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

[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 think this is true of a lot of people who support or are neutral about the changes.

t's not clear to me whether Starr is uninformed about the details of the changes and who called for a slowdown/revisions and why-- or if he knows full well that it's going to be a mess but is just currying favor with Taylor. Either way, this is a really offensive thing to say to all the people who have been fighting to get MCPS to pause and revise because we're concerned the changes will hurt lower-income schools and students: “There’s no leader that’s ever done anything bold and worthwhile that actually truly supports kids and addresses equity issues … that has not gotten serious pushback from folks who benefit from the current systems."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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 think this is true of a lot of people who support or are neutral about the changes.

t's not clear to me whether Starr is uninformed about the details of the changes and who called for a slowdown/revisions and why-- or if he knows full well that it's going to be a mess but is just currying favor with Taylor. Either way, this is a really offensive thing to say to all the people who have been fighting to get MCPS to pause and revise because we're concerned the changes will hurt lower-income schools and students: “There’s no leader that’s ever done anything bold and worthwhile that actually truly supports kids and addresses equity issues … that has not gotten serious pushback from folks who benefit from the current systems."

Josh Starr has a new job helping to run after-school programs. My guess is that he is trying to gain favor with Taylor for business development purposes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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: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 think this is true of a lot of people who support or are neutral about the changes.

t's not clear to me whether Starr is uninformed about the details of the changes and who called for a slowdown/revisions and why-- or if he knows full well that it's going to be a mess but is just currying favor with Taylor. Either way, this is a really offensive thing to say to all the people who have been fighting to get MCPS to pause and revise because we're concerned the changes will hurt lower-income schools and students: “There’s no leader that’s ever done anything bold and worthwhile that actually truly supports kids and addresses equity issues … that has not gotten serious pushback from folks who benefit from the current systems."

The term for what the people quoted in the article in support of the regional model are doing is circlejerk

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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

Saying the BOE is "paid by MCPS" is ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Identity is made up of 100% of employees who are paid with county dollars to run programs for MCPS students. Total conflict of interest for Uriburu - one hand washes the other.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This article about the regional program model spends multiple paragraphs lifting up the voices of people like Josh Starr, Thomas Taylor, the BOE and the two men that lead the Black and Brown Coalition but you have to read all the way to the bottom of the article to learn that the MCEA, MCCPTA have approved resolutions urging to slow down and change their approach in addition to the petitions signed by hundreds of people.

Seriously. The M.ad M.ommies of M.o.Co are always Big_Mad about something. It’s comical.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Identity is made up of 100% of employees who are paid with county dollars to run programs for MCPS students. Total conflict of interest for Uriburu - one hand washes the other.

You're absolutely right.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This article about the regional program model spends multiple paragraphs lifting up the voices of people like Josh Starr, Thomas Taylor, the BOE and the two men that lead the Black and Brown Coalition but you have to read all the way to the bottom of the article to learn that the MCEA, MCCPTA have approved resolutions urging to slow down and change their approach in addition to the petitions signed by hundreds of people.

Seriously. The M.ad M.ommies of M.o.Co are always Big_Mad about something. It’s comical.

Hi TT! Welcome back’

[Anonymous]

I'd like Josh Starr to sit through one of the opportunity design team meetings and then say that this is a bold move for equity.

They have NO plans for equity. Their "bold move" is to start up a bunch of underresourced programs and magically more Black and brown kids will attend.

They have not meaningfully addressed:

Readiness for attendance in advanced programs
Offering similar quality programs in each region
Ensuring that resources like community partnerships aren't hoarded by the "legacy" magnets and are managed centrally or at least consistency is valued

Instead they are PROUD that they have based program location on "existing assets"...which have been proven time and time again to be plentiful and rich for low FARMS schools and to be meagerly available for high FARMs schools.

Then they doubled down on that by offering an obscene number of local preference seats which means that a Whitman student wanting to be in the humanities program will have two times the opportunity than a Northwood student.

Watch them quickly shift gears as they see how this will fail to address gaps in outcomes and equity, and they will start gaslighting everyone that it was never intended to address or solve inequities, but just to offer more access.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd like Josh Starr to sit through one of the opportunity design team meetings and then say that this is a bold move for equity.

They have NO plans for equity. Their "bold move" is to start up a bunch of underresourced programs and magically more Black and brown kids will attend.

They have not meaningfully addressed:

Readiness for attendance in advanced programs
Offering similar quality programs in each region
Ensuring that resources like community partnerships aren't hoarded by the "legacy" magnets and are managed centrally or at least consistency is valued

Instead they are PROUD that they have based program location on "existing assets"...which have been proven time and time again to be plentiful and rich for low FARMS schools and to be meagerly available for high FARMs schools.

Then they doubled down on that by offering an obscene number of local preference seats which means that a Whitman student wanting to be in the humanities program will have two times the opportunity than a Northwood student.

Watch them quickly shift gears as they see how this will fail to address gaps in outcomes and equity, and they will start gaslighting everyone that it was never intended to address or solve inequities, but just to offer more access.

They don't know what equity means which makes it hard for them to advance equity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Identity is made up of 100% of employees who are paid with county dollars to run programs for MCPS students. Total conflict of interest for Uriburu - one hand washes the other.

To be fair it's really Byron Johns who has been pushing the support. What bothers me is this is clearly him backing up his MCPS buddies but they and the media act like they speak for all the Black and Latino families in MCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Identity is made up of 100% of employees who are paid with county dollars to run programs for MCPS students. Total conflict of interest for Uriburu - one hand washes the other.

To be fair it's really Byron Johns who has been pushing the support. What bothers me is this is clearly him backing up his MCPS buddies but they and the media act like they speak for all the Black and Latino families in MCPS.

The NAACP Parents Council doesn't have a formal process to "sign on" to things. They never polled their members or discussed it in detail with them to understand pros and cons. And when members said that process felt wrong, they got yelled at.

So anytime they are saying they have a stance on something, remember that it's how Byron Johns feels on any given day, not a rigorous process. MCCPTA has its issues, but they go through a documented (tedious) process for any public resolutions or advocacy stances.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Identity is made up of 100% of employees who are paid with county dollars to run programs for MCPS students. Total conflict of interest for Uriburu - one hand washes the other.

To be fair it's really Byron Johns who has been pushing the support. What bothers me is this is clearly him backing up his MCPS buddies but they and the media act like they speak for all the Black and Latino families in MCPS.

The NAACP Parents Council doesn't have a formal process to "sign on" to things. They never polled their members or discussed it in detail with them to understand pros and cons. And when members said that process felt wrong, they got yelled at.

So anytime they are saying they have a stance on something, remember that it's how Byron Johns feels on any given day, not a rigorous process. MCCPTA has its issues, but they go through a documented (tedious) process for any public resolutions or advocacy stances.

Disgraceful

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Identity is made up of 100% of employees who are paid with county dollars to run programs for MCPS students. Total conflict of interest for Uriburu - one hand washes the other.

To be fair it's really Byron Johns who has been pushing the support. What bothers me is this is clearly him backing up his MCPS buddies but they and the media act like they speak for all the Black and Latino families in MCPS.

The NAACP Parents Council doesn't have a formal process to "sign on" to things. They never polled their members or discussed it in detail with them to understand pros and cons. And when members said that process felt wrong, they got yelled at.

So anytime they are saying they have a stance on something, remember that it's how Byron Johns feels on any given day, not a rigorous process. MCCPTA has its issues, but they go through a documented (tedious) process for any public resolutions or advocacy stances.

That's probably why the statement came from the Black and Brown Coalition and not the NAACP Parents Council which has not issued a formal statement.

Really dislike how these folks are co-opting anti-racism for their own agendas. They are all just trying to get another job or more funding or whatever. And Taylor is a pure narcissist. No wonder outcomes keep getting worse.