Is it possible to get rid of Jack Smith?

[Anonymous]

Giving Smith credit for getting rid of Curriculum 2.0 is like giving a driver credit for backing up the car after reaching a dead end. He only agreed to end it after giving Johns Hopkins 500,000 to tell him it stunk. Granted, I am certain there were real poison pills in that contract (probably put in their by Weist) which forced the county to stay with Pearson education for X amount of years. But giving Smith credit? Gosh, simply can’t - the road just ended.

[Anonymous]

I wish he would go

[Anonymous]

What should a new superintendent do (not necessarily in this order)?

1 - immediate doscipline/consequences for cheating, fighting, assault drug use, etc. (no fake restorative justice)

2 - give teachers and Principals some autonomy - let the good ones do amazing things, get rid of the ones who suck (we all know who they are, how it possible that mcps doesn't). Incentivise the good ones to go into low poverty schools and do their thing

3 - Restore special ed programming at all levels (pre-k - 12 +LFI). More special ed teachers who are good at and love what they do. Hire someone else to do the necessary paper pushing

4 - Opportunity gap - we've been spending millions, probably billions over the years, and where has it gotten us? Look at the ROI, fund more of what is working, and stop what is not. Benchmark - what are other large counties doing that work? Be innovative, be courageous, think big, do big. If it doesn't work, stop it and try something else.

5 - gifted - put enrichment in all schools, rather than pulling bright kids and sending them to low income schools. School within a school creates more friction within that school, creates the need for more busses and drivers, and long bus rides.

6 - get rid of at least half, if not more, of the Central Office paper pushers. Stop sending mandates out to schools taking more time away from teachers teaching.

7 - support Principals, teach them to support teachers

8 - see # 2, get rid of the teachers and Principals that suck

9 - all of the long range planning/capital planning staff get fired. Too many school buildings beyond disrepair and more significantly overcrowded because of their negligence/incompetence/malfeasance


And that's just off the top of my head. For the $$ mcps pays the Superintendent, we should be getting a lot more bang for our buck.

[Anonymous]

Why would anyone want that? He’s done a brilliant job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Interesting to note that Dr. McKnight, his deputy who appears to be waiting in the wings to take over MCPS did consulting work for...wait for it...Discovery Channel. Wonder who may be in the running for a new curricula after the pandemic?

https://www.discoveryeducation.com/middleschool/meeting-students-middle-school/

Lol.

Kind of like the guy who developed Curriculum 2.0. Did a sh$tastic job. Never was held accountable. And went on over to a cushy job - wasn’t it at Discovery?

I forgot his name though. Would have to look it up again.

Except Smith got rid of 2.0 to his credit.

No he didn’t. He was forced to get rid of it after that JH audit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What should a new superintendent do (not necessarily in this order)?

1 - immediate doscipline/consequences for cheating, fighting, assault drug use, etc. (no fake restorative justice)

2 - give teachers and Principals some autonomy - let the good ones do amazing things, get rid of the ones who suck (we all know who they are, how it possible that mcps doesn't). Incentivise the good ones to go into low poverty schools and do their thing

3 - Restore special ed programming at all levels (pre-k - 12 +LFI). More special ed teachers who are good at and love what they do. Hire someone else to do the necessary paper pushing

4 - Opportunity gap - we've been spending millions, probably billions over the years, and where has it gotten us? Look at the ROI, fund more of what is working, and stop what is not. Benchmark - what are other large counties doing that work? Be innovative, be courageous, think big, do big. If it doesn't work, stop it and try something else.

5 - gifted - put enrichment in all schools, rather than pulling bright kids and sending them to low income schools. School within a school creates more friction within that school, creates the need for more busses and drivers, and long bus rides.

6 - get rid of at least half, if not more, of the Central Office paper pushers. Stop sending mandates out to schools taking more time away from teachers teaching.

7 - support Principals, teach them to support teachers

8 - see # 2, get rid of the teachers and Principals that suck

9 - all of the long range planning/capital planning staff get fired. Too many school buildings beyond disrepair and more significantly overcrowded because of their negligence/incompetence/malfeasance


And that's just off the top of my head. For the $$ mcps pays the Superintendent, we should be getting a lot more bang for our buck.

All excellent suggestions and I agree.

Implementing some sort of a protocol for reports of sexual assault allegations would also be a priority, IMO. Because there has been too much of that in MCPS this past decade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What should a new superintendent do (not necessarily in this order)?

1 - immediate doscipline/consequences for cheating, fighting, assault drug use, etc. (no fake restorative justice)

2 - give teachers and Principals some autonomy - let the good ones do amazing things, get rid of the ones who suck (we all know who they are, how it possible that mcps doesn't). Incentivise the good ones to go into low poverty schools and do their thing

3 - Restore special ed programming at all levels (pre-k - 12 +LFI). More special ed teachers who are good at and love what they do. Hire someone else to do the necessary paper pushing

4 - Opportunity gap - we've been spending millions, probably billions over the years, and where has it gotten us? Look at the ROI, fund more of what is working, and stop what is not. Benchmark - what are other large counties doing that work? Be innovative, be courageous, think big, do big. If it doesn't work, stop it and try something else.

5 - gifted - put enrichment in all schools, rather than pulling bright kids and sending them to low income schools. School within a school creates more friction within that school, creates the need for more busses and drivers, and long bus rides.

6 - get rid of at least half, if not more, of the Central Office paper pushers. Stop sending mandates out to schools taking more time away from teachers teaching.

7 - support Principals, teach them to support teachers

8 - see # 2, get rid of the teachers and Principals that suck

9 - all of the long range planning/capital planning staff get fired. Too many school buildings beyond disrepair and more significantly overcrowded because of their negligence/incompetence/malfeasance


And that's just off the top of my head. For the $$ mcps pays the Superintendent, we should be getting a lot more bang for our buck.

Thanks. I would note numbers 3 and 6 seem to be in conflict. #9 is largely a question of funding from the County Council. MCPS has a long list of what needs to be done, just short the money to do 'em. Well, that and the lack of willpower to actually redraw boundaries to deal with crowding.

But it certainly reads like a "W" parent wrote it...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What should a new superintendent do (not necessarily in this order)?

1 - immediate doscipline/consequences for cheating, fighting, assault drug use, etc. (no fake restorative justice)

2 - give teachers and Principals some autonomy - let the good ones do amazing things, get rid of the ones who suck (we all know who they are, how it possible that mcps doesn't). Incentivise the good ones to go into low poverty schools and do their thing

3 - Restore special ed programming at all levels (pre-k - 12 +LFI). More special ed teachers who are good at and love what they do. Hire someone else to do the necessary paper pushing

4 - Opportunity gap - we've been spending millions, probably billions over the years, and where has it gotten us? Look at the ROI, fund more of what is working, and stop what is not. Benchmark - what are other large counties doing that work? Be innovative, be courageous, think big, do big. If it doesn't work, stop it and try something else.

5 - gifted - put enrichment in all schools, rather than pulling bright kids and sending them to low income schools. School within a school creates more friction within that school, creates the need for more busses and drivers, and long bus rides.

6 - get rid of at least half, if not more, of the Central Office paper pushers. Stop sending mandates out to schools taking more time away from teachers teaching.

7 - support Principals, teach them to support teachers

8 - see # 2, get rid of the teachers and Principals that suck

9 - all of the long range planning/capital planning staff get fired. Too many school buildings beyond disrepair and more significantly overcrowded because of their negligence/incompetence/malfeasance


And that's just off the top of my head. For the $$ mcps pays the Superintendent, we should be getting a lot more bang for our buck.

THANK YOU! That is exactly we should get rid of the-do-nothing Jack Smith.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What should a new superintendent do (not necessarily in this order)?

1 - immediate doscipline/consequences for cheating, fighting, assault drug use, etc. (no fake restorative justice)

2 - give teachers and Principals some autonomy - let the good ones do amazing things, get rid of the ones who suck (we all know who they are, how it possible that mcps doesn't). Incentivise the good ones to go into low poverty schools and do their thing

3 - Restore special ed programming at all levels (pre-k - 12 +LFI). More special ed teachers who are good at and love what they do. Hire someone else to do the necessary paper pushing

4 - Opportunity gap - we've been spending millions, probably billions over the years, and where has it gotten us? Look at the ROI, fund more of what is working, and stop what is not. Benchmark - what are other large counties doing that work? Be innovative, be courageous, think big, do big. If it doesn't work, stop it and try something else.

5 - gifted - put enrichment in all schools, rather than pulling bright kids and sending them to low income schools. School within a school creates more friction within that school, creates the need for more busses and drivers, and long bus rides.

6 - get rid of at least half, if not more, of the Central Office paper pushers. Stop sending mandates out to schools taking more time away from teachers teaching.

7 - support Principals, teach them to support teachers

8 - see # 2, get rid of the teachers and Principals that suck

9 - all of the long range planning/capital planning staff get fired. Too many school buildings beyond disrepair and more significantly overcrowded because of their negligence/incompetence/malfeasance


And that's just off the top of my head. For the $$ mcps pays the Superintendent, we should be getting a lot more bang for our buck.

+100

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What should a new superintendent do (not necessarily in this order)?

1 - immediate doscipline/consequences for cheating, fighting, assault drug use, etc. (no fake restorative justice)

2 - give teachers and Principals some autonomy - let the good ones do amazing things, get rid of the ones who suck (we all know who they are, how it possible that mcps doesn't). Incentivise the good ones to go into low poverty schools and do their thing

3 - Restore special ed programming at all levels (pre-k - 12 +LFI). More special ed teachers who are good at and love what they do. Hire someone else to do the necessary paper pushing

4 - Opportunity gap - we've been spending millions, probably billions over the years, and where has it gotten us? Look at the ROI, fund more of what is working, and stop what is not. Benchmark - what are other large counties doing that work? Be innovative, be courageous, think big, do big. If it doesn't work, stop it and try something else.

5 - gifted - put enrichment in all schools, rather than pulling bright kids and sending them to low income schools. School within a school creates more friction within that school, creates the need for more busses and drivers, and long bus rides.

6 - get rid of at least half, if not more, of the Central Office paper pushers. Stop sending mandates out to schools taking more time away from teachers teaching.

7 - support Principals, teach them to support teachers

8 - see # 2, get rid of the teachers and Principals that suck

9 - all of the long range planning/capital planning staff get fired. Too many school buildings beyond disrepair and more significantly overcrowded because of their negligence/incompetence/malfeasance


And that's just off the top of my head. For the $$ mcps pays the Superintendent, we should be getting a lot more bang for our buck.

+100

+1000

[Anonymous]

Smith has done nothing but improvements since taking over the helm of MCPS. He has my support.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What should a new superintendent do (not necessarily in this order)?

1 - immediate doscipline/consequences for cheating, fighting, assault drug use, etc. (no fake restorative justice)

2 - give teachers and Principals some autonomy - let the good ones do amazing things, get rid of the ones who suck (we all know who they are, how it possible that mcps doesn't). Incentivise the good ones to go into low poverty schools and do their thing

3 - Restore special ed programming at all levels (pre-k - 12 +LFI). More special ed teachers who are good at and love what they do. Hire someone else to do the necessary paper pushing

4 - Opportunity gap - we've been spending millions, probably billions over the years, and where has it gotten us? Look at the ROI, fund more of what is working, and stop what is not. Benchmark - what are other large counties doing that work? Be innovative, be courageous, think big, do big. If it doesn't work, stop it and try something else.

5 - gifted - put enrichment in all schools, rather than pulling bright kids and sending them to low income schools. School within a school creates more friction within that school, creates the need for more busses and drivers, and long bus rides.

6 - get rid of at least half, if not more, of the Central Office paper pushers. Stop sending mandates out to schools taking more time away from teachers teaching.

7 - support Principals, teach them to support teachers

8 - see # 2, get rid of the teachers and Principals that suck

9 - all of the long range planning/capital planning staff get fired. Too many school buildings beyond disrepair and more significantly overcrowded because of their negligence/incompetence/malfeasance


And that's just off the top of my head. For the $$ mcps pays the Superintendent, we should be getting a lot more bang for our buck.

+100

This is a Potomac mom's fantasy but these are stupid ideas because they are unworkable and will never happen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What should a new superintendent do (not necessarily in this order)?

1 - immediate doscipline/consequences for cheating, fighting, assault drug use, etc. (no fake restorative justice)

2 - give teachers and Principals some autonomy - let the good ones do amazing things, get rid of the ones who suck (we all know who they are, how it possible that mcps doesn't). Incentivise the good ones to go into low poverty schools and do their thing

3 - Restore special ed programming at all levels (pre-k - 12 +LFI). More special ed teachers who are good at and love what they do. Hire someone else to do the necessary paper pushing

4 - Opportunity gap - we've been spending millions, probably billions over the years, and where has it gotten us? Look at the ROI, fund more of what is working, and stop what is not. Benchmark - what are other large counties doing that work? Be innovative, be courageous, think big, do big. If it doesn't work, stop it and try something else.

5 - gifted - put enrichment in all schools, rather than pulling bright kids and sending them to low income schools. School within a school creates more friction within that school, creates the need for more busses and drivers, and long bus rides.

6 - get rid of at least half, if not more, of the Central Office paper pushers. Stop sending mandates out to schools taking more time away from teachers teaching.

7 - support Principals, teach them to support teachers

8 - see # 2, get rid of the teachers and Principals that suck

9 - all of the long range planning/capital planning staff get fired. Too many school buildings beyond disrepair and more significantly overcrowded because of their negligence/incompetence/malfeasance


And that's just off the top of my head. For the $$ mcps pays the Superintendent, we should be getting a lot more bang for our buck.

10 - let students review teachers at the end of the school year.

11 - let teachers review principals every few years

12 - let principals and teachers review the superintendent

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What should a new superintendent do (not necessarily in this order)?

1 - immediate doscipline/consequences for cheating, fighting, assault drug use, etc. (no fake restorative justice)

2 - give teachers and Principals some autonomy - let the good ones do amazing things, get rid of the ones who suck (we all know who they are, how it possible that mcps doesn't). Incentivise the good ones to go into low poverty schools and do their thing

3 - Restore special ed programming at all levels (pre-k - 12 +LFI). More special ed teachers who are good at and love what they do. Hire someone else to do the necessary paper pushing

4 - Opportunity gap - we've been spending millions, probably billions over the years, and where has it gotten us? Look at the ROI, fund more of what is working, and stop what is not. Benchmark - what are other large counties doing that work? Be innovative, be courageous, think big, do big. If it doesn't work, stop it and try something else.

5 - gifted - put enrichment in all schools, rather than pulling bright kids and sending them to low income schools. School within a school creates more friction within that school, creates the need for more busses and drivers, and long bus rides.

6 - get rid of at least half, if not more, of the Central Office paper pushers. Stop sending mandates out to schools taking more time away from teachers teaching.

7 - support Principals, teach them to support teachers

8 - see # 2, get rid of the teachers and Principals that suck

9 - all of the long range planning/capital planning staff get fired. Too many school buildings beyond disrepair and more significantly overcrowded because of their negligence/incompetence/malfeasance


And that's just off the top of my head. For the $$ mcps pays the Superintendent, we should be getting a lot more bang for our buck.

10 - let students review teachers at the end of the school year.

11 - let teachers review principals every few years

12 - let principals and teachers review the superintendent

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What should a new superintendent do (not necessarily in this order)?

1 - immediate doscipline/consequences for cheating, fighting, assault drug use, etc. (no fake restorative justice)

2 - give teachers and Principals some autonomy - let the good ones do amazing things, get rid of the ones who suck (we all know who they are, how it possible that mcps doesn't). Incentivise the good ones to go into low poverty schools and do their thing

3 - Restore special ed programming at all levels (pre-k - 12 +LFI). More special ed teachers who are good at and love what they do. Hire someone else to do the necessary paper pushing

4 - Opportunity gap - we've been spending millions, probably billions over the years, and where has it gotten us? Look at the ROI, fund more of what is working, and stop what is not. Benchmark - what are other large counties doing that work? Be innovative, be courageous, think big, do big. If it doesn't work, stop it and try something else.

5 - gifted - put enrichment in all schools, rather than pulling bright kids and sending them to low income schools. School within a school creates more friction within that school, creates the need for more busses and drivers, and long bus rides.

6 - get rid of at least half, if not more, of the Central Office paper pushers. Stop sending mandates out to schools taking more time away from teachers teaching.

7 - support Principals, teach them to support teachers

8 - see # 2, get rid of the teachers and Principals that suck

9 - all of the long range planning/capital planning staff get fired. Too many school buildings beyond disrepair and more significantly overcrowded because of their negligence/incompetence/malfeasance


And that's just off the top of my head. For the $$ mcps pays the Superintendent, we should be getting a lot more bang for our buck.

10 - let students review teachers at the end of the school year.

11 - let teachers review principals every few years

12 - let principals and teachers review the superintendent

+1

This.