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

[Anonymous]

Can anyone share the link from the QR code where they said folks could give feedback? Is it one of the old forms or something new? I forgot to scan it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My impressions from tonight:
- Was definitely a bit chaotic and disorganized. I believe the media center was the feedback room mentioned above; it was divided into two sections for conversations about the boundary study and the regional academic programs. Printed posters of the slides were throughout the room and tables had additional MCPS staff explaining the different themes. The staff person I spoke with at one of the theme tables was understandably uncomfortable answering some questions - I do not envy the position that they were put in.

- Jeannie Franklin was answering questions but could not be heard very well. People were swarming her small corner.

- Jeannie said that the criteria programs will not have a lottery, contradicting something I heard in a webinar. She said the IB criteria program, for example, would have 60 seats for students outside the host school but visual arts & dance would have 30.

- Laura Stewart was in attendance and spent a long time talking with concerned parents. I didn't agree with everything she said but she didn't shy away from the difficult conversations. For the upcoming meetings in other regions, I would highly encourage people to reach out to their BOE member and demand a better format.

- Kristin Mink's staff was in attendance and handing out business cards.

No, apparently there was a separate classroom that was the "feedback room" and Essie Maguire was there, although I was in the media center and never heard about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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?

Blair session in progress right now. I'm looking forward to hearing first-hand experience tonight which will prepare us better for the Thursday meeting.

It was awful. The MCPS staff employed a divide-and-conquer approach. People were pigeonholed into various classrooms, with the media center featuring Central Office administrators (not teachers) there to answer parents' questions about programs, not that this staff has first-hand experience teaching lately. Principals from nearby schools were there trying to find out information about what was going to happen with regional programs.

Look for the feedback room. That is where MCPS' chief of staff and chief academic officer were stonewalling the difficult questions tonight.

There was a "feedback room"? I was there tonight and had no idea. I thought it was just the thing in the media center. How did you find out about the feedback room?

I was directed to it by a parent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Other questions for people who were there?
- Were any members of the BoE there?
- What about any teachers or leaders from the Blair magnets?
- Any idea if a video was recorded?

Laura Stewart was there from the BOE. I didn't see any Blair magnet teachers. Individuals were filming on their phones various discussions.

What we need is for someone/some people from central office to whistle-blow this garbage. There were way too many central office staff there tonight, to little productive purpose. Taylor is driving people too hard, from what I have heard, and what they are producing is poor quality.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My impressions from tonight:
- Was definitely a bit chaotic and disorganized. I believe the media center was the feedback room mentioned above; it was divided into two sections for conversations about the boundary study and the regional academic programs. Printed posters of the slides were throughout the room and tables had additional MCPS staff explaining the different themes. The staff person I spoke with at one of the theme tables was understandably uncomfortable answering some questions - I do not envy the position that they were put in.

- Jeannie Franklin was answering questions but could not be heard very well. People were swarming her small corner.

- Jeannie said that the criteria programs will not have a lottery, contradicting something I heard in a webinar. She said the IB criteria program, for example, would have 60 seats for students outside the host school but visual arts & dance would have 30.

- Laura Stewart was in attendance and spent a long time talking with concerned parents. I didn't agree with everything she said but she didn't shy away from the difficult conversations. For the upcoming meetings in other regions, I would highly encourage people to reach out to their BOE member and demand a better format.

- Kristin Mink's staff was in attendance and handing out business cards.

No, apparently there was a separate classroom that was the "feedback room" and Essie Maguire was there, although I was in the media center and never heard about it.

What! When I first signed in, they said there were only two options: one room to learn about the proposal and the other to ask questions. This is so disheartening. Sounds like she was basically hiding.

[Anonymous]

The media center had all of the posters etc and some MCPS staff. Then there were two classrooms - one to get basic info if you don’t already know it, and the other to ask questions/give feedback directly to Essie and Nicky. The latter was too small and people were sitting on the floor. I only knew about the two classrooms because someone told me. They were down the nearest hallway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The media center had all of the posters etc and some MCPS staff. Then there were two classrooms - one to get basic info if you don’t already know it, and the other to ask questions/give feedback directly to Essie and Nicky. The latter was too small and people were sitting on the floor. I only knew about the two classrooms because someone told me. They were down the nearest hallway.

Can someone recap how that went? Anything notable? I would have joined if I'd realized it was there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The media center had all of the posters etc and some MCPS staff. Then there were two classrooms - one to get basic info if you don’t already know it, and the other to ask questions/give feedback directly to Essie and Nicky. The latter was too small and people were sitting on the floor. I only knew about the two classrooms because someone told me. They were down the nearest hallway.

Can someone recap how that went? Anything notable? I would have joined if I'd realized it was there.

I heard the second half. Focus was largely on questions and concerns from the Einstein cluster community. Sometimes they responded and sometimes just said we hear your feedback. Some people really wasted people’s time with their inarticulate or narrowly focused questions or comments, and should have sat back and let others speak.

[Anonymous]

Sorry I meant DCC community not Einstein.

[Anonymous]

Let's face it folks: all of these sessions are performative. They are not real engagement. MCPS is conducting these sessions to check off the public engagement box.

Nothing will change as a result of input from the public. Nothing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let's face it folks: all of these sessions are performative. They are not real engagement. MCPS is conducting these sessions to check off the public engagement box.

Nothing will change as a result of input from the public. Nothing.

The sessions are designed to evade accountability and for a passive one-way flow of information.

They’re not designed for a two-way dialogue or active engagement.

[Anonymous]

They really put a lot of thought to fake engagement. Well done MCPS leadership! What a shame!

[Anonymous]

I was in the "feedback room" for 40 minutes, and there was at least a little back and forth, in the form of questions that were answered, e.g., why are there 6 regions and not 5, 4, or 3? (A: it is the best way to divide up the county logistically and provide sufficient access); how do you plan to keep the programs high-quality? (A: we will take what works well in existing programs, learn from it, etc); what do the current magnet coordinators think of all this? (A: it's a mixed bag, some are supportive and some have questions, etc); will you grandfather in current younger siblings in the DCC and provide a sibling link? (A: good suggestion, noted); will criteria-based programs have a lottery component? (A: blank stare - then another parent reports that Jeannie just told her in the other room that no, it will not). There were others - perhaps someone else can add.

I thought they were less aggressive than they could have been, and seemed at least open to hearing from people. That said, I don't think anyone walked away thinking that anything other than some small tweaks will be made.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was in the "feedback room" for 40 minutes, and there was at least a little back and forth, in the form of questions that were answered, e.g., why are there 6 regions and not 5, 4, or 3? (A: it is the best way to divide up the county logistically and provide sufficient access); how do you plan to keep the programs high-quality? (A: we will take what works well in existing programs, learn from it, etc); what do the current magnet coordinators think of all this? (A: it's a mixed bag, some are supportive and some have questions, etc); will you grandfather in current younger siblings in the DCC and provide a sibling link? (A: good suggestion, noted); will criteria-based programs have a lottery component? (A: blank stare - then another parent reports that Jeannie just told her in the other room that no, it will not). There were others - perhaps someone else can add.

I thought they were less aggressive than they could have been, and seemed at least open to hearing from people. That said, I don't think anyone walked away thinking that anything other than some small tweaks will be made.

Did they ask for feedback in the feedback room? Was there a mechanism to record any feedback they received? Did they record who attended or any demographic data on them?

[Anonymous]

The “recording” was Nicky making notes in a little notebook. We all signed in when we entered the building, noting name and school affiliation.