Why do people want to fire the principal of B-CC?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:People want him fired because BCC is a failing school, and he is the chief executive of that school. Yes, many / most of the factors are outside of his control, but at some point, there has to be accountability. Parents have so far had no political will to go after MCPS, I think because they feel like attacking it will cheapen the brand and hurt their kids, which I understand. There is also no political ability to go after the problem at the county government level, because it is essentially non-competitive. What's left is the BCC leader.

Was current Principal a Principal intern before this role? What happened with last Principal of this high school? Knowing that background could help provide some guidance in how to advocate for a leader change or not to change current leadership. Any of the school's APs to consider?

IIRC people got mad at the last principal for enforcing rules. Some rich parents hired lawyers to sue the school for disciplining their kids (for smuggling alcohol to student events maybe?) and the principal was like I’ve had enough of this and found another MCPS job.

This would have been about 8 years ago so maybe I am misremembering.

My recollection is that the kids were warned if they showed up drunk at prom they would not walk at graduation, and consequences happened. I don't think the parents sued but they did appeal to a bunch of higher ups and politicians and made the principal back down because not walking at graduation is not an MCPS approved consequence. Really awful behavior on the part of the parents, IMHO.

Do any of those parents have younger kids who are now studens at BCC, or who are about to enter BCC? Are those parents in any way involved in current efforts to get new principal? Isn't Dr Mooney the principal that was beaten by students a few years ago, or was that another principal (could be mixing up news of a principal elsewhere)?

[Anonymous]

I think the principal who was beaten was at Westland (unless there were 2 beatings in the cluster)....

[Anonymous]

There was a principal change at Westland starting this school year. Westland is one of two MS going into BCC. Do they try to match principal personality/race/gender/leadership style with cluster schools? Or match with whomever will be next school's PTSA President or with vocal parents at the HS?

[Anonymous]

Do teachers and staff want a new principal?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School.

Here is my personal assessment: 80% of what people are upset about are things totally outside of his control. He does not make county-wide or federal policy, B-CC objectively has a complicated student mix with very wealthy families and less wealthy families that have different needs and expectations, it’s geographic location in downtown Bethesda creates some unique issues after sporting events, he can’t control SWAT-ing calls from out of state, etc.

And, it takes a very special person to be excellent at managing the students and parents of a school like that. Dr. Mooney is a kind, likeable person who cares deeply about that school, and I think some parents believe that school would benefit from more of an iron fist approach, which just doesn’t seem to be his personal style.

Other than the location in downtown Bethesda, what makes it so different from Blair which seems to have less of these problems. Similar mix of kids I think.

There is a lot more wealth from Bethesda and chevy chase at BCC than Blair.

That's not a complete explanation, though, unless it is the wealthy kids creating most of the problems at B-CC. I do think B-CC's location and open campus are a blessing and a curse. It creates a fun urban environment and puts kids close to internships and public transportation. On the other hand, it creates a more fluid situation on and around campus that can be harder to monitor.

Yes, BCC is more urban and more accessible from outsiders in town and more attractive to students walking off campus to mix with them.
Blair is a mile from the subway.

This is true, but I do think administration matters. I've had kids at both B-CC and Blair, and one significant difference is that Blair families are more willing to accept that the rules apply to everyone. This allows the administration to have better enforcement of the rules because you don't have wealthy parents coming out of the woodwork every time Larlo gets lunch detention for tardiness.

My experience with B-CC is that the wealthy families want better rules enforcement, but only for "those" kids. Because the administration cannot and should not apply the rules only to low-income kids, they end up enforcing fewer rules in general to avoid parent backlash.

This is laughably wrong. The issue here is the issue at the root level across mcps. There are no repercussions for anyone. Not the poc, not the white, not the high income, not the low income. Not for students and not for staff.
You can't effectively run an organization where people are free to do whatever they want. You will quickly find that staff parents and students understand that there are no rules.
One of the biggest issues is how difficult it is to fire incompetent and apathetic staff. When they become a big enough problem they're promoted up because it's the only option, especially now that they can't be sent off to virtual academy.
Secondary is the justice warriors who believe white parents are some how able to get their kids off from repercussions like detention (they arent). Even if they were, there is no universe where two wrongs make a right. But lowering the bar is the mindset of a certain group of very vocal instigators in the system.

Nailed it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People want him fired because BCC is a failing school, and he is the chief executive of that school. Yes, many / most of the factors are outside of his control, but at some point, there has to be accountability. Parents have so far had no political will to go after MCPS, I think because they feel like attacking it will cheapen the brand and hurt their kids, which I understand. There is also no political ability to go after the problem at the county government level, because it is essentially non-competitive. What's left is the BCC leader.

Was current Principal a Principal intern before this role? What happened with last Principal of this high school? Knowing that background could help provide some guidance in how to advocate for a leader change or not to change current leadership. Any of the school's APs to consider?

IIRC people got mad at the last principal for enforcing rules. Some rich parents hired lawyers to sue the school for disciplining their kids (for smuggling alcohol to student events maybe?) and the principal was like I’ve had enough of this and found another MCPS job.

This would have been about 8 years ago so maybe I am misremembering.

Jones left in September 2019, becoming a director in central office. Mooney became acting principal then and then got the permanent job.

Jones went on to become an associate superintendent. She was also mixed up in the Beidleman debacle and was put on administrative leave for a time during the investigation. She was cleared and returned as associate superintendent. She was re-appointed to that position last week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People want him fired because BCC is a failing school, and he is the chief executive of that school. Yes, many / most of the factors are outside of his control, but at some point, there has to be accountability. Parents have so far had no political will to go after MCPS, I think because they feel like attacking it will cheapen the brand and hurt their kids, which I understand. There is also no political ability to go after the problem at the county government level, because it is essentially non-competitive. What's left is the BCC leader.

Was current Principal a Principal intern before this role? What happened with last Principal of this high school? Knowing that background could help provide some guidance in how to advocate for a leader change or not to change current leadership. Any of the school's APs to consider?

IIRC people got mad at the last principal for enforcing rules. Some rich parents hired lawyers to sue the school for disciplining their kids (for smuggling alcohol to student events maybe?) and the principal was like I’ve had enough of this and found another MCPS job.

This would have been about 8 years ago so maybe I am misremembering.

My recollection is that the kids were warned if they showed up drunk at prom they would not walk at graduation, and consequences happened. I don't think the parents sued but they did appeal to a bunch of higher ups and politicians and made the principal back down because not walking at graduation is not an MCPS approved consequence. Really awful behavior on the part of the parents, IMHO.

I was a parent during those years. School officials often know very little about legal processes. The way they picked out students for further scrutiny in a way that was not fair and equitable, and the admin's lack of knowledge/preparedness w/ reference to the consequences meant that the "discipline" process was inappropriate. That doesn't mean all discipline is inappropriate, but if you say no alcohol at prom, you have to have a standard way of screening people so that no one can accuse you of targeting some kids and not others.

Students are humans with civil rights. If you want to discipline them, do it in a way that doesn't violate their rights. There is a big crowd at BCC with the mentality that "those other kids" are the problem, and that "those other kids" should suffer all kinds of consequences and restrictions regardless of legal protections. I had to laugh that one year the PTA president's daughter was one of the biggest drinkers at schools, and there the PTA president was, holding meetings about drinking in which parents ranted about how the "parents who are not here" are the problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The BCC principal is the most senior high school principal MCPS has at the moment due to the uptck in principal retirements in the past 3-4 years.

The Poolesville principal has been there a bit longer.

They were appointed the same year - 2019

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People want him fired because BCC is a failing school, and he is the chief executive of that school. Yes, many / most of the factors are outside of his control, but at some point, there has to be accountability. Parents have so far had no political will to go after MCPS, I think because they feel like attacking it will cheapen the brand and hurt their kids, which I understand. There is also no political ability to go after the problem at the county government level, because it is essentially non-competitive. What's left is the BCC leader.

Was current Principal a Principal intern before this role? What happened with last Principal of this high school? Knowing that background could help provide some guidance in how to advocate for a leader change or not to change current leadership. Any of the school's APs to consider?

IIRC people got mad at the last principal for enforcing rules. Some rich parents hired lawyers to sue the school for disciplining their kids (for smuggling alcohol to student events maybe?) and the principal was like I’ve had enough of this and found another MCPS job.

This would have been about 8 years ago so maybe I am misremembering.

Jones left in September 2019, becoming a director in central office. Mooney became acting principal then and then got the permanent job.

Jones went on to become an associate superintendent. She was also mixed up in the Beidleman debacle and was put on administrative leave for a time during the investigation. She was cleared and returned as associate superintendent. She was re-appointed to that position last week.

But she's not overseeing BCC/Mooney, so how is this relevant?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The BCC principal is the most senior high school principal MCPS has at the moment due to the uptck in principal retirements in the past 3-4 years.

The Poolesville principal has been there a bit longer.

They were appointed the same year - 2019

Technically Mooney was in an acting role and wasn't appointed by the board until May 2020.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The BCC principal is the most senior high school principal MCPS has at the moment due to the uptck in principal retirements in the past 3-4 years.

The Poolesville principal has been there a bit longer.

They were appointed the same year - 2019

Technically Mooney was in an acting role and wasn't appointed by the board until May 2020.

Around same time Silver Creek MS had a principal change.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People want him fired because BCC is a failing school, and he is the chief executive of that school. Yes, many / most of the factors are outside of his control, but at some point, there has to be accountability. Parents have so far had no political will to go after MCPS, I think because they feel like attacking it will cheapen the brand and hurt their kids, which I understand. There is also no political ability to go after the problem at the county government level, because it is essentially non-competitive. What's left is the BCC leader.

Was current Principal a Principal intern before this role? What happened with last Principal of this high school? Knowing that background could help provide some guidance in how to advocate for a leader change or not to change current leadership. Any of the school's APs to consider?

IIRC people got mad at the last principal for enforcing rules. Some rich parents hired lawyers to sue the school for disciplining their kids (for smuggling alcohol to student events maybe?) and the principal was like I’ve had enough of this and found another MCPS job.

This would have been about 8 years ago so maybe I am misremembering.

Jones left in September 2019, becoming a director in central office. Mooney became acting principal then and then got the permanent job.

Jones went on to become an associate superintendent. She was also mixed up in the Beidleman debacle and was put on administrative leave for a time during the investigation. She was cleared and returned as associate superintendent. She was re-appointed to that position last week.

But she's not overseeing BCC/Mooney, so how is this relevant?

Point of information, and you can be sure she has a voice in all this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DD is a student at B-CC, and lately we've both been hearing a lot of talk about folks who want the principal fired. Does anyone know why this is? Has he done anything wrong? Are the lockdowns involved? Any insight is appreciated, thanks

Parents at alot of schools would like to see change. Bcc just has proactive parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DD is a student at B-CC, and lately we've both been hearing a lot of talk about folks who want the principal fired. Does anyone know why this is? Has he done anything wrong? Are the lockdowns involved? Any insight is appreciated, thanks

Was the following school successful?:

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1248600.page

[Anonymous]

Silver Creek got a special education program. Mooney has some sort of background in Spec Ed