MCPS Announces New Attendance Plan and Policy on 8/22

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So what exactly is the new plan and policy?

Because they cut off the livestream, we're all in the dark. I'm guessing we'll get the details when news reports are filed later today? This is all so bizarre.

MCPS's largest student racial group is Hispanic, and 36.6% of Hispanic students are chronically absent (based on MSDE report card).

Whey are more than 1/3 of Hispanic students chronically absent? Are they helping their family or are they doing something else?

In fact some Hispanic groups surveyed MCPS's Hispanic students and found that many of them are not going to school because they were undereducated in their home countries (many of them are immigrant children and are ESOL students) and cannot keep up with the work, even the ESOL work.

I look forward to see whether MCPS addresses this massive problem in the school system.

Right.

This is no longer a school system primarily of UMC kids. It is increasingly a system of high needs kids.

2021-2022 numbers:

40% of the kids are FARMS
18% are ESOL

33% Hispanic
22% Black
25% White
14% Asian

This is in a county that is 42% white and with a 5% poverty rate.

Think about that. Essentially, white families with financial means have fled the system.

I don't think it's quite that dramatic.

First, the most recent Census data says the MoCo poverty rate is 8.5%, not 5%.

Second, FARMS eligibility is not the same as poverty using the federal guideline. The thresholds for free & reduced meals are quite a bit higher than the poverty threshold--they are 1.3x and 1.85 the threshold, respectively. As a result, the extent to which kids from households that are below the poverty threshold are overrepresented in MCPS is not actually determinable from this information.

Finally, the population has been diversifying in an age-stratified way for quite some time. Senior citizens in MoCo are a lot more likely to be white than younger residents of MoCo are. And senior citizens haven't "fled the system"--they don't have kids in school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So what exactly is the new plan and policy?

Because they cut off the livestream, we're all in the dark. I'm guessing we'll get the details when news reports are filed later today? This is all so bizarre.

MCPS's largest student racial group is Hispanic, and 36.6% of Hispanic students are chronically absent (based on MSDE report card).

Whey are more than 1/3 of Hispanic students chronically absent? Are they helping their family or are they doing something else?

In fact some Hispanic groups surveyed MCPS's Hispanic students and found that many of them are not going to school because they were undereducated in their home countries (many of them are immigrant children and are ESOL students) and cannot keep up with the work, even the ESOL work.

I look forward to see whether MCPS addresses this massive problem in the school system.

Right.

This is no longer a school system primarily of UMC kids. It is increasingly a system of high needs kids.

2021-2022 numbers:

40% of the kids are FARMS
18% are ESOL

33% Hispanic
22% Black
25% White
14% Asian

This is in a county that is 42% white and with a 5% poverty rate.

Think about that. Essentially, white families with financial means have fled the system.

Not a conclusion you can make from the data you've given. What are the demographics of all school-aged kids in MoCo?

Look at 2002-3 numbers:
https://ww2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/fy2003/schools/county.pdf
White 46.1%
Black 21.4%
Hispanic 17.9%
Asian 14.2%

FARMS 22.5%
ESOL 8.5%

In 20 years, FARMS, ESOL, and Hispanic percentages doubled or nearly doubled, and White percentage nearly halved.

[Anonymous]

There's no denying that white flight is part of the demographic shift story in MCPS. I live in Silver Spring and most of the white families in my neighborhood do not send their kids to our neighborhood DCC high school. They go to private schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So what exactly is the new plan and policy?

Because they cut off the livestream, we're all in the dark. I'm guessing we'll get the details when news reports are filed later today? This is all so bizarre.

MCPS's largest student racial group is Hispanic, and 36.6% of Hispanic students are chronically absent (based on MSDE report card).

Whey are more than 1/3 of Hispanic students chronically absent? Are they helping their family or are they doing something else?

In fact some Hispanic groups surveyed MCPS's Hispanic students and found that many of them are not going to school because they were undereducated in their home countries (many of them are immigrant children and are ESOL students) and cannot keep up with the work, even the ESOL work.

I look forward to see whether MCPS addresses this massive problem in the school system.

Right.

This is no longer a school system primarily of UMC kids. It is increasingly a system of high needs kids.

2021-2022 numbers:

40% of the kids are FARMS
18% are ESOL

33% Hispanic
22% Black
25% White
14% Asian

This is in a county that is 42% white and with a 5% poverty rate.

Think about that. Essentially, white families with financial means have fled the system.

Not a conclusion you can make from the data you've given. What are the demographics of all school-aged kids in MoCo?

Look at 2002-3 numbers:
https://ww2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/fy2003/schools/county.pdf
White 46.1%
Black 21.4%
Hispanic 17.9%
Asian 14.2%

FARMS 22.5%
ESOL 8.5%

In 20 years, FARMS, ESOL, and Hispanic percentages doubled or nearly doubled, and White percentage nearly halved.

Yes. The demographics of the county itself have changed dramatically in this interval as well. That's not a story of "whites fleeing the system."

I can't tell whether you are on a racist/nativist kick here or just realized this and think you are delivering new news, or what.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So what exactly is the new plan and policy?

Because they cut off the livestream, we're all in the dark. I'm guessing we'll get the details when news reports are filed later today? This is all so bizarre.

MCPS's largest student racial group is Hispanic, and 36.6% of Hispanic students are chronically absent (based on MSDE report card).

Whey are more than 1/3 of Hispanic students chronically absent? Are they helping their family or are they doing something else?

In fact some Hispanic groups surveyed MCPS's Hispanic students and found that many of them are not going to school because they were undereducated in their home countries (many of them are immigrant children and are ESOL students) and cannot keep up with the work, even the ESOL work.

I look forward to see whether MCPS addresses this massive problem in the school system.

Right.

This is no longer a school system primarily of UMC kids. It is increasingly a system of high needs kids.

2021-2022 numbers:

40% of the kids are FARMS
18% are ESOL

33% Hispanic
22% Black
25% White
14% Asian

This is in a county that is 42% white and with a 5% poverty rate.

Think about that. Essentially, white families with financial means have fled the system.

Not a conclusion you can make from the data you've given. What are the demographics of all school-aged kids in MoCo?

Look at 2002-3 numbers:
https://ww2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/fy2003/schools/county.pdf
White 46.1%
Black 21.4%
Hispanic 17.9%
Asian 14.2%

FARMS 22.5%
ESOL 8.5%

In 20 years, FARMS, ESOL, and Hispanic percentages doubled or nearly doubled, and White percentage nearly halved.

Yes. The demographics of the county itself have changed dramatically in this interval as well. That's not a story of "whites fleeing the system."

I can't tell whether you are on a racist/nativist kick here or just realized this and think you are delivering new news, or what.

I don't understand what you mean. 36.6% of Hispanic students are chronically absent. This is a big problem. How is MCPS addressing this big problem?

[Anonymous]

So irritating but not surprising that MCPS disabled the livestream.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So irritating but not surprising that MCPS disabled the livestream.

Dr. McKnight and MCPS is afraid for her comments to be lived streamed. Last week’s video was horrible. Completely tone deaf regarding the sexual harassment complaints.

[Anonymous]

Sunil Dasgupta got his hands on the plan:

Direct link here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rd8Gst_V-f5Wv8823R2jienupYqW0rYC/view

[Anonymous]

I'm shocked. I know my expectations for MCPS weren't high, but the plan is a nothingburger as most suspected it would. It promises nothing specific and says that they plan to plan and that any plans that it does implement will be school-specific.

The most useful thing from it is the updated data.

Oh, and then they promise to waste money on communications and advertising that most parents will ignore or never see, just adding more clutter to the overwhelming communications strategy that MCPS already employs.

What the hell?

[Anonymous]

I'm all for equity but there is something very off-putting about describing some children as "Non-Focus Group Students". It just feeds fears about equity initiatives.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm all for equity but there is something very off-putting about describing some children as "Non-Focus Group Students". It just feeds fears about equity initiatives.

I agree. I didn't like that phrasing and I'm a POC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm shocked. I know my expectations for MCPS weren't high, but the plan is a nothingburger as most suspected it would. It promises nothing specific and says that they plan to plan and that any plans that it does implement will be school-specific.

The most useful thing from it is the updated data.

Oh, and then they promise to waste money on communications and advertising that most parents will ignore or never see, just adding more clutter to the overwhelming communications strategy that MCPS already employs.

What the hell?

"Review the findings of the antiracist system audit, with
a particular focus on school and system culture and
climate."

"Build staff capacity to create antiracist learning
environments where all students learn, thrive, and feel a
sense of belonging."

"MCPS will develop school-specific attendance plans rooted
in the anti-racist audit data, school surveys, focus group
data, and attendance data analysis."

What a joke!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm shocked. I know my expectations for MCPS weren't high, but the plan is a nothingburger as most suspected it would. It promises nothing specific and says that they plan to plan and that any plans that it does implement will be school-specific.

The most useful thing from it is the updated data.

Oh, and then they promise to waste money on communications and advertising that most parents will ignore or never see, just adding more clutter to the overwhelming communications strategy that MCPS already employs.

What the hell?

"communications and advertising". Amazing.

I went to a meeting with Hispanic educators, and one told that they had requested for years Spanish-speaking secretaries for schools with overwhelming Hispanic populations to better communicate with parents, and they could not get them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Even compared to pre-pandemic, absenteeism numbers are way up:

Will they break down the absenteeism numbers by race?

Or by school. I bet there's a pocket of consistent, serious offenders that need to be prioritized and dealt with most urgently.

And some of the absenteeism numbers have to do with failed admin leadership in those schools.

I doubt they will. Because it will mostly be a certain demographic in certain pockets, and the optics are not good.

Found the numbers:
https://reportcard.msde.maryland.gov/Graphs/#/Demographics/ChronicAbsenteeism/3/99/1/6/15/XXXX/2022

This looks wrong.

The header for % says "chronic absenteeism", but the header for the fraction is "fractions of days attended". The values are the same. They cant both be right.

Definitions:


Absentee Rate

percentage of students absent from school for one or more days between the first day of the school year and the last day of the school year.

[1 day!!?!!]


Attendance Rate

average daily attendance rate including special education students. The state’s proficient standard is 94%

Average Daily Attendance

number of students in attendance divided by the total number of students, from the first day of school through April 13th.

[Take your international trips after spring break!]

Chronic absenteeism

number of students who are absent 10% or more of the school days while enrolled

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm shocked. I know my expectations for MCPS weren't high, but the plan is a nothingburger as most suspected it would. It promises nothing specific and says that they plan to plan and that any plans that it does implement will be school-specific.

The most useful thing from it is the updated data.

Oh, and then they promise to waste money on communications and advertising that most parents will ignore or never see, just adding more clutter to the overwhelming communications strategy that MCPS already employs.

What the hell?

"Review the findings of the antiracist system audit, with
a particular focus on school and system culture and
climate."

"Build staff capacity to create antiracist learning
environments where all students learn, thrive, and feel a
sense of belonging."

"MCPS will develop school-specific attendance plans rooted
in the anti-racist audit data, school surveys, focus group
data, and attendance data analysis."

What a joke!

Between that and the “non focus group students” phrasing, it’s clear which kids they care about and which they don’t.