The Great Mystery of the Free PSAT Tests has finally been solved.
Parents of most MCPS 11th graders might recall having paid the standard PSAT fee of $13 this past fall. For each PSAT test taken, the schools forwarded the entire $13 payment to the College Board, except for tests given to students who were granted fee waivers.
Some schools, such as BCC, Gaithersburg, and Seneca Valley, decided to turn the PSAT test into a fundraiser by tacking on an additional $1 to $2.
But one school -- Walter Johnson (Bethesda) -- didn't charge anything for the PSAT test.
So we wondered: How did Walter Johnson figure out a way to provide the PSAT test for free, when all of the other schools were charging $13 to $15 to each 11th grade student?
We asked the principal of Walter Johnson, Dr. Garran, how his school paid for the PSAT without collecting the $13 per test fee.
All that Dr. Garran would tell us was that "discretionary funds" were used.
As it turns out, a portion of the profit from previously administered AP tests was used to pay for the PSAT tests. Of the $86 per AP test that students pay, the school gets to keep $8 to do with as they wish. Walter Johnson administered 1,851 AP tests last spring, resulting in a profit of about $14,808. (The actual profit may have been slightly less because the school forgoes the profit for any students who are entitled to a fee reduction.)
What did the other high schools do with their AP test profit? And why didn't they use their AP test profits to pay for PSAT tests?
The answer can be obtained from your child's high school principal -- but only if you ask.
Here are the financial records from Walter Johnson High School that show the transfer from the AP test account to the PSAT test account and the check request to pay the College Board for the tests.
Walter Johnson HS PSAT funding IAF Documents
Friday, January 8, 2010
No Bully Left Behind - wtop.com Part 6
No Bully Left Behind - wtop.com
WTOP's Kate Ryan reports: Part 6. Sometimes, it takes a lawyer to protect your child from bullies at school.
WTOP's Kate Ryan reports: Part 6. Sometimes, it takes a lawyer to protect your child from bullies at school.
"Bare bones budget" includes $125,000 Consultant
Board of Education President Patricia O'Neill told The Washington Post that, "The budget is bare bones, you know, but what we need to sustain the system,"
Superintendent Jerry Weast has outlined a list of proposed cuts that will be taken if he does not get the $25 million budget increase he is requesting.
Superintendent Weast's proposed cuts target classrooms, teachers, buses and maintenance.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, January 12, 2010, the Board of Education has on their consent agenda (no discussion) to approve a $125,000 payment to a long time MCPS consultant.
The Parents' Coalition has previously detailed what is publicly known about this particular consultant, based on research and public information requests.
Is a $125,000 security consultant expenditure required as part of a "bare bones budget?" (Consultant James Gompers from Illinois shown to the left.)
MCPS does have a Department of School Safety and Security.
According to the memorandum submitted to the Board of Education by Superintendent Weast there was only one vendor mailed for this consulting position. The memo shows that the one vendor mailed was not a company that had an owner that was minority, female or disabled.
Education Week's Digital Directions: Whiteboards' Impact on Teaching Seen as Uneven
Education Week's Digital Directions: Whiteboards' Impact on Teaching Seen as Uneven
But should we have spent over $13 million dollars on them?
And do MCPS teachers feel that they have gotten sufficient training on how to use them?
But should we have spent over $13 million dollars on them?
And do MCPS teachers feel that they have gotten sufficient training on how to use them?
No Bully Left Behind - wtop.com Part 5
No Bully Left Behind - wtop.com
Bullying at College Gardens Elementary School in Rockville: WTOP's Kate Ryan reports. Part 5.
Bullying at College Gardens Elementary School in Rockville: WTOP's Kate Ryan reports. Part 5.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
No Bully Left Behind - wtop.com Part 4
No Bully Left Behind - wtop.com
Continuation of WTOP's Kate Ryan report on Bullying at College Gardens Elementary School in Rockville. Part 4.
Continuation of WTOP's Kate Ryan report on Bullying at College Gardens Elementary School in Rockville. Part 4.
No Bully Left Behind - wtop.com Part 3
No Bully Left Behind - wtop.com
Continuation of Kate Ryan's WTOP report on Bullying at College Gardens Elementary School in Rockville. Part 3.
Continuation of Kate Ryan's WTOP report on Bullying at College Gardens Elementary School in Rockville. Part 3.
Montgomery IG report finds lack of oversight in tuition program | Washington Examiner
Montgomery IG report finds lack of oversight in tuition program Washington Examiner
Montgomery County officials failed to monitor...
click link above for full article
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Cell Phone Towers:
From Today's Gazette:
Two thousand dollars a month would buy a lot of logowear!
Ten MCPS schools currently have cell towers, including Sherwood, Albert Einstein and Springbrook high schools and Tilden Middle School, according to Dana Tofig, an MCPS spokesman. The towers serve various service providers, including Verizon, Sprint and AT&T.
Each provider pays the school district rent for the space, which varies by location and changes in the Consumer Price Index, Tofig said. The Whitman tower would bring in $2,000 a month, which would be divided evenly between MCPS, Whitman, and Whitman's cluster schools.
Two thousand dollars a month would buy a lot of logowear!
Gazette: Nonprofit at odds with MCPS
Parents react to MCPS attempt to close successful program for pre-schoolers with significant disabilities.
Read Gazette article HERE.
Read Gazette article HERE.
No Bully Left Behind - wtop.com Part 1
No Bully Left Behind - wtop.com
Kate Ryan reports. Part 1
...Children were slammed into walls," she says.
"There was repeated punching, hitting and kicking. There were enemies lists."
And this was, according to this mother's reports, inside the classroom at Montgomery County's College Gardens Elementary School in Rockville, a school with an excellent reputation and an acclaimed academic program...
Kate Ryan reports. Part 1
...Children were slammed into walls," she says.
"There was repeated punching, hitting and kicking. There were enemies lists."
And this was, according to this mother's reports, inside the classroom at Montgomery County's College Gardens Elementary School in Rockville, a school with an excellent reputation and an acclaimed academic program...
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Destruction of $432,500 sod field begins!
On June 19, 2009, the Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland broke the news that Walter Johnson High School was getting not one, but two football fields in one year.
In the summer of 2009, WJHS got a brand new $432,500* sod field with underground sprinkler system. Then, after the 2009 football season, the sod field and sprinkler system were to be ripped up and replaced with a $1.2 million artificial turf field.
The Parents' Coalition obtained pictures of the new sod being delivered. New sod, that would only be used for 3 months.
On October 5, 2009, as the football season was winding down, ABC 7 news reported the story.
Now, as promised, we bring you pictures of the WJHS football field as it is being torn up. The white dots on the picture show where digging has begun on the field.
It appears that these back hoes are digging up areas on the field. The areas being dug up might be where the underground sprinkler system heads are being removed.
Superintendent Jerry Weast now has staff telling the media that the $432,500 cost for a sod football field is too high. (See the ABC7 News report.) But $432,500 is what Superintendent Weast has told the County Council a new sod football field costs when comparing the cost of a new sod field to a new artificial turf field.
Was the cost data* that Superintendent Weast presented to the County Council for comparing a new artificial turf football field to a new sod football field grossly overstated to make sod look just as expensive as artificial turf?
Seems as if the County Council needs to put on their agenda a review of the real cost data for sod football fields. The Council might want to re-evaluate their decision to invest $1.2 million in an artificial turf football field project that, by the way, was never put out for competitive bid.
Total expenditure for the WJHS football field in one year will be $1,632,500, excluding the cost of removing the sod field and underground sprinkler system. We don't know how much the removal of the sod field and underground sprinkler system is going to cost.
Check back for more pictures as the brand new sod field that was used for only 5 WJHS home football games is removed.
*Source of cost data: February 15, 2008 County Council Education Committee packet, page 12 of PDF or page circle 9.
Update: Part 2 with 1/11/10 pictures of sod field "recycling".
Update: Part 2 with 1/11/10 pictures of sod field "recycling".
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Montgomery school scores, rankings fall on Weast's watch | Washington Examiner
In 10 years on the job, Montgomery County Superintendent Jerry Weast has watched graduation rates slip, SAT scores decline and the racial achievement gap linger.
His school system — once hailed as the best in the Washington area and among the top in the nation — has fallen by some measures in comparison with its neighbors in Fairfax County, Howard and Calvert counties...
Parents conflicted over superintendent's tenure | Washington Examiner
...Councilman Phil Andrews, the parent of a special needs student, said Weast's 2007 decision to shut down "learning centers," where certain special-ed students received a more tailored education, was the most harmful of his tenure.
"I think it was a huge mistake, and the negative consequences are already inherent," Andrews said.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Picking a New Superintendent [2]
As mentioned earlier on this blog, the current superintendent’s contract will expire in June 2011. The absence of transparency on the part of the Montgomery County, Maryland Board of Education could play a significant role in the process of choosing our new superintendent and the direction of our once-renowned school system.
Here is some history of the Board’s track record.
In 1999 the Board identified Dr. Elfreda W. Massie, who had been Deputy Superintendent of Baltimore County Public Schools, as the finalist for the superintendent position. Board members at that time were Reginald Felton, President, Patricia O’Neill, Vice President, Steve Abrams, Kermit Burnett, Beatrice Gordon, Nancy King, Mona Signer, and Geonard Butler, Jr., the student member.
Ms. O’Neill is the current BOE President.
How did they choose Dr. Massie? With taxpayer dollars, they hired the executive search firm, Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates (HYA), who recommended her. Sadly Dr. Massie was found to have financial difficulties which were not identified because HYA had not conducted a background check on her personal finances.
Taxpayers this time around should demand that the superintendent process is open and democratic; and that it addresses the desires of the community, not the desires of the few, those at the secret ‘table.’ The taxpayers should not pay for the banquet and then be left with the crumbs. Restoring our public school system to the ‘world class’ system it once was will be difficult. Focusing on Education, teachers, and our community of scholars instead of on high-tech gadgets and million-dollar toys will require a shift in focus. It is not impossible, but it will take sustained pressure on the part of taxpayers.
Here is some history of the Board’s track record.
In 1999 the Board identified Dr. Elfreda W. Massie, who had been Deputy Superintendent of Baltimore County Public Schools, as the finalist for the superintendent position. Board members at that time were Reginald Felton, President, Patricia O’Neill, Vice President, Steve Abrams, Kermit Burnett, Beatrice Gordon, Nancy King, Mona Signer, and Geonard Butler, Jr., the student member.
Ms. O’Neill is the current BOE President.
How did they choose Dr. Massie? With taxpayer dollars, they hired the executive search firm, Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates (HYA), who recommended her. Sadly Dr. Massie was found to have financial difficulties which were not identified because HYA had not conducted a background check on her personal finances.
Taxpayers this time around should demand that the superintendent process is open and democratic; and that it addresses the desires of the community, not the desires of the few, those at the secret ‘table.’ The taxpayers should not pay for the banquet and then be left with the crumbs. Restoring our public school system to the ‘world class’ system it once was will be difficult. Focusing on Education, teachers, and our community of scholars instead of on high-tech gadgets and million-dollar toys will require a shift in focus. It is not impossible, but it will take sustained pressure on the part of taxpayers.
Friday, January 1, 2010
Prince George's County Does it Right: Request for Proposals
Our neighbor school system in Prince George's County, Maryland, seems to have no trouble with transparency. Here are advertisements that appeared in The Washington Examiner on December 30, 2009.
Request for Proposal RFP#: 048-10 Multi-Sensory Reading Intervention Program for the Board of Education of Prince George's County located in Upper Marlboro MD. 20772 Deadline for Return of Bid: January 22 2010 at 2:00 P.M. Local Time Dec 30 2009 Jan 4 14 18 2010 681536
Request for Proposal RFP#: 049-10 Special Education Compliance Monitoring Services for the Board of Education of Prince George's County located in Upper Marlboro MD. 20772 Deadline for Return of Bid: January 22 2010 at 3:00 P.M. Local Time Dec 30 2009 Jan 4 14 18 2010 681539
Request for Proposal RFP#: 046-10 for WEB Designer for UDL for the Board of Education of Prince George's County located in Upper Marlboro MD. 20772 Deadline for Return of Bid: January 21 2010 at 2:00 P.M. Local Time. December 30 January 7 15 18 2010 681544
Request for Proposal RFP#: 047-10 for Data Driven Technology Based Reading Program for the Board of Education of Prince George's County located in Upper Marlboro MD. 20772 Deadline for Return of Bid: January 21 2010 at 3:00 P.M. Local Time Dec 30 2009 Jan 11 15 19 2010 681477
Request for Proposal RFP#: 048-10 Multi-Sensory Reading Intervention Program for the Board of Education of Prince George's County located in Upper Marlboro MD. 20772 Deadline for Return of Bid: January 22 2010 at 2:00 P.M. Local Time Dec 30 2009 Jan 4 14 18 2010 681536
Request for Proposal RFP#: 049-10 Special Education Compliance Monitoring Services for the Board of Education of Prince George's County located in Upper Marlboro MD. 20772 Deadline for Return of Bid: January 22 2010 at 3:00 P.M. Local Time Dec 30 2009 Jan 4 14 18 2010 681539
Request for Proposal RFP#: 046-10 for WEB Designer for UDL for the Board of Education of Prince George's County located in Upper Marlboro MD. 20772 Deadline for Return of Bid: January 21 2010 at 2:00 P.M. Local Time. December 30 January 7 15 18 2010 681544
Request for Proposal RFP#: 047-10 for Data Driven Technology Based Reading Program for the Board of Education of Prince George's County located in Upper Marlboro MD. 20772 Deadline for Return of Bid: January 21 2010 at 3:00 P.M. Local Time Dec 30 2009 Jan 11 15 19 2010 681477
Picking a new superintendent
It's time for Montgomery County citizens to start learning about the process for picking a new public schools superintendent. Our current superintendent, Jerry Weast, has said he will not stay on when his current contract is up on June 30, 2011.
Milwaukee Public Schools is currently selecting their next Superintendent and two of the finalists have MCPS connections, one current and one past.
We can start educating ourselves about selecting a new Superintendent by following the Milwaukee Public Schools' process.
In two December 31st articles from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel we learn that; the Milwaukee press is interested in pursuing candidate selection information that should be public under the open records law, and that disability groups are not represented on the stakeholder panel that will interview the candidates for superintendent.
Journal Sentinel sues MPS for release of candidates' names
Milwaukee Public Schools is currently selecting their next Superintendent and two of the finalists have MCPS connections, one current and one past.
We can start educating ourselves about selecting a new Superintendent by following the Milwaukee Public Schools' process.
Journal Sentinel sues MPS for release of candidates' names
...The Journal Sentinel is suing Milwaukee Public Schools under the state's open records law, seeking to force the district to reveal the names of the six final candidates in the search for the next MPS superintendent...Who's in, who's out of MPS superintendent stakeholder group
...Then there's the issue of people who wanted to be included on the list, but weren't. Several disability rights advocates expressed concern that while the stakeholders Bonds recommended were racially diverse, nobody on the list represented people with disabilities.
Karen Avery, associate director of IndpendenceFirst, said that surprised her, given the high percentage of students in MPS that receive special education services.
"We want to know what (the potential superintendents') experience and expertise is in dealing with special education issues, and what sorts of skills they have to deal with the current situation," Avery said, referring to an ongoing and complex lawsuit MPS is embroiled in, regarding its ability to adequately provide special education services to students...
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