Who’s to blame?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS is in the worst situation of its existence. Who’s legacy bears the responsibility of the demise of what once was the crown jewel of the county and state, one of the top districts in the country, to this, where there is violence in schools daily, kids don’t learn to read or write, and where staff jobs are being threatened by scores due to gross financial mismanagement.

It could be Jack Smith, who really shook up the district and then bolted to retirement when the pandemic proved too problematic for our community.

It could be Monifa McKnight, who hired, promoted and protected her friends, which led to a horrible black eye on the once proud district.

It could be the board for naming Monique Felder interim superintendent, who was in over her head, and allowed the narcissists in executive leadership to drive the system, indifferent to results.

It could be Peter Moran, who has been promoted through each regime, and whose rise to prominence directly correlates to MCPS’s deflation to where we are now.

It cpukd be Christine Handy, who has overseen the administration union that has seen 80% of administrators flee the district under her leadership.

Who else shares a piece of the responsibility pie that oversaw the demise of this once great and proud school system?

The federal government officials for gutting the Department of Education and cutting federal education funding.

This!!! Yes there's been mismanagement but that will happen in any large organization. This historic shortfall was created by numerous grants and finding sources being cancelled in a number of different areas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think it's any one factor, but curicullum 2.0 really set off a domino effect that the district has not recovered from.

Yup. Which was a Jerry Weast initiative continued by Josh Starr.

Really? I thought that was a Josh Starr-initiated effort.

No, Starr inherited it from Weast.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think it's any one factor, but curicullum 2.0 really set off a domino effect that the district has not recovered from.

Yup. Which was a Jerry Weast initiative continued by Josh Starr.

Really? I thought that was a Josh Starr-initiated effort.

No, Starr inherited it from Weast.

Starr was widely liked by parents as teacher, but not the BOE. That was a real turning point for mcps.

[Anonymous]

Parents and teachers

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think it's any one factor, but curicullum 2.0 really set off a domino effect that the district has not recovered from.

Yup. Which was a Jerry Weast initiative continued by Josh Starr.

Really? I thought that was a Josh Starr-initiated effort.

No, Starr inherited it from Weast.

Starr was widely liked by parents as teacher, but not the BOE. That was a real turning point for mcps.

Administrators who worked with Starr most did not like him. He was all theory and absolutely no action.

[Anonymous]

It’s everywhere. The public school model broke post-cold war. Add tech and internet, then more emphasis on standardized testing and common core which sucks the joy out of learning. And what worked in school in 1983 doesn’t work now because the real world is completely different — but school hasn’t changed for the times. (Nor have buildings - the average age of a us public school is over 50 years old.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think it's any one factor, but curicullum 2.0 really set off a domino effect that the district has not recovered from.

Yup. Which was a Jerry Weast initiative continued by Josh Starr.

Really? I thought that was a Josh Starr-initiated effort.

No, Starr inherited it from Weast.

Starr was widely liked by parents as teacher, but not the BOE. That was a real turning point for mcps.

Administrators who worked with Starr most did not like him. He was all theory and absolutely no action.

I remember that Starr wanted to spend his first year as superintendent on a listening tour. omg, so lame. No leadership, all fluff.

[Anonymous]

Peter O’Neil Moran is responsible for the current state of MCPS. Full stop.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have two children in schools that have recently experienced threats/violence. I have a child with an IEP. Both of my children are gifted.

Are there things I'd nitpick? sure. Has our experience overall been very good? yes. Great teachers, supportive admin, special education support. I'd appreciate more acceleration but we have gotten some and I recognize the limits of what can be done within schools. Overall, we're very happy.

You must have older kids. My older child is about to leave elementary school and I would say that your experience is pretty similar to hers. However, none of the enrichment she benefited from will be accessible for my younger child. None of it. Instead we have terrible “in class enrichment” for ELA and compacted math is going to be a thing of the past, replaced by a new model that no one understands based on a completely dishonest interpretation of a statement guidance. Meanwhile behavioral problems are worse every year. I do not know a single parent who is happy with our school right now. Many families are looking into private school even though it will drastically strain their budgets. My husband and I went to public school and are huge believers in public education but we are considering private for our younger child who struggles to learn in the chaos that is every class.

[Anonymous]

Everyone is to blame

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Peter O’Neil Moran is responsible for the current state of MCPS. Full stop.

What is your grudge against Moran??? If you had any evidence you wouldn’t sound so unhinged on every thread.

[Anonymous]

It's the fault of the political structure we have where the Council is responsible for defining tax rates and allocating funding to MCPS while MCPS/BOE decide how to spend that money including through union negotiations. It has created a situation where compensation costs are growing much faster than county revenues, and so each year compensation takes up a larger piece of the pie leaving very little for everything else from maintaining school buildings to materials to transportation. And it impacts class sizes as well. And because of this pressure the school district simply cannot allocate sufficient support the growing population of kids from families with low incomes. It would be a very different dynamic if the school district was totally separate from the county and could levy its own taxes.

[Anonymous]

The people who forced the schools to close for a very long time during the COVID era are the most to blame. The second most to blame are the people who have prioritized equity politics above the learning needs of students. The third most are the people who don’t allow the district to be split up to smaller, more manageable districts. The needs of students in Potomac and Wheaton are so different, on average, it would be better to have a district focused solely on local communities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The people who forced the schools to close for a very long time during the COVID era are the most to blame. The second most to blame are the people who have prioritized equity politics above the learning needs of students. The third most are the people who don’t allow the district to be split up to smaller, more manageable districts. The needs of students in Potomac and Wheaton are so different, on average, it would be better to have a district focused solely on local communities.

+1 to all this. Totally agree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The people who forced the schools to close for a very long time during the COVID era are the most to blame. The second most to blame are the people who have prioritized equity politics above the learning needs of students. The third most are the people who don’t allow the district to be split up to smaller, more manageable districts. The needs of students in Potomac and Wheaton are so different, on average, it would be better to have a district focused solely on local communities.

The main impact of this would be significantly more per pupil spending in Potomac and Bethesda and significantly less in Wheaton, Silver Spring, Gaithersburg etc.