Damascus High Auto Tech Program’s Future in Doubt: The BOE voted to not include certain career-based programs at Damascus when it reopens.

Damascus High School students enrolled in the Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs are fighting to keep their automobile technology and restaurant management programs.

Plans for the renovations to their aging high school have been delayed by the Board of Education until Fiscal Year 2029. Currently, those plans don’t include space for the automobile technology program...

https://www.mymcmedia.org/damascus-high-auto-tech-programs-future-in-doubt/

@mocoboe Lets Staff Kill Trade Programs. @mcps Teacher Cries Out: "Why do the Construction and Transportation departments dictate what programs go where? Why are we trending in the opposite direction of our businesses needs and the opposite direction of MD state law?"

Public comment presented to the Montgomery County Board of Education on February 22, 2024 below.

More from this MCPS teacher on March 14, 2024 at this link. 

Dr. Felder and members of the board of Education,

My name is Raul Ortiz, and I am here to advocate for high school CTE students.

• Our local demand for automotive technicians in our areas is extremely

high. Many Automotive shops and Collision centers have a wait time of

months to fix a car. Insurance companies are having to buy back vehicles

because the length of time to provide their customers with rental cars are

no longer affordable. Local dealerships are looking to hire and train every

student that we can provide.

• The Damascus Automotive program is currently running at full capacity.

We have to turn away students and it’s the same with Gaithersburg and

Seneca Valley HS which are the next closest automotive programs.

• Students at Clarksburg HS only have the option of Thomas Edison HS for

automotive, which is in Silver Spring and it’s too far away to be a viable

option. Thomas Edison also has a waitlist each year for their programs

and many students are not selected to participate.

• As you know, the Maryland State Department of Education recently

passed a law -called “Blueprint”. This law is based on the lack of trained

and qualified people in our service industries. This law mandates that at

least 40% of our students leaving school will have industry recognized

credentials or will have participated in a career oriented apprenticeship.

This is exactly what the automotive programs currently accomplish

through our close partnership with the Automotive Trades Foundation.

Any student that chooses to seek employment in the industry are

connected to a place of employment. Percentage wise, the Foundation

programs produce more industry certifications than any other high

school program.

• Damascus program is an obvious solution to support the Clarksburg

students that want to participate in auto technology. The new Damascus

High school could be designed as a state of the art facility and bus over

students from Clarksburg HS.

• What is the issue? The MCPS Construction design team is proposing to

eliminate the Damascus program in the new build. What sense does this

make? They say that the program is too expensive and takes up too much

space. I don’t feel like either of those arguments are valid. Most of the

equipment can be transferred over and we use Federal funding to buy

new equipment, NOT MCPS dollars. The New High School will be 50%

larger, so space should not be an issue.

• Furthermore, they have closed a program that served overflow from

Gaithersburg high school and the CREA program that operated at the

Shady Grove bus depot. This was an ideal partnership that successfully

operated for 8 years. This ATF dealer HUB is vital to the future of the ATF

programs.

• MCPS continually talks about providing access to ALL students, but

currently their actions are exactly the opposite. Why is this? Why do the

Construction and Transportation departments dictate what

programs go where? Why are we trending in the opposite direction of

our businesses needs and the opposite direction of MD state law? I feel

that MCPS is in broken state and that our priorities are aligned with

people that are making decisions that make things easiest on them and

we need to get back to doing what is best for our students and that is

delivering world class career education opportunities.

Please include the FULL Automotive and Hospitality programs in the

design of the new Damascus High School. And please support the ATF

automotive HUB site at a central location to all ATF programs.

https://go.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Board.nsf/files/D32J6U4B9F02/$file/Board of Education speach.pdf

Man working on a project for an MCPS contractor at the time sentenced to 15 years in prison for raping 12-year-old girl in his vehicle

 

A man accused of raping a 12-year-old girl in his vehicle nearly two years ago was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Thursday.

James Allen Booker, now 61, picked up a girl who was walking home from school during a thunderstorm on May 23, 2019, police said at the time.

Police said Booker drove the girl to her home, parked in front and raped the girl inside the vehicle.

The girl told her parents what had happened. Police arrested Booker five days later.

Booker was charged with one count of second-degree rape and six counts of third-degree sex offense. Court records indicate that he pleaded guilty on Dec. 6, 2019, to the rape charge and one count of third-degree sex offense...

https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-beat/courts/man-sentenced-to-15-years-in-prison-for-raping-12-year-old-girl-in-his-vehicle/

Mike Rowe: Lack of shop classes is why we’re $1.6T in student debt

"Dirty Jobs" host Mike Rowe told FOX Business' Stuart Varney students continue to choose the expensive career path when there’s excessive demand for blue-collar workers. According to Rowe, there are currently millions of jobs out there that do not require a college degree...

https://www.wdrb.com/news/national/mike-rowe-lack-of-shop-classes-is-why-we-re/article_aad28c1e-0226-11ea-9da4-970d2e87a9b6.html?fbclid=IwAR1L52Z0XWPAQiDPoakGkgSzzgwLFbgcencqZku0ztMf69epIrmWQzSSpVo

After decades of pushing bachelor’s degrees, U.S. needs more tradespeople

Maybe the Montgomery County Board of Education should stop charging students class fees to attend Edison High School? 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

All throughout high school, they made it sound like going to college was our only option.” Derrick Roberson, who is training to become an electrician

FONTANA, Calif. — At a steel factory dwarfed by the adjacent Auto Club Speedway, Fernando Esparza is working toward his next promotion.

Esparza is a 46-year-old mechanic for Evolution Fresh, a subsidiary of Starbucks that makes juices and smoothies. He’s taking a class in industrial computing taught by a community college at a local manufacturing plant in the hope it will bump up his wages.

It’s a pretty safe bet. The skills being taught here are in high demand. That’s in part because so much effort has been put into encouraging high school graduates to go to college for academic degrees rather than for training in industrial and other trades that many fields like his face worker shortages.

Now California is spending $6 million on a campaign to revive the reputation of vocational education, and $200 million to improve the delivery of it...

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/education/decades-pushing-bachelors-degrees-u-s-needs-tradespeople?fbclid=IwAR3I1vV82x6Ms9HQe88bPc9G_ieQS7wvtKcixFH9SAsGV3MXIe0bCkCw32k

Mike Rowe, can you help? @mikeroweworks

"Many viable careers once aspired to are now seen as “vocational consolation prizes,” and many of the jobs this current administration has tried to “create” over the last four years are the same jobs that parents and teachers actively discourage kids from pursuing" ~Mike Rowe


Read what Mike Rowe has to say about vocational/technical education in our schools at the link below. 

Let's ask Mike Rowe to speak up for MCPS students. 

Today, the Montgomery County Board of Education STILL allows principals to charge ILLEGAL CURRICULAR FEES to MCPS students who take courses at Edison High School of Technology (our one local vo/tech high school).  

Fees for public school classes discourage and prohibit participation and send a strong message that these classes are to be avoided.

The fees do not go into the MCPS budget, are not publicly accounted for, and create a slush fund for the principal. The practice has been going on for over a decade and our public officials will not speak up about this illegal practice. 

We have it in writing from the Maryland Attorney General's office and the Maryland State Board of Education that our children are entitled to a FREE PUBLIC EDUCATION under the Maryland Constitution. Yet, the charging of illegal curricular fees continues in Montgomery County. 

Mike Rowe, can you help?

https://www.facebook.com/TheRealMikeRowe/posts/1330853343591472:0 


 

Brookeville, Maryland (CNN)As a special education teacher, Richard Bienvenue worked with many troubled teenage boys.

  Is this the solution to 'throwaway kids'?

Brookeville, Maryland (CNN)As a special education teacher, Richard Bienvenue worked with many troubled teenage boys. For years, he observed the toll their surroundings took on them.

"The kids in my classes were from some pretty horrendous situations: dysfunction at homes, foster care, and abuse," said Bienvenue, who taught carpentry classes. "The tears you would see, the anguish they would go through, I saw a real need."

For more than two decades, Bienvenue has been helping struggling young men rebuild their lives. And he's using some unlikely tools: hammers and nails...

 

Edison High School Still Charging Students for Free Public Education

The Maryland Constitution guarantees all public school children a free public education.  That means that anything related to curriculum must be available to all for free.

But, we live in Montgomery County and in our county, our elected officials don't believe in the Maryland Constitution and don't believe in free public education for all.

Our Board of Education is so bold that they actually put right on the Edison High School application (page 4) that any children that apply for an Edison program will be charged to attend the school.

Yes, if your child dares to apply for classes at Edison High School in Silver Spring, the Board of Education will deny your child a free public education.  

From the Edison High School application packet:

   Edison High School Updated 2015-16 Application by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland

Nov 24th County Council Education Committee: MCPS Tech & Career Education

Education Committee 9:30 AM -
3rd Floor Conference Room
Nov 24, 2014

(1) • Supplemental appropriation and CIP amendment- $2,500,000 for Junior  Achievement Finance Park at Thomas Edison High School of Technology

(2) • Briefing on Career and Technical Education at MCPS

MD special-ed students can't serve coffee at school

The Baltimore Sun:

Patapsco special-ed students can't serve coffee at school, will now sell slushies

Read more: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-county/dundalk/bs-md-co-java-slushie-shop-20141011,0,2351882.story#ixzz3G7o3SZ2N

Petition 
Revise MOM-12: Maryland Nutritional Standards for All Foods Sold in Schools, to revise the state policy limiting "caffeinated beverages" to high school students.

Deny Students a Free Public Education, Then Form Coalition to "Study" #hypocrites #mocoboe #mcpssuper

Merriam-Webster

Let's just start with #hypocrites on this one. 

The exact same people who are responsible for denying Montgomery County students a free public education are now forming a coalition to "study" the problem of an "unmistakable shortage of skilled workers."  As the Parents' Coalition has been investigating and publicizing since 2008, Montgomery County Public Schools and the Board of Education permit schools to charge random fees to students for attending public school classes.

As we have also documented repeatedly, the Maryland Constitution guarantees ALL children a free, public education.  Fees to attend public school classes violate that right and are not permitted in Maryland. 

In our 6 years of investigations of this issue, the most horrendous illegal curricular fees have always been found at Edison High School in Silver Spring, MCPS' only career and technical high school.  Enrollment at Edison High School has dropped year after year and parents have told the Parents' Coalition that they will not even consider the sending their child to Edison because of the class fees.  

Today, a new group is being announced to start an 18 month "study" of the "unmistakable shortage of skilled workers" in Montgomery County.  Included on the Press Release for this new group is Superintendent Joshua Starr, BOE member Shirley Brandman, former MCPS employee Steve Simon, and former MCCPTA Cluster Coordinator Gigi Godwin. 

Note that the Press Release from this group is from Steve Simon, former MCPS public relations employee who back in 2010 said:

MCPS' Steve Simon: "We absolutely are in conformance with state law. We are adamant that we are providing a free public education."

MCPS was not providing all students a free public education back in 2010 and they are still not today. The worst fees were, and still are, found at Edison High School.

Take a look at the Edison High School fees that the Parents' Coaliton exposed in 2008. Edison High School students were being charged curricular fees in 2008 and they are still being charged them today.

Do these fees look like students at Edison High School have been receiving a free public education?  
Do we need to state the obvious?  
If you block students from attending classes by imposing illegal fees is there any surprise that there is now a shortage of skilled workers?

2008-2009 Edison High School curricular fees.

School Fees - the 2014 Version

PCMC Guideto Public School Fees

The Maryland Constitution guarantees a free and appropriate public education for all - unless you live in Montgomery County, Maryland.

Our wonderful school system, headed up by the eminent Superintendent Joshua Starr, insists that some fees are allowed - and he is going to be sure to collect!

The good news is that the number of fees at both the high school and middle school level seems to be decreasing since the Parents Coalition first started posting the lists.

However, at both the middle school and high school levels, some schools charge for dry cleaning band uniforms.  What band uniforms?  At my childrens' middle school (Frost) and high schools (Blair and RM), the kids wore their own clothing.  They didn't wear anything that required dry cleaning by the school.  And if you are really resourceful, once your family is done with the shirt, you can pass it along to another family!

Some bad news.  Josh doesn't like the arts or tech ed courses. And if your child goes to Edison, be prepared to shell out major money.

The other high school with lots of fees - Einstein.

The big winners?  Watkins Mill has only one fee;  Kennedy doesn't have any.  Frost MS doesn't list any - those Frost shirts really do live on and on and on.  Maybe the Einstein principal should call the principals at Kennedy and Watkins Mill to find the secret to not shaking down kids for fees.

Here are the lists - you can see for yourselves what the various schools charge.
It's hardly uniform across the school system.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/31645241/2014-2015%20High%20School%20fees.pdf


https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/31645241/2014-2015%20middle%20school%20fees.pdf

As usual, Mr. Tofig includes in the cover letter that all students will have full access to these courses, regardless of their circumstances.  SO, if you want to make a donation to your school, go for it, but if you don't, remember your child is still entitled to full access, whatever that means.

The really bad news is that the Superintendent thinks that family money is unlimited.  Is it really worthwhile to nickel and dime MoCo families for these fees?  Probably not.  And Dr. Starr still doesn't get the point that the folks in MoCo already pay taxes to fund the schools.  Money doesn't grow on trees.

Whitman High School student news report on curricular fees in MCPS.

WTOP ‏@WTOP Wheaton High & Thomas Edison High are closed due.

6:44 AM  on http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/

Edison High School Open House Jan 8th

Thomas Edison High School of Technology’s Annual Open House:

 

January 8, 2014, 5-8pm

 

Thomas Edison High School of Technology

12501 Dalewood Drive

Silver Spring, MD 20906

 

·         Meet Teachers

·         See Live Demonstrations

·         Learn All About our Programs

·         Apply In Person

If you attend this event, remember that a public school education is FREE in Maryland. The fees that administrators try to charge students for the Edison HS programs are illegal.
Sign up for classes, but just say NO to the illegal fees!

Joshua Starr is Charging Edison HS Students for Textbooks!

Take a look at the incredible fees that Superintendent Joshua Starr is charging students to attend Edison High School!  No wonder enrollment is down at this school!  

Note to students and families: Textbook charges are ILLEGAL under the Maryland Constitution.  Just say no!  
Fees connected with the curriculum of a class are ILLEGAL! Just say no!

---------------------------------------------------------------

BY306-8 Auto Coveralls Ivey,Robert 8/1/2013 $40.00
Automotive classes
BY306-15 Cosmetology III Wilson,Karen $72.00
Student fees
BY306-14 Cosmetology - Textbook Wilson,Karen $107.00
Textbook

BY306-16 Cosmetology II Wilson,Karen  $60.00
Student fee

BY306-37 Cosmetology Kit Payment 1 Wilson,Karen $53.00
Student kits Payment 1 of 5 payments TOTAL COSMETOLOGY FEE $265

BY306-12 FBCT OSHA Certification Haddad,Christopher $5.00
Certification for FBCT
BY306-5 Food Safety Certification Smith,Teresa All NA 8/26/2013 $5.50
Year 1 Certification
BY306-10 Hard Hats DelMarr,Paul $14.00
Program hard hats
BY306-17 Interior Design fee Guzan,Denae  $20.00
Class fee
BY306-18 Medical Careers Mansky,Kristine $9.00
Student fee
BY306-20 Nail Textbook Wilson,Karen $95.00
Textbook
BY306-21 Nail Workbook Wilson,Karen $51.00
Workbook

BY306-46 Nails Wilson,Karen $50.00
Student kits 4th payment TOTAL NAILS FEE $200

BY306-11 NCCER Registry DelMarr,Paul $25.00
National Registry Certification
BY306-23 Network A+Guide Texbook McGee,Jesse $100.00
A+Guide Textbook
BY306-24 Network A+Lab Guide Manual McGee,Jesse  $80.00
Manual
BY306-22 Network Operations McGee,Jesse $38.00
Student fee
BY306-25 Network Operations-Security Guide McGee,Jesse  $160.00
Guide
BY306-26 Print Technologies Digital Graphics King,Carol $20.00
Student fee
BY306-28 Professional Restaurant Management Smith,Teresa  $40.00
Food Prep Fee
BY306-29 Professional Restaurant Management Smith,Teresa  $5.00
Beanie Hat
BY306-30 Professional Restaurant Management Smith,Teresa $25.00
Chef jacket
BY306-6 Respirators Dougherty,Thomas $17.00
Respirators -Auto
BY306-31 SkillSUSA - Membership Johnson,Amy $10.00
Student membership

The Parents Coalition 2013 List of High School Fees

As we start the school year, here is the Parents Coalition annual post of fees allegedly approved by the Board of Education for high school students this coming year. 

2013MCHSFees

We've made this list an almost annual tradition, and we see once again, that arts and music take the biggest hit.   I am curious about whether these fees have any real meaning - do schools actually dry clean music clothes?  Both of my kids played in the concert bands at two high schools and the jazz band at one school.  I recall they wore their own clothes - so why do their schools (both schools) have dry cleaning fees?

Once again, MCPS amazes me.  This year, MCPS even has a site for you to pay these fees ONLINE.
Thanks for being such a good helper, MCPS.  Convenience comes with a  small service charge - wonder who gets that money.  You can click here to get to that site.

Some schools are great - no fees whatsoever.  But other schools?  Look at Edison.  Funny, how their nail technology fee really is for a textbook for the course.  And Churchill - the school that thinks the rules don't apply?  You will find several links to convenience purchases of textbooks available. 

The middle school list will be coming shortly - I can't wait to see what surprises are on that list.

But remember the words from our former first lady, Nancy Reagan.  JUST SAY NO.

Students in Montgomery County are entitled to a free public education.   If you don't pay, have no fear, your child will still get their diploma (and yes, class dues and graduation fees are also illegal).

Happy back to school. 

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.

Edison High: A small change in the building design made late in the process is under dispute.

Patch:  Edison High School Designs To Be Presented Tuesday

...In an email to the Board of Education that was posted on the Parents Coalition blog on Friday, Defino called attention to a design change made by MCPS to a corner of the school building. MCPS made this change to the architect’s original design in the last scheduled meeting on April 12, she told Patch, but the committee met again on April 22 for further discussion...

MCPS Staff Changes Building Design Behind Closed Doors

As parents, community and staff were meeting as a committee to design a modernized Edison High School, MCPS staff was making changes behind the scenes.  The committee saw a change to the building's design at the April 12, 2012 meeting, that was to have been the last of the series of design meetings. Below is an e-mail from an Edison High School parent about that change. 


From: Theresa Defino
To: boe <boe@mcpsmd.org>
Cc: Joshua_Starr <Joshua_Starr@mcpsmd.org>
Sent: Thu, May 10, 2012 4:26 pm

Subject: follow-up on Edison/Wheaton designs

Thank you to the board members who spoke on behalf of Edison [High School] at your recent business meeting.

To provide further clarity on the issue, I have attached the presentation from the April 24, 2012 design meeting (our last). I ask that you spend a minute to look at pages 21-23, focusing on the area on the left where there is a flag.

Page 21 has the original design with the corner, which you can see altered in 22 and again on 23. As you know, the change was ordered by MCPS staff. We are still not in receipt of any detailed justifications for the change.

We believe the original design is cleaner and more attractive, and contributes to the "wow" factor that we all want a building to have that is unique in the county and will last for 50-100 years.

Keep in mind these designs are the result of multimillion contract with Grimm + Parker. This is a top-notch, highly-regarded firm that has done many projects for MCPS.

Overall, we are extremely pleased with their work and the plans for the schools. But staff, students, parents and the community we deserve a building that demonstrates the best that they have to offer, both professionally and creatively. We believe the angle should remain as proposed.

Thank you.

Theresa Defino
Edison Parent

EHS_SD_MTG7_24APR2012_final_MCPS

Council Education Committee Rejects Priority Language for Wheaton/Edison HS Modernization

The Montgomery County Council’s education committee has supported the inclusion of the Wheaton/Edison high schools modernization project in the county CIP, but backed off from regarding it as a clear priority, qualifying that it must still compete with other projects for funding.

http://wheaton-md.patch.com/articles/education-committee-rejects-priority-language-for-wheaton-edison-hs-modernization