Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland: playground equipment

Showing posts with label playground equipment. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 8, 2024

‘Worst part of day is recess': Elementary school awaits new playground

Several parents say Montgomery County Public Schools removed unsafe playground equipment from an elementary school but have been slow to replace it, leaving students with little to do during recess.

Parents are often looking for ways to keep their kids active. One said that’s been a challenge for her third grader at East Silver Spring Elementary School this schoolyear.

She said the school hasn’t had a playground since April.

“That leads to maybe more behavioral challenges in the classroom when they can’t get their wiggles out,” she said.

“My son comes back and says the worst part of the day is recess, which is pretty sad for a third grader,” Liz Osborn said.

Parents like Osborn even came out of pocket donating almost $200 worth of play equipment to the school. She said it shouldn’t have reached this point...

https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/worst-part-of-day-is-recess-elementary-school-awaits-new-playground/3728170/

Wednesday, August 17, 2022

Toxic chemicals lurk at playgrounds

When Diana Zuckerman was growing up, there was dirt underneath the slides. Her children played on playgrounds placed atop sand and mulch. But, today, when she drives around her Bethesda, Md., neighborhood, all Zuckerman sees are rubber playgrounds.

The sight concerns Zuckerman, because as president for the National Center for Health Research she has testified in front of multiple municipal and even state governments about the toxic chemicals that can lurk in rubber playground surfaces.

The chemicals can include neurotoxins like lead and other heavy metals, as well as carcinogenic chemicals like polyaromatic hydrocarbons, endocrine-disrupting chemicals like phthalates, and chemicals linked to other organ damage like volatile organic compounds and PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances...

https://www.eenews.net/articles/toxic-chemicals-lurk-at-childrens-playgrounds/

Sunday, March 29, 2020

NIH: New coronavirus stable for hours on surfaces

https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/new-coronavirus-stable-hours-surfaces

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