OUT of MCPS!!!??? Dr. Dana Edwards, Associate Superintendent for Middle Schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I find it concerning that you all celebrate Black women losing their jobs, but you don’t have this energy for white people (especially men) that are predators.

The relevant fact here is how well someone did their job. Content of their character, not the color of their skin.

This may sound a bit racial.

But before I worked at MCPS, I was at a really progessive workplace with a lot of great people of all ethnicities. Went to a nondiverse place that I hated and didn't last too long there.

And was initially happy when I went to MCPS and saw all of the people of color in leadership positions and thought that MCPS must've been really progessive too.

Only to later determine that a lot of those people must've been tokens and were really unqualified for their jobs. There were some good people (all races) but some really bad ones (all races too). The environment there really was full of nepotism and cronyism long before Monifa but she was part of the environment. There were people being groomed for the superintendent position, who didn't last too long after getting it.

The issue with the way things are nowadays is that you can't criticize certain people without being accused of racism. So they have a level of protection around them where they can't be touched. And to be frank it gives them a level of entitlement too. It's what happens when the pendulum swings too far one way or another.

But MCPS does really have a bad environment and I could spill the tea about a lot of the going ons behind the scenes that I see post complaints about. But don't want to cause problems for people that I know and like there.

Which people? McKnight was the only recent superintendent hired from within MCPS.

It's been a little while since I've been there.

I was originally thinking of Kimberly Statham but looked her up and saw that she never had a turn at superintendent.

Like I said it's been a while and if I saw a list of names could probably pick it out. But can't really remember for sure who it was off of the top of my head anymore. I remember they were in some type of executive position and people would talk about how they were being groomed to be the next superintendent. But maybe they never got the position.

And that's pretty much how it was in MCPS, even before Monifa. If you were in with the right group, you were pretty much set regardless of what/how you really did with your job.

Yes but with Monifa McKnight if you had the right skin color you were in the right group. How is this different from old fashioned racism? (It's not.)

That may or may not have been the case with Monifa. But there were a lot of groups in MCPS of different races. And it's as mentioned, once you were in, you were good and could get away with anything as long as it wasn't something outrageous or crazy.

So is not just a race thing. And is something indicative of the culture that MCPS had back then and likely still does.

Agree with above, but there has been a significant change-over in executive and senior MCPS leadership since McKnight left. There are a few leftovers, but hopefully the culture at CO is improving, just not nearly fast enough!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I find it concerning that you all celebrate Black women losing their jobs, but you don’t have this energy for white people (especially men) that are predators.

The relevant fact here is how well someone did their job. Content of their character, not the color of their skin.

This may sound a bit racial.

But before I worked at MCPS, I was at a really progessive workplace with a lot of great people of all ethnicities. Went to a nondiverse place that I hated and didn't last too long there.

And was initially happy when I went to MCPS and saw all of the people of color in leadership positions and thought that MCPS must've been really progessive too.

Only to later determine that a lot of those people must've been tokens and were really unqualified for their jobs. There were some good people (all races) but some really bad ones (all races too). The environment there really was full of nepotism and cronyism long before Monifa but she was part of the environment. There were people being groomed for the superintendent position, who didn't last too long after getting it.

The issue with the way things are nowadays is that you can't criticize certain people without being accused of racism. So they have a level of protection around them where they can't be touched. And to be frank it gives them a level of entitlement too. It's what happens when the pendulum swings too far one way or another.

But MCPS does really have a bad environment and I could spill the tea about a lot of the going ons behind the scenes that I see post complaints about. But don't want to cause problems for people that I know and like there.

Which people? McKnight was the only recent superintendent hired from within MCPS.

It's been a little while since I've been there.

I was originally thinking of Kimberly Statham but looked her up and saw that she never had a turn at superintendent.

Like I said it's been a while and if I saw a list of names could probably pick it out. But can't really remember for sure who it was off of the top of my head anymore. I remember they were in some type of executive position and people would talk about how they were being groomed to be the next superintendent. But maybe they never got the position.

And that's pretty much how it was in MCPS, even before Monifa. If you were in with the right group, you were pretty much set regardless of what/how you really did with your job.

Yes but with Monifa McKnight if you had the right skin color you were in the right group. How is this different from old fashioned racism? (It's not.)

That may or may not have been the case with Monifa. But there were a lot of groups in MCPS of different races. And it's as mentioned, once you were in, you were good and could get away with anything as long as it wasn't something outrageous or crazy.

So is not just a race thing. And is something indicative of the culture that MCPS had back then and likely still does.

Agree with above, but there has been a significant change-over in executive and senior MCPS leadership since McKnight left. There are a few leftovers, but hopefully the culture at CO is improving, just not nearly fast enough!

The culture at CO has never been worse. Monifa left years ago. The few leftovers bear more responsibility for this than Monifa has been gone longer than she was here.

A lot of black CO administrators have been blamed and burned about MCPS, while the white leftovers continue to climb and blame it all on the black women.

This anonymous board has a prime example:

Any time there is criticism of P. Moran, the white man is defended by an anonymous poster. That same poster has never come to a similar defense of black women such as Dana Edwards, Monifa McKnight, Ruschelle Reuben.

Furthermore, When Diane Morris, Jennifer Webster, Patrick Murphy, Brian Hull, Stephanie Sheron, all white, left MCPS in worse condition than they found it, there’s not a whole lot of information about it, and no celebration of their departure. When Dana Edwards and Monifa leaves similarly, there are whole celebratory posts asking people’s feelings about it.

I don’t know any of the people involved, but there is a clear racial divide about how the people responsible for ruining a once great school system are assigned culpability.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I find it concerning that you all celebrate Black women losing their jobs, but you don’t have this energy for white people (especially men) that are predators.

The relevant fact here is how well someone did their job. Content of their character, not the color of their skin.

This may sound a bit racial.

But before I worked at MCPS, I was at a really progessive workplace with a lot of great people of all ethnicities. Went to a nondiverse place that I hated and didn't last too long there.

And was initially happy when I went to MCPS and saw all of the people of color in leadership positions and thought that MCPS must've been really progessive too.

Only to later determine that a lot of those people must've been tokens and were really unqualified for their jobs. There were some good people (all races) but some really bad ones (all races too). The environment there really was full of nepotism and cronyism long before Monifa but she was part of the environment. There were people being groomed for the superintendent position, who didn't last too long after getting it.

The issue with the way things are nowadays is that you can't criticize certain people without being accused of racism. So they have a level of protection around them where they can't be touched. And to be frank it gives them a level of entitlement too. It's what happens when the pendulum swings too far one way or another.

But MCPS does really have a bad environment and I could spill the tea about a lot of the going ons behind the scenes that I see post complaints about. But don't want to cause problems for people that I know and like there.

Which people? McKnight was the only recent superintendent hired from within MCPS.

It's been a little while since I've been there.

I was originally thinking of Kimberly Statham but looked her up and saw that she never had a turn at superintendent.

Like I said it's been a while and if I saw a list of names could probably pick it out. But can't really remember for sure who it was off of the top of my head anymore. I remember they were in some type of executive position and people would talk about how they were being groomed to be the next superintendent. But maybe they never got the position.

And that's pretty much how it was in MCPS, even before Monifa. If you were in with the right group, you were pretty much set regardless of what/how you really did with your job.

Yes but with Monifa McKnight if you had the right skin color you were in the right group. How is this different from old fashioned racism? (It's not.)

That may or may not have been the case with Monifa. But there were a lot of groups in MCPS of different races. And it's as mentioned, once you were in, you were good and could get away with anything as long as it wasn't something outrageous or crazy.

So is not just a race thing. And is something indicative of the culture that MCPS had back then and likely still does.

Agree with above, but there has been a significant change-over in executive and senior MCPS leadership since McKnight left. There are a few leftovers, but hopefully the culture at CO is improving, just not nearly fast enough!

The culture at CO has never been worse. Monifa left years ago. The few leftovers bear more responsibility for this than Monifa has been gone longer than she was here.

A lot of black CO administrators have been blamed and burned about MCPS, while the white leftovers continue to climb and blame it all on the black women.

This anonymous board has a prime example:

Any time there is criticism of P. Moran, the white man is defended by an anonymous poster. That same poster has never come to a similar defense of black women such as Dana Edwards, Monifa McKnight, Ruschelle Reuben.

Furthermore, When Diane Morris, Jennifer Webster, Patrick Murphy, Brian Hull, Stephanie Sheron, all white, left MCPS in worse condition than they found it, there’s not a whole lot of information about it, and no celebration of their departure. When Dana Edwards and Monifa leaves similarly, there are whole celebratory posts asking people’s feelings about it.

I don’t know any of the people involved, but there is a clear racial divide about how the people responsible for ruining a once great school system are

Wonder how you know which of the people you list was or was not culpable, since you say you don’t know them. If you are so concerned about any of these people feel free to start a new thread about them. This one is about Edwards and has a lot of allegedly, first-hand perspectives.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I find it concerning that you all celebrate Black women losing their jobs, but you don’t have this energy for white people (especially men) that are predators.

The relevant fact here is how well someone did their job. Content of their character, not the color of their skin.

This may sound a bit racial.

But before I worked at MCPS, I was at a really progessive workplace with a lot of great people of all ethnicities. Went to a nondiverse place that I hated and didn't last too long there.

And was initially happy when I went to MCPS and saw all of the people of color in leadership positions and thought that MCPS must've been really progessive too.

Only to later determine that a lot of those people must've been tokens and were really unqualified for their jobs. There were some good people (all races) but some really bad ones (all races too). The environment there really was full of nepotism and cronyism long before Monifa but she was part of the environment. There were people being groomed for the superintendent position, who didn't last too long after getting it.

The issue with the way things are nowadays is that you can't criticize certain people without being accused of racism. So they have a level of protection around them where they can't be touched. And to be frank it gives them a level of entitlement too. It's what happens when the pendulum swings too far one way or another.

But MCPS does really have a bad environment and I could spill the tea about a lot of the going ons behind the scenes that I see post complaints about. But don't want to cause problems for people that I know and like there.

Which people? McKnight was the only recent superintendent hired from within MCPS.

It's been a little while since I've been there.

I was originally thinking of Kimberly Statham but looked her up and saw that she never had a turn at superintendent.

Like I said it's been a while and if I saw a list of names could probably pick it out. But can't really remember for sure who it was off of the top of my head anymore. I remember they were in some type of executive position and people would talk about how they were being groomed to be the next superintendent. But maybe they never got the position.

And that's pretty much how it was in MCPS, even before Monifa. If you were in with the right group, you were pretty much set regardless of what/how you really did with your job.

Yes but with Monifa McKnight if you had the right skin color you were in the right group. How is this different from old fashioned racism? (It's not.)

That may or may not have been the case with Monifa. But there were a lot of groups in MCPS of different races. And it's as mentioned, once you were in, you were good and could get away with anything as long as it wasn't something outrageous or crazy.

So is not just a race thing. And is something indicative of the culture that MCPS had back then and likely still does.

Agree with above, but there has been a significant change-over in executive and senior MCPS leadership since McKnight left. There are a few leftovers, but hopefully the culture at CO is improving, just not nearly fast enough!

The culture at CO has never been worse. Monifa left years ago. The few leftovers bear more responsibility for this than Monifa has been gone longer than she was here.

A lot of black CO administrators have been blamed and burned about MCPS, while the white leftovers continue to climb and blame it all on the black women.

This anonymous board has a prime example:

Any time there is criticism of P. Moran, the white man is defended by an anonymous poster. That same poster has never come to a similar defense of black women such as Dana Edwards, Monifa McKnight, Ruschelle Reuben.

Furthermore, When Diane Morris, Jennifer Webster, Patrick Murphy, Brian Hull, Stephanie Sheron, all white, left MCPS in worse condition than they found it, there’s not a whole lot of information about it, and no celebration of their departure. When Dana Edwards and Monifa leaves similarly, there are whole celebratory posts asking people’s feelings about it.

I don’t know any of the people involved, but there is a clear racial divide about how the people responsible for ruining a once great school system are assigned culpability.

As you stated, it's an anonymous board. You have no clue what else "that same poster" has been posting.

And McKnight was at the highest levels of central office as deputy super, acting super, and super from August 2019 to February 2024. She has been gone 19 months.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I find it concerning that you all celebrate Black women losing their jobs, but you don’t have this energy for white people (especially men) that are predators.

The relevant fact here is how well someone did their job. Content of their character, not the color of their skin.

This may sound a bit racial.

But before I worked at MCPS, I was at a really progessive workplace with a lot of great people of all ethnicities. Went to a nondiverse place that I hated and didn't last too long there.

And was initially happy when I went to MCPS and saw all of the people of color in leadership positions and thought that MCPS must've been really progessive too.

Only to later determine that a lot of those people must've been tokens and were really unqualified for their jobs. There were some good people (all races) but some really bad ones (all races too). The environment there really was full of nepotism and cronyism long before Monifa but she was part of the environment. There were people being groomed for the superintendent position, who didn't last too long after getting it.

The issue with the way things are nowadays is that you can't criticize certain people without being accused of racism. So they have a level of protection around them where they can't be touched. And to be frank it gives them a level of entitlement too. It's what happens when the pendulum swings too far one way or another.

But MCPS does really have a bad environment and I could spill the tea about a lot of the going ons behind the scenes that I see post complaints about. But don't want to cause problems for people that I know and like there.

Which people? McKnight was the only recent superintendent hired from within MCPS.

It's been a little while since I've been there.

I was originally thinking of Kimberly Statham but looked her up and saw that she never had a turn at superintendent.

Like I said it's been a while and if I saw a list of names could probably pick it out. But can't really remember for sure who it was off of the top of my head anymore. I remember they were in some type of executive position and people would talk about how they were being groomed to be the next superintendent. But maybe they never got the position.

And that's pretty much how it was in MCPS, even before Monifa. If you were in with the right group, you were pretty much set regardless of what/how you really did with your job.

Yes but with Monifa McKnight if you had the right skin color you were in the right group. How is this different from old fashioned racism? (It's not.)

That may or may not have been the case with Monifa. But there were a lot of groups in MCPS of different races. And it's as mentioned, once you were in, you were good and could get away with anything as long as it wasn't something outrageous or crazy.

So is not just a race thing. And is something indicative of the culture that MCPS had back then and likely still does.

Agree with above, but there has been a significant change-over in executive and senior MCPS leadership since McKnight left. There are a few leftovers, but hopefully the culture at CO is improving, just not nearly fast enough!

The culture at CO has never been worse. Monifa left years ago. The few leftovers bear more responsibility for this than Monifa has been gone longer than she was here.

A lot of black CO administrators have been blamed and burned about MCPS, while the white leftovers continue to climb and blame it all on the black women.

This anonymous board has a prime example:

Any time there is criticism of P. Moran, the white man is defended by an anonymous poster. That same poster has never come to a similar defense of black women such as Dana Edwards, Monifa McKnight, Ruschelle Reuben.

Furthermore, When Diane Morris, Jennifer Webster, Patrick Murphy, Brian Hull, Stephanie Sheron, all white, left MCPS in worse condition than they found it, there’s not a whole lot of information about it, and no celebration of their departure. When Dana Edwards and Monifa leaves similarly, there are whole celebratory posts asking people’s feelings about it.

I don’t know any of the people involved, but there is a clear racial divide about how the people responsible for ruining a once great school system are assigned culpability.

+1

I'm not Monifa McKnight or Dana Edwards fan, but there are plenty of White men, past and present, who desire just as much if not more ire.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I find it concerning that you all celebrate Black women losing their jobs, but you don’t have this energy for white people (especially men) that are predators.

The relevant fact here is how well someone did their job. Content of their character, not the color of their skin.

This may sound a bit racial.

But before I worked at MCPS, I was at a really progessive workplace with a lot of great people of all ethnicities. Went to a nondiverse place that I hated and didn't last too long there.

And was initially happy when I went to MCPS and saw all of the people of color in leadership positions and thought that MCPS must've been really progessive too.

Only to later determine that a lot of those people must've been tokens and were really unqualified for their jobs. There were some good people (all races) but some really bad ones (all races too). The environment there really was full of nepotism and cronyism long before Monifa but she was part of the environment. There were people being groomed for the superintendent position, who didn't last too long after getting it.

The issue with the way things are nowadays is that you can't criticize certain people without being accused of racism. So they have a level of protection around them where they can't be touched. And to be frank it gives them a level of entitlement too. It's what happens when the pendulum swings too far one way or another.

But MCPS does really have a bad environment and I could spill the tea about a lot of the going ons behind the scenes that I see post complaints about. But don't want to cause problems for people that I know and like there.

Which people? McKnight was the only recent superintendent hired from within MCPS.

It's been a little while since I've been there.

I was originally thinking of Kimberly Statham but looked her up and saw that she never had a turn at superintendent.

Like I said it's been a while and if I saw a list of names could probably pick it out. But can't really remember for sure who it was off of the top of my head anymore. I remember they were in some type of executive position and people would talk about how they were being groomed to be the next superintendent. But maybe they never got the position.

And that's pretty much how it was in MCPS, even before Monifa. If you were in with the right group, you were pretty much set regardless of what/how you really did with your job.

Yes but with Monifa McKnight if you had the right skin color you were in the right group. How is this different from old fashioned racism? (It's not.)

That may or may not have been the case with Monifa. But there were a lot of groups in MCPS of different races. And it's as mentioned, once you were in, you were good and could get away with anything as long as it wasn't something outrageous or crazy.

So is not just a race thing. And is something indicative of the culture that MCPS had back then and likely still does.

Agree with above, but there has been a significant change-over in executive and senior MCPS leadership since McKnight left. There are a few leftovers, but hopefully the culture at CO is improving, just not nearly fast enough!

What significant change in CO and leadership are you talking about?

Chief of Staff Essie McGuire (was a former Associate Superintendent)
Chief of Schools Peter Moran (serving in his same role)
Associate Superintendent Sean McGee (serving in his same role)
Associate Superintendent Donna Redmond-Jones (serving in her same role)
Associate Superintendent Tamitha Campbell (serving in her same role as before the reorg)
Chief Academic Officer Niki Porter (rose up from being former CAO Peggy Pugh's number 2)
Senior Community Advisor Elba Garcia (same role as before the reorg)
Director of Communications Chris Cram (same role as before the reorg)

[Anonymous]

Sorry but the fallout from Monifa McKnight is what is happening currently. There was plenty of griping about "white men" and curriculum 2.0 a few years ago. It's 2025 so we are dealing with POC being given positions they didn't deserve, which is becoming obvious. That's where we are now.

In my school the principal -- a woman of color -- took off the entire year last year. She used up every last minute of her leave, then she pretended her father was sick then her kids, so she could use FMLA leave time. She was at home, working on her dissertation. When she finally finished she acted like we should all cheer together -- like it was something good for society not for her. She abandoned her post all year long. She spent the year proving she was redundant. This year we're all supposed to treat her like the boss when we did fine without her all last school year. It's bizarre. This is a person with no professional (or personal IMO) integrity. No commitment to her position. No one respects her, and she is not even a member of the team anymore -- and yet she remains principal. It's wrong.

This is what the issue is. This is the kind of person who was given a leadership role simply because she was a POC and didn't live up to anyone's expectations and yet she is still there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I find it concerning that you all celebrate Black women losing their jobs, but you don’t have this energy for white people (especially men) that are predators.

The relevant fact here is how well someone did their job. Content of their character, not the color of their skin.

This may sound a bit racial.

But before I worked at MCPS, I was at a really progessive workplace with a lot of great people of all ethnicities. Went to a nondiverse place that I hated and didn't last too long there.

And was initially happy when I went to MCPS and saw all of the people of color in leadership positions and thought that MCPS must've been really progessive too.

Only to later determine that a lot of those people must've been tokens and were really unqualified for their jobs. There were some good people (all races) but some really bad ones (all races too). The environment there really was full of nepotism and cronyism long before Monifa but she was part of the environment. There were people being groomed for the superintendent position, who didn't last too long after getting it.

The issue with the way things are nowadays is that you can't criticize certain people without being accused of racism. So they have a level of protection around them where they can't be touched. And to be frank it gives them a level of entitlement too. It's what happens when the pendulum swings too far one way or another.

But MCPS does really have a bad environment and I could spill the tea about a lot of the going ons behind the scenes that I see post complaints about. But don't want to cause problems for people that I know and like there.

Which people? McKnight was the only recent superintendent hired from within MCPS.

It's been a little while since I've been there.

I was originally thinking of Kimberly Statham but looked her up and saw that she never had a turn at superintendent.

Like I said it's been a while and if I saw a list of names could probably pick it out. But can't really remember for sure who it was off of the top of my head anymore. I remember they were in some type of executive position and people would talk about how they were being groomed to be the next superintendent. But maybe they never got the position.

And that's pretty much how it was in MCPS, even before Monifa. If you were in with the right group, you were pretty much set regardless of what/how you really did with your job.

Yes but with Monifa McKnight if you had the right skin color you were in the right group. How is this different from old fashioned racism? (It's not.)

That may or may not have been the case with Monifa. But there were a lot of groups in MCPS of different races. And it's as mentioned, once you were in, you were good and could get away with anything as long as it wasn't something outrageous or crazy.

So is not just a race thing. And is something indicative of the culture that MCPS had back then and likely still does.

Agree with above, but there has been a significant change-over in executive and senior MCPS leadership since McKnight left. There are a few leftovers, but hopefully the culture at CO is improving, just not nearly fast enough!

What significant change in CO and leadership are you talking about?

Chief of Staff Essie McGuire (was a former Associate Superintendent)
Chief of Schools Peter Moran (serving in his same role)
Associate Superintendent Sean McGee (serving in his same role)
Associate Superintendent Donna Redmond-Jones (serving in her same role)
Associate Superintendent Tamitha Campbell (serving in her same role as before the reorg)
Chief Academic Officer Niki Porter (rose up from being former CAO Peggy Pugh's number 2)
Senior Community Advisor Elba Garcia (same role as before the reorg)
Director of Communications Chris Cram (same role as before the reorg)

DP. You're being very selective with your grouping, which includes only three of the chiefs reporting to Taylor. He also hired several new chiefs, including:

Chief Student Support Officer Margaret Cage
Chief Talent Management Officer Kaylan Connally
Chief Equity and Development Officer Nyah Hamlett
Chief Technology Officer Kimberly Fields
Chief of Legal Services Robyn Seabrook
Chief of District Operations Adnan Mamoon

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sorry but the fallout from Monifa McKnight is what is happening currently. There was plenty of griping about "white men" and curriculum 2.0 a few years ago. It's 2025 so we are dealing with POC being given positions they didn't deserve, which is becoming obvious. That's where we are now.

In my school the principal -- a woman of color -- took off the entire year last year. She used up every last minute of her leave, then she pretended her father was sick then her kids, so she could use FMLA leave time. She was at home, working on her dissertation. When she finally finished she acted like we should all cheer together -- like it was something good for society not for her. She abandoned her post all year long. She spent the year proving she was redundant. This year we're all supposed to treat her like the boss when we did fine without her all last school year. It's bizarre. This is a person with no professional (or personal IMO) integrity. No commitment to her position. No one respects her, and she is not even a member of the team anymore -- and yet she remains principal. It's wrong.

This is what the issue is. This is the kind of person who was given a leadership role simply because she was a POC and didn't live up to anyone's expectations and yet she is still there.

What school is this

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I find it concerning that you all celebrate Black women losing their jobs, but you don’t have this energy for white people (especially men) that are predators.

The relevant fact here is how well someone did their job. Content of their character, not the color of their skin.

This may sound a bit racial.

But before I worked at MCPS, I was at a really progessive workplace with a lot of great people of all ethnicities. Went to a nondiverse place that I hated and didn't last too long there.

And was initially happy when I went to MCPS and saw all of the people of color in leadership positions and thought that MCPS must've been really progessive too.

Only to later determine that a lot of those people must've been tokens and were really unqualified for their jobs. There were some good people (all races) but some really bad ones (all races too). The environment there really was full of nepotism and cronyism long before Monifa but she was part of the environment. There were people being groomed for the superintendent position, who didn't last too long after getting it.

The issue with the way things are nowadays is that you can't criticize certain people without being accused of racism. So they have a level of protection around them where they can't be touched. And to be frank it gives them a level of entitlement too. It's what happens when the pendulum swings too far one way or another.

But MCPS does really have a bad environment and I could spill the tea about a lot of the going ons behind the scenes that I see post complaints about. But don't want to cause problems for people that I know and like there.

Which people? McKnight was the only recent superintendent hired from within MCPS.

It's been a little while since I've been there.

I was originally thinking of Kimberly Statham but looked her up and saw that she never had a turn at superintendent.

Like I said it's been a while and if I saw a list of names could probably pick it out. But can't really remember for sure who it was off of the top of my head anymore. I remember they were in some type of executive position and people would talk about how they were being groomed to be the next superintendent. But maybe they never got the position.

And that's pretty much how it was in MCPS, even before Monifa. If you were in with the right group, you were pretty much set regardless of what/how you really did with your job.

Yes but with Monifa McKnight if you had the right skin color you were in the right group. How is this different from old fashioned racism? (It's not.)

That may or may not have been the case with Monifa. But there were a lot of groups in MCPS of different races. And it's as mentioned, once you were in, you were good and could get away with anything as long as it wasn't something outrageous or crazy.

So is not just a race thing. And is something indicative of the culture that MCPS had back then and likely still does.

Agree with above, but there has been a significant change-over in executive and senior MCPS leadership since McKnight left. There are a few leftovers, but hopefully the culture at CO is improving, just not nearly fast enough!

What significant change in CO and leadership are you talking about?

Chief of Staff Essie McGuire (was a former Associate Superintendent)
Chief of Schools Peter Moran (serving in his same role)
Associate Superintendent Sean McGee (serving in his same role)
Associate Superintendent Donna Redmond-Jones (serving in her same role)
Associate Superintendent Tamitha Campbell (serving in her same role as before the reorg)
Chief Academic Officer Niki Porter (rose up from being former CAO Peggy Pugh's number 2)
Senior Community Advisor Elba Garcia (same role as before the reorg)
Director of Communications Chris Cram (same role as before the reorg)

DP. You're being very selective with your grouping, which includes only three of the chiefs reporting to Taylor. He also hired several new chiefs, including:

Chief Student Support Officer Margaret Cage
Chief Talent Management Officer Kaylan Connally
Chief Equity and Development Officer Nyah Hamlett
Chief Technology Officer Kimberly Fields
Chief of Legal Services Robyn Seabrook
Chief of District Operations Adnan Mamoon

I did not do an exhaustive list. There are plenty more old folks I could list.

For example, if you go down further rungs, many of the directors are the same as they always were.

Those chiefs you named, represent some small fresh blood, but no where near the amount needed to change the culture of MCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I find it concerning that you all celebrate Black women losing their jobs, but you don’t have this energy for white people (especially men) that are predators.

The relevant fact here is how well someone did their job. Content of their character, not the color of their skin.

This may sound a bit racial.

But before I worked at MCPS, I was at a really progessive workplace with a lot of great people of all ethnicities. Went to a nondiverse place that I hated and didn't last too long there.

And was initially happy when I went to MCPS and saw all of the people of color in leadership positions and thought that MCPS must've been really progessive too.

Only to later determine that a lot of those people must've been tokens and were really unqualified for their jobs. There were some good people (all races) but some really bad ones (all races too). The environment there really was full of nepotism and cronyism long before Monifa but she was part of the environment. There were people being groomed for the superintendent position, who didn't last too long after getting it.

The issue with the way things are nowadays is that you can't criticize certain people without being accused of racism. So they have a level of protection around them where they can't be touched. And to be frank it gives them a level of entitlement too. It's what happens when the pendulum swings too far one way or another.

But MCPS does really have a bad environment and I could spill the tea about a lot of the going ons behind the scenes that I see post complaints about. But don't want to cause problems for people that I know and like there.

Which people? McKnight was the only recent superintendent hired from within MCPS.

It's been a little while since I've been there.

I was originally thinking of Kimberly Statham but looked her up and saw that she never had a turn at superintendent.

Like I said it's been a while and if I saw a list of names could probably pick it out. But can't really remember for sure who it was off of the top of my head anymore. I remember they were in some type of executive position and people would talk about how they were being groomed to be the next superintendent. But maybe they never got the position.

And that's pretty much how it was in MCPS, even before Monifa. If you were in with the right group, you were pretty much set regardless of what/how you really did with your job.

Yes but with Monifa McKnight if you had the right skin color you were in the right group. How is this different from old fashioned racism? (It's not.)

That may or may not have been the case with Monifa. But there were a lot of groups in MCPS of different races. And it's as mentioned, once you were in, you were good and could get away with anything as long as it wasn't something outrageous or crazy.

So is not just a race thing. And is something indicative of the culture that MCPS had back then and likely still does.

Agree with above, but there has been a significant change-over in executive and senior MCPS leadership since McKnight left. There are a few leftovers, but hopefully the culture at CO is improving, just not nearly fast enough!

What significant change in CO and leadership are you talking about?

Chief of Staff Essie McGuire (was a former Associate Superintendent)
Chief of Schools Peter Moran (serving in his same role)
Associate Superintendent Sean McGee (serving in his same role)
Associate Superintendent Donna Redmond-Jones (serving in her same role)
Associate Superintendent Tamitha Campbell (serving in her same role as before the reorg)
Chief Academic Officer Niki Porter (rose up from being former CAO Peggy Pugh's number 2)
Senior Community Advisor Elba Garcia (same role as before the reorg)
Director of Communications Chris Cram (same role as before the reorg)

DP. You're being very selective with your grouping, which includes only three of the chiefs reporting to Taylor. He also hired several new chiefs, including:

Chief Student Support Officer Margaret Cage
Chief Talent Management Officer Kaylan Connally
Chief Equity and Development Officer Nyah Hamlett
Chief Technology Officer Kimberly Fields
Chief of Legal Services Robyn Seabrook
Chief of District Operations Adnan Mamoon

I did not do an exhaustive list. There are plenty more old folks I could list.

For example, if you go down further rungs, many of the directors are the same as they always were.

Those chiefs you named, represent some small fresh blood, but no where near the amount needed to change the culture of MCPS.

Gotta start somewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I find it concerning that you all celebrate Black women losing their jobs, but you don’t have this energy for white people (especially men) that are predators.

The relevant fact here is how well someone did their job. Content of their character, not the color of their skin.

This may sound a bit racial.

But before I worked at MCPS, I was at a really progessive workplace with a lot of great people of all ethnicities. Went to a nondiverse place that I hated and didn't last too long there.

And was initially happy when I went to MCPS and saw all of the people of color in leadership positions and thought that MCPS must've been really progessive too.

Only to later determine that a lot of those people must've been tokens and were really unqualified for their jobs. There were some good people (all races) but some really bad ones (all races too). The environment there really was full of nepotism and cronyism long before Monifa but she was part of the environment. There were people being groomed for the superintendent position, who didn't last too long after getting it.

The issue with the way things are nowadays is that you can't criticize certain people without being accused of racism. So they have a level of protection around them where they can't be touched. And to be frank it gives them a level of entitlement too. It's what happens when the pendulum swings too far one way or another.

But MCPS does really have a bad environment and I could spill the tea about a lot of the going ons behind the scenes that I see post complaints about. But don't want to cause problems for people that I know and like there.

Which people? McKnight was the only recent superintendent hired from within MCPS.

It's been a little while since I've been there.

I was originally thinking of Kimberly Statham but looked her up and saw that she never had a turn at superintendent.

Like I said it's been a while and if I saw a list of names could probably pick it out. But can't really remember for sure who it was off of the top of my head anymore. I remember they were in some type of executive position and people would talk about how they were being groomed to be the next superintendent. But maybe they never got the position.

And that's pretty much how it was in MCPS, even before Monifa. If you were in with the right group, you were pretty much set regardless of what/how you really did with your job.

Yes but with Monifa McKnight if you had the right skin color you were in the right group. How is this different from old fashioned racism? (It's not.)

That may or may not have been the case with Monifa. But there were a lot of groups in MCPS of different races. And it's as mentioned, once you were in, you were good and could get away with anything as long as it wasn't something outrageous or crazy.

So is not just a race thing. And is something indicative of the culture that MCPS had back then and likely still does.

Agree with above, but there has been a significant change-over in executive and senior MCPS leadership since McKnight left. There are a few leftovers, but hopefully the culture at CO is improving, just not nearly fast enough!

What significant change in CO and leadership are you talking about?

Chief of Staff Essie McGuire (was a former Associate Superintendent)
Chief of Schools Peter Moran (serving in his same role)
Associate Superintendent Sean McGee (serving in his same role)
Associate Superintendent Donna Redmond-Jones (serving in her same role)
Associate Superintendent Tamitha Campbell (serving in her same role as before the reorg)
Chief Academic Officer Niki Porter (rose up from being former CAO Peggy Pugh's number 2)
Senior Community Advisor Elba Garcia (same role as before the reorg)
Director of Communications Chris Cram (same role as before the reorg)

DP. You're being very selective with your grouping, which includes only three of the chiefs reporting to Taylor. He also hired several new chiefs, including:

Chief Student Support Officer Margaret Cage
Chief Talent Management Officer Kaylan Connally
Chief Equity and Development Officer Nyah Hamlett
Chief Technology Officer Kimberly Fields
Chief of Legal Services Robyn Seabrook
Chief of District Operations Adnan Mamoon

Almost a completely new executive leadership team.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sorry but the fallout from Monifa McKnight is what is happening currently. There was plenty of griping about "white men" and curriculum 2.0 a few years ago. It's 2025 so we are dealing with POC being given positions they didn't deserve, which is becoming obvious. That's where we are now.

In my school the principal -- a woman of color -- took off the entire year last year. She used up every last minute of her leave, then she pretended her father was sick then her kids, so she could use FMLA leave time. She was at home, working on her dissertation. When she finally finished she acted like we should all cheer together -- like it was something good for society not for her. She abandoned her post all year long. She spent the year proving she was redundant. This year we're all supposed to treat her like the boss when we did fine without her all last school year. It's bizarre. This is a person with no professional (or personal IMO) integrity. No commitment to her position. No one respects her, and she is not even a member of the team anymore -- and yet she remains principal. It's wrong.

This is what the issue is. This is the kind of person who was given a leadership role simply because she was a POC and didn't live up to anyone's expectations and yet she is still there.

MCPS seems to be a magnet for these type of Black women. So disappointing.

[Anonymous]

He know where his biscuits get buttered. A boy from the 80s from Chevy Chase and then most time educated in Virginia. Come on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry but the fallout from Monifa McKnight is what is happening currently. There was plenty of griping about "white men" and curriculum 2.0 a few years ago. It's 2025 so we are dealing with POC being given positions they didn't deserve, which is becoming obvious. That's where we are now.

In my school the principal -- a woman of color -- took off the entire year last year. She used up every last minute of her leave, then she pretended her father was sick then her kids, so she could use FMLA leave time. She was at home, working on her dissertation. When she finally finished she acted like we should all cheer together -- like it was something good for society not for her. She abandoned her post all year long. She spent the year proving she was redundant. This year we're all supposed to treat her like the boss when we did fine without her all last school year. It's bizarre. This is a person with no professional (or personal IMO) integrity. No commitment to her position. No one respects her, and she is not even a member of the team anymore -- and yet she remains principal. It's wrong.

This is what the issue is. This is the kind of person who was given a leadership role simply because she was a POC and didn't live up to anyone's expectations and yet she is still there.

MCPS seems to be a magnet for these type of Black women. So disappointing.

Pretty much every AP in the DCC