Serious Answers Only—How to Fix MCPS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Make the BOE a full-time position with more power and oversight focus instead of rubber stamping the superintendent's way and will

Bring back accountability and discipline to schools. Kids need it. It doesn't matter if it hurts their feelings. And don't alway listen to the noisiest, loudest complaining parent in the room. The silent majority want order and structure in schools and expect admins and teachers to bring it.

Focus on equal opportunities and not equal outcomes. Giving everyone the opportunity to do good is the moral and right thing to do. Giving everyone the same or similar outcomes, regardless of effort, ambition or initiative is not good. It creates entitled, lazy people who become piss-poor citizens and employees.

Bring back regular classes. This is tied to previous comment about equal opportunities, not outcomes, but kids who don't care about school should not be allowed to distract and corrupt kids who are interested and motivated to learn. Honors classes should be a safe haven for focused students. Everyone should have the opportunity to sign up for an honors class, but there should criteria those students are expected to meet and if they don't over time rise to meet them, be put back into the regular classes.

Either take PE seriously or remove it altogether. This idea that kids shouldn't change for PE or be forced to do physical activity is nuts. Childhood obesity is an epidemic and the gutting of any kind of mandate or requirement with regard to physical activity is a major contributor to this. Kids, especially those who've been babysat by screens, will be lazy, unmotivated and whine. Push them anyways. Either that, or just drop PE as a requirement altogether and stop wasting everyone's time.

Fix the cafeteria food. School lunches have never been gourmet, but the amount of kids who reject the food the school serves is alarming. That's a lot of money going down the drain. If MCPS is not capable of making food the students will eat, then we should stop having MCPS make lunch and just invite outside entities to serve lunch instead. But the waste that goes on right now is unsustainable.

I like this list. Makes a lot of sense

I like all of this. I also like the idea of splitting the county up. It’s just way too big. I wouldn’t want a split to result in inequity though so not sure how it would work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Limit class size to 20. For all grades. But youd need a lot more teachers and buildings.
Eliminate central office building space. Save one or two big conference rooms for big meetings. Move all that staff around all the schools. Every central office staff has to sub a class or two when teachers are on pto and sick leave.
Bring back regular classes/ tracking. Come up with ways to make it more equitable than in the past.

This is not a real solution. If you need many more teachers and buildings, both of which would cost millions, you’re probably not going to get both. Central office isn’t going anywhere. There is Finance, HR, IT, and there would still need to be staff fulfilling requirements of county, state, federal laws.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Make the BOE a full-time position with more power and oversight focus instead of rubber stamping the superintendent's way and will

Bring back accountability and discipline to schools. Kids need it. It doesn't matter if it hurts their feelings. And don't alway listen to the noisiest, loudest complaining parent in the room. The silent majority want order and structure in schools and expect admins and teachers to bring it.

Focus on equal opportunities and not equal outcomes. Giving everyone the opportunity to do good is the moral and right thing to do. Giving everyone the same or similar outcomes, regardless of effort, ambition or initiative is not good. It creates entitled, lazy people who become piss-poor citizens and employees.

Bring back regular classes. This is tied to previous comment about equal opportunities, not outcomes, but kids who don't care about school should not be allowed to distract and corrupt kids who are interested and motivated to learn. Honors classes should be a safe haven for focused students. Everyone should have the opportunity to sign up for an honors class, but there should criteria those students are expected to meet and if they don't over time rise to meet them, be put back into the regular classes.

Either take PE seriously or remove it altogether. This idea that kids shouldn't change for PE or be forced to do physical activity is nuts. Childhood obesity is an epidemic and the gutting of any kind of mandate or requirement with regard to physical activity is a major contributor to this. Kids, especially those who've been babysat by screens, will be lazy, unmotivated and whine. Push them anyways. Either that, or just drop PE as a requirement altogether and stop wasting everyone's time.

Fix the cafeteria food. School lunches have never been gourmet, but the amount of kids who reject the food the school serves is alarming. That's a lot of money going down the drain. If MCPS is not capable of making food the students will eat, then we should stop having MCPS make lunch and just invite outside entities to serve lunch instead. But the waste that goes on right now is unsustainable.

I like this list. Makes a lot of sense

I like all of this. I also like the idea of splitting the county up. It’s just way too big. I wouldn’t want a split to result in inequity though so not sure how it would work.

Of all the things that won't happen, this is one of the things that won't happen the most.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Make the BOE a full-time position with more power and oversight focus instead of rubber stamping the superintendent's way and will

Bring back accountability and discipline to schools. Kids need it. It doesn't matter if it hurts their feelings. And don't alway listen to the noisiest, loudest complaining parent in the room. The silent majority want order and structure in schools and expect admins and teachers to bring it.

Focus on equal opportunities and not equal outcomes. Giving everyone the opportunity to do good is the moral and right thing to do. Giving everyone the same or similar outcomes, regardless of effort, ambition or initiative is not good. It creates entitled, lazy people who become piss-poor citizens and employees.

Bring back regular classes. This is tied to previous comment about equal opportunities, not outcomes, but kids who don't care about school should not be allowed to distract and corrupt kids who are interested and motivated to learn. Honors classes should be a safe haven for focused students. Everyone should have the opportunity to sign up for an honors class, but there should criteria those students are expected to meet and if they don't over time rise to meet them, be put back into the regular classes.

Either take PE seriously or remove it altogether. This idea that kids shouldn't change for PE or be forced to do physical activity is nuts. Childhood obesity is an epidemic and the gutting of any kind of mandate or requirement with regard to physical activity is a major contributor to this. Kids, especially those who've been babysat by screens, will be lazy, unmotivated and whine. Push them anyways. Either that, or just drop PE as a requirement altogether and stop wasting everyone's time.

Fix the cafeteria food. School lunches have never been gourmet, but the amount of kids who reject the food the school serves is alarming. That's a lot of money going down the drain. If MCPS is not capable of making food the students will eat, then we should stop having MCPS make lunch and just invite outside entities to serve lunch instead. But the waste that goes on right now is unsustainable.

I like this list. Makes a lot of sense

I like all of this. I also like the idea of splitting the county up. It’s just way too big. I wouldn’t want a split to result in inequity though so not sure how it would work.

That not a MCPS fix but would need to happen at the state level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Make the BoE a full time position w/ salaries staff. MCPS is too big to have part-time accountability.

Add co-teachers or paras to all K-2 classes, and classes over 24 students in ES/MS. Make ES school teachers rotate around the grades in K-2 or 3-5. Have students stay with the same teacher for K and 1 to build continuity and support.

More counselors, particularly at the HS level, so actual academic advising and followup can occur.

Add administrative/case Mgmt support for SpecEd. Clearly state what SpecEd services are available and at what amount of time (regardless of FAPE, the number of people available is real and can only do so much).

Standardize some process and tools. I’m all for meeting people where they are but there is a little bit too much catering to everyone’s whims going on.

Plan for implementation of new programs/curriculum. This includes getting all the supplies early enough for review, training, and teacher planning. If you are implementing something Fall 2024, things should start arriving late winter2023/early spring 2024.

They can't state what Sped resources are available, because that would violate FAPE, until FAPE is better defined, which is basically impossible because of the Sp in SpEd.


Standardize which processes and tools?

The new curriculums don't need more planning, they need to stop happening.

Any curriculum that can't be modified in place with modular replacements and mixins for enrichment and remedial support, is worthless

They and most every other school district is already in violation of FAPE precisely because it’s poorly defined. All they would be doing is adding specific definition under which they are operating given resources. They can certainly note other wishes are options that can be entertained as resources change but until then this is what is available. Otherwise you needlessly overburdening teachers and staff. Not to mention parents who keep following up and harping on things that aren’t going to happen.

Standardize so many things. Example in my own kids school some teachers send out a weekly newsletter others don’t. Why? cuz it’s up to the teachers. This just creates a communication mismatch across the grade, not to mention misaligns parent expectations. I’m all for teacher autonomy but it’s ridiculous to create this confusion. Another example, there is a HS program in 3-4 schools that has essentially the same aims, yet is managed differently and called a different name. I haven’t been able to understand why. Heck, I’d give them the name difference to endear it to the individual communities. But manage it the same so there can be sharing of ideas and best practices, meaningful program monitoring and evaluation.

New curriculum needs to happen it just needs to stop happening as frequently.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have more special Ed classes in each school, not every child should be in a main stream class all day every day.
Stop sending the “ gifted” kids to separate schools.
That would be a huge start.

Nope.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What if, when the new high school is opened, it is a "limited cell phone school" meaning that students / parents may elect to go to the school if they agree to a cell phone policy that allows phones in the building but not out in class? There would be a set of consequences that would be consistently followed. MCPS would not need to redistrict because they would probably have enough parents electing to send their students to the school, so many that they may need a lottery to decide who can go.

After a a couple of years, data could be collected to see if putting phones away has an impact on student achievement, behavior, and mental health.

Do you send your kids with phones to school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most of the academic and equity issues are due to how the county has concentrated poverty and wealth. We are more segregated now than in the 1970's.

Honestly, the logical solution is to reintegrate the schools with redistricting and busing. However, we know how that talk goes around here...

You say that, but moving kids to schools that are further away creates other issues. Already to get to my child's high school, I have to drive past another school. Getting my DD to and from sports practices is hard right now in the summer and throughout the school year. It feels close to inequitable that it is so much harder for my child to participate when she could be a walker (albeit a long walk or an easy bike ride) to another school- there is not even a way to get there with local bussing unless she goes on 3 different busses. I hear all the time that an extra 5 minutes on the bus is no big deal, but when dealing with after-school activities, sports practices and events, etc, those minutes are important. Sending kids all over the county creates other hassles.

What should be improved is making neighborhoods less segregated but keeping kids in neighborhood schools. However, I know it is a lot easier to just blame everything on the schools and expect them to fix all of society's issues.

DP, but oh, please.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Get rid of Central Office and start over. Make it a priority that people rotate from teaching to Central Office and back (they are so disconnected from the reality of the classroom right now). More teachers, less Central Office Staff. More Spec Ed teachers. More discipline with actual consequences no matter what coor your skin (so drug dealers in the Ws as well as gun carriers in ALL schools). Bring back SROs. Bring back midterms and final exams. No more 50% for no work. Tutors for those who need it - for free. The goal is graduating with competencies, not graduating because we passed you along.

The above would a good start

Great point about central office! I’ve often thought the school system is NOT underfunded. The problem is that so much money is funneled to central office positions that actually hinder instruction instead of help it. Reduce the size of central office and rotate people BACK into the classroom so they keep a foot in reality.

ALL THIS. We need a small unaffiliated group to come in and identify the efficiencies/inefficiencies and what departments are required and not required. Get rid of all the non-essential, ridiculous groups. Give them a month to do this study and then implement the needed changes stat. Shoot, Elon Musk sat in a room for 48 hours and did this with Twitter. We need to do the same.

LOLOLOLOL

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have more special Ed classes in each school, not every child should be in a main stream class all day every day.
Stop sending the “ gifted” kids to separate schools.
That would be a huge start.

This. They should implement their magnet curriculum at all schools instead of their manufactured gatekeeping of creating lottery winners and losers. How is it equitable to identify a certain number of students as qualifying for a program and then provide that program to only some of the qualifying students?

And another big one, offer an honors English class in middle school.

Agree with both PPs on this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have the honors and advanced classes in late elementary and middle school. Kids who are advanced need to feel challenged instead of dumbing everything down so people don’t feel left out is a terrible move.

This already exist. Compact math, ELC, CES program, magnet programs, HIGH classes, Honors classes and different math tracks in MS.

What middle school has honors classes? ELC has still not been implemented in all elementary schools.

And many high schools have an honors-for-all model, which means that they are not honors at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have the honors and advanced classes in late elementary and middle school. Kids who are advanced need to feel challenged instead of dumbing everything down so people don’t feel left out is a terrible move.

This already exist. Compact math, ELC, CES program, magnet programs, HIGH classes, Honors classes and different math tracks in MS.

What middle school has honors classes? ELC has still not been implemented in all elementary schools.

+1. The only differentiated honors classes in middle school are advanced math classes and history. And MS magnet programs are a lottery.

It's not a true lottery just a lottery of the top 15%.

Also, this was the last year of the lottery experiment that began because of the global pandemic.

No, they had planned to do the lottery "experiment" before the pandemic hit -- timing was coincidence. And no way are they getting rid of it. Because, equity.

[Anonymous]

As someone mentioned, split the county up. It’s too big. That’s one of the main problems. Let towns run districts like they do in New England and in addition, find ways to make sure funding is equitable. Town districts in New England are arguably much better, but they also have issues with inequality when property taxes fund schools.

But, if this can be addressed somehow - then MCPS should break up into a bunch of smaller districts. I’d be so happy to support a candidate with this platform.

How does that even happen? Splitting a district? Has it happened anywhere before?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Add SROs back to schools, and re-open the special school (Twain in Rockville) for students with behavioral problems, instead of just transferring them to the next school for them to make more problems.

This. So much class time is squandered by disruptive students with behavioral problems. They need to be moved to a separate environment that can better deal with their needs. Then teachers can actually teach and students can actually learn. Disruptive students are such a stressful time suck for everyone. Move them.

My kid is at RICA. The availability of support staff to handle a student who is having a hard time is amazing. The teacher gets to TEACH and not deal with classroom management. I do recognize the irony that the school for kids with behavior issues has classrooms with the least amount of disruptive classroom behaviors.

Ironic indeed. How is your experience at RICA so far?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have the honors and advanced classes in late elementary and middle school. Kids who are advanced need to feel challenged instead of dumbing everything down so people don’t feel left out is a terrible move.

This already exist. Compact math, ELC, CES program, magnet programs, HIGH classes, Honors classes and different math tracks in MS.

What middle school has honors classes? ELC has still not been implemented in all elementary schools.

And many high schools have an honors-for-all model, which means that they are not honors at all.

Honors for all is a failed experiment. But the optics of getting rid of it are bad so we might be stuck