Looks like ELC is gone

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are upset then get in touch with Taylor and the BOE. This is not a surprise to me. There have been other threads throughout this year that that have said ELC will be gone because central office is replacing it with the CKLA base plus enrichment during WIN time. CKLA has been much better than Benchmark for my kids, and our school does a good job actually offering enrichment in WIN time. But if yours doesn’t, then advocate for changes that meet the needs of your kids. Without a strong push among many parents, MCPS will not change this.

A 30min WIN time vs a whole language arts block are not the same thing. Particularly given that class sizes are not decreasing.

Then organize parents for that change. Complaining kn here will not change anything, guaranteed.

Can you stop posting here telling people to stop posting here?

People are welcome to post here. It will not make a difference if it is not accompanied by advocacy. And LOTS of advocacy, by parents across the county, not just in wealthy clusters.

Well some of us are posting here because we need help figuring out how to do the advocacy!

We need help understanding exactly who is making these decisions and why, so we can understand what steps to take next. And we need help figuring out how we can coordinate with other parents to make changes rather than acting individually... is the PTA gifted committee a good way to do that, or do we need something else?

See above. You want to email and call Taylor and the leadership in the Office of Curriculum and Instructional Programming. Testify before BoE meetings. Attend and speak up in the budget process. Most important, get other parents across the county to do the same.

It might be wise to contact your school's principal first, just to find out what their plans are for next year.

My principal says they have no knowledge of this.

Did the principal say they're planning on doing ELC again next year, unless they're told otherwise?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are upset then get in touch with Taylor and the BOE. This is not a surprise to me. There have been other threads throughout this year that that have said ELC will be gone because central office is replacing it with the CKLA base plus enrichment during WIN time. CKLA has been much better than Benchmark for my kids, and our school does a good job actually offering enrichment in WIN time. But if yours doesn’t, then advocate for changes that meet the needs of your kids. Without a strong push among many parents, MCPS will not change this.

A 30min WIN time vs a whole language arts block are not the same thing. Particularly given that class sizes are not decreasing.

Then organize parents for that change. Complaining kn here will not change anything, guaranteed.

Can you stop posting here telling people to stop posting here?

People are welcome to post here. It will not make a difference if it is not accompanied by advocacy. And LOTS of advocacy, by parents across the county, not just in wealthy clusters.

Well some of us are posting here because we need help figuring out how to do the advocacy!

We need help understanding exactly who is making these decisions and why, so we can understand what steps to take next. And we need help figuring out how we can coordinate with other parents to make changes rather than acting individually... is the PTA gifted committee a good way to do that, or do we need something else?

See above. You want to email and call Taylor and the leadership in the Office of Curriculum and Instructional Programming. Testify before BoE meetings. Attend and speak up in the budget process. Most important, get other parents across the county to do the same.

Who are the decision-makers in the Office of Curriculum and Instructional Programming?

Brown, Mrs. Melaika A
Supervisor, Elementary English/LA
[e-mail]

Logan, Dr. Kisha
Department of Pre-K-12 Curriculum
Director II
[e-mail]

Hazel, Mrs. Niki T
Office of Curriculum and Instructional Programs
Associate Superintendent
[e-mail]

Thanks! Do you know which of these is likely the actual one driving this change?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are upset then get in touch with Taylor and the BOE. This is not a surprise to me. There have been other threads throughout this year that that have said ELC will be gone because central office is replacing it with the CKLA base plus enrichment during WIN time. CKLA has been much better than Benchmark for my kids, and our school does a good job actually offering enrichment in WIN time. But if yours doesn’t, then advocate for changes that meet the needs of your kids. Without a strong push among many parents, MCPS will not change this.

A 30min WIN time vs a whole language arts block are not the same thing. Particularly given that class sizes are not decreasing.

Then organize parents for that change. Complaining kn here will not change anything, guaranteed.

Can you stop posting here telling people to stop posting here?

People are welcome to post here. It will not make a difference if it is not accompanied by advocacy. And LOTS of advocacy, by parents across the county, not just in wealthy clusters.

Well some of us are posting here because we need help figuring out how to do the advocacy!

We need help understanding exactly who is making these decisions and why, so we can understand what steps to take next. And we need help figuring out how we can coordinate with other parents to make changes rather than acting individually... is the PTA gifted committee a good way to do that, or do we need something else?

See above. You want to email and call Taylor and the leadership in the Office of Curriculum and Instructional Programming. Testify before BoE meetings. Attend and speak up in the budget process. Most important, get other parents across the county to do the same.

Who are the decision-makers in the Office of Curriculum and Instructional Programming?

Brown, Mrs. Melaika A
Supervisor, Elementary English/LA
[e-mail]

Logan, Dr. Kisha
Department of Pre-K-12 Curriculum
Director II
[e-mail]

Hazel, Mrs. Niki T
Office of Curriculum and Instructional Programs
Associate Superintendent
[e-mail]

Thanks! Do you know which of these is likely the actual one driving this change?

Hazel is the highest one, so she would be the one with the most influence.

I'd add the supervisor of AEI, Kristie Clark, to your list. That office is very weak so not the primary target, but good to include her:

[e-mail]

And I'd put the superintendent on:

[e-mail]

-DP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are upset then get in touch with Taylor and the BOE. This is not a surprise to me. There have been other threads throughout this year that that have said ELC will be gone because central office is replacing it with the CKLA base plus enrichment during WIN time. CKLA has been much better than Benchmark for my kids, and our school does a good job actually offering enrichment in WIN time. But if yours doesn’t, then advocate for changes that meet the needs of your kids. Without a strong push among many parents, MCPS will not change this.

A 30min WIN time vs a whole language arts block are not the same thing. Particularly given that class sizes are not decreasing.

Then organize parents for that change. Complaining kn here will not change anything, guaranteed.

Can you stop posting here telling people to stop posting here?

People are welcome to post here. It will not make a difference if it is not accompanied by advocacy. And LOTS of advocacy, by parents across the county, not just in wealthy clusters.

Well some of us are posting here because we need help figuring out how to do the advocacy!

We need help understanding exactly who is making these decisions and why, so we can understand what steps to take next. And we need help figuring out how we can coordinate with other parents to make changes rather than acting individually... is the PTA gifted committee a good way to do that, or do we need something else?

See above. You want to email and call Taylor and the leadership in the Office of Curriculum and Instructional Programming. Testify before BoE meetings. Attend and speak up in the budget process. Most important, get other parents across the county to do the same.

It might be wise to contact your school's principal first, just to find out what their plans are for next year.

My principal says they have no knowledge of this.

No knowledge of what: ELC itself or that it could be going away?

The first would be very concerning, thus require more followup about why your school doesn’t. The later would just mean that folks here are speculating incorrectly. Either way you should find out clearly what your school is planning for next year.

[Anonymous]

Unpopular opinion. The ELC is based in the old strategies of reading instruction such as Lucy Calkins. An improved enriched ELA curriculum could be based in CKLA, be far more effective, and have students working on gaining similar knowledge across the board.

The ELC curriculum has had intensive writing experiences but it has not had any emphasis on reading complex non-fiction texts, or even complex fiction texts for that matter.

parent of a student who has been in an ELC in 4th and 5th and a rising 4th grader who qualifies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are upset then get in touch with Taylor and the BOE. This is not a surprise to me. There have been other threads throughout this year that that have said ELC will be gone because central office is replacing it with the CKLA base plus enrichment during WIN time. CKLA has been much better than Benchmark for my kids, and our school does a good job actually offering enrichment in WIN time. But if yours doesn’t, then advocate for changes that meet the needs of your kids. Without a strong push among many parents, MCPS will not change this.

A 30min WIN time vs a whole language arts block are not the same thing. Particularly given that class sizes are not decreasing.

Then organize parents for that change. Complaining kn here will not change anything, guaranteed.

Can you stop posting here telling people to stop posting here?

People are welcome to post here. It will not make a difference if it is not accompanied by advocacy. And LOTS of advocacy, by parents across the county, not just in wealthy clusters.

Well some of us are posting here because we need help figuring out how to do the advocacy!

We need help understanding exactly who is making these decisions and why, so we can understand what steps to take next. And we need help figuring out how we can coordinate with other parents to make changes rather than acting individually... is the PTA gifted committee a good way to do that, or do we need something else?

See above. You want to email and call Taylor and the leadership in the Office of Curriculum and Instructional Programming. Testify before BoE meetings. Attend and speak up in the budget process. Most important, get other parents across the county to do the same.

It might be wise to contact your school's principal first, just to find out what their plans are for next year.

My principal says they have no knowledge of this.

No knowledge of what: ELC itself or that it could be going away?

The first would be very concerning, thus require more followup about why your school doesn’t. The later would just mean that folks here are speculating incorrectly. Either way you should find out clearly what your school is planning for next year.

All elementary principals know what ELC is. But they are often the last to know system changes. What is interesting is that we have new leadership at the top but the same ole same ole is happening. Why can't true change be made? 🤔

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unpopular opinion. The ELC is based in the old strategies of reading instruction such as Lucy Calkins. An improved enriched ELA curriculum could be based in CKLA, be far more effective, and have students working on gaining similar knowledge across the board.

The ELC curriculum has had intensive writing experiences but it has not had any emphasis on reading complex non-fiction texts, or even complex fiction texts for that matter.

parent of a student who has been in an ELC in 4th and 5th and a rising 4th grader who qualifies.

I'm not opposed to them exploring changes to the curriculum. What I'm opposed to is going from a fully-enriched ELA block with a cohort of similar peers, to a "spend your ELA block with a teacher who's spending most of their time trying to help below-grade level students, and we'll maybe give you some enrichment during WIN time" experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are upset then get in touch with Taylor and the BOE. This is not a surprise to me. There have been other threads throughout this year that that have said ELC will be gone because central office is replacing it with the CKLA base plus enrichment during WIN time. CKLA has been much better than Benchmark for my kids, and our school does a good job actually offering enrichment in WIN time. But if yours doesn’t, then advocate for changes that meet the needs of your kids. Without a strong push among many parents, MCPS will not change this.

A 30min WIN time vs a whole language arts block are not the same thing. Particularly given that class sizes are not decreasing.

Then organize parents for that change. Complaining kn here will not change anything, guaranteed.

Can you stop posting here telling people to stop posting here?

People are welcome to post here. It will not make a difference if it is not accompanied by advocacy. And LOTS of advocacy, by parents across the county, not just in wealthy clusters.

Well some of us are posting here because we need help figuring out how to do the advocacy!

We need help understanding exactly who is making these decisions and why, so we can understand what steps to take next. And we need help figuring out how we can coordinate with other parents to make changes rather than acting individually... is the PTA gifted committee a good way to do that, or do we need something else?

See above. You want to email and call Taylor and the leadership in the Office of Curriculum and Instructional Programming. Testify before BoE meetings. Attend and speak up in the budget process. Most important, get other parents across the county to do the same.

It might be wise to contact your school's principal first, just to find out what their plans are for next year.

My principal says they have no knowledge of this.

No knowledge of what: ELC itself or that it could be going away?

The first would be very concerning, thus require more followup about why your school doesn’t. The later would just mean that folks here are speculating incorrectly. Either way you should find out clearly what your school is planning for next year.

All elementary principals know what ELC is. But they are often the last to know system changes. What is interesting is that we have new leadership at the top but the same ole same ole is happening. Why can't true change be made? 🤔

I’m the PP who posted that my principal did not know anything about changes to ELC. We have ELC and my oldest is in it (4th grade). It’s great, particularly the writing instruction but they definitely read entire books which I have heard others complain doesn’t happen in regular reading. I will not argue it’s perfect or couldn’t be better but it’s light years better than the nonexistent enrichment my child received in 3rd or the random 20 minutes of WIN time my younger child receives for advanced reading a couple times a week that can be canceled for any or no reason. There’s already SO little for advanced students in elementary I can’t believe this would be what they would pick to cut.

I feel worried by the time it’s clear what’s changing it’s going to be too late to complain. I am happy to write to the people identified earlier in the thread but I am really worried it won’t be enough.

[Anonymous]

We're in 5th, and DC LOVED ELC in 4th and really was engaged. Literary circles, read a few novels, approached analysis in different ways. 5th is now CKLA for us. Although the content is more traditional higher level like Don Quixote and poetry, there is little to no writing, at least that parents can see brought home. There is integration with social studies in Unit 1 for sure. With "advanced English" for everyone in MS and unclear if there is differentiation given at all, we are concerned. No matter what field you enter, writing and reading are basic, essential skill sets and MCPS hasn't sold us on the strength of their ELA/English curriculum other than ELC in 4th.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We're in 5th, and DC LOVED ELC in 4th and really was engaged. Literary circles, read a few novels, approached analysis in different ways. 5th is now CKLA for us. Although the content is more traditional higher level like Don Quixote and poetry, there is little to no writing, at least that parents can see brought home. There is integration with social studies in Unit 1 for sure. With "advanced English" for everyone in MS and unclear if there is differentiation given at all, we are concerned. No matter what field you enter, writing and reading are basic, essential skill sets and MCPS hasn't sold us on the strength of their ELA/English curriculum other than ELC in 4th.

Wait, is ELC only for 4th grade? That makes no sense? Is whatever your school has for 5th at least and advanced version of the curriculum?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unpopular opinion. The ELC is based in the old strategies of reading instruction such as Lucy Calkins. An improved enriched ELA curriculum could be based in CKLA, be far more effective, and have students working on gaining similar knowledge across the board.

The ELC curriculum has had intensive writing experiences but it has not had any emphasis on reading complex non-fiction texts, or even complex fiction texts for that matter.

parent of a student who has been in an ELC in 4th and 5th and a rising 4th grader who qualifies.

ELC is not aligned to Lucy Calkins. It’s aligned with reading research for Gifted students. And while all the students in ELC may not be gifted, they benefit from the higher level of instruction and critical thinking.

And I’m not sure what your kid got in ELC but mine certainly had Grammar, Vocabulary, chapter readings for homework, discussion of literacy elements, and writing with corrections.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're in 5th, and DC LOVED ELC in 4th and really was engaged. Literary circles, read a few novels, approached analysis in different ways. 5th is now CKLA for us. Although the content is more traditional higher level like Don Quixote and poetry, there is little to no writing, at least that parents can see brought home. There is integration with social studies in Unit 1 for sure. With "advanced English" for everyone in MS and unclear if there is differentiation given at all, we are concerned. No matter what field you enter, writing and reading are basic, essential skill sets and MCPS hasn't sold us on the strength of their ELA/English curriculum other than ELC in 4th.

Wait, is ELC only for 4th grade? That makes no sense? Is whatever your school has for 5th at least and advanced version of the curriculum?

Their school probably was one of the schools that switched from ELC to the "CKLA pilot" between last year and this year, probably for both grade levels.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're in 5th, and DC LOVED ELC in 4th and really was engaged. Literary circles, read a few novels, approached analysis in different ways. 5th is now CKLA for us. Although the content is more traditional higher level like Don Quixote and poetry, there is little to no writing, at least that parents can see brought home. There is integration with social studies in Unit 1 for sure. With "advanced English" for everyone in MS and unclear if there is differentiation given at all, we are concerned. No matter what field you enter, writing and reading are basic, essential skill sets and MCPS hasn't sold us on the strength of their ELA/English curriculum other than ELC in 4th.

Wait, is ELC only for 4th grade? That makes no sense? Is whatever your school has for 5th at least and advanced version of the curriculum?

Their school probably was one of the schools that switched from ELC to the "CKLA pilot" between last year and this year, probably for both grade levels.

Is there a list of those schools?

[Anonymous]

Every student should have access to ELC.

Raise the bar. Aim higher. Challenge students.

The dumbing down to the lowest common denominator has ruined mcps. We used to be an enviable school district and we have fallen so far.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are upset then get in touch with Taylor and the BOE. This is not a surprise to me. There have been other threads throughout this year that that have said ELC will be gone because central office is replacing it with the CKLA base plus enrichment during WIN time. CKLA has been much better than Benchmark for my kids, and our school does a good job actually offering enrichment in WIN time. But if yours doesn’t, then advocate for changes that meet the needs of your kids. Without a strong push among many parents, MCPS will not change this.

A 30min WIN time vs a whole language arts block are not the same thing. Particularly given that class sizes are not decreasing.

Then organize parents for that change. Complaining kn here will not change anything, guaranteed.

Can you stop posting here telling people to stop posting here?

People are welcome to post here. It will not make a difference if it is not accompanied by advocacy. And LOTS of advocacy, by parents across the county, not just in wealthy clusters.

Well some of us are posting here because we need help figuring out how to do the advocacy!

We need help understanding exactly who is making these decisions and why, so we can understand what steps to take next. And we need help figuring out how we can coordinate with other parents to make changes rather than acting individually... is the PTA gifted committee a good way to do that, or do we need something else?

See above. You want to email and call Taylor and the leadership in the Office of Curriculum and Instructional Programming. Testify before BoE meetings. Attend and speak up in the budget process. Most important, get other parents across the county to do the same.

Who are the decision-makers in the Office of Curriculum and Instructional Programming?

Brown, Mrs. Melaika A
Supervisor, Elementary English/LA
[e-mail]

Logan, Dr. Kisha
Department of Pre-K-12 Curriculum
Director II
[e-mail]

Hazel, Mrs. Niki T
Office of Curriculum and Instructional Programs
Associate Superintendent
[e-mail]

Thanks! Do you know which of these is likely the actual one driving this change?

Hazel is the highest one, so she would be the one with the most influence.

I'd add the supervisor of AEI, Kristie Clark, to your list. That office is very weak so not the primary target, but good to include her:

[e-mail]

And I'd put the superintendent on:

[e-mail]

-DP

Another DP. This is just to consider when contacting/addressing the parties. It also isn't quite this clear cut, but, to my experience/understanding:

Hazel and above (and some parallel) drive this.
Logan and, to some degree, Clark facilitate/navigate.
Brown implements (at the curricular level, not at the school level).

Taylor is aware by now, but it is unclear if he has adopted the philosophical stance of prior administrations or is leaving their general/anemic approach to GT/enrichment unchanged due to organizational/budgetary exigencies.

In the feudal way things are set up, nobody from OCIP really controls what happens in the local school administrations' implementations outside of the curricula/supports that are generally available.

At the local school level, individual PTAs/groups of parents have been successful in some, but not all, related advocacy when they have been vocal and well resourced. The things that have moved the needle at the county and state level took herculean advocacy efforts over years, often with the children of advocacy leads having passed the grades affected prior to any real change, not unlike other socio-political movements.