Any rumors on new curriculum vendor finalists?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've heard that Discovery has a very strong bid. Very innovative - they are even willing to co-brand with MCPS to sell the new curriculum to other districts around the country. Projections are in the 7 or 8 figures for how much needed revenue this will generate. MCPS will also have a new reality show on one of the Discovery Networks either a crime in schools piece or something with parents who choose to go to MCPS schools real life experiences. They haven't settled on a name yet but I hope Curriculum 3.0 is in the running or maybe take a page from Apple and skip a few numbers and make it Curriculum V. Cohort 1 schools are all in the running to have the large shark head and tail that used to hang from the Discovery building put up at their school during shark week!

Any other staff starting to feel like they don't want to be associated with MCPS anymore? Serious question. So much bad crap goes unchecked. For me, not terminating the Damascus football program (even ONE varsity game) speaks volumes about MCPS priorities. I can't tell you the number of times I've hit brick walls trying to get myself proper professional development, or permission to do something better or more creative for kids, and been told to forget it, that my request was unreasonable. Or been ignored. But there's no end to what administrators and central officials will tolerate when it comes to bad behavior. Everything is about CYA and money and people looking to get promoted and winning sports teams. I am hoping that now that the media is getting to work, the system will be forced to make major changes.

All good points but the post you are responding to was sarcastic

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've heard that Discovery has a very strong bid. Very innovative - they are even willing to co-brand with MCPS to sell the new curriculum to other districts around the country. Projections are in the 7 or 8 figures for how much needed revenue this will generate. MCPS will also have a new reality show on one of the Discovery Networks either a crime in schools piece or something with parents who choose to go to MCPS schools real life experiences. They haven't settled on a name yet but I hope Curriculum 3.0 is in the running or maybe take a page from Apple and skip a few numbers and make it Curriculum V. Cohort 1 schools are all in the running to have the large shark head and tail that used to hang from the Discovery building put up at their school during shark week!

Any other staff starting to feel like they don't want to be associated with MCPS anymore? Serious question. So much bad crap goes unchecked. For me, not terminating the Damascus football program (even ONE varsity game) speaks volumes about MCPS priorities. I can't tell you the number of times I've hit brick walls trying to get myself proper professional development, or permission to do something better or more creative for kids, and been told to forget it, that my request was unreasonable. Or been ignored. But there's no end to what administrators and central officials will tolerate when it comes to bad behavior. Everything is about CYA and money and people looking to get promoted and winning sports teams. I am hoping that now that the media is getting to work, the system will be forced to make major changes.

You do realize that the above was a satiric commentary. Calm down!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS is engaging in this process to acquire the most innovative curriculum that will help the district develop instructional strategies that support every learner in every classroom; create high levels of student interaction with rigorous and complex text; and establish deep levels of mathematical understanding aligned to grade-level standards. Additionally, the RFP now includes the following key revisions based on the feedback received from a wide range of stakeholders including parents, community partners, students, teachers, administrators and staff:

Clearer expectations for professional development before, during and after rollout.
More explicit language to address the needs for special populations (advanced learners, students receiving special education services, and English Language Learners).
Inclusion of tools to engage parents in new and innovative ways.
A materials summary that clearly outlines scope and sequence that dives deep into concepts and builds on prior knowledge.

Submit questions about the project, concerns or process to https://mcpsweb.wufoo.com/forms/instructional-materials-process-input-form/

Thank you. Folks, here is the problem: MCPS wants an “innovative” curriculum. Hence Discovery & HBO. This should be rewritten to say “proven curriculum”

Agree! They are looking for something ‘new’, not something that has been proven to work elsewhere. Very telling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS is engaging in this process to acquire the most innovative curriculum that will help the district develop instructional strategies that support every learner in every classroom; create high levels of student interaction with rigorous and complex text; and establish deep levels of mathematical understanding aligned to grade-level standards. Additionally, the RFP now includes the following key revisions based on the feedback received from a wide range of stakeholders including parents, community partners, students, teachers, administrators and staff:

Clearer expectations for professional development before, during and after rollout.
More explicit language to address the needs for special populations (advanced learners, students receiving special education services, and English Language Learners).
Inclusion of tools to engage parents in new and innovative ways.
A materials summary that clearly outlines scope and sequence that dives deep into concepts and builds on prior knowledge.

Submit questions about the project, concerns or process to https://mcpsweb.wufoo.com/forms/instructional-materials-process-input-form/

Thank you. Folks, here is the problem: MCPS wants an “innovative” curriculum. Hence Discovery & HBO. This should be rewritten to say “proven curriculum”

Agree! They are looking for something ‘new’, not something that has been proven to work elsewhere. Very telling.

Nope. If you read the RFP, it is quite clear they are looking for something that has been proven to work elsewhere too.

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/procurement/uploads/4478.1/Curriculum%20RFP%20FINAL.pdf

[Anonymous]

Just an observation. Neither "innovative" nor "proven" is in the RFP linked below.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Thank you. Folks, here is the problem: MCPS wants an “innovative” curriculum. Hence Discovery & HBO. This should be rewritten to say “proven curriculum”

Agree! They are looking for something ‘new’, not something that has been proven to work elsewhere. Very telling.

Nope. If you read the RFP, it is quite clear they are looking for something that has been proven to work elsewhere too.

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/procurement/uploads/4478.1/Curriculum%20RFP%20FINAL.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just an observation. Neither "innovative" nor "proven" is in the RFP linked below.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Thank you. Folks, here is the problem: MCPS wants an “innovative” curriculum. Hence Discovery & HBO. This should be rewritten to say “proven curriculum”

Agree! They are looking for something ‘new’, not something that has been proven to work elsewhere. Very telling.

Nope. If you read the RFP, it is quite clear they are looking for something that has been proven to work elsewhere too.

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/procurement/uploads/4478.1/Curriculum%20RFP%20FINAL.pdf

"The purpose of this Request for Proposal (RFP) is to solicit one or more established providers of elementary and secondary curricula to provide Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) with evidence-based, researched, and reviewed curricular and instructional materials..."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just an observation. Neither "innovative" nor "proven" is in the RFP linked below.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Thank you. Folks, here is the problem: MCPS wants an “innovative” curriculum. Hence Discovery & HBO. This should be rewritten to say “proven curriculum”

Agree! They are looking for something ‘new’, not something that has been proven to work elsewhere. Very telling.

Nope. If you read the RFP, it is quite clear they are looking for something that has been proven to work elsewhere too.

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/procurement/uploads/4478.1/Curriculum%20RFP%20FINAL.pdf

"The purpose of this Request for Proposal (RFP) is to solicit one or more established providers of elementary and secondary curricula to provide Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) with evidence-based, researched, and reviewed curricular and instructional materials..."

If this is true, then how did Discovery make the cut?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

If this is true, then how did Discovery make the cut?

Back up. Who says they did?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

If this is true, then how did Discovery make the cut?

Back up. Who says they did?

Right. All we know is they had been in discussions with MCPS in the first round of RFPs, not that they would’ve been chosen.

[Anonymous]

I put in questions in the parent/stakeholder survey months ago and I see they’re asking people to submit questions again. But have they actually answered any questions?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is from the email they sent in the summer. So presumably we'll see more than one finalist presentation?

August 2018

Release RFP

October-November 2018

Evaluation and Selection of Finalists

November 2018

Vendor finalist presentation to stakeholder and community groups

December 2018

Finalize recommendations

January 2019

Proposal for adoption by the Board of Education

So...we're halfway through November. And Thanksgiving is going to keep people busy next week. Anyone go to a vendor finalist presentation yet?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is from the email they sent in the summer. So presumably we'll see more than one finalist presentation?

August 2018

Release RFP

October-November 2018
November 2018
[/b]
Vendor finalist presentation to stakeholder and community groups

December 2018

Finalize recommendations

January 2019

Proposal for adoption by the Board of Education

[b]Evaluation and Selection of Finalists


So...we're halfway through November. And Thanksgiving is going to keep people busy next week. Anyone go to a vendor finalist presentation yet?

Any rumors on who the finalists are?

[Anonymous]

Yes but I'm not allowed to talk about it. I had to sign a non-disclosure agreement when I walked in the room.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes but I'm not allowed to talk about it. I had to sign a non-disclosure agreement when I walked in the room.

Do you work for Discovery?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes but I'm not allowed to talk about it. I had to sign a non-disclosure agreement when I walked in the room.

Do you work for Discovery?

Let’s hope not. We don’t want to end up with the least renowned curriculum in the country.