Hooray for Highland ES!

On 12/26/2008 1:50 PM I posted an email with the subject line “Labelgate,” which contained the following:

“Take a look at Highland ES (#774) a state Blue Ribbon school. They had a 76.2% Hispanic student population. Georgian Forest, the “pilot” school for detracking, had a 49.2% African-American student body. Highland ES beat Georgian Forest ES in every category of the MSAs. Why? What did Highland do right? Shouldn’t we want to know?”

On 12/28/2008 11:55 AM, I posted an email with the subject line “Highland ES MSA performance, "Pilot" school performance, and GT screening in 2004-2205.” I wrote “Highland ES deserves our congratulations for their apparent performance on the 2008 MSAs. If they keep it up—give the folks a bouquet.”

Today, Highland Elementary School in Silver Spring, became the only public school to win the award in Montgomery County this year.

Without further ado let me present the students, staff, and parents of Highland ES a virtual bouquet. Folks, you made my day!

Too bad that Carver didn’t look to Highland for lessons learned, and replicate it. Then again, that would have required proactive leadership.

The Reading Gap and MCPS

FARMS Gap Closure

MCPS has asserted that the reduction in the Reading Gap is one of its primary accomplishments. This graphic, courtesy the Maryland State Department of Education, compares the percentage reduction in the "gap" accomplished by the various school systems in the state.

Despite topping the state in spending on educating our children, MCPS is not at the top in closing the Reading Gap.

What the Advisory Committee Members say in Public & in Committee

January 15, 2009 AEI Committee Feedback

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Presentations & Spre accountability etics

If we are to believe the public pronouncements of AEI Advisory Committee members, they are doing battle against a hostile MCPS, fighting to be heard but often, if not always, ignored.

The feedback forms submitted by these very same committee members show no such dissension or disagreement.

Asked if the meeting addressed the “charge” of the committee, six-members strongly agreed, while one-agreed. NONE disagreed!! One-had no comment.

When asked if they provided “input of Policy Revision Overview” seven out of eight agreed or strongly agreed (one had no comment).

When asked if they provided “input on Revision of Policy IOA” seven out of eight agreed or strongly agreed (one disagreed).

Take a look at the minutes of AEI Committee Meetings, there are two versions available: one produced by MCPS, and the other by a committee member. Neither version documents the voting that took place within the committee, even though law apparently requires that they do.

How about the meetings between individual groups and MCPS representatives, ostensibly to conduct the public's business? No minutes produced by any party--even though the law apparently requires it.

No wonder that Policy IOA has been turned into a political manifesto instead of a document stating a cogent, coherent policy on gifted education.

It is only through direct parental involvement that we can accomplish change.

It is with this basic principle in mind that we urge you to help make April 16, 2009 [and, perhaps, every April 16, thereafter] *Stand Up for Your Children Day*. Please see:

http://parentscoalitionmc.blogspot.com/2009/03/make-april-16-day-to-stand-up-for-your.html

*WHEN*: April 16, 2009 from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

WHERE: At The *Carver Educational Services Center*, 850 Hungerford
Drive, Rockville, MD 20850

*WHAT TO DO*: You can simply show your commitment to your child’s education by joining other parents in the parking lot. Just show up and make a statement by the number of vehicles.

You could voice your opinion personally with posters, etc., and make sure the BOE understands our commitment to our children, by visiting Conference Room 127 where the Advisory Committee will be meeting.

A House Divided Cannot Stand

On June 16, 1858, Republican delegates met in the Springfield, Illinois, statehouse for the Republican State Convention to choose Abraham Lincoln as their candidate for the U.S. Senate, running against Democrat Stephen A. Douglas. Speaking to his Republican colleagues Lincoln uttered the words "A house divided against itself cannot stand."

Lincoln, was paraphrasing the scriptures ("And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand"—Matthew 12:25) in that now immortal speech, making a point that resonates even today.

We are, in the shadow of the public school system we fund and support, a house divided. No, not into red and green zones, but into those allowed into the inner sanctum and those who must clamor at the walls to be heard. Those that must pay suitable penance, approach on bended knee, and those that need not.

Yet, when it come to accepting our tax dollars they make no such distinction.

For thirty-years, yes, I said thirty-years, we have tolerated GT education that MCPS now admits, is unevenly implemented.

Parents with children needing Special Educational interventions struggle single handedly to get their children what they need. Just last month a parent spoke to me about her struggle. It affected me more than I realized. It affected my family too. We can’t simply dismiss these individual struggles as “not our problem,” and expect to call ourselves a community.

We discuss strategies that work in ensuring that our kids get the educational interventions they need. Surely, we see that it is wrong? Getting your child the appropriate education should never be a matter of luck or your ability to pay appropriate penance.

As I suggested the idea of making April 16, a day to stand up for our children, many asked about preserving anonymity for fear of retaliation. We have become a community in fear of our school system. This is a stark reality that we seem to unhesitatingly accept.

When it comes to MCPS, are we willing to become a community of Stepford Wives? Remember the conversation, “We ought to try at least. Let’s talk to those hausfraus; there must be some of them who resent the situation a little. What do you say? Wouldn’t it be great if we could get a group together-maybe even a NOW chapter eventually—and give that Men’s Association a good shaking-up? … it’s not going to change unless it’s forced to change; fat-cat organizations never do.”

So, on April 16, get some take-out food, get in your preferred from of transportation, and head over to the Men’s Association,oops, I mean MCPS, at the Carver Educational Services Center, 850 Hungerford Drive, Rockville, Maryland 20850. Directions are found here.

There is free parking and take it as an invitation to fill the huge lot. Make it an opportunity to enjoy the camaraderie of someone new, perhaps someone who looks a little different.

Bring a poster or two, maybe even three, highlighting an issue close to your heart.

If you feel brave enough drop by Room 127 between 6:30PM and 9:30PM and say hello to your duly elected BOE members meeting with the top secret AEI Advisory Committee, please do so.

More importantly, demand transparency, accountability and broader community participation in the decision making that affects your child’s education. Reject divisive politics.

Let us not be a house divided. Remember, MCPS is "… not going to change unless it’s forced to change; fat-cat organizations never do."

WAMU - Kojo Nnamdi on Parent Activism in Local Schools

Parent involvement in the schools used to mean attending the occasional parent-teacher conference, pitching in for a bake-sale or joining the PTA. But across our region, parents are taking on new ambitious goals, demanding changes in school policies and mobilizing to protect favored programs. We examine how the Internet and other networking tools are transforming parent activism, and consider how it is affecting the way local schools run.
Archive of March 5, 2009 ~WAMU~ Kojo Nnamdi show.