"April Fool's" from Eastern Middle School Workgroup

From: EMS Schedule Decision Reversal Workgroup <emsscheduledecisionreversal@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, Apr 2, 2009 at 11:53 PM
Subject: Schedule Decision Reversal Workgroup Newsbrief No. 4

From the 80+ Members of the EMS Schedule Decision Reversal Workgroup (http://groups.google.com/group/ems-schedule-decision-reversal):

~ NEWS FLASH! Delayed from Wed., APRIL FOOLS DAY -- MCPS acknowledges mistakes and reverses schedule decision! MCPS administrators acknowledged that they did not follow proper procedure and instead excluded meaningful input from the parents and students, reversed advances in the design of the magnet program and its desegregation goals, and obfuscated the process, decision, and recourse mechanisms. Parents and students responded by promising to fight for better pay for teachers. More on this story later. (Okay, BAD APRIL FOOLS JOKE, but we need to keep a little humor in this otherwise dismal situation! ...and who knows, maybe this is a little prophetic...?)

~ The Current Reality -- Formal Complaint Task Force Moves to Next Phase. Grim faced but determined members of the Formal Complaint Task Force met this week to plan the next phase of the formal complaint process (which is described at http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/info/complaints.shtm). The first step in this phase was completed today -- a letter following up on this Workgroup's Complaint Form 270-8 (which was submitted on March 17) was presented to the EMS Principal requesting receipt of her written decision so that we may proceed to the next step, which is review by the MCPS Chief Operating Officer.

~ Eastern praised for its success at reducing socioeconomic isolation. One of the arguments for maintaining the 8 period block and its extra elective, and which does not appear to have been considered during the decision process, was for the better mixing that occurs between zone and magnet kids and families. Former students, parents, and teachers are reported to have noted a noticeable improvement when EMS went to 8 periods (if you are one of them, we'd like to hear from you!). EMS was so successful in fact, it was praised as a model school in this regard during creation of the magnet consortium schools, which have maintained their 8 period block schedules -- see http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/boe/Meetings/agenda/2003-04/2004-0309/grant.pdf for more.

~ North Bethesda Middle School continues exploring schedule change by reaching out to former parents and students. NBMS recently sent a request to former NBMS parents and students now at the zone high school, Walter Johnson, asking what they thought about the schedule they had. Thus, NBMS is reaching out not only to current parents and students, but to former parents and students. Also, NBMS appears to be operating under notion that there is plenty of time to explore options, pilot test, etc. and still make the change before fall.

~ Survey results announced. The survey of parents and students was announced yesterday. Full survey results, along with all free response answers (and they worth reading!), can be accessed at http://www.surveymonkey.com/sr.aspx?sm=4IolRNsT37zmpXyu0711_2fAbcGSrbud5VBfb8b_2f8Wvbg_3d

Note: Anyone who wants to participate in the effort to retain the 8 period block schedule -- or at least get a fair deal on a schedule change -- should consider joining this group, http://groups.google.com/group/ems-schedule-decision-reversal. Email traffic can be heavy at times, but feel free to chose the digest option, or unsubscribe, at any time. Input or questions are always welcome!

Weast "I would caution against this...action"

At the March 23, 2009, MCPS Board of Education meeting, Board members asked for the information they had requested on March 10th on the schedule changes at Eastern Middle School. Board members were told that the memo had just been provided to them right before the Board meeting started. (13 days after their request.)

In the Eastern Middle School memo to Board members, Superintendent Weast cautions not to advocate for a solution that would address the needs of the teachers and the students. Superintendent Weast says that a proposed solution would be "significantly more costly".

Suddenly, when it comes to educational services for students, Superintendent Weast is watching every penny? But he has stopped putting out Requests for Proposals (RFP), stopped taking competitive bids, stopped obtaining contracts, and stopped bringing procurements over $25,000 to the Board of Education table for approval on multi-million dollar purchases? He has not been bringing funds obtained from an outside source to the Board table or to the County Council for appropriation? The Board of Education is complicit in this lack of fiscal oversight as they no longer approve multi-million dollar purchases and do not ask for actual cost-benefit analysis on services for students. Who pays the price for this lack of fiscal oversight? The students.

"Significantly more costly" is not a number. In fact, nowhere in the March 23rd Eastern MS memo is any cost-benefit information on any of the possible configurations of the Eastern Middle School school schedule. Why did it take 13 days to prepare a memo that contains no financial analysis of the proposed change or proposed solutions?

Making one small schedule change, at one MCPS middle school would be, in Superintendent Weast's opinion,"significantly more costly". But failing to bring multi-million dollar purchases through the legally mandated procurement process has no fiscal impact?

What would be the savings if Superintendent Weast was following the MCPS Procurement Manual? What would then be the benefit that students could reap from those additional funds? We will never know as there is no Board oversight over the spending of the $2.1 billion MCPS budget, sorry kids.

The March 23rd Eastern Middle School memorandum was not made available on the MCPS website but has been obtained for the public to view here:
03-23-09EasternMSSchedule

Publish at Scribd or explore others:

Eastern Parents Unite

A group of over 60 families (and growing fast) have united to oppose Eastern Middle School's (EMS) change from an 8 period to a 7 period schedule. To join, go to
http://groups.google.com/group/ems-schedule-decision-reversal

Representatives from this group attended last week's MCPS Board of Education (BOE) meeting. Five parents spoke for an unusually large portion (a full third) of the public comments portion. The BOE appeared surprised by the outcry and is looking into the matter. To see the meeting, go to http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/boe/meetings/archive/last-meeting.shtm
For those who want to start watching when the EMS parents start (each is allowed only two minutes):
-Three of the five EMS parents start at the 20 min. mark;
- A fourth EMS parent speaks at the 34 min. mark; and
- A fifth EMS parent speaks at the 41 min. mark. There's also a good followup question from the board after this speaker and a great answer. Toward the end of the meeting at the 6:40:40 mark hear Board of Education member Judy Docca note that "now Eastern is concerned" and that she would "like to (be able to) answer sensibly". (Dr. Docca is requesting more information from Superintendent Weast as to how decisions are made.)

This group also was featured last week in a story in the Gazette:
http://www.gazette.net/stories/03112009/montsch223439_32472.shtml,

Followup activities are being organized, including contacting MCPS Board of Education members and Montgomery County Council members. So please help with many hands to make light work.

Let's not give up the fight, and let's keep in mind:

“The greatest obstacle to those who hope to reform American education is complacency.”

--Diane Ravitch (education historian, educational policy analyst, former United States Assistant Secretary of Education, research professor at New York University's Steinhardt School of Education)

EMS Schedule Decision Reversal Workgroup