Only three of the 26 classroom teachers who were at the school then were still at Kemp Mill.

On her daughter’s last day of fifth grade this year at Kemp Mill Elementary School in Silver Spring, Md., Angela Atwood-Moore joined other parents leafing through an old yearbook from when her child was in second grade.

They loved seeing how much their children had grown.

Atwood-Moore noticed something else.

Only three of the 26 classroom teachers who were at the school then were still at Kemp Mill. Atwood-Moore thought she knew why. The Montgomery County school-climate survey found that only 15 percent of Kemp Mill staff members in 2016-2017 and 17.1 percent in 2017-2018 agreed that “staff morale is positive in this school.”

The just-released figure for 2018-2019 is 11.1 percent.

Staff morale is a relatively new tool for assessing schools. Maryland is one of 10 states that require school-climate surveys, which also ask about safety, professional growth and other matters. The importance of such surveys is not yet clear, but they can aggravate existing tensions, as Kemp Mill’s experience shows...

...A low morale percentage often leads to discussions about the principal. Atwood-Moore said she traces teacher turnover and the morale problems to James’s appointment to head the school in 2015. When she was an elected member of the PTA board, she said, she did her best to support James. But she did not like what she called his fondness for “top-down bullying.”..

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/staff-morale-becomes-a-new-school-rating-tool-but-does-it-work/2019/08/23/4da4213e-beaa-11e9-b873-63ace636af08_story.html

MCEA Rally: Staff at Kemp Mill ES have been dismayed to see a bullying and ineffective principal turn their school into a place with one of the worst school climates in the county.

MCEA Rally Announcement:

Join parents, community members, and the Montgomery County Education Association at a rally at the MCPS Central Office to demand justice for the students and families at Kemp Mill Elementary School.

Kemp Mill has one of the highest percentages of children from low-income families in Montgomery County. It needs and deserves strong leadership. But for the past three years, educators there have been dismayed to see a bullying and ineffective principal turn their school into a place with one of the worst school climates in the county. 

The dedicated educators, paraeducators, and building service staff at Kemp Mill work every day to provide their underserved student population with the quality school community they deserve. After numerous attempts to raise these urgent concerns with the school district, we still have had no adequate response from MCPS. The Montgomery County educators' union will not stand idly by as MCPS does a terrible disservice to one of our high needs schools.

School’s out, but we’re just getting started! An injury to one is an injury to all, and only by coming together can we hold MCPS accountable to students, parents, and fellow educators. 

Superintendent Jack Smith continually says that “all means all,” but he needs to put action behind his words. Our most vulnerable students are suffering from his neglect. We must stand together to demand equity now. Join us at the rally to fight for the change that’s needed at Kemp Mill ES to improve the lives of our kids and our colleagues!