercial HEPA purifier. Taneja quickly offered to build similar systems for others in his community at cost–and the requests came pouring in. A DIY solution to filtering the air had suddenly grown legs.
“My family’s living room became a warehouse for storing filters and fans,” Taneja told me. Since December, he says, he has delivered scores of home-built filtration systems, primarily to seniors and the immunocompromised who might not be able to do so for themselves.
All this would be impressive under any circumstance. It’s slightly more so when you consider that Taneja is 15 years old. And as we move into what may well be the endemic phase of Covid, his solution is one that many others around the world are also finding...
A DIY air purifier that costs under $100 to make is taking America’s classrooms by storm | Fortune
Bill eliminating statute of limitations for child sex abuse civil suits heads to Biden’s desk
The House on Tuesday passed a bill eliminating the statute of limitations for victims of child sex abuse who seek to file civil claims, sending the measure to President Biden’s desk for final approval.
The chamber cleared the bill, titled the Eliminating Limits to Justice for Child Sex Abuse Victims Act, by voice vote, a strategy reserved for noncontroversial, popular measures. The Senate passed the legislation by unanimous consent in March.
The measure calls for removing the statute of limitations for minors filing civil claims relating to a number of sex abuse crimes, including forced labor, sex trafficking, sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children.
Under current law, minors who experience sexual abuse are able to file federal civil claims until they turn 28 years old, or until 10 years after the violation or injury is discovered. The bill Congress passed seeks to eliminate those time restraints.
There is no statute of limitations in place for criminal offenses involving child sex abuse...
Thursday, September 15, 2022
10.5 million children lost a parent or caregiver because of covid, study says
...“When you have deaths of this magnitude, certainly without help you can weaken the fabric of a society in the future if you don’t take care of the children today,” Hillis said.
In their letter, she and her co-authors wrote that “while billions of dollars are invested in preventing COVID-19-associated deaths, little is being done to care for children left behind.”..
10.5 million children lost a parent or caregiver because of covid, study says - The Washington Post
Children’s Risk of Suicide Increases on School Days
Reading about death and suicidality can be distressing. Please read this in a moment where you feel safest and ready to do so.
Pediatricians, child psychologists and psychiatrists, social workers and pediatric emergency teams know something that many people who care for children don’t: we are much busier during the school year. I’m a full-time emergency psychiatrist who works at a major children’s hospital, and often when children come in for a mental health crisis, one of the main stressors they discuss is school.
I’m sure most people assume I commonly prescribe medications as a physician, but one of my most common “prescriptions” is advocating for reducing school burden and load. In a 2013 American Psychological Association survey, 83 percent of adolescents stated that school was a cause or significant source of stress. In a 2017 survey of school leaders in the U.K., 82 percent reported increased mental health issues among primary school children during the time of national examinations. In studies in 2013 and 2015, scientists studying homework in the U.S. found that primary school children were averaging 30 minutes of such work per night, while high-performing secondary students were averaging more than three hours per night, at the cost of their physical health and schoolwork-life balance...
Children's Risk of Suicide Increases on School Days - Scientific American
Wednesday, September 14, 2022
Montgomery school leaders defend contract given to board member’s spouse
“We’ve had so much disruption in so many different ways,” McKnight said. “We want to be able to continue services with our students that we found to be successful, and the KID Museum is one.”
The Parents’ Coalition of Montgomery County, an advocacy group, raised concerns before a school board vote last week that the contract for MoCo KidsCo Inc. — the corporation behind the KID Museum based in Bethesda, Md. — was being awarded as a no-bid contract, with no discussion by the school board, a lack of competition and a conflict of interest...
Montgomery parents group concerned about awarding of no-bid STEM contract - The Washington Post
Controversy surrounding Kid Museum’s contract with MCPS
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now) — MCPS recently awarded the KID Museum with a nearly $2.4 million contract to continue their partnership providing STEM-based learning activities for students.
The Parents’ Coalition of Montgomery County raised concerns about the extension of this agreement because the KID Museum’s founder is board member Dr. Scott Joftus’s wife. The advocacy group also says due to this conflict of interest no other companies were able to bid on this opportunity.
“It’s not a new issue that the board of education is not diligent in dealing with the public procurement, and following the public procurement laws,” said Janis Sartucci from the Parents’ Coalition of Montgomery County. “And really keeping everything aboveboard and as transparent as possible.”..
Controversy surrounding Kid Museum’s contract with MCPS | DC News Now