NYC Public School Parents: Pearson Contract Rejected

NYC Public School Parents: Last night's historic vote of the Panel for Educat...:  Last night was truly one for the history books, at least in the history of NYC public schools:  the Panel for Educational Policy, composed ...

Plaintiff Association for Education Fairness (AFEF) brings this civil rights lawsuit for declaratory and injunctive relief to vindicate the rights of Asian-American public school children in Montgomery County, Maryland, to compete on equal footing for admission to the County’s prestigious magnet middle school programs without regard to their race.

 https://pacificlegal.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/AFEF-v.-Montgomery-County-Public-Schools-Complaint.pdf

Rethinking What Gifted Education Means, and Whom It Should Serve

SILVER SPRING, Md. — It was a searing summer day before the start of the school year, but Julianni and Giselle Wyche, 10-year-old twins, were in a classroom, engineering mini rockets, writing in journals and learning words like “fluctuate” and “cognizant.”

The sisters were among 1,000 children chosen for an enrichment course intended in part to prepare them for accelerated and gifted programs in Montgomery County, Md. All of the students were from schools that serve large numbers of low-income families.

“It’s one of my favorite parts of summer,” Julianni said.

The program is one element in a suite of sweeping changes meant to address a decades-old problem in these Washington suburbs, and one that is troubling educators across the nation: the underrepresentation of black, Hispanic and low-income children in selective academic settings.

[Quiz: Try your hand at some test questions used to screen students for gifted programs.]

Amid deepening debate over the issue, sometimes referred to as “the excellence gap,” school officials across the country and at all educational levels are wrestling with possible remedies. Montgomery County is one of several districts that is successfully diversifying its gifted programs, in part by overhauling the admissions process and rethinking the fundamental mission of such programs. This 160,000-student school system, one of the nation’s highest performing and most diverse, has provided a potential model — but not without creating anxiety and skepticism among some parents who feel their children have been hurt by the changes...

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/13/us/education-gifted-students.html

More than 6,385 third-graders participated in the selection process, according to the school system. About 1,120 students were accepted or actually placed on the waiting list.

Md. school [MCPS] district mistakenly told third-graders they were on waiting list for gifted program

Thousands of Montgomery County families were mistakenly told their elementary-school-age children had been placed on a waiting list for a program that enrolls gifted students. In truth, they hadn’t been accepted.

The letters arrived April 20 at the homes of more than 5,265 families. The news was promising: Each family’s third-grader was on the waiting list for one of the school system’s Centers for Enriched Studies, which exist at 13 elementary schools and offer accelerated curriculums to gifted students.

Days later, parents received a second letter retracting the first one. The second letter told parents the students’ current elementary school can meet their “accelerated and enriched programming needs,” according to a copy of the letter that parents shared.

Derek Turner, a spokesman for Montgomery County Public Schools, apologized for the mistake, blaming it on a “printing error.”..

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/md-school-district-mistakenly-told-third-graders-they-were-on-waiting-list-for-gifted-program/2018/05/03/73ac0c64-4f13-11e8-af46-b1d6dc0d9bfe_story.html?utm_term=.2af3ca8a2d03

WAMU: MCPS Gives More Students A Chance At ‘Gifted’ Status

A new program at the Montgomery County Public Schools is giving more kids a shot at enrichment programs.

After a 2016 report found white and Asian American students were more likely to be accepted and enroll in these programs than black and Hispanic students, or those from low-income households, the school district began re-examining the way it identifies gifted students.

A new pilot program aimed at redressing the imbalance has proved so successful that the school district plans to expand it system-wide in the fall. That means all third graders will be evaluated for enrichment programs. And the county will open three new enrichment centers to serve more students.

One big reason for the racial and income disparities, school administrators have concluded: parents.

Making them responsible for applying to have their children admitted to gifted programs “may have really been a barrier for families who couldn’t meet the timeline who may have even known about the process but didn’t know if their child was a right match for the program,” said Jeannie Franklin, who works for the school district.

At a school like JoAnn Lelack at Broad Acres Elementary School in Silver Spring, that can be a factor, agreed Principal Harold Barber. Nine out of 10 students there qualify for free or reduced-price meals, he said. Many come from households without strong ties to the school system. “We have a very transient population,” Barber said...

http://wamu.org/story/17/05/24/montgomery-county-gives-students-chance-gifted-status/

Steamy Times at Blair High

Its August 15.  Most of us in Montgomery County are enjoying the last few days of a very hot summer before school begins.

Unless you play high school sports.

Yes, the sports teams are back - and we have the pictures!  Here is a picture of Blair's football team taken last Friday, August 12.

But, you may ask, isn't it hot on the fields?  How hot?  On Friday, Reagan National reported a high of 99 degrees and a low of 93 degrees between noon and 6 pm, with 50 percent humidity.

And on the artificial turf?  Here is a picture recorded of actual field temperatures.

Our not so very sophisticated weather gauge on the left indicated that at a little after 3 pm, the air temperature was 98 degrees, while the temp on the Blair artificial turf field was a sizzling 151 degrees.

How would our regular grass fields fare in the heat?

A few minutes later, our weather gauges recorded a more modest 84 degrees on the natural grass surrounding the Blair field.

What a difference (a few) chemicals can make.

MCPS supposedly is enforcing rules related to the heat on the fields.  According to the webpage:

Schools shall monitor prevailing weather conditions, including the current heat index, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and make appropriate practice and activity accommodations. The heat index on the Athletics webpage applies to the 20877 zip code, the most central site in Montgomery County.

And once the heat index is calculated, coaches are instructed to follow the following guidelines:

Temperature Guidelines

Heat Index	Restrictions
0-90° F	Normal practice guidelines and restrictions
91–104° F	Exercise caution; observe players carefully; frequent water breaks;   limit time in which players are wearing full equipment
105° F +	No outside activities; activities limited to air-conditioned school facilities

   

If you calculate the heat index from the rubric on the webpage, the heat index on Friday at Blair HS was an outstanding 113 degrees!  Factor in the artificial turf, and ouch - it was really hot on that field.

Did Blair's football coach really hold a practice OUTSIDE when the heat index was 113 degrees? And on a turf field that registered 151 degrees?

Blair HS is known for its brains, not its athletic abilities, but it seems as if neither is back from vacation just yet.

How hot is it on your MoCo football field?

Parents - Its not just football that is subject to the restrictions when temperatures go soaring. Pay attention, and let your coaches know you are monitoring the heat index over the next few weeks.

For those of you lucky/unlucky enough to have an artificial turf field - watch out or your student may find themselves burnt out before school begins.

And good luck to all the Blazers sports teams - assuming you don't wilt in the heat!

Baltimore County school officials want to drop 'gifted and talented' label; parents object

..."Gifted and talented has 60 years of research documenting the needs of the student, the characteristics, the methods to identify and the methods to serve" those students, said Paynter, who now teaches at McDaniel College.
"Lumping all the programs together is fine," she said. "But where is the policy that stands up for the rights and needs for this special needs group?"
Kerns said the district is following state law.
"There is no danger that it is going to go away because we haven't used those three words in our policy," he said.
The school board has scheduled a hearing on the proposed policy on Tuesday. The board is scheduled to vote on Sept. 13....

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/education/bs-md-co-gifted-and-talented-name-change-20160807-story.html

Racial Disparities in MCPS Gifted Programs

...At the high school level, for instance, the report found an acceptance rate of 45 percent for white students applying to selective programs studied, compared with 39 percent for Asians, 23 percent for Hispanics, 19 percent for African Americans and 11 percent for low-income students.

Among younger children, enrollment in the district’s elementary centers for the highly gifted was 47 percent white, 34 percent Asian, 8 percent African American, 8 percent low-income and 4 percent Latino in the 2013-2014 school year, according to a research firm’s report to the county board of education...

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/maryland-school-district-examines-racial-disparities-in-its-gifted-programs/2016/03/21/1caacdf6-eb88-11e5-b0fd-073d5930a7b7_story.html

WPost: These kids were geniuses — they were just too poor for anyone to discover them

In 2003, Cynthia Park asked her staff to make a map showing where every gifted student lived in Broward County, Fla.
The result was an atlas of inequality.
“All of them were scattered in the suburbs and in the wealthier communities, where parents were more involved in education,” recalls Park, who oversaw the county’s gifted students program. “The map was virtually void in other areas."
Park's map helped convince board members for the school district, which serves over a quarter-million children in and around Fort Lauderdale, that it needed to work much harder at identifying precocious children from all neighborhoods. In 2005, Broward began giving a short test to all students in the second grade. Those who scored well were sent off for further evaluation to determine their aptitude for the system's gifted program.
Now, newly released research by economists David Card, of the University of California at Berkeley, and Laura Giuliano, of the University of Miami, shows that Broward's initiative was, at least in its initial years, a huge success at identifying poor, minority students qualified for gifted programs. Crucially, the process laid bare the surprising — and disturbing — reasons that the school district hadn't been finding these kids in the first place...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonkblog/wp/2015/09/22/these-kids-were-geniuses-they-were-just-too-poor-for-anyone-to-discover-them/?tid=sm_fb

Waiting for (Mr. or Ms.) Right Superintendent

If I ran the Montgomery County school system ... I would not jump to have another "interim superintendent" appointed for the next school year.

Even if some of the top prospects are gone.

I would conduct an review of what happened this year - a search failure - and what happened four years earlier with Dr. Starr's selection process.  In hindsight, this is another search failure, since Dr. S left in a huff and didn't finish out his contract.

Even the search that eventually produced Dr. Weast was an initial failure.  The BOE identified Ellie Massie, who had numerous problems and withdrew after her appointment.

So - over the last 16 years, the taxpayers in Montgomery County Maryland have endured three failed searches for school superintendents.

What I would consider -

1.  Another search firm.  Clearly, the current search firm doesn't work for us.  Maybe for other counties or school systems, but not the folks in Montgomery County.

2.  A transparent process.  Secrecy is just not working.  Same for confidentiality agreements.  Meaningful community input and crowdsourcing are the way to go.  Put the finalists names out there - as many other communities do, and gauge the reaction of the crowd.  If the candidates have something to hide, chances are the crowd will find out, and sooner is better than later.  Would Ellie Massie's financial woes have been discovered earlier?   What about Josh's short fuse?  And who knows what really made Drew Houlihan back down.

We're a tough group in Montgomery County.  We need a superintendent who can work with us - our good points and our not so good points.  The job is a great job - $300,000 and a car - who ever thought an educator could get paid a real living wage.

But please- no finger pointing at anyone outside of the current selection process as scaring away other candidates.  Candidates should have researched us before they accepted the plane ticket to interview with the BOE.  If anything, we are really a pretty tame county, considering what some of the other jurisdictions can do -- think about the test boycott in Scarsdale a few years back, and the outing of the Pearson privacy package.  Oh, yes, and the Smartboard disaster - we're still  buying them in MoCo when other counties have clearly moved on.

Kudos to Krista Brick - from mymedia.com  who provided the following:

krista brick @lmjpbrick · 13m13 minutes ago

.@georgeleventhal: MCPS board is considering using an interim superintendent for another year.

1 retweet0 favorites

krista brick @lmjpbrick · 14m14 minutes ago

.@georgeleventhal: some of the MCPS other top prospects may have already signed contracts.

2 retweets0 favorites

Glee Comes to Wootton High School

Funny noises are coming from Wootton Parkway.  Is it the high school putting on a homespun version of Glee?

I doubt it.  If anything, the shouts of joy are coming from Dr. Doran and his buddies from Carver.

You may ask why.

In this age of tight budgets and overcrowded classrooms, Wootton is getting yet another building addition!  Seems as if the last project was just completed - although it was in 2002.

Surprise.  Mr. Crispell's projections are wrong again.

In most parts of the county, kids are crammed into overcrowded and aging classrooms, and have to wait until for any type of building improvements because precious construction dollars must  be allocated and carefully planned.

But not at Wootton.  We don't want those darling test wizards to be in an overcrowded facility.

Whatever Wootton wants, Wootton gets (sorry Damn Yankees fans, this one comes to mind).

But curious taxpayers want to know - what did Dr. Doran have to promise to get a construction process fast tracked?

Thank goodness the community stopped the cell tower project last year.  Hasn't anyone told MCPS that land is a limited resource?

Question of the Day: Is it time for your principal to retire?

Answer:  Yes.  Especially if you are James Fernandez, principal of Albert Einstein High School in Kensington, Maryland.  Ask any art student at the school.

At today's Board of Education meeting, numerous parents and students came out to testify in favor of the Visual Arts Program at Einstein High.  Once again, this program is on the list of potential cuts from the Montgomery County Board of Education.

Read the testimony and if you have time, watch the video replay.  Students and parents spoke from their hearts about the impact of this program on their MCPS experience.

The written statement of Maya Cartland really caught me by surprise. She writes:

The VAC is more than just an art class; it’s a community of artists and scholars. In a school as large as Einstein, it’s important for students to be in an environment where they feel safe to express themselves and their creative talents. Ms. Walsh and Ms. Harris hold their students to high expectations and give us the support to go beyond what we think we can initially do.

Maya continues: 

This is in stark contrast to our principal, Mr. Fernandez, a known opponent of the arts. Every year he speaks to students before Career Day and says, “if you major in the arts, be sure to memorize my McDonald’s order: Big Mac with no pickles.” Ask any art student at Einstein and they will be able to recite Mr. Fernandez’ order for you.

Did Mr. Fernandez really tell  kids to memorize his McDonald's order?  

Maya and her classmates get it - even if Mr. Fernandez doesn't.   

He, like so many, believe that art doesn’t matter, but what he fails to understand is that we are more than just art students; we are also honor students, AP, IB scholars, and athletes. The senior class has gotten into 32 top art and liberal art schools and won over $1.2 million in scholarships alone. 

Mr. Fernandez owes Maya and her classmates an apology.  And as for the rest of the taxpaying citizens of Montgomery County?

I suggest that Mr. Fernandez turn in his resignation now.  If he doesn't value the students, their diverse learning styles, or their unique interests, then he should not be in education. Its time to move on, and let someone who enjoys leading a Montgomery County High School, with its many talented kids of all shapes, sizes, and interests, toward finding their true passions.

Dr. Einstein left us with many memorable quotes - so it seems fitting that I end this piece with the words of the man that gave the high school his name. [See image]

Good luck to the current students at VAC as you pursue your dreams, and lets hope that MCPS keeps a program that works!

Instead of a puff of white smoke, announce the superintendent finalists.

The Montgomery County Board of Education could demonstrate that it does give "a rat's patootie about what we think" if instead of a puff of white smoke, it announced the superintendent finalists and even provided a public forum for all the stakeholders to hear the finalists.

Hazard, Young and Attea (the no bid search firm selected by BOE President Patricia O'Neill) used such a process for selecting the new superintendent for Boston Public Schools and described that process at the public hearing last week at Walter Johnson High School in Bethesda.

I encourage everyone to attend the Tuesday March 10, 2015 Public Forum, to ask about hearing from the superintendent finalists before the final selection - and to advocate for Gifted and Talented education in the local schools.

For your convenience, here is a link to a recent Boston Globe story describing that Hazard-Boston Public Schools superintendent search:
http://www.bostonglobe.com/ metro/2015/03/01/boston-final- candidates-for-superintendent/ KMSVLigUArPkTeIt5TUqgO/story. html

While there are very good reasons for a confidential (secret) selection process, I think the following considerations carry the day to choose to reveal the finalists and perhaps even invite them to a public forum: 
1. The selected superintendent will start day one building on unfiltered, transparent access from everyone. 
2. The Board of Education will demonstrate transparency and cooperation based on genuine trust of the stakeholders 
3. MCPS will avoid the Hazard-Board of Education mistake of 1999 (where the BOE's first announcement was the selection of Dr. Massie who then was forced to withdraw within days of that announcement) 
4. The BOE will be transparent like the Montgomery County Council selection process was  following a recent resignation.
 
Sheldon Fishman
Founding Member of Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, MD
Parent of 4 MCPS Graduates

Grab your sleeping bags

and join in next week.  Monday 3:30 pm at Carver (850 Hungerford Drive, Rockville).

Why?

This You Tube video says it all.

Zip Code Madness - Do You Pay More to Graduate from an MCPS High School Because of Where You Live?

Answer:  Probably.

Back in 2010, this blog did a survey of how much each high school charged for various fees related to walking down the aisle to pick up a diploma.   You can read the post here.

MCPS representatives were reported to state at a recent Taxpayers League meeting that these fees were approved by the Board of Education and consistent with MCPS policy,

Answer:  Wrong.

The state of Maryland Constitution guarantees a free public education, and the state constitution trumps MCPS policy.

You, your family, and your child cannot be charged a fee to attend the students graduation ceremony.

Yet, MCPS continues to claim this is legitimate.  We claim this is educational extortion.

We will send in for an official list of what's been "approved" so you can determine which zip codes get shaken down the most.  Last time we checked, the fees approved didn't quite match what the students were charged.

What to do if you get a bill?

Answer:  Don't pay.

What if you already sent in your money?

Answer:  Ask for a refund.  Blair HS's graduating class of 2010 got a refund because they were charged to cover the graduation speaker's honorarium.  Really.  And the speaker was the spouse of a Blair staff member.  Talk about a rip off.

And please, stay tuned to this website for more information.

New Trend for High School Neighborhoods

Montgomery Blair HS in Silver Spring has always demonstrated its leadership among schools in Montgomery County.

What's the latest leadership trend?

Blair HS is so lucky to have a "HEAD FIRST" concussion care facility located right across University Boulevard from the school.

Now if your child plays football at Blair - no worries about whether an athletic trainer is onsite.  Your Head First concussion facility can take care of your child.

And, its not only the football team kids who may find themselves at Head First.  You never know what other challenges face your child at Blair.  This surely beats the emergency room at Holy Cross Hospital for convenience! 

Way to go Blair!

State BOE Issues Opinion in Elem. Accelerated Math Appeal, Tells MCPS Parent Go to Circuit Court for MPIA and to DOE for FERPA Complaints

  Philip P. Opin. No.14-39 MD State Board of Education by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland

Where to Find Partying Pat O'Neill this Year

At tomorrow night's MoCo Board of Education Meeting (July 28, 2014),  the Board will consider its brand new policy on Compensation  and Guidelines for Board Expenditures.

Look carefully and in Appendix C you will find the list of events that Board members may attend.  

Does this revised policy provide more guidance than before?

It looks pretty loose to me.  What is an assorted conference?  How many of these things can a board member attend?  Its also open ended - all a Board member needs to do to attend a party that is not on the approved list is ask!

No budget, no limit on events, just go and eat.

And how many of these events are really necessary?  Some - like the County Executive's Ball, looks like a grand time, but does this really further the education of the children in MoCo?   Others look very much like they are tied to the election process, for example, the Committee for Montgomery Legislative Breakfast, the Minority Legislative Breakfast, and the Montgomery County Commission for Women's Legislative Breakfast.

What benefit do our children get when MoCo BOE members attend these events?  Do we need all eight at every event?

Didn't the press have a field day with Chris and Rebecca's eating out all the time?

And - do we want part time BOE members expending full time at events of little benefit to the taxpayers?

Let the Board know how you feel about their list of parties.

Contact for the BOE President:

Phil_Kauffman@mcpsmd.org 

Contact for Board of Education:

Board of Education Office

Montgomery County Public Schools
Carver Educational Services Center
850 Hungerford Drive, Room 123
Rockville, Maryland 20850

Tel: 301-279-3617
Fax: 301-279-3860
 Facebook |  Twitter
E-mail: boe@mcpsmd.org 

  Party List

Home or Away? Help Dr. Doran solve his cell phone tower dilemma!

Wootton HS will be getting a cell phone tower shortly - thanks to Dr. Doran the principal for his creative fundraising.

But - where will he place that tower?  According to our sources, the tower will be added to one of the existing lights in Wootton's football stadium.

The question is - will the lights be on the visitors or home bleachers?

Remember, the cell phone tower comes with approximately 100 square feet of equipment/hazmat accessories, including a generator, and the generator needs to have diesel fuel deliveries.  And noise.

From the pictures, the visitors side doesn't seem to have a lot of space for the equipment - keep in mind that Watts Branch runs right behind the stadium, with a fairly steep slope.

SO - which pole will Dr. Doran select?  Help him decide - and then let the school know your choice!

Home bleechers - light #1 at rear entrance of stadium, light #2 in front of the stands.

Visitor bleachers - light #3 on rear end of bleachers, light #4 closest to Wootton Parkway.

Is the money really worthwhile?  Does Dr. Doran want his staff to be responsible for monitoring the presence of the contractors and those who will maintain the hazmat/cell phone tower?  The generators and battery backup?  Or will that pesky tower just tap into the electricity for Wootton High school - after all, cell towers need

Of course, you can always let Dr. Doran know that hazmat facilities, with or without cell phone towers, have no place on public school property.

Snow Days and Tech Toys

Aha!

All the tech toys and teacher training we've seen over the past several years in Montgomery County Public Schools finally makes sense.

Our students and parents will no longer fear the snow.  Why?

Because we have technology and can teach via the internet.  

To read more about it, see this article:

Virtual schools are coming to an android near you.

Just tweet those lessons in.  Just be sure they pass the cybercivility test.

Students, say goodbye to snow days -- and say hello to school at home

(CNN) -- Earlier this month, Zak Terzini roused himself about five minutes before his English class began and didn't panic. Instead, the high school sophomore grabbed his iPod and checked on a class discussion of "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" without even getting out of bed.

A snowstorm -- another one -- had canceled classes in the Pascack Valley Regional High School District in northern New Jersey, but educators and students wouldn't be taking a day off. Before the snow fell, even before the official school cancellation call, teachers were prepped, parents were warned and students had received enough assignments to fill a snow day.

continue reading here.  http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/23/living/snow-days-virtual-schools/index.html