Luftglass out @FCPS IT

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FCPS has many great schools but not many great HQ leaders, to say the least.

Luftglass stuck with BB (a local firm) for well over a decade. Not only was she not proactive in adopting new approaches, she also wasn't proactive in keeping BB up to date (nor even reactive).

Then COVID comes along, and she's seemingly inundated with a whole bunch of new or sped-up requirements. Not a great way to run a massive educational operation. Certainly not fair to her.

That said, had she and team been doing their job of digital transformation over the years, would have been doable.

In other words, if you are going to be CIO of anything for two decades, you better know how to keep evolving. No matter how dysfunctional or static your org, eventually you will get bit in the ass if you don't.

Aren't the School Board and Dr. Brabrand the people making the final decisions?

Probably, but this is a case where expertise is involved. The superintendent and BOE are not IT experts. That is the CIO's job. The CIO should vet products from a technical perspective, then present options to the board. The board is going to assume the CIO is presenting options that are technically feasible.

The Superintendent and the Chair of the School Board ought to know enough to know whether FCPS has a competent IT head who can maintain data security and position FCPS to offer its students state-of-the-art technological learning. Especially when they are making it a major priority to spend scarce county resources on giving kids their own laptops.

They did not, and Brabrand and Corbett Sanders should be replaced ASAP. If it's necessary to keep Brabrand around a few more months, so be it, but he should leave by the fall. Corbett Sanders won't be recalled, but she is way too stupid and self-interested to chair the SB.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So what? Our kids still aren’t learning! This is a nothing burger in the grand scheme of FCPS’ epic failure!

Are your kids seriously not being given assignments and work by their teachers?

One child has received nothing but an email from the teacher saying to work on the packets, watch tv and cook and play board games. (5th grade)

Third grade teacher has set up a basic google classroom this week and posted a few worksheets.

Principal email this week said live teaching was canceled indefinitely.

Wow. That's really disappointing. My elementary team is sending daily pdfs with links to recorded videos for morning meeting, lanugage arts and math lessons, and some sort of special. Also providing worksheets and activities to go with the lessons if parents want to use them.

My child's middle school teachers have all made slide decks in google that the kids are to be working through each week. It's tough to motivate him to do it since he knows it doesn't count, but the opportunity is there.

You are one of the lucky ones PP. Seriously. There is a very wide gap on whats being delivered on a school by school basis. Even if your kid is getting some direction and structure (and I'm glad they are), the fact there is such a huge disparity is indicative of the cluster.... that is currently FCPS.

This is a no brainier, schools with better rankings provide better education and have better resources as well. This is a big County!

Really? My kids are at a school with a GS score that would make DCUM cry, and they’re getting daily resources to work through from all their teachers. I don’t think it has anything to do with rankings.

[Anonymous]

I think it has to do with the principal and the expectations set for the teachers at that particular school.

That said, my ES kids have one great teacher and one teacher who has done almost nothing (ONE email for the first 5 weeks, didn't show up to only the blackboard session, and has posted two worksheets in google classrooom.

[Anonymous]

There are a whole lot of others in leadership positions in FCPS who should have been booted before Luftglass.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From NBC4 Washington

Head of Fairfax Schools IT Steps Down Amid Distance Learning Tech Issues

e head of Fairfax County Public Schools' IT department has stepped down amid fallout over numerous technical problems that have disrupted distance learning for students during the coronavirus pandemic, the school system says.

Assistant Superintendent for the Department of Information and Technology Maribeth Luftglass has been under increased scrutiny for the technical difficulties.

Luftglass' resignation is effective immediately, according to a spokesperson for the school system. She has served as head of the IT department for 21 years.

There’s the problem right there.

I’m 42 years old. I remember blackboard being new and cutting edge back when I was in college 20+ years ago. It sucked back then and it still sucks.

Fun fact: the buttons FCPS CHOSE from the Blackboard theme sets for their install date back to like 1998.

[Anonymous]

Luftglass not only selected Blackboard 20 years ago but she also allowed her staff to get away with neglecting it. She is strategically and tactically a mess.

And this is what FCPS gets for treating IT as a utility rather than the strategic asset it is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FCPS has many great schools but not many great HQ leaders, to say the least.

Luftglass stuck with BB (a local firm) for well over a decade. Not only was she not proactive in adopting new approaches, she also wasn't proactive in keeping BB up to date (nor even reactive).

Then COVID comes along, and she's seemingly inundated with a whole bunch of new or sped-up requirements. Not a great way to run a massive educational operation. Certainly not fair to her.

That said, had she and team been doing their job of digital transformation over the years, would have been doable.

In other words, if you are going to be CIO of anything for two decades, you better know how to keep evolving. No matter how dysfunctional or static your org, eventually you will get bit in the ass if you don't.

Hopefully we'll look back on this as a turning point, a new tech team that pursues real digital transformaition - people, process, technology - to make FCPS where it should be.

Ironic, given DC's high-tech and government chops, how many parents (and teachers, and some kids too!) are more than qualified to help make this happen.

There are a lot of us on the consulting side of the industry who are watching closely. This is going to be a MAJOR Ed tech case study and it’s a huge consulting opportunity for the right company that understands k12 ed tech.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So what? Our kids still aren’t learning! This is a nothing burger in the grand scheme of FCPS’ epic failure!

Are your kids seriously not being given assignments and work by their teachers?

One child has received nothing but an email from the teacher saying to work on the packets, watch tv and cook and play board games. (5th grade)

Third grade teacher has set up a basic google classroom this week and posted a few worksheets.

Principal email this week said live teaching was canceled indefinitely.

Wow. That's really disappointing. My elementary team is sending daily pdfs with links to recorded videos for morning meeting, lanugage arts and math lessons, and some sort of special. Also providing worksheets and activities to go with the lessons if parents want to use them.

My child's middle school teachers have all made slide decks in google that the kids are to be working through each week. It's tough to motivate him to do it since he knows it doesn't count, but the opportunity is there.

You are one of the lucky ones PP. Seriously. There is a very wide gap on whats being delivered on a school by school basis. Even if your kid is getting some direction and structure (and I'm glad they are), the fact there is such a huge disparity is indicative of the cluster.... that is currently FCPS.

This is a no brainer, schools with better rankings provide better education and have better resources as well. This is a big County!

Really? My kids are at a school with a GS score that would make DCUM cry, and they’re getting daily resources to work through from all their teachers. I don’t think it has anything to do with rankings.

Good for you! Still, schools in more affluent neighborhoods have better resources and provide better education and yes better rankings too.

[Anonymous]

Anyone listening to the School Board meeting that is being streamed today?

I can't believe that Omeish still hasn't demonstrated any appreciation for governance. When she wants to "amend" a resolution, she doesn't know how to offer an actual amendment. She just talks and expects others to translate her stream-of-consciousness thoughts into language or actionable items.

This isn't rocket science, but she still doesn't seem to understand her obligations yet.

[Anonymous]

Happy to see an ignorant, unqualified, parasite gone. Fairfax still employs the old employment model across the system - seniority and the good ole boy network trumps. As an experienced technologist, I find this ideology frightening- and more particularly for such a large school district. Thank goodness my kids are done with HS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anyone listening to the School Board meeting that is being streamed today?

I can't believe that Omeish still hasn't demonstrated any appreciation for governance. When she wants to "amend" a resolution, she doesn't know how to offer an actual amendment. She just talks and expects others to translate her stream-of-consciousness thoughts into language or actionable items.

This isn't rocket science, but she still doesn't seem to understand her obligations yet.

I mean, she's like 22 years old, what do you expect from a Gen Y kid?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone listening to the School Board meeting that is being streamed today?

I can't believe that Omeish still hasn't demonstrated any appreciation for governance. When she wants to "amend" a resolution, she doesn't know how to offer an actual amendment. She just talks and expects others to translate her stream-of-consciousness thoughts into language or actionable items.

This isn't rocket science, but she still doesn't seem to understand her obligations yet.

I mean, she's like 22 years old, what do you expect from a Gen Y kid?

I think I mean Gen Z...whatever is younger than a millennial!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So what? Our kids still aren’t learning! This is a nothing burger in the grand scheme of FCPS’ epic failure!

Are your kids seriously not being given assignments and work by their teachers?

One child has received nothing but an email from the teacher saying to work on the packets, watch tv and cook and play board games. (5th grade)

Third grade teacher has set up a basic google classroom this week and posted a few worksheets.

Principal email this week said live teaching was canceled indefinitely.

Wow. That's really disappointing. My elementary team is sending daily pdfs with links to recorded videos for morning meeting, lanugage arts and math lessons, and some sort of special. Also providing worksheets and activities to go with the lessons if parents want to use them.

My child's middle school teachers have all made slide decks in google that the kids are to be working through each week. It's tough to motivate him to do it since he knows it doesn't count, but the opportunity is there.

You are one of the lucky ones PP. Seriously. There is a very wide gap on whats being delivered on a school by school basis. Even if your kid is getting some direction and structure (and I'm glad they are), the fact there is such a huge disparity is indicative of the cluster.... that is currently FCPS.

This is a no brainer, schools with better rankings provide better education and have better resources as well. This is a big County!

Really? My kids are at a school with a GS score that would make DCUM cry, and they’re getting daily resources to work through from all their teachers. I don’t think it has anything to do with rankings.

Good for you! Still, schools in more affluent neighborhoods have better resources and provide better education and yes better rankings too.

Schools in poorer areas are usually Title I schools and thus get more funding per student compared to good schools in affluent areas.

Now, the PTA in an affluent school surely raises more money compared to a PTA in a poor area, but that's a small number compared to Title I funding.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anyone listening to the School Board meeting that is being streamed today?

I can't believe that Omeish still hasn't demonstrated any appreciation for governance. When she wants to "amend" a resolution, she doesn't know how to offer an actual amendment. She just talks and expects others to translate her stream-of-consciousness thoughts into language or actionable items.

This isn't rocket science, but she still doesn't seem to understand her obligations yet.

Was this the school board meeting on special education? Any highlights?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Happy to see an ignorant, unqualified, parasite gone. Fairfax still employs the old employment model across the system - seniority and the good ole boy network trumps. As an experienced technologist, I find this ideology frightening- and more particularly for such a large school district. Thank goodness my kids are done with HS.

Furthermore, too many of the SBTSs are former PE teachers who morphed into that position when IT meant rolling out the television cart and plugging the set into the wall outlet.