MCPS Hires Nancy Navarro to Clean Up Its Messes and Fix Its Relationship Problems

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And yet another thread circles back to bash McKnight.

Spending money to hire Navarro and manage perception instead of focusing on improving academics?

You're surprised, how exactly?

The equity crusade is just about optics, not outcomes, so not surprised at all.

Which is a shame, because it tanks the entire subject of equity, which has some merit to it, when discussed and implemented with common sense, fairness and sanity.

Common sense, fairness, and sanity? You're confusing "equity" with "equality" again hun.

Equality means each individual or group of people is given the same resources or opportunities. Equity recognizes that each person has different circumstances and allocates the exact resources and opportunities needed to reach an equal outcome. When resources and opportunities are withheld from one group so the outcome is equal to another, that's called "discrimination."

Meanwhile, as MCPS plays the "I'm equitable by holding back resources and only giving them to who I choose" game, PGPS is graduating students with three college degrees by the time they're finishing High School.

https://www.umgc.edu/news/archives/2022/05/prince-georges-county-3d-scholars-first-graduates-of-ambitious-collaboration-crush-myths-about-accessibility-and-affordability-in-higher-education

And you think Wolffe and McKnight deserve praise for what they're doing? They games they're playing? Please.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And yet another thread circles back to bash McKnight.

Several of the most active posters on this forum are obsessed with her.

Russian troll farm spreading the love!

If you're not woke and insane you're a Russian troll? Come on man.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And yet another thread circles back to bash McKnight.

Several of the most active posters on this forum are obsessed with her.

Russian troll farm spreading the love!

If you're not woke and insane you're a Russian troll? Come on man.

I'm not sure about that, but am sure, that people who use the term woke are all Fox News-watching fascists.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Still waiting to see the salary and benefits- and if the post was ever posted publicly...

+1. They pick the dumbest things to be coy about. The contract is a public record that’s not exempt from disclosure under the personnel records exception in the MPIA. MCPS rightly gets beaten up about not being transparent. They seem to think that’s an unfair criticism but then they get easy stuff like this wrong.

Did you submit an MPIA request for the information you're seeking?

Not yet but the point is that I shouldn’t have to.

I don't understand why you think you shouldn't have to submit a request.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Still waiting to see the salary and benefits- and if the post was ever posted publicly...

+1. They pick the dumbest things to be coy about. The contract is a public record that’s not exempt from disclosure under the personnel records exception in the MPIA. MCPS rightly gets beaten up about not being transparent. They seem to think that’s an unfair criticism but then they get easy stuff like this wrong.

Did you submit an MPIA request for the information you're seeking?

Not yet but the point is that I shouldn’t have to.

I don't understand why you think you shouldn't have to submit a request.

Transparency means not waiting until you’re asked. Why shouldn’t they release her salary and duties just like they do with other contracts?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Still waiting to see the salary and benefits- and if the post was ever posted publicly...

+1. They pick the dumbest things to be coy about. The contract is a public record that’s not exempt from disclosure under the personnel records exception in the MPIA. MCPS rightly gets beaten up about not being transparent. They seem to think that’s an unfair criticism but then they get easy stuff like this wrong.

Did you submit an MPIA request for the information you're seeking?

Not yet but the point is that I shouldn’t have to.

I don't understand why you think you shouldn't have to submit a request.

Transparency means not waiting until you’re asked. Why shouldn’t they release her salary and duties just like they do with other contracts?

The Board of Education never voted on this contract.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Still waiting to see the salary and benefits- and if the post was ever posted publicly...

+1. They pick the dumbest things to be coy about. The contract is a public record that’s not exempt from disclosure under the personnel records exception in the MPIA. MCPS rightly gets beaten up about not being transparent. They seem to think that’s an unfair criticism but then they get easy stuff like this wrong.

Did you submit an MPIA request for the information you're seeking?

Not yet but the point is that I shouldn’t have to.

I don't understand why you think you shouldn't have to submit a request.

Transparency means not waiting until you’re asked. Why shouldn’t they release her salary and duties just like they do with other contracts?

I don't recall them ever releasing the salary information for a newly hired individual, except in the case of the superintendent. Sometimes over the years, presumably in response to MPIA requests, they have released a spreadsheet of staff members' salaries.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Still waiting to see the salary and benefits- and if the post was ever posted publicly...

+1. They pick the dumbest things to be coy about. The contract is a public record that’s not exempt from disclosure under the personnel records exception in the MPIA. MCPS rightly gets beaten up about not being transparent. They seem to think that’s an unfair criticism but then they get easy stuff like this wrong.

Did you submit an MPIA request for the information you're seeking?

Not yet but the point is that I shouldn’t have to.

I don't understand why you think you shouldn't have to submit a request.

Transparency means not waiting until you’re asked. Why shouldn’t they release her salary and duties just like they do with other contracts?

I don't recall them ever releasing the salary information for a newly hired individual, except in the case of the superintendent. Sometimes over the years, presumably in response to MPIA requests, they have released a spreadsheet of staff members' salaries.

I don’t recall them issuing press releases announcing the hiring of any of those other staff members either. This isn’t a normal hire.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know how many friends Nancy Navarro has on the current council. I think she is a very savvy player and her name carries some influence, but she's been off the council for a year now and memories are short. To me, a lot of Dr. McKnight's problems would be better solved by going to the COB and having heart to heart conversations with councilmembers instead of relying on scripted and occasionally misleading talking points in public sessions.

They (CC) don't trust her (MM) because she hasn't done anything to gain their trust. MCPS begged for a tax increase and believe me, there's nothing politicians want to do less than a tax increase. But they did it, and now the system is crashing and burning even more. She promised great things would happen with that extra money, and what do we have? Front page washington post articles about abusive working conditions, multiple large dollar settlements for sexual assault cases, protests happening outside the BOE regularly, and then she disappears for health reasons for a month in the middle of it while half her "cabinet" is acting?

+1

Shame on the pols for giving it to her.

Look McKnight is a hack but she has a near impossible wall to climb - and that’s the culture of MCPS. It’s mean. The staff is mean. To each other. Mean to children and mean to parents. It’s why we left.

Until a leader gets at the core of the meanness and selfishness no amount of money will improve outcomes. The budget will bankrupt the tax payers of MoCo before they likely find the right one, if they ever find one at all.

I think this gets at the heart of so much of this. Dr. McKnight isn’t the right person for the job, and I suspect the BOE agrees at this point, but the whole MCPS culture is mean. To the core. Mean mean mean. My colleagues who have left the county still have emotional damage from the experience of working in MCPS.

Are other school districts better than MCPS? I agree that MCPS is mean, but I wonder if the grass is actually greener elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And yet another thread circles back to bash McKnight.

Several of the most active posters on this forum are obsessed with her.

Russian troll farm spreading the love!

If you're not woke and insane you're a Russian troll? Come on man.

I'm not sure about that, but am sure, that people who use the term woke are all Fox News-watching fascists.

I'm a liberal Democrat. As such I don't watch much Fox News. Fellow Democrat John McWhorter actually wrote a book on the word called "Woke Racism" in which he compares wokes to religious fundamentalists. You seem to qualify.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know how many friends Nancy Navarro has on the current council. I think she is a very savvy player and her name carries some influence, but she's been off the council for a year now and memories are short. To me, a lot of Dr. McKnight's problems would be better solved by going to the COB and having heart to heart conversations with councilmembers instead of relying on scripted and occasionally misleading talking points in public sessions.

They (CC) don't trust her (MM) because she hasn't done anything to gain their trust. MCPS begged for a tax increase and believe me, there's nothing politicians want to do less than a tax increase. But they did it, and now the system is crashing and burning even more. She promised great things would happen with that extra money, and what do we have? Front page washington post articles about abusive working conditions, multiple large dollar settlements for sexual assault cases, protests happening outside the BOE regularly, and then she disappears for health reasons for a month in the middle of it while half her "cabinet" is acting?

+1

Shame on the pols for giving it to her.

Look McKnight is a hack but she has a near impossible wall to climb - and that’s the culture of MCPS. It’s mean. The staff is mean. To each other. Mean to children and mean to parents. It’s why we left.

Until a leader gets at the core of the meanness and selfishness no amount of money will improve outcomes. The budget will bankrupt the tax payers of MoCo before they likely find the right one, if they ever find one at all.

I think this gets at the heart of so much of this. Dr. McKnight isn’t the right person for the job, and I suspect the BOE agrees at this point, but the whole MCPS culture is mean. To the core. Mean mean mean. My colleagues who have left the county still have emotional damage from the experience of working in MCPS.

Are other school districts better than MCPS? I agree that MCPS is mean, but I wonder if the grass is actually greener elsewhere.

Not sure but MCPS used to be one of the best school districts in the country, so we can't afford to compare ourselves to anyone else because then we automatically start lowering standards. We need to be competing with MCPS standards from 15 years ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know how many friends Nancy Navarro has on the current council. I think she is a very savvy player and her name carries some influence, but she's been off the council for a year now and memories are short. To me, a lot of Dr. McKnight's problems would be better solved by going to the COB and having heart to heart conversations with councilmembers instead of relying on scripted and occasionally misleading talking points in public sessions.

They (CC) don't trust her (MM) because she hasn't done anything to gain their trust. MCPS begged for a tax increase and believe me, there's nothing politicians want to do less than a tax increase. But they did it, and now the system is crashing and burning even more. She promised great things would happen with that extra money, and what do we have? Front page washington post articles about abusive working conditions, multiple large dollar settlements for sexual assault cases, protests happening outside the BOE regularly, and then she disappears for health reasons for a month in the middle of it while half her "cabinet" is acting?

+1

Shame on the pols for giving it to her.

Look McKnight is a hack but she has a near impossible wall to climb - and that’s the culture of MCPS. It’s mean. The staff is mean. To each other. Mean to children and mean to parents. It’s why we left.

Until a leader gets at the core of the meanness and selfishness no amount of money will improve outcomes. The budget will bankrupt the tax payers of MoCo before they likely find the right one, if they ever find one at all.

I think this gets at the heart of so much of this. Dr. McKnight isn’t the right person for the job, and I suspect the BOE agrees at this point, but the whole MCPS culture is mean. To the core. Mean mean mean. My colleagues who have left the county still have emotional damage from the experience of working in MCPS.

Are other school districts better than MCPS? I agree that MCPS is mean, but I wonder if the grass is actually greener elsewhere.

Not sure but MCPS used to be one of the best school districts in the country, so we can't afford to compare ourselves to anyone else because then we automatically start lowering standards. We need to be competing with MCPS standards from 15 years ago.

It seems like the quality of education is much better today for anyone who is interested than when I was at MCPS 30 years ago, so I'm not sure what you're going on about...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know how many friends Nancy Navarro has on the current council. I think she is a very savvy player and her name carries some influence, but she's been off the council for a year now and memories are short. To me, a lot of Dr. McKnight's problems would be better solved by going to the COB and having heart to heart conversations with councilmembers instead of relying on scripted and occasionally misleading talking points in public sessions.

They (CC) don't trust her (MM) because she hasn't done anything to gain their trust. MCPS begged for a tax increase and believe me, there's nothing politicians want to do less than a tax increase. But they did it, and now the system is crashing and burning even more. She promised great things would happen with that extra money, and what do we have? Front page washington post articles about abusive working conditions, multiple large dollar settlements for sexual assault cases, protests happening outside the BOE regularly, and then she disappears for health reasons for a month in the middle of it while half her "cabinet" is acting?

+1

Shame on the pols for giving it to her.

Look McKnight is a hack but she has a near impossible wall to climb - and that’s the culture of MCPS. It’s mean. The staff is mean. To each other. Mean to children and mean to parents. It’s why we left.

Until a leader gets at the core of the meanness and selfishness no amount of money will improve outcomes. The budget will bankrupt the tax payers of MoCo before they likely find the right one, if they ever find one at all.

I think this gets at the heart of so much of this. Dr. McKnight isn’t the right person for the job, and I suspect the BOE agrees at this point, but the whole MCPS culture is mean. To the core. Mean mean mean. My colleagues who have left the county still have emotional damage from the experience of working in MCPS.

Are other school districts better than MCPS? I agree that MCPS is mean, but I wonder if the grass is actually greener elsewhere.

Not sure but MCPS used to be one of the best school districts in the country, so we can't afford to compare ourselves to anyone else because then we automatically start lowering standards. We need to be competing with MCPS standards from 15 years ago.

It seems like the quality of education is much better today for anyone who is interested than when I was at MCPS 30 years ago, so I'm not sure what you're going on about...

As a progressive, I'm sure you believe your lived experience is greater than the numbers showing the complete opposite.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know how many friends Nancy Navarro has on the current council. I think she is a very savvy player and her name carries some influence, but she's been off the council for a year now and memories are short. To me, a lot of Dr. McKnight's problems would be better solved by going to the COB and having heart to heart conversations with councilmembers instead of relying on scripted and occasionally misleading talking points in public sessions.

They (CC) don't trust her (MM) because she hasn't done anything to gain their trust. MCPS begged for a tax increase and believe me, there's nothing politicians want to do less than a tax increase. But they did it, and now the system is crashing and burning even more. She promised great things would happen with that extra money, and what do we have? Front page washington post articles about abusive working conditions, multiple large dollar settlements for sexual assault cases, protests happening outside the BOE regularly, and then she disappears for health reasons for a month in the middle of it while half her "cabinet" is acting?

+1

Shame on the pols for giving it to her.

Look McKnight is a hack but she has a near impossible wall to climb - and that’s the culture of MCPS. It’s mean. The staff is mean. To each other. Mean to children and mean to parents. It’s why we left.

Until a leader gets at the core of the meanness and selfishness no amount of money will improve outcomes. The budget will bankrupt the tax payers of MoCo before they likely find the right one, if they ever find one at all.

I think this gets at the heart of so much of this. Dr. McKnight isn’t the right person for the job, and I suspect the BOE agrees at this point, but the whole MCPS culture is mean. To the core. Mean mean mean. My colleagues who have left the county still have emotional damage from the experience of working in MCPS.

Are other school districts better than MCPS? I agree that MCPS is mean, but I wonder if the grass is actually greener elsewhere.

All those little, wealthy town school districts in Mass. Apparently.

[Anonymous]

Mcps is so mean I spent more time in college volunteering and majoring in education. After working 1 year in mcps 80 hour work weeks at minimum wage as a teacher. I will not return to education. They don't value teachers.