How is Ritchie Park Elementary?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Has an update been given on who will lead the school in 24-25?

No.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There has been a lot of turn over in the past 3 years at RP (a different principal each year). I would not be biased based on these posts bc of all the transitions. Also, there are some people on this forum that love to bash Ritchie Park no matter what. I am a very happy parent there the majority of parents I know are also happy. Mr. Winter will hopefully take a great school give it stability with leadership and help it become an exceptional school.

Winter is long gone. He dared to advocate and he was, of course, banished.

What did he advocate for?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There has been a lot of turn over in the past 3 years at RP (a different principal each year). I would not be biased based on these posts bc of all the transitions. Also, there are some people on this forum that love to bash Ritchie Park no matter what. I am a very happy parent there the majority of parents I know are also happy. Mr. Winter will hopefully take a great school give it stability with leadership and help it become an exceptional school.

Winter is long gone. He dared to advocate and he was, of course, banished.

MCPS is a mess but it doesn't work like that. There are plenty of administrators that advocate for a number of things but they don't just vanish.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There has been a lot of turn over in the past 3 years at RP (a different principal each year). I would not be biased based on these posts bc of all the transitions. Also, there are some people on this forum that love to bash Ritchie Park no matter what. I am a very happy parent there the majority of parents I know are also happy. Mr. Winter will hopefully take a great school give it stability with leadership and help it become an exceptional school.

Winter is long gone. He dared to advocate and he was, of course, banished.

What did he advocate for?

Yeah…. That’s not what happened. He wasn’t put on leave for advocating….it was something bad

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There has been a lot of turn over in the past 3 years at RP (a different principal each year). I would not be biased based on these posts bc of all the transitions. Also, there are some people on this forum that love to bash Ritchie Park no matter what. I am a very happy parent there the majority of parents I know are also happy. Mr. Winter will hopefully take a great school give it stability with leadership and help it become an exceptional school.

Winter is long gone. He dared to advocate and he was, of course, banished.

What did he advocate for?

Yeah…. That’s not what happened. He wasn’t put on leave for advocating….it was something bad

What happened?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There has been a lot of turn over in the past 3 years at RP (a different principal each year). I would not be biased based on these posts bc of all the transitions. Also, there are some people on this forum that love to bash Ritchie Park no matter what. I am a very happy parent there the majority of parents I know are also happy. Mr. Winter will hopefully take a great school give it stability with leadership and help it become an exceptional school.

Winter is long gone. He dared to advocate and he was, of course, banished.

He started the Montgomery County Jewish Educators Alliance (MCJEA). He has advocated for Jewish and Holocaust education and more for addressing antisemitism. An administrator friend of mine also shared that he called out McKnight in October in a meeting with all principals about her lack of accountability and she did not take that well. While she may be gone some of her loyal followers remain. I am told he also raises issues and advocates for other principals.

My understanding is that something fairly minor happened but that the powers that be saw an opportunity to make more of it then it should be. I do wonder if this has antisemitism or retribution too. To me it does.

Winter isn't perfect but this lengthy time away and what else may be happening just doesn't seem right.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There has been a lot of turn over in the past 3 years at RP (a different principal each year). I would not be biased based on these posts bc of all the transitions. Also, there are some people on this forum that love to bash Ritchie Park no matter what. I am a very happy parent there the majority of parents I know are also happy. Mr. Winter will hopefully take a great school give it stability with leadership and help it become an exceptional school.

Winter is long gone. He dared to advocate and he was, of course, banished.

He started the Montgomery County Jewish Educators Alliance (MCJEA). He has advocated for Jewish and Holocaust education and more for addressing antisemitism. An administrator friend of mine also shared that he called out McKnight in October in a meeting with all principals about her lack of accountability and she did not take that well. While she may be gone some of her loyal followers remain. I am told he also raises issues and advocates for other principals.

My understanding is that something fairly minor happened but that the powers that be saw an opportunity to make more of it then it should be. I do wonder if this has antisemitism or retribution too. To me it does.

Winter isn't perfect but this lengthy time away and what else may be happening just doesn't seem right.

People applauded him for starting MCJEA; having an organization was long overdue.

How does a situation that occurred with the Super in October have to do with him being out on leave in February/March when said Super was out/on her way out? I think she and her followers had a lot more to worry about than holding a grudge against this Principal. I didn't agree with a lot of the former Super's moves but what's being suggested doesn't sound remotely logical.

Whatever is going on, MCPS needs to update the community on what to expect in 24-25.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"But not great. And for the area, it should be better. Parent involvement has diminished severely and there are a ton of non involved families or over the top helicopter/tiger parents. There doesn't seem to be much in-between. Just lacking any fun. Stale programs and activities. Same things each year. Get's old quick."

Well, we went through one of those schools DCUM usually calls, great.

We only have 2 kids and the second one went to the gifted center school their last two years so we were involved for just 6 years.

The programs got stale there as well. That is not a RP problem, it is everywhere.

+1

If someone thinks that PTA programs at their school are stale there is an extremely simple solution. Come up with new program ideas and be the event coordinator for that/those new programs. Viola, fresh new programs at your school!

As for Ritchie Park in particular, this past year alone, the PTA added an outdoor garden initiative, geography bee, math Olympiad program, color run, Golf fundraiser, and spring picnic. I would hardly call 6 brand new programs "stale" but I guess some stuck up Potomac mom's just love to complain and not lift a finger.

Ritchie Park is in Rockville

Some houses in the zone have Potomac addresses.

Yes, some houses have a Potomac mailing address, but the houses are priced significantly less than if they went to a Potomac school (i.e., Churchill). Perhaps Potomac moms and Rockville moms are pretty similar. As an aside, my nephew was getting special education services at Ritchie Park and the school moved him to a different school in the cluster to receive "special education services" that Ritchie Park said they could not provide. Well that was a disaster (for lots of reasons) and his needs were not so significant that the school could not have accommodated him.

Yes, we know that well. Original home owners have lost an average $100-$150K in value to their homes once RP moved out of Wootton to RM. It sucks. There are some families in Montgomery Square that have legit Potomac addresses and are not a part of city of Rockville. The rest have 20854 zip codes and are city of Rockville. But it doesn't matter. The $$ is where the school is and RM does not bring the money to these homes the way that Wootton did.

In the 80's...almost 40 years ago.

Ancient history fast forward half a century RM may be a better option even.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There has been a lot of turn over in the past 3 years at RP (a different principal each year). I would not be biased based on these posts bc of all the transitions. Also, there are some people on this forum that love to bash Ritchie Park no matter what. I am a very happy parent there the majority of parents I know are also happy. Mr. Winter will hopefully take a great school give it stability with leadership and help it become an exceptional school.

Winter is long gone. He dared to advocate and he was, of course, banished.

He started the Montgomery County Jewish Educators Alliance (MCJEA). He has advocated for Jewish and Holocaust education and more for addressing antisemitism. An administrator friend of mine also shared that he called out McKnight in October in a meeting with all principals about her lack of accountability and she did not take that well. While she may be gone some of her loyal followers remain. I am told he also raises issues and advocates for other principals.

My understanding is that something fairly minor happened but that the powers that be saw an opportunity to make more of it then it should be. I do wonder if this has antisemitism or retribution too. To me it does.

Winter isn't perfect but this lengthy time away and what else may be happening just doesn't seem right.

People applauded him for starting MCJEA; having an organization was long overdue.

How does a situation that occurred with the Super in October have to do with him being out on leave in February/March when said Super was out/on her way out? I think she and her followers had a lot more to worry about than holding a grudge against this Principal. I didn't agree with a lot of the former Super's moves but what's being suggested doesn't sound remotely logical.

Whatever is going on, MCPS needs to update the community on what to expect in 24-25.

Because the bad thing he did had nothing to do with McKnight, the super, Israel, or politics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There has been a lot of turn over in the past 3 years at RP (a different principal each year). I would not be biased based on these posts bc of all the transitions. Also, there are some people on this forum that love to bash Ritchie Park no matter what. I am a very happy parent there the majority of parents I know are also happy. Mr. Winter will hopefully take a great school give it stability with leadership and help it become an exceptional school.

Winter is long gone. He dared to advocate and he was, of course, banished.

He started the Montgomery County Jewish Educators Alliance (MCJEA). He has advocated for Jewish and Holocaust education and more for addressing antisemitism. An administrator friend of mine also shared that he called out McKnight in October in a meeting with all principals about her lack of accountability and she did not take that well. While she may be gone some of her loyal followers remain. I am told he also raises issues and advocates for other principals.

My understanding is that something fairly minor happened but that the powers that be saw an opportunity to make more of it then it should be. I do wonder if this has antisemitism or retribution too. To me it does.

Winter isn't perfect but this lengthy time away and what else may be happening just doesn't seem right.

People applauded him for starting MCJEA; having an organization was long overdue.

How does a situation that occurred with the Super in October have to do with him being out on leave in February/March when said Super was out/on her way out? I think she and her followers had a lot more to worry about than holding a grudge against this Principal. I didn't agree with a lot of the former Super's moves but what's being suggested doesn't sound remotely logical.

Whatever is going on, MCPS needs to update the community on what to expect in 24-25.

Because the bad thing he did had nothing to do with McKnight, the super, Israel, or politics.

Whatever it is, the system needs to make a decision about leadership next year and then communicate next steps ASAP. Schools don't need to go into a new school year with interim leadership if they don't have to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There has been a lot of turn over in the past 3 years at RP (a different principal each year). I would not be biased based on these posts bc of all the transitions. Also, there are some people on this forum that love to bash Ritchie Park no matter what. I am a very happy parent there the majority of parents I know are also happy. Mr. Winter will hopefully take a great school give it stability with leadership and help it become an exceptional school.

Winter is long gone. He dared to advocate and he was, of course, banished.

He started the Montgomery County Jewish Educators Alliance (MCJEA). He has advocated for Jewish and Holocaust education and more for addressing antisemitism. An administrator friend of mine also shared that he called out McKnight in October in a meeting with all principals about her lack of accountability and she did not take that well. While she may be gone some of her loyal followers remain. I am told he also raises issues and advocates for other principals.

My understanding is that something fairly minor happened but that the powers that be saw an opportunity to make more of it then it should be. I do wonder if this has antisemitism or retribution too. To me it does.

Winter isn't perfect but this lengthy time away and what else may be happening just doesn't seem right.

People applauded him for starting MCJEA; having an organization was long overdue.

How does a situation that occurred with the Super in October have to do with him being out on leave in February/March when said Super was out/on her way out? I think she and her followers had a lot more to worry about than holding a grudge against this Principal. I didn't agree with a lot of the former Super's moves but what's being suggested doesn't sound remotely logical.

Whatever is going on, MCPS needs to update the community on what to expect in 24-25.

Because the bad thing he did had nothing to do with McKnight, the super, Israel, or politics.

Exactly. He has had a history of being inappropriate. There have been rumors of him being inappropriate with female staff for one

[Anonymous]

But what did he actually do? Allegedly?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There has been a lot of turn over in the past 3 years at RP (a different principal each year). I would not be biased based on these posts bc of all the transitions. Also, there are some people on this forum that love to bash Ritchie Park no matter what. I am a very happy parent there the majority of parents I know are also happy. Mr. Winter will hopefully take a great school give it stability with leadership and help it become an exceptional school.

Winter is long gone. He dared to advocate and he was, of course, banished.

He started the Montgomery County Jewish Educators Alliance (MCJEA). He has advocated for Jewish and Holocaust education and more for addressing antisemitism. An administrator friend of mine also shared that he called out McKnight in October in a meeting with all principals about her lack of accountability and she did not take that well. While she may be gone some of her loyal followers remain. I am told he also raises issues and advocates for other principals.

My understanding is that something fairly minor happened but that the powers that be saw an opportunity to make more of it then it should be. I do wonder if this has antisemitism or retribution too. To me it does.

Winter isn't perfect but this lengthy time away and what else may be happening just doesn't seem right.

People applauded him for starting MCJEA; having an organization was long overdue.

How does a situation that occurred with the Super in October have to do with him being out on leave in February/March when said Super was out/on her way out? I think she and her followers had a lot more to worry about than holding a grudge against this Principal. I didn't agree with a lot of the former Super's moves but what's being suggested doesn't sound remotely logical.

Whatever is going on, MCPS needs to update the community on what to expect in 24-25.

Because the bad thing he did had nothing to do with McKnight, the super, Israel, or politics.

Whatever it is, the system needs to make a decision about leadership next year and then communicate next steps ASAP. Schools don't need to go into a new school year with interim leadership if they don't have to.

As best I can tell, they haven't even posted the RPES principal position yet. Kind of late to be doing that, considering there are already several other ES principal vacancies to be filled.

[Anonymous]

He has a new gig now:

https://www.fourpointeducation.com/who-we-are/our-team/andrew-winter/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He has a new gig now:

https://www.fourpointeducation.com/who-we-are/our-team/andrew-winter/

If he has a new job, why has MCPS not informed the community that he isn't returning and an interim will be in place next school year?