Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland: electives

Showing posts with label electives. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Bye bye to Middle School Electives

Here is a clip of last night's Board of Education discussion on the Strategic Plan.

When it comes time to discuss the Board's Strategic Plan, Dr. Weast states that MCPS has spent thousands of dollars and thousands of hours studying issues. He is done with the discussion.

Listen carefully - you will hear words never before uttered by Dr. Weast. "No more time, no more money, be honest." "No creativity." And my favorite: "Have it based on some factual matter."

At least when it comes to issues like middle school course electives and the possibility for creative scheduling or engaging our children. Dr. Weast isn't interested. The school day is limited, the money is limited.

You need to hear for yourself. Click here for a snip - the entire BOE meeting will be webcast in a few days on the MCPS website.

Do we have a world class school system or is world class limited to the Walter Johnson athletic field?

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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