Lunch Line Redesign

On October 21, the New York Times printed an Op-Ed piece on ‘Lunch Line Redesign.’ The piece was written by two members of the Cornell University faculty, and illustrated with an interactive design by Joe McKendry. The article was based on observations and experiments they had conducted “in cafeterias at high schools, middle schools and summer camp programs, as well as in laboratories…”


Authors Brian Wansink and David R. Just work at the Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management at Cornell. Dr. Wansink is the John Dyson Professor of Consumer Behavior there.

According to them,

A smarter lunchroom wouldn’t be draconian. Rather, it would nudge students toward making better choices on their own by changing the way their options are presented. One school we have observed in upstate New York, for instance, tripled the number of salads students bought simply by moving the salad bar away from the wall and placing it in front of the cash registers.

Here are some of their conclusions to easily redesign lunch lines to get our children to eat healthy.

1. Place nutritious foods like broccoli at the beginning of the line, rather than in the middle, increased the amount students purchased by 10 percent to 15 percent.

2. Putting apples and oranges in a fruit bowl rather than a stainless steel pan, more than doubled fruit sales.

3. Moving the chocolate milk behind the plain milk led students to buy more plain milk.

4. A “cash for cookies” policy – forbidding the use of lunch tickets for desserts – led students to buy 71 percent more fruit and 55 percent fewer desserts.

5. Creating a speedy ‘healthy express’ checkout line for students who were not buying desserts and chips doubled the sales of healthy sandwiches.

6. Giving healthy food choices more descriptive names – for example, ‘creamy corn’ rather than ‘corn’ increased their sales by 27 percent.

The full article is here.

Kids Don't Ride Free Anymore

Think your vote doesn’t matter? Think your Board of Education eating up 57% of our budget to spend on high tech gadgets and Central Office Administrators instead of teachers and classrooms doesn’t matter because it's ‘for the children?’ Think again.


The Montgomery County Department of Transportation has notified residents that the Kids Ride Free Program (which offered free rides on weekdays from 2:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.) will be suspended on June 27, 2010, due to fiscal constraints. Students may still purchase a monthly Youth Cruiser Monthly Pass that offers unlimited rides on Ride-On buses only. This Youth Cruiser Monthly Pass is for kids, 18 years and younger, and the cost is $11. Secondary school students older than 18 years of age may also purchase the Youth Cruiser Monthly Passes.

The County offers a Youth Summer Cruiser Pass that provides unlimited rides for Ride-On buses that is available for $18. Here is the link to the Montgomery County website that gives additional information regarding these passes and places for students to purchase the passes.

You made your choice.  Stay tuned here for more cuts to services that protect our most vulnerable residents...

With Apologies to Roger Angell

The holidays are here and the year’s almost over;
We start to look back on a year filled with clover.

Happy Holidays to members of the Parents Coalition,
Here’s hoping for a better year-- we’ll be wishin’.

A Merry Christmas to Nancy Floreen, who bested the MoCo political machine,
Best wishes to her on her new presidency,
We’re sure she’ll keep faith with her constituency.

To Valerie Ervin and to Phil Andrews, we hope that your stockings are filled only with glad news. No coals only good things, to repair infrastructure; we need those new watermains before they all rupture.

In the upcoming year we’ll need all hands on deck to fix mold, leaky ceilings and bathrooms awreck. Our children need clean air with much less particulate and shiny new textbooks to make them articulate.

Here’s hoping we have transparency and less malice
For that we can look to Al Carr up in Annapolis.

For Duchy Trachtenberg, on a whim we’ll
hope the dreidel comes up -- gimel.

At this winter solstice its hard to believe its been one whole year since we met; to those new and old on the PCMC net.

And to our exceptional eagle eyes on development,
Donna Baron and Jim Humphrey, should be in their element
with master plans coming up by the score,
We hope the New Year brings less and not more.

And all good wishes to our hard-working Council,
Here’s hoping November elections don’t trounce you.

To Shirley Brandman, Board president past,
From all your friends who are pains in the ass.

To Kumar and Janis and kudos to Lyda,
Who all work so hard to make things all right-a.

For Louis who writes FOIAs with his mighty pen,
we hope you’ll keep at it in two thousand ten.

Merry Christmas Tim Hwang,
The youngest board member, we hope—
you get the vote!

A sweet and delicious bûche de noël for all of the citizens who make living here so swell.

To Diana Conway and all those who twitter, let’s make this a New Year that is all aglitter.

And fond Christmas wishes to kids at Monocacy,
You kept your school open by behaving so raucously,

A very good Christmas and Chanukah too to those hard-working ecokids – the Piney Branch crew.

And let’s not forget the county exec, Isiah Leggett who makes everything tick.

For Judy Docca and of course to Phil Kauffman let’s hope next year’s ‘retreats’ come none to often.

To Miranda Spivack and to Jen Beasley, keep writing your stories…
we wish you success and more news on the mores …
Of Dr. J. Weast and Rollin Stanley -- so please keep your pens and your notebooks quite handy.

And to Brad Pearson who uncovers the truth, thanks for your work, you are quite the sleuth.

We can’t forget friends Kate Ryan and Ms. Fabel, we wish for more stories when you are able.

And to newcomer Nelson hello to the fray,
We read your stories day after day.

To all those who participate in our democracy,
Here’s wishing a better 2010 than its s’posed to be.

We come to the last of our end-of-year doggerel,
With hopeful eyes forward to the New Year’s inaugural.

Goodbye to the old year and in with the new,
The Parents Coalition wishes you all fair adieu.

Happy Holidays and a Good New Year in 2010 from the Parents Coalition of Montgomery County.

White Flint Sector Plan: Public Hearings Oct 20 and Oct 22

The County Council will be taking public testimony on the Draft White Flint Sector Plan this coming Tuesday, Oct 20 and Thursday, Oct 22nd, starting at 7:30 pm at the Council offices, 100 Maryland Ave, Rockville.


I would encourage you to go so our representatives on the Council knows how important this is to our communities. I know it is difficult, what with work, commuting, kids, grocery shopping and the like.

If you can't make it please make sure to email the council, at county.council@montgomerycountymd.gov .

District 1 Council Representative Roger Berliner's email is:
councilmember.berliner@montgomerycountymd.gov.

To remind you of the issues as stake, the following are points raised by members of the White Flint Community Coalition, a true grassroots coalition of residents consisting of: Crest of Wickford Condominium Association, Garrett Park Citizens Association, Garrett Park Estates–White Flint Park Citizens’ Association, Luxmanor Citizens Association, Sterling Homeowners Association, Timberlawn Homeowners Association, and the Wickford Community Association. If you agree with any or all of the points below we urge you to communicate with the Council and its members.

1. Do not approve a change in the Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance.

2. There is already too much congestion and there are already too many failed intersections surrounding our community. Do not change congestion standards to allow for the proposed increase in traffic.

3. Too much density is proposed. A change that is over six times the current no. of residential units is too much, with no library; no school location proposed within the new sector; and no additional public transportation is not sustainable.

4. The plan calls for too much density that is not supported by the public transit system.

5. Do not redesign Wall Park without substantial community input.

6. The plan needs to address compatibility with existing surrounding neighborhoods, and needs to have explicit steps and implementation dates to protect our streets from cut-through traffic.

7. Do not change the adequacy of public school facilities test to allow for a higher level of overcrowding. We do not want our Walter Johnson schools to become overcrowded.

8. We endorse the following:

§One central core of appropriate density, mixed-use development focused around Metro;
§ Surrounding development clusters that are secondary to the central core and compatible with existing neighborhoods;
§ Walkable and cyclable destinations;
§ A public green and green spaces throughout;
§ Sustainable development consistent with 21st-century climate goals;
§ High-quality, uncrowded schools in the Walter Johnson cluster;
§ A clear transportation plan, commenced contemporaneously with commercial and residential development.

The County Council needs to hear from you. And again, read the plan! At http://www.whiteflintplanning.org/. If you have questions please comment here and I will respond.

Thanks.
Paula Bienenfeld
Luxmanor Citizens Association Planning and Development Chair

Reading the writing on the wall

The Nobel Committee announced today, Friday, October 9, 2009 that it had awarded its annual peace prize to President Obama "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples," while NASA returned to the moon with, shall we say, a loud bang!

We live in the shadow of these noteworthy accomplishments with a school system that aspires to be "world class." How fortunate our children.

Our school system tells us that a system-wide average of about 40% of our second graders perform above-grade level. Yes, in some schools it is more than 70%. If, true, isn't it the most compelling evidence of the need to raise standards?

At the end of a child's educational journey through public school, graduation, our school system acknowledges a declining trend (note this is a very rudimentary analysis). Again, aren't we acknowledging a failure to provide a challenging, well-articulated curriculum for our children that imbues them with the knowledge and skills to graduate?

It is not a debatable matter that we fail our best and brightest with incessant filibustering debates over labeling, and keeping parents from participating in the policy making process.

Washington Post columnist Jay Mathews wrote back in 2006, "UCLA professor Jeannie Oakes, a leading opponent of tracking, said she agreed with the Iowa report's case-by-case approach. If a sixth-grader understands advanced mathematical concepts, she said, "the solution is to send that child to high school," not to put the child in a class with other bright sixth-graders and just call it accelerated, even if it isn't." The school system argues such an intervention is unnecessary.

Parents with the means who realize that their child is capable of performing at a higher level of education generally seek interventions outside the school, or are capable of sound advocacy. It is the economically disadvantaged families that can't provide for their high performing children. Consequently, it is imperative that a public school system provide the necessary interventions for these students irrespective of economic strata.

"All parents want their children to achieve at high levels and to learn at an appropriate pace, depth, and level of complexity. To blame parents for wanting challenge for their children or to accuse them of creating a meritocracy ignores the very real evidence that some students are not being challenged in school. Instead of attacking the parents of these students, we invite them to participate in the dialogue on school improvement by encouraging open discussion about how schools can address the needs of all children and, indeed, how parents can be active partners in achieving this goal," wrote Sally M. Reis, Sandra N. Kaplan, Carol A. Tomlinson, Karen L. Westberg, Carolyn M. Callahan, and Carolyn R. Cooper in Educational Leadership, 56 (3), 74-77. Yes, you read it right—those are the words of MCPS' latest expert du jour Carol Ann Tomlinson. Yet, it is a piece of wisdom that the MCPS division of Accelerated and Enriched Instruction seems supremely unable or unwilling to follow.

The minutes of the April 2009, AEI meeting states, "A Board member clarified that the purpose of policy revision is to update language to be consistent with other policies that do not contain regulatory language. All changes made will be consistent with COMAR." Ah, yes "All changes made will be consistent with COMAR." THE ANNOTATED CODE OF THE PUBLIC GENERAL LAWS OF MARYLAND, § 8-202 unequivocally states "A gifted and talented student needs different services beyond those normally provided by the regular school program in order to develop the student's potential." Consequently, shouldn't the committee realize that its charge is limited to creating a policy for identifying students:
(1) Having outstanding talent and performing, or showing the potential for performing, at remarkably high levels of accomplishment when compared with other students of a similar age, experience, or environment;
(2) Exhibiting high performance capability in intellectual, creative, or artistic areas;
(3) Possessing an unusual leadership capacity; or

(4) Excelling in specific academic fields, and providing them the appropriate services? "The committee has met 23 times since February 2007," and has failed to accomplish anything tangible.

Wonder why? Just read the April 2009 minutes: "One Board member asked what research the committee had conducted in preparation for policy revision. Members were silent."

In our schools, hardworking dedicated professionals strive daily to do their best with the resources at their disposal. Carver seems unable to read the writing on the wall.

MSA Performance: The Canaries in the Mine

The downward trend of graduation rates should come as no surprise to a school system with a Baldrige guided, data-driven strategy, and the highest expenditure rate per student (2008 figures).


There were other signs of the impending debacle, not the least of which was the MSA performance reports. Take a look for yourself.

Grade Skipping-Slip Sliding Away?

The Templeton National Report on Acceleration, states “Acceleration is an intervention that moves students through an educational program at rates faster, or at younger ages, than typical. It means matching the level, complexity, and pace of the curriculum to the readiness and motivation of the student. Examples of acceleration include early entrance to school, grade-skipping, moving ahead in one subject area, or Advanced Placement (AP). Acceleration is educationally effective, inexpensive, and can help level the playing field between students from rich schools and poor schools.”

“Many gifted students don’t find friends among age-peers. They tend to be more emotionally and socially mature than their age-mates. Their ideas of friendship are different. Bright students may be looking for a true friend to share thoughts and feelings, at an age when most kids see a friend as someone to play with. Parents of bright students often notice that their children seem to gravitate naturally to neighborhood children of various ages with similar academic or intellectual interests. The games they enjoy and the books they read are more like those of older children. And the older children happily accept them. So for gifted students, moving up a grade may not be a matter of leaving friends behind but of moving to a place where friends are waiting for them.”

“ … almost all bright students who are screened carefully and allowed to enter school early are as socially well-adjusted as their older classmates. In short, younger students do make friends. In fact, they are happier with older students who share their interests than they are with age-peers. The other side of that statistic may explain some of the scare stories. Children who are not specifically chosen to start school early, but somehow end up being younger—such as kids with a summer birthday—do tend to show more signs of immaturity than older classmates. That’s because age is only one indicator of readiness. But age plus advanced skills and maturity is a different equation.”

In High-Achieving Students in the Era of NCLB, a report by the Fordham Institute, we read, “To hear teachers report it, grade acceleration—or skipping a grade—rarely occurs these days. Approximately one in four teachers (27%) reports that their schools allow students to skip a grade, while a plurality (46%) says they do not. Teachers in high school (48%), middle school (45%), and elementary school (46%) are almost equally likely to report that their schools do not allow grade skipping. The fact that such a large proportion of teachers overall (27%) is unsure what their school’s policy is may also indicate that grade acceleration rarely occurs.”

“Three-quarters (76%) of teachers overall would like to see the nation “relying more on homogeneous classes for advanced students so that they learn faster and in greater depth.” More than eight in ten teachers (85%) also favor more reliance on “subject acceleration,” i.e., moving students faster when they have proven their capacity to learn at a quicker pace. But 63% oppose “encouraging advanced students to skip grades when appropriate.”

Advocating for gifted kids is an uphill battle that faces entrenched social norms and beliefs. This is precisely why I strongly believe that MCPS needs competent, qualified, leadership experienced in G/T, with the knowledge and courage to lead the debate.
 

Stop the White Flint Sector Plan

All,
The proposed White Flint Sector Plan, which will bring 20,000 new jobs and 12,600 new residential units to our neighborhoods with no plan for a new school or any way to accomodate the new children, will be up for public hearing at the County Council on October 20, 2009. Below I provide 1. contact information; and 2. bullet points for your letter. I would greatly appreciate letters sent to the council, thank you so much.
Paula Bienenfeld

DATE: Tuesday, OCTOBER 20, 2009
TIME: 7:30 PM
LOCATION: Council Bldg, 100 Maryland Ave., Rockville, MD

I would ask everyone reading this to voice their opposition to this ill-conceived plan that will flood our area with tens of thousands of cars; increase congestion in the area; add hundreds of children with no increase in school capacity; and no increase in supporting infrastructure except of course to support the new developments. The plan is not sustainable from an environmental perspective. Council contact information and letter bullet points are below.

Please write the council at:

county.council@montgomerycountymd.gov
or
Montgomery County Council
Stella B. Werner Council Building
100 Maryland Ave,
Rockville, MD 20850

Here are the individual council members' email addresses:
Phil Andrews, Council President councilmember.andrews@montgomerycountymd.gov
Roger Berliner, Council Vice President, councilmember.berliner@montgomerycountymd.gov
Nancy Navarro councilmember.navarro@montgomerycountymd.gov
George Leventhal councilmember.leventhal@montgomerycountymd.gov
Marc Elrich councilmember.elrich@montgomerycountymd.gov
Mike Knapp councilmember.knapp@montgomerycountymd.gov
Nancy Floreen councilmember.floreen@montgomerycountymd.gov
Valerie Ervin councilmember.ervin@montgomerycountymd.gov
Duchy Trachtenberg councilmember.trachtenberg@montgomerycountymd.gov

Here are bullet points for the letter:

Overcrowded Schools; Redistricting As a Solution: 37,000 people will live in the new White Flint, but the Board failed to provide a coherent plan—or funding—for an elementary school. Overcrowding of existing K-12 schools will occur. The Planning Board raises the specter of redistricting—including redistricting of Walter Johnson High School—as a possible solution.

61,000 More People, No Plan to Increase Public Transit: According to the Board, the number of people living and working in White Flint will swell by 242% from 25,000 to 86,000, and this does not include tens of thousands of visitors and shoppers. This increase is equivalent to adding the entire population of Rockville to our community, yet the Planning Board has no plan to increase capacity for Metro, buses or Bus Rapid Transit.

Increased Congestion, Cut-Through Traffic: Despite the promise of overcoming “auto-centered” development, the projected increase in population and the failure to expand public transit will inevitably result in more traffic. The Planning Board projects a 53% increase on Old Georgetown Road and 68% on Edson Lane. Congestion at Strathmore Avenue and Rockville Pike will increase by 24% and will exceed the current standard. There will be greatly increased cut-through traffic in your communities.

Overcrowded Schools; Redistricting As a Solution: 37,000 people will live in the new White Flint, but the Board failed to provide a coherent plan—or funding—for an elementary school. Overcrowding of existing K-12 schools will occur. The Planning Board raises the specter of redistricting—including redistricting of Walter Johnson High School—as a possible solution.
300-foot Building Heights: The Board will allow buildings taller than the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and JBG’s new Whole Foods building.

High-Rise Sprawl: The Board says the tallest buildings will be concentrated at the White Flint Metro station, but the plan in fact permits 300-foot buildings for nearly a mile along Rockville Pike, replacing today’s auto-oriented suburban sprawl with high-density, auto-oriented “high-rise sprawl.” From your backyards you will look out at a 30-story concrete and glass canyon up and down the Pike.

Rockville Pike Developed Last, If At All: The Board’s phasing plan does not envision redeveloping Rockville Pike until approximately 2030. As the main traffic artery through White Flint, the Pike should be re-built first with development to follow.

Tall Buildings, Dense Development Don’t Make A Community: Despite promises to create a vibrant, urban community, the Plan does not require a full-sized library, community center, theater, senior center, or child-care facility, nor does it protect much-loved local businesses that will be unable to afford increased rents. The Board’s “Midtown on the Pike” makes no provision for the civic and cultural amenities that in fact make cities livable.

No Environmental Plan: The Board makes bold statements about creating a greener community, including stream restoration, carbon emission reductions, forest planting, and increased tree cover. But these are not requirements; developers are awarded increased density if they choose to pursue them. The plan provides no details or timeline for accomplishing any of these aims.

No Plan To Pay For It All: The Planning Board says substantial public and private investment in infrastructure and public facilities will be required, but fails to provide the financing plan or specify the public entities that will implement the plan. It says that these must be created within 12 months of adopting the plan! It is not prudent—especially in the current economy—to begin redevelopment before figuring out how to pay for it.

Artificial Turf: 167 degrees! We have a winner.

Folks, it looks like we have a winner! This measured temperature of 167.3 degrees was taken today, August 16, at the AT field at Montgomery Blair High School, Montgomery County Maryland at 2:30 PM EST. The air temperature in the full sun was 93 degrees Fahrenheit.

Thanks to our reporter Kathy Michels for this stunning photo. thanks also to our County Council, Board of Education and Planning Board who created this heat island in the middle of our county. Now that's what I they call planning!

Artificial Turf: Turf hits 140 degrees on August 15

Update! wonder if we can hit a record! If you are reading this from around the country, let us know your highest AT temp! We will post it. The winner will receive... not much right now -- but just remember you are doing the right thing.

Here is the latest photo from intrepid reporter Anne Ambler, member of the Safe Healthy Playing Fields Coalition based in Montgomery County, Maryland. The photo was taken at around 2:30 PM EST at the Montgomery Blair High School playing fields in Montgomery County Maryland.

Artificial Turf: Turf hits 134 degrees on August 13

Montgomery Blair High School, Montgomery County Maryland.

Photo on left shows the temperature at the Artificial Turf: 134 degrees Fahrenheit.

Photo to the right shows the temperature at the natural sod turf: 91 degrees Fahrenheit.

'Nuff said.

Photos by Anne Ambler, Safe Healthy Playing Fields Coalition

Artificial Turf: California goes after FieldTurfTarkett

We see now that California leads the nation by enforcing their law, the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986. This law was originally Proposition 65 when it was brought to the ballot by the Citizens of California. Under this law California actually regulates the toxins leached into the water. California has left Maryland and Montgomery County in the dust on this one. Or should I say, in the crumb rubber dust. According to an article in the Los Angeles Times, California Attorney General Jerry Brown brought suit against artificial turf manufacturers including FieldTurfTarkett. Why? Lead. Here is the text from the suit documents, clear as day.

"Defendant's Turf Products contain lead. Persons who purchase, use,

and/or come into contact with thse products are exposed to lead."

Could anything be more simple? More plain? More clear?

The State of California brought suit against three artificial turf manufacturers: Astroturf; Beaulieu Group, and of course our old friend, FieldTurfTarkett.

And not just our friend. FieldTurfTarkett is best buddies with members of the Montgomery County Board of Education, which is charged with managing the multi-billion dollar industry known as the "Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS)" in Maryland, and of course the Montgomery County Council who voted unanimously to approve the installation of FieldTurfTarkett crumb rubber sheeting across the County. Each and every member of the County Council is satisfied that crumb rubber artificial turf is safe. You heard ‘em folks. They couldn’t be more satisfied.

And here is the roll call of those councilmembers in case you forgot:

Council President Phil Andrews; Valerie Ervin; Marc Elrich; Council Vice President Roger Berliner; Mike Knapp; Duchy Trachtenberg; Nancy Floreen; Nancy Navarro; and George Leventhal. Yup, each and every one of these councilmembers voted not once, but TWICE to rip up the natural turf and install crumb rubber sheeting across our county. Some of them, those on the Education Committee, got to vote thrice; that would be Valerie Ervin, Phil Andrews, and Mike Knapp.

Turf hits 152 degrees on August 10th

On Monday, August 10, 2009, at 2 PM the artificial turf football field at Montgomery Blair High School registered over 152 degrees Fahrenheit. The high temperature for Monday was 96 degrees.

MCPS football practices start on August 15th. MCPS does not have a policy in place for determining when it is too hot for students to practice on artificial turf fields. The Washington Post reports on this issue in "Heat-Related Illness a Chief Concern as Football Practice Opens"

This time and temperature announcement is brought to you by the Safe Healthy Playing Fields Coalition. To find out more about this group and their research visit their group site.

Overcrowded Schools Coming Your Way

Get ready for increasingly overcrowded schools in Montgomery County, Maryland because, folks that's what you want! Bet you didn’t know that. Well, now you do. How do I know? I just read the proposed Growth Policy, happily titled, “Reducing our Footprint” so shame on you naughty awful suburbanites with your oh-so-huge carbon footprints! Shame on you for wanting to get rid of portables and wanting smaller classrooms. Who do you think you are? Your elected County Government and Planning Board, chaired by Royce Hanson, know what’s best for you. You elected the council, they appointed the Planning Board, they do the hires and provide the funding (oh wait, I though WE provided the funding. Oh well, that is so old school), so this is what you wanted. Who knew?

And here’s what you want: “School Capacity Related Changes”

Check out pages 46-48 of the Growth Policy that is going to the County Council. Here are the recommendations.

Here is what you want for your children:

1. Set the threshold for application of a school facility payment at project enrollment greater than 110 percent of projected program capacity at any school level by cluster

2. Retain the threshold for school moratorium on new residential subdivisions at projected enrollment greater than 120 percent of projected capacity at any school level by school cluster.

3. Allow residential subdivision applications that are complete within the 12 months prior to imposition of a moratorium but have not been acted upon to proceed; and

4. Allow any approved school capacity for a specific development to be transferable to another development within the same school cluster.

Yes you read that right; the second recommendation is to keep the threshold for the moratorium; and the third recommendation is, ignore the moratorium and build anyway! Why? Because as the staff writes in the Appendix, it is just too darned expensive. so, let's ignore that pesky moratorium. After all, only B-CC, Seneca Valley, and Clarksburg would be affected.

Don’t want that? Tell the county council. Email your councilmember and make sure they know. You have until September. That is when your council that you elected will vote on this ‘growth’ policy. Otherwise get ready for overcrowding. Oh, your local school is already overcrowded? That’s what you want! Congratulations.