Exclusive Memo: Charter School Lottery Disaster

The Parents' Coalition has obtained an internal memorandum from Superintendent Joshua Starr to the Board of Education showing that the Board of Education was informed on March 29, 2012 of problems in the lottery process for the new MCPS charter school.  

Also note, that in the e-mail attached to this memorandum we learn that the announced date for the lottery was not used.  The public was told the lottery would be on a Friday and the actual lottery was on the next Monday making it impossible for the public to observe the lottery for this public charter school.  Remember, this charter school is being funded with your tax dollars.  

MCPS Charter School Lottery Disaster

Charter School Gets Your Tax Dollars, No Oversight

Why would anyone think that the Board of Education would exert any oversight over the tax dollars that have been handed over to a private school?  The Board of Education doesn't even exert oversight over the $2.2 billion dollars in their budget.  So it comes as no surprise that the one and only Charter School in the county has been able to take tax dollars and set up a school as originally planned.  

Recall that the plan from the beginning, as laid out in the charter school's request to the State Board, was that the charter school would take students from their current neighborhood.  But, the State Board denied the Charter School's request to be able to pick their students from a local pool.  But, it happened anyway. The students at this public Charter school are predominately from one area.  

And the lottery process for this PUBLIC Charter School?  It was held in secret.  The announced date for the lottery was not used and the actual lottery was held on a different date. Sound familiar?  The PUBLIC has a RIGHT to attend the lottery for a public charter school in Maryland.  But, by holding the lottery in secret, no one from the public was able to attend and observe.  Surprised? 

Note that the MCPS staff quoted in the Gazette article below neglects to mention that the PUBLIC has a right to observe the lottery for a public charter school in Maryland.  

Gazette: School board member questions charter school scrutiny

Enrollment lottery received no county oversight

...The school was required under board policy to have the lottery before the start of its first school year in August after receiving more applicants than could be enrolled; the school received 254 applications for 70 spots.
No one from the school system attended when the school staged the lottery, and the school system did not monitor the process, according to Lori-Christina Webb, executive director in the Office of Deputy Superintendent of Schools. 

Berthiaume was surprised to hear this, given the concern she and other school board members had that the lottery would be operate in a fair manner.
“I don’t know why we wouldn’t have overseen the operation to see that they were being compliant,” Berthiaume said. “We have not taken anything on trust before. I don’t know why we would take [the operation of the lottery] on trust.” 

Webb said the school system left the responsibility of marketing and enrolling students to the school itself... 

...The charter school is run by Crossway Community, a nonprofit organization that, since 1990, has served low-income women and children and operated a Montessori school. Most of the children at the Montessori school came from the families they were serving. 

When applying to create a charter school at their location, 3015 Upton Drive, Kensington, the organization was adamant that they continue to serve the same low-income population. 

Maryland State Board of Education policies state charter schools must be open to all students in the county, and no students may be given priority unless a waiver is approved. 

The state board denied two waivers from Crossway Community that asked to be able to give priority to low-income families and the families they served...
...Board member Michael Durso said in an email that, when looking at the enrollment numbers at the school, the “the disproportionate numbers from a particular [ZIP] does create questions.” 

Of the 3- and 4-year-old students enrolled at the school, about 90 percent are from six ZIP codes in Kensington, Silver Spring or Colesville. Of those, about 24.3 percent are from 20895, the ZIP code the school is located in.
Of the students who applied to the school, about 75.6 percent were from those six ZIP codes, and about 14.6 percent were from 20895. 

About 45.9 percent of students who applied from Kensington were enrolled, whereas about 20 to 39 percent of students who applied from the other most popular ZIP codes were enrolled...

Berthiaume: “Jerry [Weast]’s theory of action changed depending on the day..."

...Board member Laura Berthiaume (Dist. 2) of Rockville said at the meeting that the transition between previous superintendent Jerry Weast and Starr provides an opportunity for the school board.
“I’m going to say this very bluntly,” she said. “Jerry [Weast]’s theory of action changed depending on the day, so you couldn’t do this. Now we have the opportunity to say, how do we want to do this.”
Berthiaume said that the school system’s current strategic plan is “not strategic, and not a plan.”

Gazette:  Montgomery schools head, board consider changing strategic plan

We ask Starr: When were closed contract meetings that Berthiaume mentioned?

Board of Education member Laura Berthiaume made a statement at yesterday's Board meeting that she had missed closed session meetings where the Board of Education discussed amending the contracts with the 3 employee unions.  When were those Closed Session meetings?  We don't know, so we asked the keeper of the public records, the Superintendent.  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
June 15, 2012


Superintendent Joshua Starr:

This is a request under the Maryland Public Information Act, State Government Article Sections 10-611 to 628.  

I am seeking copies of the following documents:

1. Agendas for Closed and Open meetings of the Montgomery County Board of Education where  MCEA, SEIU, and MCAASP July 1, 2012 - June 30, 2014 contracts were discussed. 

2.  Minutes of Closed and Open meetings of the Montgomery County Board of Education where  MCEA, SEIU, and MCAASP July 1, 2012 - June 30, 2014 contracts were discussed. 

Please advise when these documents will be available for inspection.  Time is of the essence for this request as the Board of Education took a vote on June 14, 2012 based on discussions that were alleged to have taken place in closed sessions.  

Thank you for your prompt attention to this request.

Berthiaume out of secret union contracts meetings

Closed meetings to discuss the union contracts?  When?  Where? Minutes?  (Yes, even closed meetings need minutes under the Maryland Open Meetings Act.)

Thank you Laura Berthiaume for once again speaking up about what Open Government SHOULD look like.  

Looks like MCPS under Superintendent Starr is pushing the Board of Education even further away from compliance with the Maryland Open Meetings Act.  Tweet that. 

Gazette:  School board member speaks out about union contracts minutes before vote

...While board members have been discussing the pending contracts in closed sessions, Berthiaume said she could not make those meetings and was not part of the conversation until Thursday...

 ...Board member Philip Kauffman (At-large) of Olney did not vote on the contract with the teachers’ union.Board member Michael A. Durso (Dist. 5) of Silver Spring was not present Thursday...

Pearson Forgot About Montgomery County, Maryland

In a May 7, 2012, Letter to the Editor in The New York Times, the Chief Executive of Pearson North America said:

Public officials define rigorous and accountable processes to buy services for public schools. States and districts publish open competitions with strict bidding and evaluation criteria. It’s highly competitive and transparent.

Except in Montgomery County, Maryland where a deal to sell MCPS curriculum to Pearson; to have Pearson create all of the grade level assessments for the curriculum; and, to have Pearson prepare the teacher training was concocted completely behind closed doors without any public process or notice whatsoever. 


Board of Education member Laura Berthiaume on the Pearson deal with MCPS:

"The board never took a vote to negotiate the contract with Pearson," Berthiaume said. "It was ‘Hey, we got this awesome deal, and we're going to do this.'"

File Today fo Run for Open Board of Education Seats

In 2012, there will be an election to fill 3 Montgomery County Board of Education seats.  


The filing deadline is January 11, 2012 at 9:00 PM.


File Today! 

Wednesday, January 11, 2012 9:00 pm 
Candidate Filing Deadline
Deadline to file a Certificate of Candidacy .
Not later than the Wednesday that is 83
days before a primary election. § 5-303(a)(2)

Candidate Filing

22. Candidate Information Sheet (PDF)
23. Certificate of Candidacy for Write-In Candidate (PDF)
24. Certificate of Withdrawal or Declination (PDF)
25. Declaration of Intent to Seek Nomination by Petition (PDF)
26. Affidavit for use of Alternate Name (PDF) - Updated!
27. Certificate of Nomination or Designation (PDF)
28. Write-in Candidate Information Sheet (PDF)
29. Statement of Organization (PDF)

Montgomery County Board of Elections

Montgomery County Board of Elections 18753-210 North Frederick Avenue - Directions Gaithersburg, MD 20879 Hours of Operation: Mon - Fri:  8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Berthiaume will not Run for Re-election

Parents' Coalition has learned that Board of Education Member Laura Berthiaume (District 2), who lives in Rockville, will not run for re-election. Readers of this blog know her original district was carved into different districts by the Board of Education in the recent redistricting. The Board approved the overall redistricting plan unanimously. That redistricting plan was then approved by the General Assembly in Annapolis. More to follow...

Board of education should be condemned

Gazette Letter 

...Responding to The Gazette’s questions [“State group: Montgomery school system did not follow open meetings act,” Sept. 21] regarding the recent Open Meeting Act Compliance Board’s unfavorable ruling, spokeswoman Lesli Maxwell states: “The school system expected the compliance board to make this ruling ... and the ruling will have no effect on the school systems feasibility study...”

So, the school system and the board acknowledge violations of the act. But say, “Big deal!”... 

Patch: Parents Await Appeal to State in Protest of School Cell Phone Towers

Some Montgomery County parents are awaiting a response from the Maryland Board of Education on their appeal that protests cell phone towers in school yards... 

...Lesli Maxwell, Montgomery County Public Schools spokeswoman, said about the Parents Coalition’s appeal to block the towers at schoolyards, “We believe it is without merit.”
Nevertheless, the Parents Coalition has supporters on the Montgomery County Board of Education.
Among them is board member Laura Berthiaume, who said she was concerned that cell phone towers could threaten the health of schoolchildren.
“My recent vote against a cell tower at an elementary school was based on the lack of any peer-reviewed scientific study proving that having a cell phone tower within a close proximity is safe for children under 12,” she said.

Read Germantown Patch article at this link.

Primary Election April 3, 2012

Board of Education seats that are up for election in 2012:

At-Large




District 2

District 4

What Crossway told the Board of Ed on June 27, 2011

Back on June 27, 2011, the Crossway charter application was about providing a charter school that would be open to all Montgomery County residents through a fair, open and transparent lottery admission process.


As of July 7, 2011, the Crossway applicants were changing their tune and looking for a waiver that would allow them to restrict the applicants to their proposed charter school. 


Here's what Crossway told the Board of Education on June 27, 2011 in response to questions from Board member Laura Berthiaume. 


Also, note that this charter school would admit students when they are 3 years old and expect them to stay through to 3rd grade when the program ends.  Therefore, a lottery to enter this public charter school would have to be held when students are 2 years old.  

Berthiaume on charter lottery: "...a fair process with no thumbs on the scale..."

Here is the statement that Board of Education member Laura Berthiaume made at the July 7, 2011, Board meeting on the Crossway Montessori program application for a charter school in Montgomery County. 

Board member Berthiaume refers to the residential program that Crossway currently runs for the Housing Opportunities Commission.  Ms. Berthiaume expresses concerns about the possibility that a charter school could be opened by the Crossway program but that all of the current Crossway students might not be admitted to the school under an open lottery.  

Ms. Berthiaume is concerned that this charter school application could end up just "converting a private school."

Board member Berthiaume refers to Ms. Guinan in her statement. Kathleen Guinan is the current director of the Crossway Montessori program and the primary contact on the application for the Community Charter School.

Remembrance of Things Past

Laura Berthiaume and Phil Kauffman as newly elected Board of Education members -

From December 4, 2008 meeting minutes


Laura Berthiaume:

...To the Parents Coalition as a whole, I am sure I will catch some grief from you, maybe justified, maybe not. That’s OK, I can take it. I just want to let you know that ears do prick up when the watch dog barks. So here’s to you. Bark away…

Phil Kauffman

…We must also address the taxpayers in our county. We are facing a fiscal situation unparalleled in MCPS history. Now, more than ever, our citizens need to be assured, with greater certainty, that the dollars provided to MCPS are effectively and efficiently spent. If we expect the public, especially those without children in our schools, to continue to support public education, we must make clear what we are doing and why, for whom, at what cost, and with what results. People want to know and have a right to know how well their tax dollars are spent. If we do not address that issue more effectively, citizens will continue to say that the school system does not have interest in accountability, which is truly ironic, as MCPS is much more accountable for results than other government agencies.

Even as MCPS prides itself on continuous improvement, I hope that the Board of Education will consider new approaches to improve its oversight responsibilities. We need to provide improved access to community members if we are to learn about what is working and what needs improvement in our schools. We need to seek out a wider range of views when we evaluate programs and policies. While many school systems justifiably look to Montgomery County as a leader, we do not have all the answers. We can and we should look elsewhere to learn from other systems’ successful practices…

Reteach and Relearn - for HS Administrators - FERPA Primer Refresher

Reteach, relearn, and reinforce is not just for students.  Sometimes principals need to be retaught basic laws that they (should) know from all that administrator training taxpayer sponsor for MCPS staff members.  We all have different learning styles.

Nelson McLeod at Richard Montgomery HS must need a lot of reteaching and reinforcing.  He still insists on breaking federal student privacy laws by posting student's personal identifiable information - in this case who owes money to the school - by ID numbers, so its time for the annual reminder concerning the obligations wall. 

Here are two pictures sent to me this evening:

Redacted list of Student ID numbers as seen on bulletin board at Richard Montgomery High School 6/14/11

Once again, to reinforce the original concept that apparently was not learned, here is my short primer on FERPA and the Obligation Wall.

Given that this is a widespread and recurring problem in MCPS - maybe Dr. McLeod's actions can be considered within the "egregious" category.  We'll ask the federal Department of Education to withhold funding for Richard Montgomery.

I wonder if Dr. Starr noticed the violation when he was at Richard Montgomery tonight.  If we are really lucky, Dr. Starr should be able to address this stiuation immediately - perhaps he can give Dr. McLeod a personal lesson over coffee.

For those of you who would like to know more about educational privacy rights, here is the short version of FERPA.



The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is the federal privacy act equivalent for educational records. All schools that receive federal funding are subject to FERPA. FERPA is a personal right - that is, the cause of action may only be brought by the individual whose rights have been violated. For example, only a student or parent of a student named on the "obligations wall" (at Richard Montgomery, Blake, or Whitman) or public HSA remedial list (Blair) is entitled to file a complaint with the US Department of Education. If my child's rights aren't violated, sorry, no right to complain.


Remedies are mostly corrective - the objectives are get the school or school system to fix their policies and procedures. However, the regulations do permit the Department of Education to withhold funding for egregious cases - see 34 CFR 99.61 et seq.

As a lawyer involved in freedom of information and privacy act issues, most people I know outside of MCPS who deal with records subject to the privacy act or educational research and testing work very diligently to comply with the various requirements of the applicable privacy laws and regulations. MCPS is rather cavalier in its interpretations - but then again, that seems consistent with MCPS believing that most laws and policies are meant for others. I know I've spoken with my kids schools about having volunteers helping out with mailing interims, but didn't get very far, since the school claimed the volunteers were working just like school staff. How fascinating. I've only had one instance that I know about where my child's name was on the "obligations wall," and at that point I was more concerned about whether she could purchase a homecoming ticket than I was about filing a FERPA complaint.

So - given that this is a recurring problem in MCPS - maybe this posting has risen to the level of an "egregious" case and ask the federal Department of Education to withhold funding for Richard Montgomery.



More on FERPA is on the Department of Education's website:http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/index.html
See the original post at:  Short Primer on FERPA and "Obligations Wall"

Did a MoCo Board Member Really Say "Muddling". . .

during a discussion of the Montogmery County Board of Education Budget?

Does this Board member know what the word means?

Is this a reflection on our elected officials?  An admission that the BOE doesn't know what is going on with our substantial educational budget?   Or just plain dumb?

Ouch.

***************************************

Here is the definition from Dictionary.com

mud·dle   /ˈmʌdl/



[muhd-l]
verb, -dled, -dling, noun

–verb (used with object)

1. to mix up in a confused or bungling manner; jumble.

2. to cause to become mentally confused.

3. to cause to become confused or stupid with or as if with an intoxicating drink.

4. to make muddy or turbid, as water.

5. to mix or stir (a cocktail, chocolate, etc.).

6. Ceramics . to smooth (clay) by rubbing it on glass.
–verb (used without object)

7. to behave, proceed, or think in a confused or aimless fashion or with an air of improvisation: Some people just muddle along, waiting for their big break.

–noun

8. the state or condition of being muddled, especially a confused mental state.

9. a confused, disordered, or embarrassing condition; mess.

—Verb phrase

10. muddle through, to achieve a certain degree of success but without much skill, polish, experience, or direction: None of us knew much about staging a variety show, so we just had to muddle through.


—Related forms

mud·dled·ness, mud·dle·ment, noun

mud·dling·ly, adverb

pre·mud·dle, noun, verb (used with object), -dled, -dling.

un·mud·dled, adjective


—Synonyms

1. confuse, botch, bungle, spoil.



Dictionary.com Unabridged

Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2011.



muddling. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged. Retrieved May 23, 2011, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/muddling

Gazette Editorial: Following criticism, school board should examine impartiality of policies

Gazette: A fair shot for charter schools

With her pull-no-punches critique of the county Board of Education's second rejection of a charter school application, board member Laura Berthiaume has distinguished herself as an independent thinker who is willing to take a principled stand for fairness and proactive approaches to learning.
Last month, the school board rejected the applications of two charter schools, including Global Garden, a proposed 420-student kindergarten through eighth grade International Baccalaureate school in the Kensington area. The 6-2 vote against Global Garden (member Michael Durso was the other supporting vote) came in response to a ruling from the state Board of Education that required the county to reconsider its 2010 rejection of Global Garden.
In prepared comments presented to the board the night it turned away Global Garden for the second time, Berthiaume criticized not only this decision, but also what she sees as a pervasive problem with the county's inherent bias against charter schools...

Charter School applications: "applicant did suffer real harm from what occurred"

Berthiaume Statement on Charter School application review process.


Once again, Board member Laura Berthiaume gives the public an inside look at the working of the Board of Education from the perspective of a member. This piece is well worth taking the time to read. 


At the March 28, 2011, Montgomery County Board of Education meeting Board member Laura Berthiaume made a short statement in support of her vote to oppose the rejection of the Global Gardens Charter School application.  Due to the late hour, Ms. Berthiaume read only a part of her statement and submitted her full comments as part of the record.


Ms. Berthiaume's complete statement as submitted has been obtained by the Parents' Coalition and we are making it available to the public at the link below. 

March 28, 2011 Board member Laura Berthiaume Comments on Charter School Application

Berthiaume was right! Every MD School Board Prohibited from Charging Bus Fees

Chalk one up for MCPS Board of Education member Laura Berthiaume. She was right!

Here is Senator Madaleno’s withdrawal letter of his proposed bus fee legislation.

Dear Delegate Feldman:

After reviewing extensive research prepared by the Office of the Attorney General on student transportation and considering their advice on the subject matter, I would like to formally withdraw Local Bill MC 10-11.

The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) has advised me that MC 10-11, as currently written, is insufficient to give the Montgomery County Board of Education the authority to enact a fee for any transportation services, including a fee to prevent the elimination of bus transportation for students in voluntary placements.  It is the view of the OAG that other sections of state law govern the provision of student transportation and prohibit every school board from charging fees for bus transportation.  The existing section prohibiting fees in Montgomery County is superfluous.  In researching the current proposed legislation, the OAG found that they had advised our delegation in 1997 that this prohibition was not necessary.  Therefore, to satisfactorily address the core issue of MC 10-11, a much more extensive local bill would have to be drafted or statewide legislation would need to be introduced.

In developing this legislation in consultation with the Board of Education, I hoped to forestall any potential cuts to bus service for optional programs.  I also hoped to provide greater flexibility to the Board in balancing their budget in the upcoming year and to provide them with the authority they should have to make these sorts of administrative decisions.  These goals continue to be important to me, but MC 10-11 is not the vehicle to accomplish them.

Sincerely, 

Richard Madaleno

Senator

Rockville Central - Laura Berthiaume: Oppose Peary Site Sale

Rockville Central:  
Contributor Opinion By Laura Berthiaume: Oppose Peary Site Sale

...The Board of Education has already sent two letters firmly opposing the sale of this site.
The Montgomery County Council of Parent Teacher Associations has also voted to oppose the sale... 

...Anyone in the Rockville area who is concerned about school overcrowding should be paying attention tonight. It is particularly concerning that a lame duck County Council is rushing this process through. In fact, it appears there might have been a vote on this sale without even a hearing had County Council Member Valerie Ervin not required that tonight’s hearing be set. The vote will be taken by a lame duck Council, including two outgoing members, one of whom (Duchy Trachtenberg) has been the Council Member pushing to have this sale take place. The voters have spoken. A new Council will be sworn in come December. A step of this magnitude should not be taken by a lame duck Council, led by a lame duck Council Member who will not have to accept responsibility for the portables, the 1:30 lunch times, the classes taking place in hallways, or the lack of recess play areas because all the blacktop is unavailable — all because we already do not have enough classroom space.

Laura Berthiaume 

Montgomery County School Board