Anti-Racist Audit

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If MCPS really cared about low income kids, they would have smaller class sizes, a ban on cell phones in class, and an actual attendance policy. I teach at a HS with a majority of immigrant students. There is a huge range of student ability in my classes but with class sizes of 30+ students including many students with IEPs, there is only so much I can do to help struggling students. Many students miss 2-3 days every week or they leave to visit their home country for 4-6 weeks and MCPS just says help them make up the missed learning. Most kids are also addicted to their cell phones so that is another battle teachers are expected to fight on their own.

Funny at both our MCPS ES and MS cellphones are banned. I assume this is true everywhere.

No, it is not true everywhere. I am the teacher you are responding to. I don’t want to name the HS where I teach because I don’t want to give it to a negative reputation. Cell phones are not banned. In fact, teachers are told to deal with cell phone use as they want but with zero support from administrators. Kids know there are no consequences for cell phone use. I’m not sure what the feeder middle schools are like but I hear from our security guards and 9th grade teachers that the 9th graders are impossible to deal with and have terrible behavior issues. They literally will mock the security guards and pay them no attention. I don’t teach 9th grade but it makes me wonder what is happening at the middle schools. MCPS seems fine with this. To me it is racist of MCPS to have such low expectations of schools with large low income and minority populations.

At our school they confiscate phones if kids use them. Sorry, if your school doesn't have consequences, but the schools both my kids are in do.

As always, if you're going to make claims such as this, name the school. We'll wait.

Seriously. Stop putting your tiny head in the sand PP - NOT ALL SCHOOLS ARE EQUAL - just because supposedly your dear little children have told you such doesn't make it true.

I don't know about the PP but @TPES the principal sent home a note to all parents about the cell phones and watches they confiscated. @TPMS my kid has to keep their phone in their locker. If they're caught using it during school hours, they will confiscate it at least according to them.

Same with our school. Not sure which schools let kids run wild with phones. School policies limiting phone use are the norm in our experience with MCPS.

Please list any high schools that are strict with cell phones as many teachers will want to apply to teach there.

My kids are only in ES and MS but both their schools confiscate if kids are caught using during school hours.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those of you in support of these activities and audits, where is the evidence showing it helps? Frankly I find myself so overtly skeptical of this whole new industry that I find myself less inclined to want to help anyone. I miss MLK, Jr.’s message. I am not sure I completely buy into the message that focusing on race is better than trying to move beyond it. Change is slow and we have come a long way. Suddenly it’s not enough and we need all this training. Why? Is it helping? Who is it helping other than these new trainers and auditors?

You don’t understand MLK’s message if you don’t understand that he believed focusing on race is an integral part of the process towards the goal of moving beyond it. So many people take the one quote from I Have a Dream to mean that King was colorblind and it simply isn’t an accurate reflection of his ideology or what he preached.

Please educate me then. Do you believe in that focusing on race is going to result in one day not judging people by the color of their skin? How will this work?

[Anonymous]

The trolls are strong in this thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those of you in support of these activities and audits, where is the evidence showing it helps? Frankly I find myself so overtly skeptical of this whole new industry that I find myself less inclined to want to help anyone. I miss MLK, Jr.’s message. I am not sure I completely buy into the message that focusing on race is better than trying to move beyond it. Change is slow and we have come a long way. Suddenly it’s not enough and we need all this training. Why? Is it helping? Who is it helping other than these new trainers and auditors?

You don’t understand MLK’s message if you don’t understand that he believed focusing on race is an integral part of the process towards the goal of moving beyond it. So many people take the one quote from I Have a Dream to mean that King was colorblind and it simply isn’t an accurate reflection of his ideology or what he preached.

Please educate me then. Do you believe in that focusing on race is going to result in one day not judging people by the color of their skin? How will this work?

Of course not, but focusing on race cultivates racism.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If MCPS or any other school system wants to combat racism, they should prioritize raising the academic accomplishments of groups who traditionally underperform average student outcomes. Was this included in the audit?

+1 money would be better spent closing the achievement gap than on a useless "audit" with no meaningful followup. The great equalizer is education. Focus on that if you want to address racism.

The achievement gap is something that the school can't do much about. It is a function of parental education level and student home life, like family values. No amount of money is going to change these things. MCPS can't raise people's kids for them or tell them what to value. It can only provide choices and opportunities so people can make the best choices based on their goals and values.

Well, if that's the case, then MCPS might as well give up on the achievement gap and racism because you can't stop racism as it starts in the home. No amount of money can stop racism. MCPS can't stop parents from teaching their children to be racist.

So, let's spend money where it can make a difference then, and that is education for the kids who want to be educated, and give teachers a raise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If MCPS or any other school system wants to combat racism, they should prioritize raising the academic accomplishments of groups who traditionally underperform average student outcomes. Was this included in the audit?

+1 money would be better spent closing the achievement gap than on a useless "audit" with no meaningful followup. The great equalizer is education. Focus on that if you want to address racism.

The achievement gap is something that the school can't do much about. It is a function of parental education level and student home life, like family values. No amount of money is going to change these things. MCPS can't raise people's kids for them or tell them what to value. It can only provide choices and opportunities so people can make the best choices based on their goals and values.

I agree with this for the most part. However there are some things that could be done that would help or at lessen the overall impact.

1) K-2 classes neither to either be smaller or have two adults in there all the time. Expecting that one teacher can teach a whole range of kids at that age waste precious time and almost always results in the kids further ahead getting little attention. The achievement gap shouldn’t be about the space between the lowest learner and the highest learner it’s about the lowest learners and what we expect on average.

2) Let’s stop pretending have one reading and one math specialist per school is going to move the needle when on average most ES have 600-800 kids. Kids with LDs are going to need more support from K-8 in order to be ready for HS.

3) Explicitly teach study skills and executive function skills.

4) Stop short changing other subjects for Math and English, because those subjects actually use math and English. Science and Social Studies need to be taught with more regularity in K-5 because those subjects actually put into practice what is taught in Math and English.

5) Enforce consequences for simple things like no answering/texting/or use of cellphones during class. Will it be a nuisance at first? YES. But the greater nuisance is the continuation of not enforcing the rule. Get a bunch of cellphone bags, & every time a kid violates the policy confiscate the phone, put it in a bag wi/ the child’s name, hand the child a pre-typed sheet indicating that a parent is welcome to come to school to pick it up and discuss the district’s cellphone policy. Phone goes in the safe till parents come to retrieve.Administrators and MCPS need to stand strong on this.

6) Create before school/ after school/evening EML programs so student get up to speed on language quicker. Hire and pay people to staff these roles. Counties/State/Nation can’t keep treating school like community centers without districts transforming to address the issues in that way and then telling politicians this is whatnot looks like and cost.

7) Hire 2-5 graduate students to put together a comprehensive report w/ cost of the differences between public and private education. Class size of 10-12 students? Great, this is how many additional teachers, paras, classrooms would be needed. This is the approximate cost of each per year. Special Education improvements? Yep, this is how many private placements we’d really like and here is the cost. Can your please go tell those schools to create more spots. Field trips 2-3x per year? Wonderful, Here is the cost for said field trips, here is the cost of the bus driver wage, and here is the planning time. Expanded sports offering/opportunities? Sounds helpful, here is the additional cost for uniforms, coaches, transportation, and paying for community centers so these additional practices can take place. This is needed because it’s the only way the public and politicians are going to get it and stop the endless debate, comparison, and actually fund everything they say they want.

All EXCELLENT suggestions. I think most parents and teachers would love to see this happen.

Send this to McKnight and the BOE.

I'm the ^PP who posted about spending the money on closing the achievement gap rather than the anti-racism audit, and I +100 to all that.

Now that ^ is something concrete and actionable plans that might help URM rather than some fluffy anti-racism audit that just makes some white people feel better about themselves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those of you in support of these activities and audits, where is the evidence showing it helps? Frankly I find myself so overtly skeptical of this whole new industry that I find myself less inclined to want to help anyone. I miss MLK, Jr.’s message. I am not sure I completely buy into the message that focusing on race is better than trying to move beyond it. Change is slow and we have come a long way. Suddenly it’s not enough and we need all this training. Why? Is it helping? Who is it helping other than these new trainers and auditors?

You don’t understand MLK’s message if you don’t understand that he believed focusing on race is an integral part of the process towards the goal of moving beyond it. So many people take the one quote from I Have a Dream to mean that King was colorblind and it simply isn’t an accurate reflection of his ideology or what he preached.

Please educate me then. Do you believe in that focusing on race is going to result in one day not judging people by the color of their skin? How will this work?

Of course not, but focusing on race cultivates racism.

Um, no. Ignoring racism cultivates racism.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those of you in support of these activities and audits, where is the evidence showing it helps? Frankly I find myself so overtly skeptical of this whole new industry that I find myself less inclined to want to help anyone. I miss MLK, Jr.’s message. I am not sure I completely buy into the message that focusing on race is better than trying to move beyond it. Change is slow and we have come a long way. Suddenly it’s not enough and we need all this training. Why? Is it helping? Who is it helping other than these new trainers and auditors?

You don’t understand MLK’s message if you don’t understand that he believed focusing on race is an integral part of the process towards the goal of moving beyond it. So many people take the one quote from I Have a Dream to mean that King was colorblind and it simply isn’t an accurate reflection of his ideology or what he preached.

Please educate me then. Do you believe in that focusing on race is going to result in one day not judging people by the color of their skin? How will this work?

Of course not, but focusing on race cultivates racism.

Um, no. Ignoring racism cultivates racism.

Like weeds in your garden.

[Anonymous]

MCPS has been trying to close the achievement gap for how many years now? It’s time to put this project to rest, bring back tracking and meet kids where they are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If MCPS or any other school system wants to combat racism, they should prioritize raising the academic accomplishments of groups who traditionally underperform average student outcomes. Was this included in the audit?

+1 money would be better spent closing the achievement gap than on a useless "audit" with no meaningful followup. The great equalizer is education. Focus on that if you want to address racism.

The achievement gap is something that the school can't do much about. It is a function of parental education level and student home life, like family values. No amount of money is going to change these things. MCPS can't raise people's kids for them or tell them what to value. It can only provide choices and opportunities so people can make the best choices based on their goals and values.

I agree with this for the most part. However there are some things that could be done that would help or at lessen the overall impact.

1) K-2 classes neither to either be smaller or have two adults in there all the time. Expecting that one teacher can teach a whole range of kids at that age waste precious time and almost always results in the kids further ahead getting little attention. The achievement gap shouldn’t be about the space between the lowest learner and the highest learner it’s about the lowest learners and what we expect on average.

2) Let’s stop pretending have one reading and one math specialist per school is going to move the needle when on average most ES have 600-800 kids. Kids with LDs are going to need more support from K-8 in order to be ready for HS.

3) Explicitly teach study skills and executive function skills.

4) Stop short changing other subjects for Math and English, because those subjects actually use math and English. Science and Social Studies need to be taught with more regularity in K-5 because those subjects actually put into practice what is taught in Math and English.

5) Enforce consequences for simple things like no answering/texting/or use of cellphones during class. Will it be a nuisance at first? YES. But the greater nuisance is the continuation of not enforcing the rule. Get a bunch of cellphone bags, & every time a kid violates the policy confiscate the phone, put it in a bag wi/ the child’s name, hand the child a pre-typed sheet indicating that a parent is welcome to come to school to pick it up and discuss the district’s cellphone policy. Phone goes in the safe till parents come to retrieve.Administrators and MCPS need to stand strong on this.

6) Create before school/ after school/evening EML programs so student get up to speed on language quicker. Hire and pay people to staff these roles. Counties/State/Nation can’t keep treating school like community centers without districts transforming to address the issues in that way and then telling politicians this is whatnot looks like and cost.

7) Hire 2-5 graduate students to put together a comprehensive report w/ cost of the differences between public and private education. Class size of 10-12 students? Great, this is how many additional teachers, paras, classrooms would be needed. This is the approximate cost of each per year. Special Education improvements? Yep, this is how many private placements we’d really like and here is the cost. Can your please go tell those schools to create more spots. Field trips 2-3x per year? Wonderful, Here is the cost for said field trips, here is the cost of the bus driver wage, and here is the planning time. Expanded sports offering/opportunities? Sounds helpful, here is the additional cost for uniforms, coaches, transportation, and paying for community centers so these additional practices can take place. This is needed because it’s the only way the public and politicians are going to get it and stop the endless debate, comparison, and actually fund everything they say they want.

All EXCELLENT suggestions. I think most parents and teachers would love to see this happen.

Send this to McKnight and the BOE.

Agreed. I am the "Was this included in the audit" poster. You are never going to get equal outcomes across every group, nor should this be the goal. But that doesn't mean it's not important to identify if students are overall performing better or worse than national and historical averages. I haven't seen any compelling evidence that these so-called "anti-racist" curriculums and educational materials actually improve the achievements of the under-performing students of color they are theoretically intended to help. It seems like a waste of funds that could spent on tangible items that like the PP mentioned above or more teachers/smaller class sizes. If educational administrators truly wanted to help underperforming students, they would hold themselves accountable to real improvements in student academic achievements across ALL student groups (underperforming, average, AND gifted) instead of virtue signal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MCPS has been trying to close the achievement gap for how many years now? It’s time to put this project to rest, bring back tracking and meet kids where they are.

YES! This would be the best thing they ever did. All this virtue signaling isn't helping anyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MCPS has been trying to close the achievement gap for how many years now? It’s time to put this project to rest, bring back tracking and meet kids where they are.

IKR! Those kids who were born to poverty deserve to stay there! Stay our of my kids' way!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS has been trying to close the achievement gap for how many years now? It’s time to put this project to rest, bring back tracking and meet kids where they are.

IKR! Those kids who were born to poverty deserve to stay there! Stay our of my kids' way!

Let us know what your proposal that actually closes the achievement gap is. We're dying to see it and put it to use.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS has been trying to close the achievement gap for how many years now? It’s time to put this project to rest, bring back tracking and meet kids where they are.

IKR! Those kids who were born to poverty deserve to stay there! Stay our of my kids' way!

No kidding. Everyone should be either taking remedial English or pre calc. All or nothing baby!!!