Root cause of issues at MOCO schools?

[Anonymous]

Agree. There’s a lot of virtue signaling—use of language like “service leader” and acronyms like “WeRaise” that are great in theory, but are more talk than execution. I think there’s a lot of insecurity and cliquishness among the admin at those top levels, and it’s become an echo chamber. As a teacher, I am sick of the empty sloganning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Superintendent (and his employees), the Board of Education, the County Council and the County Exec all have a role in “what MCPS spends its money on.” Technically the Council just approves a total number and the Board of Ed controls the distribution, but in really the Council does have the power to influence how the money is spent. All are involved and none has sole responsibility, though the Board of Ed probably has the most responsibility.

How?

For example, when the tax increase went through, it was done with a promise from the BOE to use some to (slightly) reduce class sizes. They can’t sue the BOE or anything if they fail to come through, but they can refuse future request for more funding, cut the budget by the amount of a particular line item, etc. They have “the power of the purse.” MCPS needs the Council to find their budget, and as such the Council can make demands on how the money is spent. MCPS can come up with a variety of plans but if they’re not funded they can’t happen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One of the main problems in MCPS is the bureaucratic administration verbiage used to really say nothing. Admit there are problems and come up with a plan to fix them. Be open, honest, and demonstrate integrity. Plane and simple. Thinking you can spin issues by using BS words that mean nothing really only makes MCPS look dishonest and incompetent. I've come across this problem in the Special Ed processes, in meetings with school administrators, and presentations to PTA.

+100

I’m a parent and I see this and have heard teachers complaining about the same.

Huge lack of accountability.

I do think a lot of this comes from MCPS just being TOO big. We come from a school system that was run by towns and it was so much easier to make change. Easier to make your voice heard. Much more difficult in this horribly large and beauracratic mess that is MCPS.

LOL - I had a conversation last semester with the Director for our school and she went off in the Central Office BS speak so I pleasantly said, "I'm sorry, but I really don't understand what you just said. Can you rephrase with specific examples of how you are solving the problem?" She looked at me like I had two heads and just restated the same exact same string of words. I don't even think she knew what she was saying. She was just in robot mode based on something someone above her probably told her to say but she didn't ask for clarity so she had none to give me.

[Anonymous]

Ahh. Then there is integrity. I have actually caught the same Director in a lie multiple times. Nothing like handing her hard, written evidence in her own words then watching her trying to dig her way out of the situation. She got really flustered.

However, I kind of feel sorry for her in a way. It must suck to have a job that that makes you lie to families and their children. Really, I can't think of a lower profession.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another serious problem with MCPS is all the parents who prep their kids so that a mediocre child appears slightly gifted in order to game the system.

half the gifted students don't even apply since it's so damn far away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Superintendent (and his employees), the Board of Education, the County Council and the County Exec all have a role in “what MCPS spends its money on.” Technically the Council just approves a total number and the Board of Ed controls the distribution, but in really the Council does have the power to influence how the money is spent. All are involved and none has sole responsibility, though the Board of Ed probably has the most responsibility.

How?

For example, when the tax increase went through, it was done with a promise from the BOE to use some to (slightly) reduce class sizes. They can’t sue the BOE or anything if they fail to come through, but they can refuse future request for more funding, cut the budget by the amount of a particular line item, etc. They have “the power of the purse.” MCPS needs the Council to find their budget, and as such the Council can make demands on how the money is spent. MCPS can come up with a variety of plans but if they’re not funded they can’t happen.

Yes, insofar as they appropriate the total budget. But -- as you say -- the BoE decides what to spend it on.

[Anonymous]

Root Cause of Issues -

Ignoring problems till a mountain because a mole hill. First rule in education, early intervention is best. Second rule, there are windows of opportunity that closes over time. Ignoring problems never solves anything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another serious problem with MCPS is all the parents who prep their kids so that a mediocre child appears slightly gifted in order to game the system.

half the gifted students don't even apply since it's so damn far away.

Without those students who you claimed 'gaming" the system, MCPS could have seminar test scores as PGPS or DCPS. You should be thankful for the achievement those students made: higher SAT scores, higher AP participation and test scores, more NMSF, winning academic competitions, etc. The presence of those students enhances the reputation of MCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another serious problem with MCPS is all the parents who prep their kids so that a mediocre child appears slightly gifted in order to game the system.

half the gifted students don't even apply since it's so damn far away.

Without those students who you claimed 'gaming" the system, MCPS could have seminar test scores as PGPS or DCPS. You should be thankful for the achievement those students made: higher SAT scores, higher AP participation and test scores, more NMSF, winning academic competitions, etc. The presence of those students enhances the reputation of MCPS.

I should be grateful to kids in MCPS who take AP classes and get high SAT scores?

[Anonymous]

A good school system would create pathways to access for all students. All schools should support and challenge students. Your access to opportunities should not be limited by your zipcode.

I was once a FARMS student in MCPS. I was part of the guinea pigs for the first Junior High (yes, MCPS didn't have middle schools back then). The top 30 students at my school were accellerated, given extra support at lunch and afterschool, received free SAT prep and college application help as well as AP classes. I would consider myself middle of the road intelligence wise but with the support, I graduated from a tough East county high school with over a semester of college credit. My best friend in high school had fled Burma as a child with her family. She is now a doctor who does research on rare childhood diseases. I was the first in my family to graduate college and the AP credits lessen the financial burden of that journey. My friend and I crossed paths a few years back, not in our old neighborhood but in the Potomac Safeway.

Our kids go to Potomac area schools and we have both noticed the education isn't the standard we received. We both supplement at home to fill in gaps or when we think basic concepts are missing. No fancy tutors but old fashioned textbooks and workbooks from Amazon. Point is, the future of a student is only as limited as his or her education.

[Anonymous]

Sorry long day - I was a guinea pig for the first Junior high honors classes.

[Anonymous]

As an example - how many MCPS students read classic literature for English? I remember reading the Odyssey and the Tempest in 7th grade. For the Tempest, we had a fieldtrip after we finished the play to watch a production of it at Arena Stage. I think for all of us, it was our first experience watching a play.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As an example - how many MCPS students read classic literature for English? I remember reading the Odyssey and the Tempest in 7th grade. For the Tempest, we had a fieldtrip after we finished the play to watch a production of it at Arena Stage. I think for all of us, it was our first experience watching a play.

Is classic lit not part of MCPS MS English?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another serious problem with MCPS is all the parents who prep their kids so that a mediocre child appears slightly gifted in order to game the system.

half the gifted students don't even apply since it's so damn far away.

Without those students who you claimed 'gaming" the system, MCPS could have seminar test scores as PGPS or DCPS. You should be thankful for the achievement those students made: higher SAT scores, higher AP participation and test scores, more NMSF, winning academic competitions, etc. The presence of those students enhances the reputation of MCPS.

the other half in MoCo go private.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As an example - how many MCPS students read classic literature for English? I remember reading the Odyssey and the Tempest in 7th grade. For the Tempest, we had a fieldtrip after we finished the play to watch a production of it at Arena Stage. I think for all of us, it was our first experience watching a play.

Is classic lit not part of MCPS MS English?

My children in the Churchill school cluster read 2 books per year in English, one of which was always chosen because it was only around 100 pages. MCPS also pushed more recent publications, especially those on video format - a movie always tenda to follow the book - vs. the classics. There were so many great authors and great works that colleges really expect students to be exposed to that MCPS has dropped off the curriculum. All students deserve the challenge, rigor, and experience of reading great literature.

A classic book in paper / hardcopy format would be more beneficial to a child than more screen time. Studies are beginning to link the increased use of digital devices to increase behaviors associated with ADHD. Is this what our educational system is to become?