Bethesda Today gives Josh Starr several quotes while downplaying MCEA, MCCPTA and petitions with 100s of signatures

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Black and Brown "coalition" is just 2 dudes, like Parents Coalition is just one lady.

Give yourself a phony name and file some palers and you can be a Coalition or an Institution or a Foundation to.

No, Black and Brown Coalition has more but they are the same as the NAACP people.

Half of Black and Brown Coalition is NAACP Parents’ Council, which is what Byron leads. The other half is led by Diego and his organization Identity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's almost like they are reflecting that the majority of people approve, don't care or are indifferent and only a small minority are up in arms. It should be noted that if MCPS declared a day (oxygen appreciation day) there would be random petitions with hundreds of signatures to strike it down or give equal recognition to nitrogen. Some people are salty isn't news

Oh, really? Prove it.

How many people are currently enrolled in a county-wide criteria based program vs. just general student body? 10%? 20%? I'm guessing a large percentage of the parents in MCPS don't really care because their kids were never getting into one of the county-wide criteria programs. Similarly, many of the current BoE members ran on expanding the programs and making them more accessible.

That's not to say I don't have grave concerns over the current implementation plans (they're trying too big with too little resources), but I think it's hard for a lot of people to care about something they don't think affects them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's almost like they are reflecting that the majority of people approve, don't care or are indifferent and only a small minority are up in arms. It should be noted that if MCPS declared a day (oxygen appreciation day) there would be random petitions with hundreds of signatures to strike it down or give equal recognition to nitrogen. Some people are salty isn't news

Oh, really? Prove it.

How many people are currently enrolled in a county-wide criteria based program vs. just general student body? 10%? 20%? I'm guessing a large percentage of the parents in MCPS don't really care because their kids were never getting into one of the county-wide criteria programs. Similarly, many of the current BoE members ran on expanding the programs and making them more accessible.

That's not to say I don't have grave concerns over the current implementation plans (they're trying too big with too little resources), but I think it's hard for a lot of people to care about something they don't think affects them.

They need more programs and slots but it’s far less important to the W schools and BCc than to the other schools with huge disparities in offerings. The transportation is a huge issue. This will create a further divide.

[Anonymous]

Starr wants to be relevant so bad. Nobody cares what he thinks. He was fired for good reason. Yes, not having your contract renewed is the same as being fired. Must be friends with the writer because this was a desperate attempt to make him matter. He doesn’t.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's almost like they are reflecting that the majority of people approve, don't care or are indifferent and only a small minority are up in arms. It should be noted that if MCPS declared a day (oxygen appreciation day) there would be random petitions with hundreds of signatures to strike it down or give equal recognition to nitrogen. Some people are salty isn't news

Oh, really? Prove it.

How many people are currently enrolled in a county-wide criteria based program vs. just general student body? 10%? 20%? I'm guessing a large percentage of the parents in MCPS don't really care because their kids were never getting into one of the county-wide criteria programs. Similarly, many of the current BoE members ran on expanding the programs and making them more accessible.

That's not to say I don't have grave concerns over the current implementation plans (they're trying too big with too little resources), but I think it's hard for a lot of people to care about something they don't think affects them.

That doesn't mean a majority of people approve - just that they aren't paying attention or don't care.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's almost like they are reflecting that the majority of people approve, don't care or are indifferent and only a small minority are up in arms. It should be noted that if MCPS declared a day (oxygen appreciation day) there would be random petitions with hundreds of signatures to strike it down or give equal recognition to nitrogen. Some people are salty isn't news

Oh, really? Prove it.

How many people are currently enrolled in a county-wide criteria based program vs. just general student body? 10%? 20%? I'm guessing a large percentage of the parents in MCPS don't really care because their kids were never getting into one of the county-wide criteria programs. Similarly, many of the current BoE members ran on expanding the programs and making them more accessible.

That's not to say I don't have grave concerns over the current implementation plans (they're trying too big with too little resources), but I think it's hard for a lot of people to care about something they don't think affects them.

They dismantled the DCC and NEC which thousands of kids benefit from to access interest based academies

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unfortunately, I've gotten the impression that Bethesda Mag is now just another mouthpiece for MCPS. I miss Caitlynn Peetz.

+1. I think Ashlyn’s articles are well-written and clear to read, but I’m extremely disappointed by her sourcing. My kid writes for his HS newspaper and their sourcing standards are more appropriate than what Bethesda Today is permitting. Most articles are just press releases quoting Liliana Lopez or publicly available websites. This article in particular presented the situation as having broad support with a few against, when my perception of the issue is that Taylor is spoon feeding a few specific folks to BT and the reporter isn’t doing due diligence seeking out other community opinions. I miss Caitlynn too. I think Ashlyn needs to go old school boots on the ground and approach people for interviews in person.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unfortunately, I've gotten the impression that Bethesda Mag is now just another mouthpiece for MCPS. I miss Caitlynn Peetz.

It's more incompetence than a conspiracy. Bethesda Mag is not doing well financially so they hire interns and fresh college grads, who lack little real journalism experience. Yes, Peetz was great, I think she moved on to the Banner?

Peetz went to Education Week? Banner is someone else, though I understand she is highly esteemed too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unfortunately, I've gotten the impression that Bethesda Mag is now just another mouthpiece for MCPS. I miss Caitlynn Peetz.

+1. I think Ashlyn’s articles are well-written and clear to read, but I’m extremely disappointed by her sourcing. My kid writes for his HS newspaper and their sourcing standards are more appropriate than what Bethesda Today is permitting. Most articles are just press releases quoting Liliana Lopez or publicly available websites. This article in particular presented the situation as having broad support with a few against, when my perception of the issue is that Taylor is spoon feeding a few specific folks to BT and the reporter isn’t doing due diligence seeking out other community opinions. I miss Caitlynn too. I think Ashlyn needs to go old school boots on the ground and approach people for interviews in person.

+2 are there any current parents or students quoted as supporting the regional model?

[Anonymous]

It's interesting all of the quotes from people paid by MCPS and Josh Starr talk about the countywide magnets but completely ignore that they just dissolved the NEC and DCC. Very emblematic of this entire process.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's almost like they are reflecting that the majority of people approve, don't care or are indifferent and only a small minority are up in arms. It should be noted that if MCPS declared a day (oxygen appreciation day) there would be random petitions with hundreds of signatures to strike it down or give equal recognition to nitrogen. Some people are salty isn't news

Oh, really? Prove it.

How many people are currently enrolled in a county-wide criteria based program vs. just general student body? 10%? 20%? I'm guessing a large percentage of the parents in MCPS don't really care because their kids were never getting into one of the county-wide criteria programs. Similarly, many of the current BoE members ran on expanding the programs and making them more accessible.

That's not to say I don't have grave concerns over the current implementation plans (they're trying too big with too little resources), but I think it's hard for a lot of people to care about something they don't think affects them.

Yeah, most people don't care because they're not interested in the programs and don't realize how badly the programs are going to hurt the home schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's almost like they are reflecting that the majority of people approve, don't care or are indifferent and only a small minority are up in arms. It should be noted that if MCPS declared a day (oxygen appreciation day) there would be random petitions with hundreds of signatures to strike it down or give equal recognition to nitrogen. Some people are salty isn't news

Oh, really? Prove it.

How many people are currently enrolled in a county-wide criteria based program vs. just general student body? 10%? 20%? I'm guessing a large percentage of the parents in MCPS don't really care because their kids were never getting into one of the county-wide criteria programs. Similarly, many of the current BoE members ran on expanding the programs and making them more accessible.

That's not to say I don't have grave concerns over the current implementation plans (they're trying too big with too little resources), but I think it's hard for a lot of people to care about something they don't think affects them.

Yeah, most people don't care because they're not interested in the programs and don't realize how badly the programs are going to hurt the home schools.

One third of kids in the DCC go through the choice process. I think a lot of parents know to just tune out MCPS because they have been through so many bad decisions and it is exhausting and demoralizing to fight, but that doesn't mean they support the changes. Apparently Bethesda Today couldn't find a single MCPS parent, student or current teacher that is excited about the changes. The MCEA and MCCPTA are both against MCPS's approach.

[Anonymous]

Articles like these are idiotic because they are not verifying that the quoted supporters actually fully understand all the details of the regional program implementation being proposed. *Of course* people who are not following the details of the regional programs think the general concept of regional programs/expanding access to programs is a good idea-- that's not news! Most of the people who oppose what MCPS is doing with the regional programs *also* support the general concepts of program expansion/regional programs (except the handful of folks whose issue is wanting to preserve programs like Blair and RMIB as-is, but that's a tiny minority of the opponents)-- if we didn't understand the details and nuances here, we would also be supporters!

The actual concern is that, when you look at the details of exactly when, where, and what they're planning to roll out, it becomes clear that it's very likely to be an expensive, unsuccessful, inequitable disaster that hurts a lot of schools and students. Most of us support the general idea of regional programs, but we don't want MCPS to spend a ton of money on doing things in a way that's going to make things worse rather than better, and disproportionately harm students and schools with lower SES.

But MCPS keeps saying "we are expanding access and critics oppose the idea of regional programs because they are elitists who want to preserve limited access for the existing programs," and somehow that spin keeps getting bought by people like journalists, BOE members, the Black & Brown Coalition, etc. It's infuriating.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Articles like these are idiotic because they are not verifying that the quoted supporters actually fully understand all the details of the regional program implementation being proposed. *Of course* people who are not following the details of the regional programs think the general concept of regional programs/expanding access to programs is a good idea-- that's not news! Most of the people who oppose what MCPS is doing with the regional programs *also* support the general concepts of program expansion/regional programs (except the handful of folks whose issue is wanting to preserve programs like Blair and RMIB as-is, but that's a tiny minority of the opponents)-- if we didn't understand the details and nuances here, we would also be supporters!

The actual concern is that, when you look at the details of exactly when, where, and what they're planning to roll out, it becomes clear that it's very likely to be an expensive, unsuccessful, inequitable disaster that hurts a lot of schools and students. Most of us support the general idea of regional programs, but we don't want MCPS to spend a ton of money on doing things in a way that's going to make things worse rather than better, and disproportionately harm students and schools with lower SES.

But MCPS keeps saying "we are expanding access and critics oppose the idea of regional programs because they are elitists who want to preserve limited access for the existing programs," and somehow that spin keeps getting bought by people like journalists, BOE members, the Black & Brown Coalition, etc. It's infuriating.

I believe the quoted supporters are:
- Josh Starr (looking for a job)
- Thomas Taylor (paid by MCPS)
- Rita Montoya (paid by MCPS)
- Brenda Wolff (paid by MCPS)
- Byron Johns (paid by MCPS)

The quote from Stein is somewhat supportive but sounds mostly resigned

[Anonymous]

I love how dismissive and disdainful MCPs leaders are of teachers and parents. They are intentionally misrepresenting community concerns including by pretending they didn't just dismantle the consortia that serve thousands of kids.

They all suffer from delusions of grandeur or simply sociopathy. Are they going to talk about how students are on Internet connected devices all day at school that can be hacked to show porn? Are they going to talk about why they chose ELA curricula that don't involve reading actual books? What f$cked up timeline are we in where parents are racist for wanting their kids to read books in school?