Upcoming in-person boundary study & regional model "engagement session": how to engage?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They are desperately trying to shut down concerns and feedback on record. This is disrespectful and against the will of the majority. I didn’t work at Kennedy and it won’t work at Blair. My guess is after both parents and teachers associations spoke out against the regional model, it is dead. Now is time to jump ship. Taylor is already pivoting, trying to shift the blame to BoE.

No one should show up and instead go to the BOE meetings and county council and news. I think they will go ahead with it.

[Anonymous]

Very simple, from what I obseved at Kennedy - MCPS leadership wants to check the box of engagement (no matter how fake that is) after BoE asked for it. They will (a) keep the engagement as short as possible, 1 hour, and not a minute more (b) waste at least 30 mins by repeating useless info and propaganda video (c) shut down overall Q&A and absolutely no back and forth (d) monopolize the microphone and (e) not record (especially after Kennedy).
Here comes the power of the people to counter MCPS leadership’s fake engagement: collectively demand general Q&A (just like at Kennedy) or walk out, prepare and ask tough questions, bring our own miccrophones and organize our own recording. Anything else?

[Anonymous]

Maybe: lets bring recorders and phones with lots of storage, stand ready to challenge MCPS’ disingenuous engagement and demand on-record Q&A.

[Anonymous]

I’m not convinced the Watkins Mill meeting happened.

And you are an absolute fool if you think the message warning people about the format for Blair is anything other than an attempt to stifle dissent.

[Anonymous]

I think we should all gather at the table with whoever the highest-up person there is (Essie Maguire if she attends, or I guess Jeannie Franklin if she doesn't), regardless of whether they tell us only 5 or however many people can be there at a time. And ask our questions, including why they refuse to collect or consider feedback, why this can't be delayed a year when it's obvious to everyone else it's needed, how exactly the transportation is supposed to work, why they're putting the humanities magnet at Whitman, and whatever else is on everyone's mind. But if they try to ensure there's no "whole room" discussion, we all go over to one table with the key decision-maker and basically turn that into the whole room discussion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think we should all gather at the table with whoever the highest-up person there is (Essie Maguire if she attends, or I guess Jeannie Franklin if she doesn't), regardless of whether they tell us only 5 or however many people can be there at a time. And ask our questions, including why they refuse to collect or consider feedback, why this can't be delayed a year when it's obvious to everyone else it's needed, how exactly the transportation is supposed to work, why they're putting the humanities magnet at Whitman, and whatever else is on everyone's mind. But if they try to ensure there's no "whole room" discussion, we all go over to one table with the key decision-maker and basically turn that into the whole room discussion.

Everyone should try to get video of their own table discussions, or at least take copious written notes. Get MCPS on record.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think we should all gather at the table with whoever the highest-up person there is (Essie Maguire if she attends, or I guess Jeannie Franklin if she doesn't), regardless of whether they tell us only 5 or however many people can be there at a time. And ask our questions, including why they refuse to collect or consider feedback, why this can't be delayed a year when it's obvious to everyone else it's needed, how exactly the transportation is supposed to work, why they're putting the humanities magnet at Whitman, and whatever else is on everyone's mind. But if they try to ensure there's no "whole room" discussion, we all go over to one table with the key decision-maker and basically turn that into the whole room discussion.

Everyone should try to get video of their own table discussions, or at least take copious written notes. Get MCPS on record.

If anyone is doing this, they need to blur out any non-MCPS person in anything they post.

Really, this is why they need those three different areas mentioned earlier. One to run the pre-recorded video in a loop (so as not to waste Q&A/interaction time for those already well versed). One not videoed for small table discussion (so as not to limit those non-MCPS folks who prefer not to be recorded). One public/recorded Q&A manned by top-level MCPS personnel who can't fall back on some lack of authorization to answer something.

[Anonymous]

Critical to demand on-recorf Q&A

[Anonymous]

New presentation slides suggest they are allowing only 15 minutes of at-table, small-group Q&A.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:New presentation slides suggest they are allowing only 15 minutes of at-table, small-group Q&A.

This is intentional.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think we should all gather at the table with whoever the highest-up person there is (Essie Maguire if she attends, or I guess Jeannie Franklin if she doesn't), regardless of whether they tell us only 5 or however many people can be there at a time. And ask our questions, including why they refuse to collect or consider feedback, why this can't be delayed a year when it's obvious to everyone else it's needed, how exactly the transportation is supposed to work, why they're putting the humanities magnet at Whitman, and whatever else is on everyone's mind. But if they try to ensure there's no "whole room" discussion, we all go over to one table with the key decision-maker and basically turn that into the whole room discussion.

That’s a good idea

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:New presentation slides suggest they are allowing only 15 minutes of at-table, small-group Q&A.

They are going to make everyone listen to 45 minutes of presentation on stuff most of us already know?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:New presentation slides suggest they are allowing only 15 minutes of at-table, small-group Q&A.

They are going to make everyone listen to 45 minutes of presentation on stuff most of us already know?

Yup!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:New presentation slides suggest they are allowing only 15 minutes of at-table, small-group Q&A.

They are going to make everyone listen to 45 minutes of presentation on stuff most of us already know?

Where have you been for the past decade? This is MCPS Engagement 101! (Chapter 5: Minimizing Time for Effective Stakeholder Information Gathering when Needing to Claim Such in Presentations to the Board)

[Anonymous]

Very curious to hear how things go tonight at Blair if anyone who’s there wants to report back.