Friday, November 17, 2023
Tilden Teacher Placed on Leave Following Social Media Posts
Khan-Williams’ posts on X concerned the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israel and the war in Gaza that ensued.
In one post, she wrote, “Debunked!! No music festival attack. Babies were not burned. Women were not violated. Hospitals were attacked on purpose.”
In another post, she wrote, “Palestinians are being killed and their organs are being sold. How is real life scarier than movies??”..
Thursday, November 16, 2023
Principal's letter regarding scheduled walkout at Northwood High School
Letter from Northwood Principal Jonathan Garrick
to Northwood High School Parents about the Palestinian Walkout
Good morning Northwood community:
Students representing our Muslim Student Association (MSA) approached me to propose a student walkout during 7th period (approximately 1:30pm) on Friday, November 17, 2023. Per MCPS BOE regulation, students are permitted to demonstrate peacefully regarding social and political issues and MSA students have followed appropriate protocols. To protect student safety, student organizers have requested use of the Northwood athletic field.
Please note this action is not approved or supported by Northwood or MCPS and students walking out of class will receive an unexcused absence and the MCPS Code of Conduct and Student Culture of Respect apply to student protests. I have also spoken with walkout organizers and they are very aware of the intensity of opinions on both sides of the current conflict in Gaza and Israel and are avoiding specific phrases and slogans which could be hurtful or derogatory against other members of our community.
While this is not a Northwood sanctioned activity, members of our security and admin teams will ensure students are safe. Staff may not bring whole classes to the walkout as this must be a volunteer choice made by students.
Please speak with your student about this student proposal and how they should handle it whether they are in support or opposing the organizers' views.
If you need any support for your student about this issue, please contact your student's counselor. If you have questions about the student walkout proposal, please contact me directly (Jonathan_L_Garrick@mcpsmd.org).
Another principal annouonces his retirement, last day November 30th
Marc Cohen, principal at Seneca Valley High School, and a member of the Montgomery County Jewish Educators Alliance (MCJEA) will be retiring. His last day is November 30, 2023.
From The MoCo Show; full story here.
Seneca Valley Principal Marc Cohen to Retire From MCPS on November 30th
Earlier this month, Seneca Valley High School principal Marc Cohen shared that he will be retiring from MCPS after 30 years in education, effective November 30th, 2023. In a letter shared with the Seneca Valley Community, he stated that he will be “continuing his professional journey supporting school leaders across the county as an Instruction and Leadership Coach.”
His resignation letter to the community (from TheMoco Show publication):
Dear Seneca Valley High School Students, Staff, and Families:
It is with mixed emotions that I write to you today to share that November 30, 2023 will be my last day working for Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS). After 30 years in public education, I have decided to retire from the principalship and begin a new professional journey supporting school leaders across the country as an Instruction and Leadership Coach.
I began my career as a teacher and an assistant principal in Carroll and then Howard County. In 2004, I came to MCPS as the Director of Alternative Programs, but soon realized that I needed to be in a school building. I missed the kids, and I missed the dedicated teachers and support staff. In 2006, Dr. Weast, then superintendent, appointed me to the role of principal at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School. It was at MLK that I came to love Germantown and where my most enduring professional friendships and community partnerships began. Identity, SONS, Journeys Crossing, and so many more leaders in our community modeled daily the importance of high expectations and never, ever, giving up on kids. I LOVED being at MLK, but I also harbored a lifelong dream of becoming a high school principal. I was humbled to be appointed to Seneca Valley High school in 2010, and in the blink of an eye, nearly 14 wonderful years have passed.
It has always been my personal and professional goal to provide service to others through school leadership. I believe, deep in my heart, that each and every student who walks through the doors of our school has within them the capacity for greatness. For the last 14 years, it has been my job to lead a world-class group of teachers, administrators, and support staff in creating the conditions necessary for SVHS students to see that capacity for greatness become a reality. At SVHS, we have built something special. We have seen significant academic gains in virtually every measured area. Scores are up, graduation rates are up, college acceptances and scholarship awards are up, and most importantly, we see these improvements across all student groups. Throughout my tenure at SVHS, we have been committed to eliminating the racial and socio-economic access, opportunity, and achievement gaps that exist across our country. And together, we have proven that this goal is attainable. SVHS is among the most diverse schools in the country. This diversity is our superpower and I am proud to see our diverse student body equitably represented across all of our success measures and most notably in their participation and performance in our most rigorous programs: International Baccalaureate and Career Technical Education.
Among the accomplishments I am most proud of is the way our community has come together over the years. You spoke loudly and clearly to local officials, and as a result, we built the largest, and most beautiful school in the state. Additionally, you insisted on parity across the county, and in response, we now provide our students access to a robust selection of highly competitive and rigorous programs that are designed to make our kids more competitive in an ever-changing world. We have worked hard to merge the spirit and traditions that come from decades of #TheSenecaWay while honoring the wants and needs of students and families from our expanded attendance area. And, we stood side-by-side to protect our kids and our community when illness and unrest threatened to damage what we had so carefully built.
Over the last two decades, we have laughed together, cried together, celebrated each other’s successes, and mourned our shared losses. My children grew up knowing how important the Seneca Valley community is to me, and my wife even came to tolerate my seemingly bottomless supply of school spirit wear. Fun fact: One of the most commonly heard phrases in my household – “Did you really bring home another Seneca shirt?” Being a high school principal is hard and sometimes exhausting work. I want to thank my family for always supporting me on this journey and for understanding that the long days and frequent nights were for a greater good.
In the coming days, our Director, Mr. David Chia, will share information about who our Acting Principal will be and what our plans are for the transition in leadership. This spring, our school community will play a role in identifying the next principal of our great school. I am grateful to all of you for your support and trust over my 18 years in Germantown. I hope to have the chance to thank many of you personally over the next few weeks.
I am very proud of the work we have done together as a school community. We are Seneca Valley and I will always be #SVProud.
Sincerely,
Marc J. Cohen
Principal
Marc J. Cohen
Principal
AFTER parent uses NextDoor to notify Twinbrook Elementary School community of sexual abuse on playground allegation, Twinbrook ES Principal puts out letter to Twinbrook Community.
NextDoor posting at this link.
Here's the letter that was sent by the Twinbrook ES principal after the NextDoor posting.
Former Montgomery County teacher accused of having sex with 8th grader granted bond
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now) — A judge set bond and conditions of release for a former Montgomery County Public Schools teacher who is accused of sleeping with one of her students while he was in 8th grade.
A man recently told police that Melissa Marie Curtis, 31, of Upper Marlboro, Md. had sex with him more than 20 times while he was a student at Montgomery Village Middle School. The man was 14 years old at the time. Curtis was 22...
MCPS Addresses Chronic Absenteeism, Offers Potential Solutions
Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) data reveals that students are more chronically absent this school year than before COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns. However, the first quarter of the 2023-24 school year saw a decrease in absenteeism from the previous year.
In the 2018-19 school year, 19.5% of students were chronically absent. In the 2022-23 school year, that percent increased to 26.2% of students. So far, in the 2023-24 school year 21.4% of students are chronically absent.
Students are “chronically absent” if they miss 10% or more of school days per year, regardless of the reason. This is equal to around 18 days every school year, or around two days per month. Truant students are absent or unexcused and miss 20% or more of the school year, according to an MCPS presentation...
Wednesday, November 15, 2023
McKnight Hires Former BOE President Who: Violated Open Meetings Act Multiple Times, Committed MCPS to $88M++ in Leases, Signed Off on Lawsuits Against SPED Families, Did Not Sign Contracts as Required, Regularly Dined on MCPS $$$, "Sold" a High School Field, Said Parents WANT Cell Towers, Gave Away an Entire High School, and Closed Special Ed Programs.
Should we go on?
Superintendent Monifa McKnight is making very clear statements in her hiring of Nancy Navarro.
First, McKnight is stating that teachers and school staff are not valued. Obviously, McKnight has money to burn if she can use education dollars to hire a personal assistant. Isn't that what the position is? Someone to do McKnight's job for her? No need to hire more teachers or school staff. Those are not priorities.
Second, the hiring of Navarro is a very clear statement of where McKnight wants to steer MCPS. McKnight has hired Navarro without Board of Education approval, and she is bringing in someone who doesn't believe in the Maryland Open Meetings Act or public procurement policies among other things.
Below are some of the citations to past actions of Nancy Navarro as a member and President of the Montgomery County Board of Education.
This is how McKnight wants to run MCPS?
Not allowing a student to enroll in MCPS:
Open Meetings Act violations:
Failure to follow Maryland procurement law and Board of Education procurement policies:
Closing Special Education programs and suing Special Education families:
Commercial use of public school land and giving away public schools for free:
Dining out on the MCPS Operating Budget:
MCPS Hires Former Councilmember Navarro as Advisor to Superintendent
Navarro previously served on the county Board of Education (BOE), where she had been both president and vice president. She served n county council for 13 years.
In her new position, Navarro is expected to advance the school district and BOE’s priorities by fostering positive relationships with external partners and engaging and collaborating in outreach to community stakeholders, MCPS noted in a news release...
Washington Post: Montgomery teacher denies Hamas raid, accuses Israel of organ theft
An educator at Tilden Middle School ‘may be on leave’ after screenshots showed a Facebook post of hers containing misinformation about Israel
A Montgomery County teacher “may be on leave” after screenshots of a Facebook post purported to show her falsely claiming that the Oct. 7 Hamas music-festival massacre that killed 260 was a hoax, her school said. She also posted that “Palestinian’s are being killed and their organs are being sold. How is real life scarier than the movies??” according to the screenshots, which circulated widely in Montgomery County over the weekend. There is no evidence of organ harvesting.
[...]
“Debunked! No music festival attack. Babies were not burned. Women were not violated. Hospitals were attacked on purpose,” Sabrina Khan-Williams — who teaches world studies in addition to diversity, equity and inclusion at Tilden Middle School — wrote, according to the screenshots. She did not immediately reply to requests to comment for this story.
Former B-CC teacher creates GoFundMe to help cover costs of suing MCPS for career-ending email
 |
| B-CC High School |
Note: The Parents' Coalition is not taking a position on the matter described below. However, we do urge readers, especially those connected with Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School, to read and comment.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-dan-engler-and-hold-mcps-accountable
Excerpts from the GoFundMe page:
On February 13, Dan Engler’s teaching career – more than 18 years of devoted service to B-CC High School, multiple honors including 2017 B-CC International Baccalaureate Teacher of the Year and 2018 University of Chicago Outstanding Educator award, and 16 years as the highly regarded coach of B-CC Boys’ Crew – was destroyed by a single false and malicious email from the school principal to parents, students, and Dan’s colleagues.
[...]
Since embarking on that legal process, we have been even more shocked to learn that Dan’s case is symptomatic of a very serious culture of corruption and toxicity inside MCPS. As a recent email from the Montgomery County Education Association president stated: “it’s appallingly apparent that MCPS’s central office culture is corrupt and corrosive.” At B-CC, there have been multiple instances of severely toxic behavior: only weeks before the email defaming Dan, a chemistry teacher who forced 10th grade Jewish students to “self-identify” in front of the class, who stated that “the Jews controlled the economy in Germany during this time [1930s],” who told a Jewish student, “Yes, you would be dead,” and whom students heard say that “Hitler acted for the common good,” received administration support and was held up as an example of “cultural differences” and whose different “point of view” deserved attention. At the same time, the Jewish students in the chemistry class were publicly chastised by the principal and school leadership. Separately, an English teacher was verbally berated for her Jewish identity by a B-CC administrative staff member. On the student side, B-CC openly refused to intervene in a very serious student bullying episode and had to be compelled to act by the Central Office Restorative Justice Team. Later in the year, another student was targeted and falsely accused by the B-CC principal of spreading online hate. Outside of B-CC, we have all been shocked by the detailed reports of how MCPS Central Office personnel ignored years of repeated reports of vile sexual harassment by a different school principal, who was repeatedly promoted. Only when the Washington Post reported on the case did the school system respond – and a subsequent law firm report indicated that, according to the MCEA, “there was a deliberate falsification of records with the intent to mislead.” This is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.
Tilden Middle School Principal letter to the community regarding the vicious antisemitism from a teacher in the school
This is the Tilden Middle School principal's response to the vicious antisemitic posts made by the DEI leader/teacher at Tilden Middle School. So far the elected Board of Education has not made any statement nor acknowledged the growing antisemitism in MCPS schools.
Community Message 11.13.23 by freestategal on Scribd
Gaithersburg High School, a crowd of 500+ youth, parents and many elected officials heard from parents and faced data showing how few Black and Brown @MCPS students are reading on grade level.
Last night at Gaithersburg High School, a crowd of 500+ youth, parents and many elected officials heard from parents and faced data showing how few Black and Brown @MCPS students are reading on grade level. @BandBCoalitions pushing for both an early warning system for parents pic.twitter.com/9itPYHXAaT
— Identity (@IdentityYouthMD) November 10, 2023
Community Conversation on the School to Prison Pipeline in MCPS
Racial Justice NOW! and the Montgomery County Collaboration Council have collaborated to educate the community and parents on the statistics found in the recent Office of Legislative Oversight (OLO) report - Addressing Racial Inequity in the School to Prison Pipeline.
Community members will also be able to give feedback, ask questions, and give recommendations.
Food will be provided
Business Charter School Previously Rejected by County Gets New Life
A charter school that previously was rejected by the Montgomery County Board of Education received new life Thursday when BOE members voted to move forward.
Following directions from the Maryland Board of Education, Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) agreed to work with M.B.E.F. College and Career Academies, Inc. to see if it can open in the county for the 2025-26 school year.
After the BOE’s second denial of the proposed school’s plans this summer, charter school officials appealed to the state.
On Oct. 25, the state BOE directed MCPS to grant approval with contingencies that dealt with both finances and facilities planning.
M.B.E.F. wants to open a school in Gaithersburg with a curriculum based on business learning. It would be for middle and high school students...
Social Media and the Teen Mental Health Crisis
SUBCOMMITTEE ON PRIVACY, TECHNOLOGY, AND THE LAW
Subcommittee Hearing
Date:
Time: 10:00am
Location: Dirksen Senate Office Building Room 226
Presiding: Chair Blumenthal
Maryland Teachers Union revenues and assets hit record highs as student test scores plummet
So, how is that money helping students? To find out, FOX45 News sent multiple emails to MSEA President Cheryl Bost and other union officials, asking for an interview or explanation. The union never responded.
“It seems like this money is just piling up. It's going to go someplace, I suppose, at some point,” Basu told Project Baltimore. “But at the end of the day, the test scores speak for themselves.”..
More than 20% of students in Montgomery Co. schools are ‘chronically absent’
According to information from the Montgomery County Public Schools system, the percentage of students who are ‘chronically absent’ — that is, they are missing more than 10% of class time for any reason — is 21.4%.
That’s a nearly five percentage point drop from the 26.2% listed as chronically absent during the 2022-2023 school year, but still higher than the pre-pandemic figure of 19.5%...
More than 20% of students in Montgomery Co. schools are ‘chronically absent’ - WTOP News
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)