Kleenex, Aspirin, and MCPS

Question - what do Kleenex, Aspirin, and MCPS have in common?


No, its got nothing to do with the headache parents get when they try to communicate with their children's school, nor is it the tissue that accompanies the Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings.


Today we are talking about brand names or trademarks.  Some products and trademarks have become so common that they are used to name a product.  Like kleenex and aspirin. 


Is this a bad thing?  A brand name is a form of intellectual property, and property is something most folks like to protect.  According to the US Patent and Trade Office, intellectual property is:

It is the ownership of dream, an idea, an improvement, an emotion that we can touch, see, hear, and feel. It is an asset just like your home, your car, or your bank account.  . . .
Just like other kinds of property, intellectual property needs to be protected from unauthorized use. . .

A trademark is a form of intellectual property,  Also from the USPTO:

A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol, or design, or a combination thereof, that identifies and distinguishes the source of the goods of one party from those of others.
. . .
A trademark typically protects brand names and logos used on goods and services.

Trademarks are like brand names, however, if they become commonly used, they no longer distinguish the brand from other similar products. Kleenex and aspirin used to be trademarked,  Improper use of a trademark or brand may cause the loss of legal protection.  If the public thinks the name is the common name—like aspirin, kleenex, or scotch tape—then the law will not protect the mark from competitive use. But if the public thinks the name is a brand name, trademark status may be preserved.

Most organizations care about their trademarks, and vigorously defend against the improper use of their marks by others.  Think MacDonalds, Ben and Jerry's.  Even the National Cancer Institute and other federal agencies protect their marks.

But sadly, not MCPS.

Did you know that the MCPS brand has now gone public?  With the departure of our former Superintendent, Dr. Jerry Weast, the MCPS brand has gone national. 

Its called the 114th Partnership. 

They have a website:   http://www.114th.org/

From Montgomery County to a national organization.

We’ve launched our initial effort to share what we’ve learned with a community in San Rafael, California. We’re working with educators and businesses to create a Community of Deliberate Excellence. This program is a joint effort between the Partnership for Deliberate Excellence, founded by the nationally renowned Dr. Jerry Weast, and the 114th Partnership. We aim to build three Communities of Deliberate Excellence within our first year and up to ten over the first three years.

We also work closely with Dr. Jerry Weast—former superintendent of Montgomery County Public Schools and founder of the Partnership for Deliberate Excellence—as well as other leading education consultants to coach school system leadership teams.
And we know that every community has a business community willing to share lessons learned and engage with education leadership in peer-to-peer dialogues.
The work of the 114th Partnership is underwritten by regional and national foundations and also supported by our founding national partners: Deloitte, Gallup, Kaiser Permanente, Pearson, Sodexo, and UnitedHealthcare.

Throughout the webpage of 114th.org, you will see references to MCPS.  Looks like the MCPS Brand is going national.  And if you need more proof, follow the links to the contacts on the 114th.org webpage, and you will wind up at MCBRE.

And, who is MCBRE?


The Montgomery County Business Roundtable for Education (MCBRE) is a nonprofit comprised of senior business leaders who collaborate with the top education leaders in Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS). Together, we explore how our organizations can solve leadership challenges.

Here is what the press is reporting: 

The 114th Partnership is a national program within the Montgomery County Business Roundtable for Education (MCBRE), a 501(c)(3) organization

So - have the senior business leaders and MoCo top education leaders taken the brand national?  Can they do this? 
Reading the website of 114th.org, you have to ask - does our Board of Education know about this?  They must, after all, because our own Dr. Starr is on the MCBRE Board. 

Where is our legal counsel when we need them to protect our intellectual property, our brand?


Maybe they are too busy handing out kleenex for special education parents. 


Here is one last piece of advice from the US PTO:

If you are an intellectual property owner, you should protect your rights. If you are a user, you should respect them. It is just as wrong to steal intellectual property as it is to break into a home, steal a car, or rob a bank.

I have a headache, and I don't think aspirin will be effective.

MCBRE: Mystery Solved

Thanks once again to the folks at Harvard for shedding some sunshine on how our public education dollars are spent here in Montgomery County Maryland.

Last month, the Harvard Business School published a case study on the benefits of MCBRE, the Montgomery County Business Roundtable for Education. MCPS took credit and published the press release on its website, even though the press release was generated by MCBRE's staff.

What is MCBRE and why should we care? Other than the annual Champions for Children dinner and Golf Classic, most folks don't know much about MCBRE or its funding. According to the press release and information reflected in the Board of Education minutes, MCBRE was formed by local businesses. Read further into the materials and you will note that although the businesses "founded" MCBRE, our own Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Jerry Weast, was really the driving force behind the organization. The start up ran into funding complications and was supported entirely by MCPS, operating as an affiliate within the MCPS Department of Family and Community Partnerships.

A search of the MCPS website reveals only fourteen mentions of MCBRE in Board of Education minutes, and nothing after 2004. Beginning with the 2004 -2005 school year, MCPS eliminated its support of MCBRE, forcing the organization to become disentangled from MCPS. As the executive director is quoted in the Harvard report, "It just didn't make sense that a 501c3 business roundtable organization was funded by MCPS contributions and run by MCPS employees."

Little about MCBRE made sense, and when this writer and others tried to find out more, we were not given the information requested - even though as a 501c3, certain documents and annual reports are supposed to be publicly available.

In 2006, the Montgomery County Council of PTAs asked to participate in some of the decision making sessions of the organization, as was envisioned in the initial plan for MCBRE, and was told that the decision was up to Dr. Weast.

MCBRE - The President met with Jane Kubasik, Executive Director of Montgomery County Business Roundtable for Education (MCBRE) re: Champions for Children dinner and our commitment for that night; possible financial help for our presidents and principals dinner and contacts at the Marriott Conference Center. MCBRE meets three times yearly and includes recommendations for MCPS, but MCCPTA doesn’t attend. Jane Kubasik said that it is up to Dr. Weast to allow MCCPTA to participate in the meetings. Minutes MCCPTA Board of Directors Meeting, August 3, 2006.

From the Harvard Business School report, we, the taxpayers and constituents of public education in the county have a view into its activities, functions, and funding. The community now has a list of the selected school-business partnerships and initiatives supported by the business roundtable, and if your school is lucky enough to house one of these programs, you now can properly thank the local businesses that made this happen. We finally have a glimpse into its finances, although the "Statement of Activities" isn't quite the same information as usually found in an annual report.

So - thanks again to the Harvard Business School for finally letting the taxpayers of Montgomery County know about this organization.

Of course, if you want to read the report yourself, according to the press release, you must purchase a copy directly from HBR. Nothing is free in MCPS, not even information about our own school system. Better yet, go to MCBRE, and ask them for a copy of the report.