MCPS has Plans!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS should realize that parents and teachers are tired of their marketing bs. There is no amount of spin that will undo the disservice that was done to teachers and students this abysmal year.

Quit the spin. Invest more money into the people who actually work with students - the teachers. More teachers will have the greatest impact. Stop the new programming because Social Emotional Learning programs will mean nothing when 40% of the math curriculum was dropped in FY21. Focus on getting students caught up in core subjects before adding fluff.

MCPS has a surplus from this past year of $24 million dollars. This was due to state and federal COVID grants. The BOE should prioritize that the funds go to getting class size smaller vs. even more Central Office staff. However, the BOE are morons who rubber stamp anything MCPS wants to do.

Agree. I don't want my kids getting social emotional learning from them. Just give them an education and we will handle being parents.

What does "an education" entail?

With MCPS, we don't have high expectations so we supplement at home and with private school summer programs.

Any decent parent does this. It was always true and necessary.

[Anonymous]

Build relationships and engage the community - This will NEVER happen till face to face meetings with parents and families take place. You can grocery shop now without a mask but a parent cannot give in person testimony at a Board of Education meeting. There’s no longer a Maryland state of emergency but parents still can only meet for IEP meetings online. MCPS is loosing credibility with their bs to exclude families from the conversations that affect their children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If we want the next generation to make a better country, we need them to learn from the mistakes of the past, including state sponsored, systemic racism.

All that won’t matter if they can’t do math, can’t spell and can’t write well. The people in leadership positions will be able to do all these things well and those who can’t will never be in any position to make the real change you are speaking of. If you want your kid to change the world make sure they are educated in the basics. They will never be taken seriously and get into positions to make change otherwise.
Critical thinking skills is also a must for this next generation.

Who said anything about getting rid of reading, writing, and arithmetic? We can do those and teach some historical context, too.

Nobody worth listening to. These posts are hysterical. The funny thing is my kids are far better prepared by MCPS today than I was when I attended a W 35 years ago.

Well, there are a limited numbers of hours in a day. And teachers have been saying there is not enough time to cover the material necessary. There were even some lobbying for longer school days.

If the time and resources are limited, that means that when the school system spends time and money on one thing, there is less time and money for other things. Logical assumption and it is true.

Also true that we have pretty abysmal stats for kids who are at or above grade level. At least, when I look at the stats for my kid’s nonW school, that is definitely the case. IOW, kids aren’t even getting the basics at MCPS.

Yes, that's true there are a limited number of hours in the day but my kid's teachers did an amazing job this past year. I have nothing but admiration for them. Both my kids managed to score in the 99% on their maps so the county seems to be doing something right.

Yep, your kids are doing well, so all must be well, right? Do you think every kid has been as fortunate as your kids?

Did your kids have one or two supportive parents available this past year? Did their parents lose their jobs?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS should realize that parents and teachers are tired of their marketing bs. There is no amount of spin that will undo the disservice that was done to teachers and students this abysmal year.

Quit the spin. Invest more money into the people who actually work with students - the teachers. More teachers will have the greatest impact. Stop the new programming because Social Emotional Learning programs will mean nothing when 40% of the math curriculum was dropped in FY21. Focus on getting students caught up in core subjects before adding fluff.

MCPS has a surplus from this past year of $24 million dollars. This was due to state and federal COVID grants. The BOE should prioritize that the funds go to getting class size smaller vs. even more Central Office staff. However, the BOE are morons who rubber stamp anything MCPS wants to do.

Agree. I don't want my kids getting social emotional learning from them. Just give them an education and we will handle being parents.

What does "an education" entail?

With MCPS, we don't have high expectations so we supplement at home and with private school summer programs.

Any decent parent does this. It was always true and necessary.

We do this, but I think it stinks. And it makes the Achievement Gap even worse.

I was a poor child of immigrant parents. My parents made education a priority but never paid for a tutor or private programs. Ever.

I got a fantastic education from my public school AND public college. I learned how to write well enough and got a strong Science/Math education that led me to a good career. I feel super fortunate but I think it’s sad that our public schools can’t offer this.

The writing education at my kids ES and MS has been pretty abysmal. And Math? Ugh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If we want the next generation to make a better country, we need them to learn from the mistakes of the past, including state sponsored, systemic racism.

All that won’t matter if they can’t do math, can’t spell and can’t write well. The people in leadership positions will be able to do all these things well and those who can’t will never be in any position to make the real change you are speaking of. If you want your kid to change the world make sure they are educated in the basics. They will never be taken seriously and get into positions to make change otherwise.
Critical thinking skills is also a must for this next generation.

Who said anything about getting rid of reading, writing, and arithmetic? We can do those and teach some historical context, too.

Nobody worth listening to. These posts are hysterical. The funny thing is my kids are far better prepared by MCPS today than I was when I attended a W 35 years ago.

Well, there are a limited numbers of hours in a day. And teachers have been saying there is not enough time to cover the material necessary. There were even some lobbying for longer school days.

If the time and resources are limited, that means that when the school system spends time and money on one thing, there is less time and money for other things. Logical assumption and it is true.

Also true that we have pretty abysmal stats for kids who are at or above grade level. At least, when I look at the stats for my kid’s nonW school, that is definitely the case. IOW, kids aren’t even getting the basics at MCPS.

Yes, that's true there are a limited number of hours in the day but my kid's teachers did an amazing job this past year. I have nothing but admiration for them. Both my kids managed to score in the 99% on their maps so the county seems to be doing something right.

Let me guess - your child does not have a disability. Online worked for some kids. For many students with disabilities, they could not receive their accommodations and services that they need for equal access. Also, many students with disabilities could not even be properly evaluated for disabilities because MCPS said that they couldn’t do it because of the pandemic even though private services opened last summer.

Good for your kids. I’m glad they were successful. Meanwhile, MCPS blatantly discriminated against students with disabilities during online learning and need to fund school resources and staff to catch students up. When MCPS is reporting a 30% increase in the failure rate of a sizable demographic such as students with disabilities, they have data on hand that shows the impact of the inequitable access to educational opportunities.

The same can be said about the Achievement Gap of black/brown students that MCPS has tried for decades to fix. Discrimination of any child is abhorrent but the data is saying that there are systemic equities throughout MCPS beyond just skin color.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If we want the next generation to make a better country, we need them to learn from the mistakes of the past, including state sponsored, systemic racism.

All that won’t matter if they can’t do math, can’t spell and can’t write well. The people in leadership positions will be able to do all these things well and those who can’t will never be in any position to make the real change you are speaking of. If you want your kid to change the world make sure they are educated in the basics. They will never be taken seriously and get into positions to make change otherwise.
Critical thinking skills is also a must for this next generation.

Who said anything about getting rid of reading, writing, and arithmetic? We can do those and teach some historical context, too.

Nobody worth listening to. These posts are hysterical. The funny thing is my kids are far better prepared by MCPS today than I was when I attended a W 35 years ago.

Well, there are a limited numbers of hours in a day. And teachers have been saying there is not enough time to cover the material necessary. There were even some lobbying for longer school days.

If the time and resources are limited, that means that when the school system spends time and money on one thing, there is less time and money for other things. Logical assumption and it is true.

Also true that we have pretty abysmal stats for kids who are at or above grade level. At least, when I look at the stats for my kid’s nonW school, that is definitely the case. IOW, kids aren’t even getting the basics at MCPS.

Yes, that's true there are a limited number of hours in the day but my kid's teachers did an amazing job this past year. I have nothing but admiration for them. Both my kids managed to score in the 99% on their maps so the county seems to be doing something right.

Let me guess - your child does not have a disability. Online worked for some kids. For many students with disabilities, they could not receive their accommodations and services that they need for equal access. Also, many students with disabilities could not even be properly evaluated for disabilities because MCPS said that they couldn’t do it because of the pandemic even though private services opened last summer.

Good for your kids. I’m glad they were successful. Meanwhile, MCPS blatantly discriminated against students with disabilities during online learning and need to fund school resources and staff to catch students up. When MCPS is reporting a 30% increase in the failure rate of a sizable demographic such as students with disabilities, they have data on hand that shows the impact of the inequitable access to educational opportunities.

The same can be said about the Achievement Gap of black/brown students that MCPS has tried for decades to fix. Discrimination of any child is abhorrent but the data is saying that there are systemic equities throughout MCPS beyond just skin color.

I think online worked for me mostly because I'm involved in my kid's education and don't expect the county to do it all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I think online worked for me mostly because I'm involved in my kid's education and don't expect the county to do it all.

Damn you, Poe's Law!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If we want the next generation to make a better country, we need them to learn from the mistakes of the past, including state sponsored, systemic racism.

All that won’t matter if they can’t do math, can’t spell and can’t write well. The people in leadership positions will be able to do all these things well and those who can’t will never be in any position to make the real change you are speaking of. If you want your kid to change the world make sure they are educated in the basics. They will never be taken seriously and get into positions to make change otherwise.
Critical thinking skills is also a must for this next generation.

Who said anything about getting rid of reading, writing, and arithmetic? We can do those and teach some historical context, too.

Nobody worth listening to. These posts are hysterical. The funny thing is my kids are far better prepared by MCPS today than I was when I attended a W 35 years ago.

Well, there are a limited numbers of hours in a day. And teachers have been saying there is not enough time to cover the material necessary. There were even some lobbying for longer school days.

If the time and resources are limited, that means that when the school system spends time and money on one thing, there is less time and money for other things. Logical assumption and it is true.

Also true that we have pretty abysmal stats for kids who are at or above grade level. At least, when I look at the stats for my kid’s nonW school, that is definitely the case. IOW, kids aren’t even getting the basics at MCPS.

Yes, that's true there are a limited number of hours in the day but my kid's teachers did an amazing job this past year. I have nothing but admiration for them. Both my kids managed to score in the 99% on their maps so the county seems to be doing something right.

Let me guess - your child does not have a disability. Online worked for some kids. For many students with disabilities, they could not receive their accommodations and services that they need for equal access. Also, many students with disabilities could not even be properly evaluated for disabilities because MCPS said that they couldn’t do it because of the pandemic even though private services opened last summer.

Good for your kids. I’m glad they were successful. Meanwhile, MCPS blatantly discriminated against students with disabilities during online learning and need to fund school resources and staff to catch students up. When MCPS is reporting a 30% increase in the failure rate of a sizable demographic such as students with disabilities, they have data on hand that shows the impact of the inequitable access to educational opportunities.

The same can be said about the Achievement Gap of black/brown students that MCPS has tried for decades to fix. Discrimination of any child is abhorrent but the data is saying that there are systemic equities throughout MCPS beyond just skin color.

I think online worked for me mostly because I'm involved in my kid's education and don't expect the county to do it all.

Then homeschool your kids since you do a better job than MCPS.

Your situation, time, and resources are not a majority in the county. I think parents and students have a right to expect a public education means MCPS will do the educating.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Build relationships and engage the community - This will NEVER happen till face to face meetings with parents and families take place. You can grocery shop now without a mask but a parent cannot give in person testimony at a Board of Education meeting. There’s no longer a Maryland state of emergency but parents still can only meet for IEP meetings online. MCPS is loosing credibility with their bs to exclude families from the conversations that affect their children.

Even with face to face meetings, how does that help if they will not work with families and kids to actually create an IEP to meet the kids actual needs and diagnosis (vs. their educational diagnosis) and implement the plans. People are acting like these are new issues and it as no different than pre-covid in person. I would have preferred an online IEP meeting as we weren't allow any input and the IEP didn't reflect my child's needs. Face to face vs. online isn't going to change anything. Them hiring more special education teachers, more SLP's, OT's, PT's and paraprofessionals with the extra money is what is needed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If we want the next generation to make a better country, we need them to learn from the mistakes of the past, including state sponsored, systemic racism.

All that won’t matter if they can’t do math, can’t spell and can’t write well. The people in leadership positions will be able to do all these things well and those who can’t will never be in any position to make the real change you are speaking of. If you want your kid to change the world make sure they are educated in the basics. They will never be taken seriously and get into positions to make change otherwise.
Critical thinking skills is also a must for this next generation.

Who said anything about getting rid of reading, writing, and arithmetic? We can do those and teach some historical context, too.

Nobody worth listening to. These posts are hysterical. The funny thing is my kids are far better prepared by MCPS today than I was when I attended a W 35 years ago.

Well, there are a limited numbers of hours in a day. And teachers have been saying there is not enough time to cover the material necessary. There were even some lobbying for longer school days.

If the time and resources are limited, that means that when the school system spends time and money on one thing, there is less time and money for other things. Logical assumption and it is true.

Also true that we have pretty abysmal stats for kids who are at or above grade level. At least, when I look at the stats for my kid’s nonW school, that is definitely the case. IOW, kids aren’t even getting the basics at MCPS.

Yes, that's true there are a limited number of hours in the day but my kid's teachers did an amazing job this past year. I have nothing but admiration for them. Both my kids managed to score in the 99% on their maps so the county seems to be doing something right.

Let me guess - your child does not have a disability. Online worked for some kids. For many students with disabilities, they could not receive their accommodations and services that they need for equal access. Also, many students with disabilities could not even be properly evaluated for disabilities because MCPS said that they couldn’t do it because of the pandemic even though private services opened last summer.

Good for your kids. I’m glad they were successful. Meanwhile, MCPS blatantly discriminated against students with disabilities during online learning and need to fund school resources and staff to catch students up. When MCPS is reporting a 30% increase in the failure rate of a sizable demographic such as students with disabilities, they have data on hand that shows the impact of the inequitable access to educational opportunities.

The same can be said about the Achievement Gap of black/brown students that MCPS has tried for decades to fix. Discrimination of any child is abhorrent but the data is saying that there are systemic equities throughout MCPS beyond just skin color.

I think online worked for me mostly because I'm involved in my kid's education and don't expect the county to do it all.

Then homeschool your kids since you do a better job than MCPS.

Your situation, time, and resources are not a majority in the county. I think parents and students have a right to expect a public education means MCPS will do the educating.

You need parent involvement. The kids who did well online had parents or an adult who monitored things including kids log on, participate and did the assignments. If you cannot do that much, you should really look at your parenting as kids need that both in person and online. MCPS can educate but kids also need parental support, help and supervision.

The issue with the "achievement" gap at our school and we are at one of those school is that those kids are ESOL and if you aren't strong in English its hard to do well on the standardized tests, so matter how smart/hard worker you are. They need more supports for the ESOL (and SN) kids and they need to allow some of the tests to be taken in the language the kids speak/read at home if they are stronger in that language.

My child has/had SN, significant in ES. If we waited for MCPS to support our child, our child would graduate before being given much of anything. Any parent who has a SN child in MCPS who can afford it generally does private evaluations, services and tutoring to make sure they are successful. Our IEP had all sorts of supports the staff came up with but not once were they implemented and the actual services were a joke of 1-2 30 minute sessions with 6-8 kids of unrelated needs in varying grades. They are checking the box vs. actually doing anything. If anything online would have been great as we could have done services during the lunch break and other times vs. pulling our child out of school daily to get them to their therapies that MCPS refused.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS should realize that parents and teachers are tired of their marketing bs. There is no amount of spin that will undo the disservice that was done to teachers and students this abysmal year.

Quit the spin. Invest more money into the people who actually work with students - the teachers. More teachers will have the greatest impact. Stop the new programming because Social Emotional Learning programs will mean nothing when 40% of the math curriculum was dropped in FY21. Focus on getting students caught up in core subjects before adding fluff.

MCPS has a surplus from this past year of $24 million dollars. This was due to state and federal COVID grants. The BOE should prioritize that the funds go to getting class size smaller vs. even more Central Office staff. However, the BOE are morons who rubber stamp anything MCPS wants to do.

Agree. I don't want my kids getting social emotional learning from them. Just give them an education and we will handle being parents.

What does "an education" entail?

With MCPS, we don't have high expectations so we supplement at home and with private school summer programs.

Any decent parent does this. It was always true and necessary.

We do this, but I think it stinks. And it makes the Achievement Gap even worse.

I was a poor child of immigrant parents. My parents made education a priority but never paid for a tutor or private programs. Ever.

I got a fantastic education from my public school AND public college. I learned how to write well enough and got a strong Science/Math education that led me to a good career. I feel super fortunate but I think it’s sad that our public schools can’t offer this.

The writing education at my kids ES and MS has been pretty abysmal. And Math? Ugh.

It hasn't changed at all. In MCPS and any school system you will always have a group of high achievers, kids in the middle/average and kid struggling. You don't need to pay for tutors. We never have. K-5th we did workbooks with ours and in later years we did supplement with private summer school but only due to covid and not doing anything in person still. I spent maybe $15-30 a year on workbooks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Build relationships and engage the community - This will NEVER happen till face to face meetings with parents and families take place. You can grocery shop now without a mask but a parent cannot give in person testimony at a Board of Education meeting. There’s no longer a Maryland state of emergency but parents still can only meet for IEP meetings online. MCPS is loosing credibility with their bs to exclude families from the conversations that affect their children.

Even with face to face meetings, how does that help if they will not work with families and kids to actually create an IEP to meet the kids actual needs and diagnosis (vs. their educational diagnosis) and implement the plans. People are acting like these are new issues and it as no different than pre-covid in person. I would have preferred an online IEP meeting as we weren't allow any input and the IEP didn't reflect my child's needs. Face to face vs. online isn't going to change anything. Them hiring more special education teachers, more SLP's, OT's, PT's and paraprofessionals with the extra money is what is needed.

Tell me this - When did MCPS stop writing the IEP at an IEP meeting? That seems like that should be the actual point of the meeting, to collaborate, discuss, and actually write the IEP. This year, we met and had a discussion in which everything we wanted was shut down and no explanation as to why. The document that came home afterwards might as well have been locked in before the IEP meeting.

We have asked the State of Maryland to investigate because even the PWN paperwork doesn’t match the IEP. There also was a rushed to deny ESY and Compensatory Services. In our opinion problems for students with disabilities have been bad in the past but MCPS this year hit an all time low when students with disabilities needed support the most.

Where MCPS puts funding will show Dr. McNight’s priorities. Special education deserves more attention to help kids recover from a lost year that many will never fully recover.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Build relationships and engage the community - This will NEVER happen till face to face meetings with parents and families take place. You can grocery shop now without a mask but a parent cannot give in person testimony at a Board of Education meeting. There’s no longer a Maryland state of emergency but parents still can only meet for IEP meetings online. MCPS is loosing credibility with their bs to exclude families from the conversations that affect their children.

Even with face to face meetings, how does that help if they will not work with families and kids to actually create an IEP to meet the kids actual needs and diagnosis (vs. their educational diagnosis) and implement the plans. People are acting like these are new issues and it as no different than pre-covid in person. I would have preferred an online IEP meeting as we weren't allow any input and the IEP didn't reflect my child's needs. Face to face vs. online isn't going to change anything. Them hiring more special education teachers, more SLP's, OT's, PT's and paraprofessionals with the extra money is what is needed.

Tell me this - When did MCPS stop writing the IEP at an IEP meeting? That seems like that should be the actual point of the meeting, to collaborate, discuss, and actually write the IEP. This year, we met and had a discussion in which everything we wanted was shut down and no explanation as to why. The document that came home afterwards might as well have been locked in before the IEP meeting.

We have asked the State of Maryland to investigate because even the PWN paperwork doesn’t match the IEP. There also was a rushed to deny ESY and Compensatory Services. In our opinion problems for students with disabilities have been bad in the past but MCPS this year hit an all time low when students with disabilities needed support the most.

Where MCPS puts funding will show Dr. McNight’s priorities. Special education deserves more attention to help kids recover from a lost year that many will never fully recover.

That is completely normal and nothing to do with covid. Ours were written the day before. Our original one made zero sense and was clearly recycled from another child as it had another child's first name on it as well. They always shut down everything we said and refused to do things like speak with our private providers and work with us on things like sending the work home that doesn't get done in school if child needs extra help. Really simple things. So, for us, online was better as we could monitor things and provide the needed support. Everyone keeps blaming covid for special education issues but it has nothing to do with covid except with covid and kids home you can now see the flaws in it vs at school you couldn't see it. Even when you go back in person, it isn't going to be any better and if you have a child with SN you either have to hire an advocate and stay on top of it to make sure your child is getting what they need, or pay for private tutors, evaluations and therapists (and supplement yourself) or both. Don't wait for MCPS to help your child as they aren't going to except in rare situations and its on you as a parent to do it. In ES, we only had one decent teacher who actually tried to support and understand our child. That's pretty sad.

Dr. McNight haas many issues to fix. Even if she makes it a priority, its not going to happen overnight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Build relationships and engage the community - This will NEVER happen till face to face meetings with parents and families take place. You can grocery shop now without a mask but a parent cannot give in person testimony at a Board of Education meeting. There’s no longer a Maryland state of emergency but parents still can only meet for IEP meetings online. MCPS is loosing credibility with their bs to exclude families from the conversations that affect their children.

Even with face to face meetings, how does that help if they will not work with families and kids to actually create an IEP to meet the kids actual needs and diagnosis (vs. their educational diagnosis) and implement the plans. People are acting like these are new issues and it as no different than pre-covid in person. I would have preferred an online IEP meeting as we weren't allow any input and the IEP didn't reflect my child's needs. Face to face vs. online isn't going to change anything. Them hiring more special education teachers, more SLP's, OT's, PT's and paraprofessionals with the extra money is what is needed.

Tell me this - When did MCPS stop writing the IEP at an IEP meeting? That seems like that should be the actual point of the meeting, to collaborate, discuss, and actually write the IEP. This year, we met and had a discussion in which everything we wanted was shut down and no explanation as to why. The document that came home afterwards might as well have been locked in before the IEP meeting.

We have asked the State of Maryland to investigate because even the PWN paperwork doesn’t match the IEP. There also was a rushed to deny ESY and Compensatory Services. In our opinion problems for students with disabilities have been bad in the past but MCPS this year hit an all time low when students with disabilities needed support the most.

Where MCPS puts funding will show Dr. McNight’s priorities. Special education deserves more attention to help kids recover from a lost year that many will never fully recover.

That is completely normal and nothing to do with covid. Ours were written the day before. Our original one made zero sense and was clearly recycled from another child as it had another child's first name on it as well. They always shut down everything we said and refused to do things like speak with our private providers and work with us on things like sending the work home that doesn't get done in school if child needs extra help. Really simple things. So, for us, online was better as we could monitor things and provide the needed support. Everyone keeps blaming covid for special education issues but it has nothing to do with covid except with covid and kids home you can now see the flaws in it vs at school you couldn't see it. Even when you go back in person, it isn't going to be any better and if you have a child with SN you either have to hire an advocate and stay on top of it to make sure your child is getting what they need, or pay for private tutors, evaluations and therapists (and supplement yourself) or both. Don't wait for MCPS to help your child as they aren't going to except in rare situations and its on you as a parent to do it. In ES, we only had one decent teacher who actually tried to support and understand our child. That's pretty sad.

Dr. McNight haas many issues to fix. Even if she makes it a priority, its not going to happen overnight.

Oh, should say they NEVER write the IEP at the IEP meeting. They write it in advanced, send it to you if you are lucky the day before, and expect you to 100% agree. Or, that was our experience. We never signed ours as we never agreed and nothing was done to fix it or work with us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Build relationships and engage the community - This will NEVER happen till face to face meetings with parents and families take place. You can grocery shop now without a mask but a parent cannot give in person testimony at a Board of Education meeting. There’s no longer a Maryland state of emergency but parents still can only meet for IEP meetings online. MCPS is loosing credibility with their bs to exclude families from the conversations that affect their children.

Even with face to face meetings, how does that help if they will not work with families and kids to actually create an IEP to meet the kids actual needs and diagnosis (vs. their educational diagnosis) and implement the plans. People are acting like these are new issues and it as no different than pre-covid in person. I would have preferred an online IEP meeting as we weren't allow any input and the IEP didn't reflect my child's needs. Face to face vs. online isn't going to change anything. Them hiring more special education teachers, more SLP's, OT's, PT's and paraprofessionals with the extra money is what is needed.

Tell me this - When did MCPS stop writing the IEP at an IEP meeting? That seems like that should be the actual point of the meeting, to collaborate, discuss, and actually write the IEP. This year, we met and had a discussion in which everything we wanted was shut down and no explanation as to why. The document that came home afterwards might as well have been locked in before the IEP meeting.

We have asked the State of Maryland to investigate because even the PWN paperwork doesn’t match the IEP. There also was a rushed to deny ESY and Compensatory Services. In our opinion problems for students with disabilities have been bad in the past but MCPS this year hit an all time low when students with disabilities needed support the most.

Where MCPS puts funding will show Dr. McNight’s priorities. Special education deserves more attention to help kids recover from a lost year that many will never fully recover.

That is completely normal and nothing to do with covid. Ours were written the day before. Our original one made zero sense and was clearly recycled from another child as it had another child's first name on it as well. They always shut down everything we said and refused to do things like speak with our private providers and work with us on things like sending the work home that doesn't get done in school if child needs extra help. Really simple things. So, for us, online was better as we could monitor things and provide the needed support. Everyone keeps blaming covid for special education issues but it has nothing to do with covid except with covid and kids home you can now see the flaws in it vs at school you couldn't see it. Even when you go back in person, it isn't going to be any better and if you have a child with SN you either have to hire an advocate and stay on top of it to make sure your child is getting what they need, or pay for private tutors, evaluations and therapists (and supplement yourself) or both. Don't wait for MCPS to help your child as they aren't going to except in rare situations and its on you as a parent to do it. In ES, we only had one decent teacher who actually tried to support and understand our child. That's pretty sad.

Dr. McNight haas many issues to fix. Even if she makes it a priority, its not going to happen overnight.

Oh, should say they NEVER write the IEP at the IEP meeting. They write it in advanced, send it to you if you are lucky the day before, and expect you to 100% agree. Or, that was our experience. We never signed ours as we never agreed and nothing was done to fix it or work with us.

Would you mind saying the school? I just thought our Special Education Resource Teacher was incompetent at reading a calendar. Documents are supposed to arrive to parents 5 business days before the IEP meeting. Ours doesn’t put it into the mail until then so of course we receive them late.

With all the shell games to exclude parents from participating in IEP process, it makes me worry how my child will be treated during in person instruction. Mean, nasty, deceitful, and liars don’t make good role models for children. It doesn’t build trust with community members.