Teachers' Union votes to oppose MCPS' current regional program plan

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They should have kept Felder in place. Taylor is terrible.

I can’t go that far. Taylor is trash but so was Felder. Sadly, it’s been a long time since MCPS has had a qualified and competent superintendent.

Felder was substantive. Taylor is all style, but substance.

You are correct that he has no substance. But he is worse than that. He doesn't listen and he thinks he has all the answers. He is an extreme change agent who doesn't care if he is breaking things or if what he creates is poor quality. We need to get rid of him and do it in a timely manner so the BOE is not forced into a hasty decision, like it was when they hired him.

He met with a group of parents recently and tried to foist blame for this on the Board of Ed, saying he would have preferred to wait. Yeah, right.

Wait, what? Can you say more about this?

I heard it secondhand. Parents from some of the magnet programs (RMIB and Blair SMCS) met with him recently and that's what they told me in a conversation after the fact. I'm sorry I don't have more details than that.

Got it, thanks. Did the people you talked to find that argument from him convincing or did you get the sense they thought he was just trying to avoid blame?

I was there. Taylor seemed to be shifting blame to the BOE. He said a few alarming things in the meeting, including having only to have to plan one year of programming at a time. Year one of regional programs = 1 year of curriculum. Year two, he said he only had to plan that second year's worth of programming. In year three, he only had to plan the third year of programming, and in year four, he had only to create the year four programming.

That is not how curriculum is developed. You develop learning outcomes, and then begin to develop scope and sequence. This should be a comprehensive initiative. Taylor was pledging to provide us with incompetent educational programming, while also diminishing the catchment areas of flagship programs.

Thanks for the insight, really appreciate it (although yes, alarming.) Can you say more about how he was shifting blame to the BoE? Did he make it sound like he would be willing to push the timing back a year if the Board wanted that, but that he felt his hands were tied, or what?

Taylor said the Board of Education told him to do the boundaries studies and the program analysis. He would have waited. He said the CIP is tied to the program analysis and the boundary studies. He said he is a planner by nature. He said that the MCCPTA said, "We don't have enough access to criteria-based programs and gifted programs," implying that MCCPTA told him to do the program analysis.

I don't see that the CIP is not tied to the program analysis. They are placing programs in high school facilities that are not properly equipped and designed to receive them - an inconvenient fact that Taylor ignores.

The gifted committee is extremely opposed to the new regional magnet plans, so the people who want access to the gifted programs are advocating for the non-gifted students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They should have kept Felder in place. Taylor is terrible.

I can’t go that far. Taylor is trash but so was Felder. Sadly, it’s been a long time since MCPS has had a qualified and competent superintendent.

Felder was substantive. Taylor is all style, but substance.

You are correct that he has no substance. But he is worse than that. He doesn't listen and he thinks he has all the answers. He is an extreme change agent who doesn't care if he is breaking things or if what he creates is poor quality. We need to get rid of him and do it in a timely manner so the BOE is not forced into a hasty decision, like it was when they hired him.

He met with a group of parents recently and tried to foist blame for this on the Board of Ed, saying he would have preferred to wait. Yeah, right.

Wait, what? Can you say more about this?

I heard it secondhand. Parents from some of the magnet programs (RMIB and Blair SMCS) met with him recently and that's what they told me in a conversation after the fact. I'm sorry I don't have more details than that.

Got it, thanks. Did the people you talked to find that argument from him convincing or did you get the sense they thought he was just trying to avoid blame?

I was there. Taylor seemed to be shifting blame to the BOE. He said a few alarming things in the meeting, including having only to have to plan one year of programming at a time. Year one of regional programs = 1 year of curriculum. Year two, he said he only had to plan that second year's worth of programming. In year three, he only had to plan the third year of programming, and in year four, he had only to create the year four programming.

That is not how curriculum is developed. You develop learning outcomes, and then begin to develop scope and sequence. This should be a comprehensive initiative. Taylor was pledging to provide us with incompetent educational programming, while also diminishing the catchment areas of flagship programs.

Thanks for the insight, really appreciate it (although yes, alarming.) Can you say more about how he was shifting blame to the BoE? Did he make it sound like he would be willing to push the timing back a year if the Board wanted that, but that he felt his hands were tied, or what?

Taylor said the Board of Education told him to do the boundaries studies and the program analysis. He would have waited. He said the CIP is tied to the program analysis and the boundary studies. He said he is a planner by nature. He said that the MCCPTA said, "We don't have enough access to criteria-based programs and gifted programs," implying that MCCPTA told him to do the program analysis.

I don't see that the CIP is not tied to the program analysis. They are placing programs in high school facilities that are not properly equipped and designed to receive them - an inconvenient fact that Taylor ignores.

The gifted committee is extremely opposed to the new regional magnet plans, so the people who want access to the gifted programs are advocating for the non-gifted students.

Which ironically will help the high SES schools the most

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They should have kept Felder in place. Taylor is terrible.

I can’t go that far. Taylor is trash but so was Felder. Sadly, it’s been a long time since MCPS has had a qualified and competent superintendent.

Felder was substantive. Taylor is all style, but substance.

You are correct that he has no substance. But he is worse than that. He doesn't listen and he thinks he has all the answers. He is an extreme change agent who doesn't care if he is breaking things or if what he creates is poor quality. We need to get rid of him and do it in a timely manner so the BOE is not forced into a hasty decision, like it was when they hired him.

He met with a group of parents recently and tried to foist blame for this on the Board of Ed, saying he would have preferred to wait. Yeah, right.

Wait, what? Can you say more about this?

I heard it secondhand. Parents from some of the magnet programs (RMIB and Blair SMCS) met with him recently and that's what they told me in a conversation after the fact. I'm sorry I don't have more details than that.

Got it, thanks. Did the people you talked to find that argument from him convincing or did you get the sense they thought he was just trying to avoid blame?

I was there. Taylor seemed to be shifting blame to the BOE. He said a few alarming things in the meeting, including having only to have to plan one year of programming at a time. Year one of regional programs = 1 year of curriculum. Year two, he said he only had to plan that second year's worth of programming. In year three, he only had to plan the third year of programming, and in year four, he had only to create the year four programming.

That is not how curriculum is developed. You develop learning outcomes, and then begin to develop scope and sequence. This should be a comprehensive initiative. Taylor was pledging to provide us with incompetent educational programming, while also diminishing the catchment areas of flagship programs.

Thanks for the insight, really appreciate it (although yes, alarming.) Can you say more about how he was shifting blame to the BoE? Did he make it sound like he would be willing to push the timing back a year if the Board wanted that, but that he felt his hands were tied, or what?

Taylor said the Board of Education told him to do the boundaries studies and the program analysis. He would have waited. He said the CIP is tied to the program analysis and the boundary studies. He said he is a planner by nature. He said that the MCCPTA said, "We don't have enough access to criteria-based programs and gifted programs," implying that MCCPTA told him to do the program analysis.

I don't see that the CIP is not tied to the program analysis. They are placing programs in high school facilities that are not properly equipped and designed to receive them - an inconvenient fact that Taylor ignores.

Just because MCCPTA wanted more access and equity does not mean they have to like Taylor’s proposed solution. Taylor’s proposed solution makes the problem worse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:From the Bethesda Bear article:

In a statement emailed to Bethesda Today on Thursday, MCPS spokesperson Liliana López said the program analysis is an “iterative process” aimed at expanding programming access for all students.

“We hear the community’s concerns about the pace. However, we believe moving forward is essential to establishing the foundational model needed for future growth,” López said. “While we know that there will be a transition period, we are proceeding with intentional urgency because delaying this work risks maintaining a system of scarcity and inequity. Our commitment is to our students, and we believe it is in their best interest to continue building these opportunities now.”

To MCPS spokesperson Liliana López:

Just because the community is concerned with pace does NOT mean the community is not interested in moving forward.

Teachers (MCEA) and parents (MCCPTA and the majority of us) want to be actively involved in the development of the proposed model so that MCPS can move forward with a plan that ensures programming access is meaningfully and equitably expanded for all students.

Because the district is “moving too quickly to meaningfully gather input and address the various issues that we’re sharing as a community,” as MCEA Vice President Danillya Wilson puts it, proceeding with the proposed regional model with intentional urgency risks worsening a system of scarcity and inequity.

The proposed regional model does not have to be “foundational” (ie, established concurrently with the boundaries study) for future growth. We don’t even know if the new boundaries are for one new school or for two,
or if the opening of the second new school (Crown) will be delayed to be a temporary holding school, and whether the boundaries should therefore have a two-step execution,
and what the big drops in student enrollment should mean for boundaries and programs, and what the new FARMS rate for each cluster will be in order to equitably balance any regions there may be.

There are too many unknown variables, so boundaries should be figured out before programs and any regions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They should have kept Felder in place. Taylor is terrible.

I can’t go that far. Taylor is trash but so was Felder. Sadly, it’s been a long time since MCPS has had a qualified and competent superintendent.

Felder was substantive. Taylor is all style, but substance.

You are correct that he has no substance. But he is worse than that. He doesn't listen and he thinks he has all the answers. He is an extreme change agent who doesn't care if he is breaking things or if what he creates is poor quality. We need to get rid of him and do it in a timely manner so the BOE is not forced into a hasty decision, like it was when they hired him.

He met with a group of parents recently and tried to foist blame for this on the Board of Ed, saying he would have preferred to wait. Yeah, right.

Wait, what? Can you say more about this?

I heard it secondhand. Parents from some of the magnet programs (RMIB and Blair SMCS) met with him recently and that's what they told me in a conversation after the fact. I'm sorry I don't have more details than that.

Got it, thanks. Did the people you talked to find that argument from him convincing or did you get the sense they thought he was just trying to avoid blame?

I was there. Taylor seemed to be shifting blame to the BOE. He said a few alarming things in the meeting, including having only to have to plan one year of programming at a time. Year one of regional programs = 1 year of curriculum. Year two, he said he only had to plan that second year's worth of programming. In year three, he only had to plan the third year of programming, and in year four, he had only to create the year four programming.

That is not how curriculum is developed. You develop learning outcomes, and then begin to develop scope and sequence. This should be a comprehensive initiative. Taylor was pledging to provide us with incompetent educational programming, while also diminishing the catchment areas of flagship programs.

Thanks for the insight, really appreciate it (although yes, alarming.) Can you say more about how he was shifting blame to the BoE? Did he make it sound like he would be willing to push the timing back a year if the Board wanted that, but that he felt his hands were tied, or what?

Taylor said the Board of Education told him to do the boundaries studies and the program analysis. He would have waited. He said the CIP is tied to the program analysis and the boundary studies. He said he is a planner by nature. He said that the MCCPTA said, "We don't have enough access to criteria-based programs and gifted programs," implying that MCCPTA told him to do the program analysis.

I don't see that the CIP is not tied to the program analysis. They are placing programs in high school facilities that are not properly equipped and designed to receive them - an inconvenient fact that Taylor ignores.

The gifted committee is extremely opposed to the new regional magnet plans, so the people who want access to the gifted programs are advocating for the non-gifted students.

Not true. Parents in the gifted programs are opposed to the badly developed programs that are currently planned by MCPS. Stop the gaslighting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They should have kept Felder in place. Taylor is terrible.

I can’t go that far. Taylor is trash but so was Felder. Sadly, it’s been a long time since MCPS has had a qualified and competent superintendent.

Felder was substantive. Taylor is all style, but substance.

You are correct that he has no substance. But he is worse than that. He doesn't listen and he thinks he has all the answers. He is an extreme change agent who doesn't care if he is breaking things or if what he creates is poor quality. We need to get rid of him and do it in a timely manner so the BOE is not forced into a hasty decision, like it was when they hired him.

He met with a group of parents recently and tried to foist blame for this on the Board of Ed, saying he would have preferred to wait. Yeah, right.

Wait, what? Can you say more about this?

I heard it secondhand. Parents from some of the magnet programs (RMIB and Blair SMCS) met with him recently and that's what they told me in a conversation after the fact. I'm sorry I don't have more details than that.

Got it, thanks. Did the people you talked to find that argument from him convincing or did you get the sense they thought he was just trying to avoid blame?

I was there. Taylor seemed to be shifting blame to the BOE. He said a few alarming things in the meeting, including having only to have to plan one year of programming at a time. Year one of regional programs = 1 year of curriculum. Year two, he said he only had to plan that second year's worth of programming. In year three, he only had to plan the third year of programming, and in year four, he had only to create the year four programming.

That is not how curriculum is developed. You develop learning outcomes, and then begin to develop scope and sequence. This should be a comprehensive initiative. Taylor was pledging to provide us with incompetent educational programming, while also diminishing the catchment areas of flagship programs.

Thanks for the insight, really appreciate it (although yes, alarming.) Can you say more about how he was shifting blame to the BoE? Did he make it sound like he would be willing to push the timing back a year if the Board wanted that, but that he felt his hands were tied, or what?

Taylor said the Board of Education told him to do the boundaries studies and the program analysis. He would have waited. He said the CIP is tied to the program analysis and the boundary studies. He said he is a planner by nature. He said that the MCCPTA said, "We don't have enough access to criteria-based programs and gifted programs," implying that MCCPTA told him to do the program analysis.

I don't see that the CIP is not tied to the program analysis. They are placing programs in high school facilities that are not properly equipped and designed to receive them - an inconvenient fact that Taylor ignores.

I can believe this.

MCCPTA did tell him and everyone that. They also said to evaluate the Honors classes; Ensure that the Science curriculum is good; don’t get rid of ELC but ensure that it’s being implemented appropriately across the district; offer tutoring and partner with local companies to help resolve kids being behind; etc etc. Never did they say do a program analysis and implementation without a sensible timeline, without analysis of a bunch of data and ignore feedback.

Yep, Taylor makes stuff up.

[Anonymous]

He used up his political capital on this debacle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They should have kept Felder in place. Taylor is terrible.

I can’t go that far. Taylor is trash but so was Felder. Sadly, it’s been a long time since MCPS has had a qualified and competent superintendent.

Felder was substantive. Taylor is all style, but substance.

You are correct that he has no substance. But he is worse than that. He doesn't listen and he thinks he has all the answers. He is an extreme change agent who doesn't care if he is breaking things or if what he creates is poor quality. We need to get rid of him and do it in a timely manner so the BOE is not forced into a hasty decision, like it was when they hired him.

He met with a group of parents recently and tried to foist blame for this on the Board of Ed, saying he would have preferred to wait. Yeah, right.

Wait, what? Can you say more about this?

I heard it secondhand. Parents from some of the magnet programs (RMIB and Blair SMCS) met with him recently and that's what they told me in a conversation after the fact. I'm sorry I don't have more details than that.

Got it, thanks. Did the people you talked to find that argument from him convincing or did you get the sense they thought he was just trying to avoid blame?

I was there. Taylor seemed to be shifting blame to the BOE. He said a few alarming things in the meeting, including having only to have to plan one year of programming at a time. Year one of regional programs = 1 year of curriculum. Year two, he said he only had to plan that second year's worth of programming. In year three, he only had to plan the third year of programming, and in year four, he had only to create the year four programming.

That is not how curriculum is developed. You develop learning outcomes, and then begin to develop scope and sequence. This should be a comprehensive initiative. Taylor was pledging to provide us with incompetent educational programming, while also diminishing the catchment areas of flagship programs.

Thanks for the insight, really appreciate it (although yes, alarming.) Can you say more about how he was shifting blame to the BoE? Did he make it sound like he would be willing to push the timing back a year if the Board wanted that, but that he felt his hands were tied, or what?

Taylor said the Board of Education told him to do the boundaries studies and the program analysis. He would have waited. He said the CIP is tied to the program analysis and the boundary studies. He said he is a planner by nature. He said that the MCCPTA said, "We don't have enough access to criteria-based programs and gifted programs," implying that MCCPTA told him to do the program analysis.

I don't see that the CIP is not tied to the program analysis. They are placing programs in high school facilities that are not properly equipped and designed to receive them - an inconvenient fact that Taylor ignores.

I can believe this.

MCCPTA did tell him and everyone that. They also said to evaluate the Honors classes; Ensure that the Science curriculum is good; don’t get rid of ELC but ensure that it’s being implemented appropriately across the district; offer tutoring and partner with local companies to help resolve kids being behind; etc etc. Never did they say do a program analysis and implementation without a sensible timeline, without analysis of a bunch of data and ignore feedback.

+1

As always, Taylor is picking and choosing what he wanted to hear.

There has been ZERO program analysis in the regional program proposal that MCPS has put forth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He used up his political capital on this debacle.

Repeat this message to the BOE. Because the BOE will have used up its political capital if members support Taylor's subpar regional program initiative.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They should have kept Felder in place. Taylor is terrible.

I can’t go that far. Taylor is trash but so was Felder. Sadly, it’s been a long time since MCPS has had a qualified and competent superintendent.

Felder was substantive. Taylor is all style, but substance.

You are correct that he has no substance. But he is worse than that. He doesn't listen and he thinks he has all the answers. He is an extreme change agent who doesn't care if he is breaking things or if what he creates is poor quality. We need to get rid of him and do it in a timely manner so the BOE is not forced into a hasty decision, like it was when they hired him.

He met with a group of parents recently and tried to foist blame for this on the Board of Ed, saying he would have preferred to wait. Yeah, right.

Wait, what? Can you say more about this?

I heard it secondhand. Parents from some of the magnet programs (RMIB and Blair SMCS) met with him recently and that's what they told me in a conversation after the fact. I'm sorry I don't have more details than that.

Got it, thanks. Did the people you talked to find that argument from him convincing or did you get the sense they thought he was just trying to avoid blame?

I was there. Taylor seemed to be shifting blame to the BOE. He said a few alarming things in the meeting, including having only to have to plan one year of programming at a time. Year one of regional programs = 1 year of curriculum. Year two, he said he only had to plan that second year's worth of programming. In year three, he only had to plan the third year of programming, and in year four, he had only to create the year four programming.

That is not how curriculum is developed. You develop learning outcomes, and then begin to develop scope and sequence. This should be a comprehensive initiative. Taylor was pledging to provide us with incompetent educational programming, while also diminishing the catchment areas of flagship programs.

Thanks for the insight, really appreciate it (although yes, alarming.) Can you say more about how he was shifting blame to the BoE? Did he make it sound like he would be willing to push the timing back a year if the Board wanted that, but that he felt his hands were tied, or what?

Taylor said the Board of Education told him to do the boundaries studies and the program analysis. He would have waited. He said the CIP is tied to the program analysis and the boundary studies. He said he is a planner by nature. He said that the MCCPTA said, "We don't have enough access to criteria-based programs and gifted programs," implying that MCCPTA told him to do the program analysis.

I don't see that the CIP is not tied to the program analysis. They are placing programs in high school facilities that are not properly equipped and designed to receive them - an inconvenient fact that Taylor ignores.

The gifted committee is extremely opposed to the new regional magnet plans, so the people who want access to the gifted programs are advocating for the non-gifted students.

Not true. Parents in the gifted programs are opposed to the badly developed programs that are currently planned by MCPS. Stop the gaslighting.

No, they want to keep their kids separate and elite with little competition.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They should have kept Felder in place. Taylor is terrible.

I can’t go that far. Taylor is trash but so was Felder. Sadly, it’s been a long time since MCPS has had a qualified and competent superintendent.

Felder was substantive. Taylor is all style, but substance.

You are correct that he has no substance. But he is worse than that. He doesn't listen and he thinks he has all the answers. He is an extreme change agent who doesn't care if he is breaking things or if what he creates is poor quality. We need to get rid of him and do it in a timely manner so the BOE is not forced into a hasty decision, like it was when they hired him.

He met with a group of parents recently and tried to foist blame for this on the Board of Ed, saying he would have preferred to wait. Yeah, right.

Wait, what? Can you say more about this?

I heard it secondhand. Parents from some of the magnet programs (RMIB and Blair SMCS) met with him recently and that's what they told me in a conversation after the fact. I'm sorry I don't have more details than that.

Got it, thanks. Did the people you talked to find that argument from him convincing or did you get the sense they thought he was just trying to avoid blame?

I was there. Taylor seemed to be shifting blame to the BOE. He said a few alarming things in the meeting, including having only to have to plan one year of programming at a time. Year one of regional programs = 1 year of curriculum. Year two, he said he only had to plan that second year's worth of programming. In year three, he only had to plan the third year of programming, and in year four, he had only to create the year four programming.

That is not how curriculum is developed. You develop learning outcomes, and then begin to develop scope and sequence. This should be a comprehensive initiative. Taylor was pledging to provide us with incompetent educational programming, while also diminishing the catchment areas of flagship programs.

Thanks for the insight, really appreciate it (although yes, alarming.) Can you say more about how he was shifting blame to the BoE? Did he make it sound like he would be willing to push the timing back a year if the Board wanted that, but that he felt his hands were tied, or what?

Taylor said the Board of Education told him to do the boundaries studies and the program analysis. He would have waited. He said the CIP is tied to the program analysis and the boundary studies. He said he is a planner by nature. He said that the MCCPTA said, "We don't have enough access to criteria-based programs and gifted programs," implying that MCCPTA told him to do the program analysis.

I don't see that the CIP is not tied to the program analysis. They are placing programs in high school facilities that are not properly equipped and designed to receive them - an inconvenient fact that Taylor ignores.

The gifted committee is extremely opposed to the new regional magnet plans, so the people who want access to the gifted programs are advocating for the non-gifted students.

Not true. Parents in the gifted programs are opposed to the badly developed programs that are currently planned by MCPS. Stop the gaslighting.

No, they want to keep their kids separate and elite with little competition.

You are absolutely wrong and extremely naive. The current magnet program is very competitive and a pressure cooker literally speaking. Kids choose it because they know the benefits would win over loss: they can truly learn new and deeper things, challenge themselves, and make friends with alike. The new regional model will force elite ones return to their designated regions, who will take away top college quota from local students, and the elite ones will lose the opportunity to access challenging and rigorous curriculum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They should have kept Felder in place. Taylor is terrible.

I can’t go that far. Taylor is trash but so was Felder. Sadly, it’s been a long time since MCPS has had a qualified and competent superintendent.

Felder was substantive. Taylor is all style, but substance.

You are correct that he has no substance. But he is worse than that. He doesn't listen and he thinks he has all the answers. He is an extreme change agent who doesn't care if he is breaking things or if what he creates is poor quality. We need to get rid of him and do it in a timely manner so the BOE is not forced into a hasty decision, like it was when they hired him.

He met with a group of parents recently and tried to foist blame for this on the Board of Ed, saying he would have preferred to wait. Yeah, right.

Wait, what? Can you say more about this?

I heard it secondhand. Parents from some of the magnet programs (RMIB and Blair SMCS) met with him recently and that's what they told me in a conversation after the fact. I'm sorry I don't have more details than that.

Got it, thanks. Did the people you talked to find that argument from him convincing or did you get the sense they thought he was just trying to avoid blame?

I was there. Taylor seemed to be shifting blame to the BOE. He said a few alarming things in the meeting, including having only to have to plan one year of programming at a time. Year one of regional programs = 1 year of curriculum. Year two, he said he only had to plan that second year's worth of programming. In year three, he only had to plan the third year of programming, and in year four, he had only to create the year four programming.

That is not how curriculum is developed. You develop learning outcomes, and then begin to develop scope and sequence. This should be a comprehensive initiative. Taylor was pledging to provide us with incompetent educational programming, while also diminishing the catchment areas of flagship programs.

Thanks for the insight, really appreciate it (although yes, alarming.) Can you say more about how he was shifting blame to the BoE? Did he make it sound like he would be willing to push the timing back a year if the Board wanted that, but that he felt his hands were tied, or what?

Taylor said the Board of Education told him to do the boundaries studies and the program analysis. He would have waited. He said the CIP is tied to the program analysis and the boundary studies. He said he is a planner by nature. He said that the MCCPTA said, "We don't have enough access to criteria-based programs and gifted programs," implying that MCCPTA told him to do the program analysis.

I don't see that the CIP is not tied to the program analysis. They are placing programs in high school facilities that are not properly equipped and designed to receive them - an inconvenient fact that Taylor ignores.

I can believe this.

MCCPTA did tell him and everyone that. They also said to evaluate the Honors classes; Ensure that the Science curriculum is good; don’t get rid of ELC but ensure that it’s being implemented appropriately across the district; offer tutoring and partner with local companies to help resolve kids being behind; etc etc. Never did they say do a program analysis and implementation without a sensible timeline, without analysis of a bunch of data and ignore feedback.

+1

As always, Taylor is picking and choosing what he wanted to hear.

There has been ZERO program analysis in the regional program proposal that MCPS has put forth.

I won’t say there has ZERO analysis, but I will say they didn’t do enough upfront analysis before making determinations of what was needed where, why, and what would be needed to make this work.

How they ever thought they weren’t going to have to sit down and understand a lot about all the current programs, group them by category, standardize, and then figure out what types were missing as the first steps is unbelievable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They should have kept Felder in place. Taylor is terrible.

I can’t go that far. Taylor is trash but so was Felder. Sadly, it’s been a long time since MCPS has had a qualified and competent superintendent.

Felder was substantive. Taylor is all style, but substance.

You are correct that he has no substance. But he is worse than that. He doesn't listen and he thinks he has all the answers. He is an extreme change agent who doesn't care if he is breaking things or if what he creates is poor quality. We need to get rid of him and do it in a timely manner so the BOE is not forced into a hasty decision, like it was when they hired him.

He met with a group of parents recently and tried to foist blame for this on the Board of Ed, saying he would have preferred to wait. Yeah, right.

Wait, what? Can you say more about this?

I heard it secondhand. Parents from some of the magnet programs (RMIB and Blair SMCS) met with him recently and that's what they told me in a conversation after the fact. I'm sorry I don't have more details than that.

Got it, thanks. Did the people you talked to find that argument from him convincing or did you get the sense they thought he was just trying to avoid blame?

I was there. Taylor seemed to be shifting blame to the BOE. He said a few alarming things in the meeting, including having only to have to plan one year of programming at a time. Year one of regional programs = 1 year of curriculum. Year two, he said he only had to plan that second year's worth of programming. In year three, he only had to plan the third year of programming, and in year four, he had only to create the year four programming.

That is not how curriculum is developed. You develop learning outcomes, and then begin to develop scope and sequence. This should be a comprehensive initiative. Taylor was pledging to provide us with incompetent educational programming, while also diminishing the catchment areas of flagship programs.

Thanks for the insight, really appreciate it (although yes, alarming.) Can you say more about how he was shifting blame to the BoE? Did he make it sound like he would be willing to push the timing back a year if the Board wanted that, but that he felt his hands were tied, or what?

Taylor said the Board of Education told him to do the boundaries studies and the program analysis. He would have waited. He said the CIP is tied to the program analysis and the boundary studies. He said he is a planner by nature. He said that the MCCPTA said, "We don't have enough access to criteria-based programs and gifted programs," implying that MCCPTA told him to do the program analysis.

I don't see that the CIP is not tied to the program analysis. They are placing programs in high school facilities that are not properly equipped and designed to receive them - an inconvenient fact that Taylor ignores.

The gifted committee is extremely opposed to the new regional magnet plans, so the people who want access to the gifted programs are advocating for the non-gifted students.

Not true. Parents in the gifted programs are opposed to the badly developed programs that are currently planned by MCPS. Stop the gaslighting.

No, they want to keep their kids separate and elite with little competition.

You are absolutely wrong and extremely naive. The current magnet program is very competitive and a pressure cooker literally speaking. Kids choose it because they know the benefits would win over loss: they can truly learn new and deeper things, challenge themselves, and make friends with alike. The new regional model will force elite ones return to their designated regions, who will take away top college quota from local students, and the elite ones will lose the opportunity to access challenging and rigorous curriculum.

You’ll mean what happens to many of our kids. It’s not deeper. It’s just more condensed.

[Anonymous]

If anyone thinks Taylor will deliver anything resembling quality with his regional program scheme, they haven’t been paying attention. The teachers’ union is on the right track with its recommendations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If anyone thinks Taylor will deliver anything resembling quality with his regional program scheme, they haven’t been paying attention. The teachers’ union is on the right track with its recommendations.

+1
I can't imagine anybody besides Taylor actually believes this is going to go well. I think the CO staff are just following his direction. I'm stunned that the BOE is going along with this as well. Our ES PTA has many questions that have gone unanswered. We're in the DCC and most of us think the overall goals are good and support expanding access to programs, but the way they are going about it makes no sense whatsoever. Why are our elected officials ignoring the massive negative impacts this will have on existing programs and the obvious fact that the new programs will be awful? Who on earth would want for their kid a program that is being made up as they go along? The 6th and 7th grade families are losing their minds and I don't blame them one bit. The fact that the BOE is just pretending this is all fine and that you can increase equity without actually doing an equity analysis (which MCPS seems not to know how to do, for all their talk about equity) is unconscionable.