INSTRUCTIONAL EQUITY WORKSHOP May 2

[Anonymous]

Attention All MCPS Parents/Caregivers:

In 2023:
● Only half of all tenth graders in the county passed the English 10 MCAP exam.
● Even at our most affluent schools, only half of students receiving FARMS passed.
● At our highest poverty schools, only one third of students passed the test.

What can we do to improve student outcomes?
The MCCPTA Curriculum Committee is offering an Instructional Equity Workshop by Zoom on
Thursday, May 2 from 7-9 pm to help PTA leaders, caregivers and teachers learn how
curriculum and instruction can better support our students for their futures.
Please join us on Thursday, May 2, at 7 pm. to 9 p.m. to:
● Understand "The Opportunity Myth" and the four critical resources to help students
prepare for college and career.
● Learn the important role of instructional materials in creating equity and what this looks
like in reading and literacy classes.
● Get an update on exciting developments in K-5 Reading in MCPS and explore current 6-8
and 9-12 literature courses.
● Hear from MCPS leaders and have an opportunity to share what you're seeing in
schools.
● Walk away with clear action steps for your PTA to find out more at your school and
advocate for strong literacy experiences across K-12.
Let’s make a difference together.

Register here:

https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwk...-UYWS6fQJCoYwMqlONqv

This is tonight, please report back what you learned.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Attention All MCPS Parents/Caregivers:

In 2023:
● Only half of all tenth graders in the county passed the English 10 MCAP exam.
● Even at our most affluent schools, only half of students receiving FARMS passed.
● At our highest poverty schools, only one third of students passed the test.

What can we do to improve student outcomes?
The MCCPTA Curriculum Committee is offering an Instructional Equity Workshop by Zoom on
Thursday, May 2 from 7-9 pm to help PTA leaders, caregivers and teachers learn how
curriculum and instruction can better support our students for their futures.
Please join us on Thursday, May 2, at 7 pm. to 9 p.m. to:
● Understand "The Opportunity Myth" and the four critical resources to help students
prepare for college and career.
● Learn the important role of instructional materials in creating equity and what this looks
like in reading and literacy classes.
● Get an update on exciting developments in K-5 Reading in MCPS and explore current 6-8
and 9-12 literature courses.
● Hear from MCPS leaders and have an opportunity to share what you're seeing in
schools.
● Walk away with clear action steps for your PTA to find out more at your school and
advocate for strong literacy experiences across K-12.
Let’s make a difference together.

Register here:

https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwk...-UYWS6fQJCoYwMqlONqv

This is tonight, please report back what you learned.

Yes, please do! I have an event tonight. Otherwise, I'd tune in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Attention All MCPS Parents/Caregivers:

In 2023:
● Only half of all tenth graders in the county passed the English 10 MCAP exam.
● Even at our most affluent schools, only half of students receiving FARMS passed.
● At our highest poverty schools, only one third of students passed the test.

What can we do to improve student outcomes?
The MCCPTA Curriculum Committee is offering an Instructional Equity Workshop by Zoom on
Thursday, May 2 from 7-9 pm to help PTA leaders, caregivers and teachers learn how
curriculum and instruction can better support our students for their futures.
Please join us on Thursday, May 2, at 7 pm. to 9 p.m. to:
● Understand "The Opportunity Myth" and the four critical resources to help students
prepare for college and career.
● Learn the important role of instructional materials in creating equity and what this looks
like in reading and literacy classes.
● Get an update on exciting developments in K-5 Reading in MCPS and explore current 6-8
and 9-12 literature courses.
● Hear from MCPS leaders and have an opportunity to share what you're seeing in
schools.
● Walk away with clear action steps for your PTA to find out more at your school and
advocate for strong literacy experiences across K-12.
Let’s make a difference together.

Register here:

https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwk...-UYWS6fQJCoYwMqlONqv

This is tonight, please report back what you learned.

"Uh oh!
You seem to have lost your way. Let us help you find what you were looking for:"

[Anonymous]

This workshop is really good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This workshop is really good.

What did they say?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This workshop is really good.

What did they say?

A lot. It was content rich.

the PTA leaders reviewed outcomes for MCPS students (grades vs standardized test scores didn’t match — many kids who get good grades are not meeting grade-level standards in standardized tests). Discussed importance of a standards-aligned curriculum and implementation with fidelity. It does not seem like MCPS has either for secondary schools, based on chat comments. ES will have a new curriculum next year.

MCPS gave an overview of the updated English 9 curriculum, which is clearly not on grade level. Includes several middle-grade graphic novels, and there is maybe one book in each marking period on grade level (and no guarantee students will read those). This is for “honors” English. Really disappointing, but at least parents know about it.

They said they will be putting it online at some point, and I would encourage people to watch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This workshop is really good.

What did they say?

A lot. It was content rich.

the PTA leaders reviewed outcomes for MCPS students (grades vs standardized test scores didn’t match — many kids who get good grades are not meeting grade-level standards in standardized tests). Discussed importance of a standards-aligned curriculum and implementation with fidelity. It does not seem like MCPS has either for secondary schools, based on chat comments. ES will have a new curriculum next year.

MCPS gave an overview of the updated English 9 curriculum, which is clearly not on grade level. Includes several middle-grade graphic novels, and there is maybe one book in each marking period on grade level (and no guarantee students will read those). This is for “honors” English. Really disappointing, but at least parents know about it.

They said they will be putting it online at some point, and I would encourage people to watch.

I'm confused. You said it was a good meeting even though MCPS officials confirmed our English 9 curriculum is not on grade level and offered no solutions or plans to remedy what they admit to be a problem?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just get actual curriculum with textbooks and student books and workbooks.

Stop the DEI bullshit

That isn't going to work. And "stop the DEI bullshit" is such a weird, reactionary response. Let me guess, you're a white person who's tired of all this race talk already, think we live in a post-racial society and pride yourself on not seeing color?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This workshop is really good.

What did they say?

A lot. It was content rich.

the PTA leaders reviewed outcomes for MCPS students (grades vs standardized test scores didn’t match — many kids who get good grades are not meeting grade-level standards in standardized tests). Discussed importance of a standards-aligned curriculum and implementation with fidelity. It does not seem like MCPS has either for secondary schools, based on chat comments. ES will have a new curriculum next year.

MCPS gave an overview of the updated English 9 curriculum, which is clearly not on grade level. Includes several middle-grade graphic novels, and there is maybe one book in each marking period on grade level (and no guarantee students will read those). This is for “honors” English. Really disappointing, but at least parents know about it.

They said they will be putting it online at some point, and I would encourage people to watch.

I'm confused. You said it was a good meeting even though MCPS officials confirmed our English 9 curriculum is not on grade level and offered no solutions or plans to remedy what they admit to be a problem?

It wasn’t an MCPS meeting. It was a PTA meeting. It did a good job of highlighting what the problems are and how to fix them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This workshop is really good.

What did they say?

A lot. It was content rich.

the PTA leaders reviewed outcomes for MCPS students (grades vs standardized test scores didn’t match — many kids who get good grades are not meeting grade-level standards in standardized tests). Discussed importance of a standards-aligned curriculum and implementation with fidelity. It does not seem like MCPS has either for secondary schools, based on chat comments. ES will have a new curriculum next year.

MCPS gave an overview of the updated English 9 curriculum, which is clearly not on grade level. Includes several middle-grade graphic novels, and there is maybe one book in each marking period on grade level (and no guarantee students will read those). This is for “honors” English. Really disappointing, but at least parents know about it.

They said they will be putting it online at some point, and I would encourage people to watch.

I'm confused. You said it was a good meeting even though MCPS officials confirmed our English 9 curriculum is not on grade level and offered no solutions or plans to remedy what they admit to be a problem?

It wasn’t an MCPS meeting. It was a PTA meeting. It did a good job of highlighting what the problems are and how to fix them.

This to me is the problem. That is NOT a good meeting. The issues highlighted have been highlighted for a long time. Evelyn Chung has been sounding the alarm about how our curriculum is NOT on grade level for years.

If MCPS officials are going to show up, they should be showing up with plans and remedies for the problem. Not just acknowledging a problem that has been repeatedly brought up time and time again. This is a failure on the part of the PTA and why people become disillusioned with them. They don't hold MCPS's feet to the fire.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They need better teachers, and better training for them once hired. THIS is what DEI should actually mean, for goodness' sakes!

Take my kids' math experience, for ex:

1. My son's 12th grade AP Calc BC teacher was awful last year. He didn't explain any of it clearly. The students who did well were very strong in math to begin with. We hired an expensive, and excellent math tutor, so DS could keep up. How on earth is this equitable?

2. My daughter's Algebra 2 teacher is similar. She doesn't explain anything on the tests unless kids show up to her office hours, which some kids can't do. Kids twiddled their thumbs for TWO days, and were told to do whatever they wanted during class, the week the notes were late. Apparently she doesn't write them herself, the math team does, and she just reads through them or something. Thankfully my daughter is naturally strong in math, and doesn't actually need much guidance. But if my son was in that class, he'd fail miserably. How is that equitable?!

I could cite you some other examples from my son's AP Computer Science Principles teacher, or his AP World History teacher. Or some of my kids' friends' experiences with abysmal world language teachers. One who long-termed subbed for a year and who didn't even speak the language! Talk about setting kids back...

This is the most basic requirement: that teachers actually know how to teach.

That requirement is not being met right now, and it should be met 100% of the time.

And look at other thread about teacher cuts. We are in a do-it-yourself teaching (or be tutored) generation...

Part of the issue here is the lack of textbooks.

My MS kid often comes home with random Science assignments where he is expected to just Google around for the answers. It's a waste of time and so ineffective.

Or, for Spanish, there is a random mish mash of photocopied worksheets. Useless. A workbook would be a million times better and the kids could refer back to previous units.

MCPS is a mess.

Oh, but a textbook is so heavy. Chromebooks much lighter with all of the world's information. !!!

Yes, textbooks are obsolete. They have this thing called the internet which is like 1,000,000 textbooks but better.

The internet does not present the information in a structured, laddered way that enables someone to learn content. That’s what a textbook can do.

Sending a child to the internet to learn is like throwing a thirsty person into the middle of the ocean. What they need is there, but it can’t be accessed in a usable way.

+1 expecting kids to google stuff isn't the answer. There is lots of bad info on there, and some people just aren't good at googling stuff.

My kid is smart, but not the best at googling stuff because they have a short attention span. If they can't find the answer in the first few sentence, they give up. This is what the internet age has done to our kids.

And I worked for that big tech. I have a love/hate relationship with the internet. It's great for a lot of things, but expecting kids to teach themselves the curriculum using the internet is not the right approach.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just get actual curriculum with textbooks and student books and workbooks.

Stop the DEI bullshit

That isn't going to work. And "stop the DEI bullshit" is such a weird, reactionary response. Let me guess, you're a white person who's tired of all this race talk already, think we live in a post-racial society and pride yourself on not seeing color?

? why isn't adding textbooks going to work?

And the comment about stopping the DEI BS is about using the funds to buy textbooks rather than DEI initiatives that clearly aren't working if the academic achievement of a certain group of kids is further falling behind even with all the DEI stuff that MCPS spends money on.

-dp and not a white person

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This workshop is really good.

What did they say?

A lot. It was content rich.

the PTA leaders reviewed outcomes for MCPS students (grades vs standardized test scores didn’t match — many kids who get good grades are not meeting grade-level standards in standardized tests). Discussed importance of a standards-aligned curriculum and implementation with fidelity. It does not seem like MCPS has either for secondary schools, based on chat comments. ES will have a new curriculum next year.

MCPS gave an overview of the updated English 9 curriculum, which is clearly not on grade level. Includes several middle-grade graphic novels, and there is maybe one book in each marking period on grade level (and no guarantee students will read those). This is for “honors” English. Really disappointing, but at least parents know about it.

They said they will be putting it online at some point, and I would encourage people to watch.

I'm confused. You said it was a good meeting even though MCPS officials confirmed our English 9 curriculum is not on grade level and offered no solutions or plans to remedy what they admit to be a problem?

It wasn’t an MCPS meeting. It was a PTA meeting. It did a good job of highlighting what the problems are and how to fix them.

This to me is the problem. That is NOT a good meeting. The issues highlighted have been highlighted for a long time. Evelyn Chung has been sounding the alarm about how our curriculum is NOT on grade level for years.

If MCPS officials are going to show up, they should be showing up with plans and remedies for the problem. Not just acknowledging a problem that has been repeatedly brought up time and time again. This is a failure on the part of the PTA and why people become disillusioned with them. They don't hold MCPS's feet to the fire.

NOBODY in MCPS central office cares about local PTAs or MCPTA. Principals MAY care about their individual PTA for fundraising efforts, but that is it. MCPTA is a complete joke and should be disbanded. It is just another level of MCPS-adjacent bureaucracy that isn't providing any value-added to students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They need better teachers, and better training for them once hired. THIS is what DEI should actually mean, for goodness' sakes!

Take my kids' math experience, for ex:

1. My son's 12th grade AP Calc BC teacher was awful last year. He didn't explain any of it clearly. The students who did well were very strong in math to begin with. We hired an expensive, and excellent math tutor, so DS could keep up. How on earth is this equitable?

2. My daughter's Algebra 2 teacher is similar. She doesn't explain anything on the tests unless kids show up to her office hours, which some kids can't do. Kids twiddled their thumbs for TWO days, and were told to do whatever they wanted during class, the week the notes were late. Apparently she doesn't write them herself, the math team does, and she just reads through them or something. Thankfully my daughter is naturally strong in math, and doesn't actually need much guidance. But if my son was in that class, he'd fail miserably. How is that equitable?!

I could cite you some other examples from my son's AP Computer Science Principles teacher, or his AP World History teacher. Or some of my kids' friends' experiences with abysmal world language teachers. One who long-termed subbed for a year and who didn't even speak the language! Talk about setting kids back...

This is the most basic requirement: that teachers actually know how to teach.

That requirement is not being met right now, and it should be met 100% of the time.

And look at other thread about teacher cuts. We are in a do-it-yourself teaching (or be tutored) generation...

Part of the issue here is the lack of textbooks.

My MS kid often comes home with random Science assignments where he is expected to just Google around for the answers. It's a waste of time and so ineffective.

Or, for Spanish, there is a random mish mash of photocopied worksheets. Useless. A workbook would be a million times better and the kids could refer back to previous units.

MCPS is a mess.

Oh, but a textbook is so heavy. Chromebooks much lighter with all of the world's information. !!!

Yes, textbooks are obsolete. They have this thing called the internet which is like 1,000,000 textbooks but better.

The internet does not present the information in a structured, laddered way that enables someone to learn content. That’s what a textbook can do.

Sending a child to the internet to learn is like throwing a thirsty person into the middle of the ocean. What they need is there, but it can’t be accessed in a usable way.

+1 expecting kids to google stuff isn't the answer. There is lots of bad info on there, and some people just aren't good at googling stuff.

My kid is smart, but not the best at googling stuff because they have a short attention span. If they can't find the answer in the first few sentence, they give up. This is what the internet age has done to our kids.

And I worked for that big tech. I have a love/hate relationship with the internet. It's great for a lot of things, but expecting kids to teach themselves the curriculum using the internet is not the right approach.

The Internet is also just worse now. It's literally more difficult to google things than it was in 2014, or 2004.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This workshop is really good.

What did they say?

A lot. It was content rich.

the PTA leaders reviewed outcomes for MCPS students (grades vs standardized test scores didn’t match — many kids who get good grades are not meeting grade-level standards in standardized tests). Discussed importance of a standards-aligned curriculum and implementation with fidelity. It does not seem like MCPS has either for secondary schools, based on chat comments. ES will have a new curriculum next year.

MCPS gave an overview of the updated English 9 curriculum, which is clearly not on grade level. Includes several middle-grade graphic novels, and there is maybe one book in each marking period on grade level (and no guarantee students will read those). This is for “honors” English. Really disappointing, but at least parents know about it.

They said they will be putting it online at some point, and I would encourage people to watch.

I'm confused. You said it was a good meeting even though MCPS officials confirmed our English 9 curriculum is not on grade level and offered no solutions or plans to remedy what they admit to be a problem?

It wasn’t an MCPS meeting. It was a PTA meeting. It did a good job of highlighting what the problems are and how to fix them.

This to me is the problem. That is NOT a good meeting. The issues highlighted have been highlighted for a long time. Evelyn Chung has been sounding the alarm about how our curriculum is NOT on grade level for years.

If MCPS officials are going to show up, they should be showing up with plans and remedies for the problem. Not just acknowledging a problem that has been repeatedly brought up time and time again. This is a failure on the part of the PTA and why people become disillusioned with them. They don't hold MCPS's feet to the fire.

This 1000%. And I say that as a PTA person. When MCPS CO comes back with solutions or rather non-solutions, MCCPtA should easily point them back to what the problems were they said they fix, indicate how this does not solve the problem, and then make their membership aware of the disconnect and have them rally to put pressure on MCPS to resolve which includes highlighting for the BOE where CO is failing.

Further, MCCPTA needs to focus on which issues they want addressed. If there are 10 issues within the secondary ELA classes, pick 4 and give them full attention for advocacy and resolution. That doesn’t mean ignoring the other 6, it means deciding a plan how to move forward.