Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland: How legends are born

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Friday, January 30, 2015

NYC's Diane Ravitch calls Joshua Starr a Hero Superintendent, Credits Him with Actions that were actually Jerry Weast's

New York City's Diane Ravitch has written about Joshua Starr's failure to gain a majority of supporters on the Board of Education. Ms. Ravitch describes herself as a "historian of education."

http://dianeravitch.net/2015/01/28/josh-starr-may-lose-post-in-montgomery-county/comment-page-1/#comment-2283700

Ms. Ravitch's readers are upset with this news because Ms. Ravitch has previously labeled Joshua Starr a "hero superintendent."

However, when Ms. Ravitch assigned Joshua Starr the title of "hero" she cited actions taken by the previous Superintendent, Jerry Weast!

http://dianeravitch.net/2012/09/01/the-hero-superintendent-from-maryland/

Apparently the MCPS Public Information Office did not contact Ms. Ravitch to get her to correct her misinformation.

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Principles

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.

E-mail: parentscoalitionmc AT outlook.com

What The Washington Post said about the Parents' Coalition

The coalition might be the best-known parent advocacy group in the region. Its members represent several constituencies, including parents of special education and gifted education students and fiscal watchdogs. The group's defining victory came this school year when the school system scaled back the fees charged to families for course materials.

Coalition leaders have drawn attention to the misuse of funds collected from students for activities, the broadcast of a commercial radio service on school buses and, with their "Weast Watch" blog, the travel habits of Weast and his lieutenants.

The Washington Post, June 4, 2009

Jerry Weast on the Parents' Coalition

"Along the way, you’ve had a challenging relationship with the Parents’ Coalition, the network of citizen activists who use the political process and other means to hold MCPS accountable.

The thing people accuse me of is listening, but not hearing. I hear, but I do not always agree. I am sorry that the world is faster than it was 10 years ago. I did not do that. [But] if we do not keep up, then our kids will be behind. We have to stop whining and get real."

Bethesda Magazine, March-April 2011