MCPS has Plans!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have to laugh at the name - 2.5 Year Project plan. Looks like Curriculum 2.0. They couldn’t do a 3 year or heaven really far out planning, a 5 year plan?

Perhaps MCPS thinks it will take 2.5 years to find a new Superintendent and therefore this plan will get the boot for the new Superintendent’s agenda. Keep the pendulum that is education in MCPS swinging. The people in Central Office need to justify their big paychecks while students struggle to catch up after online learning. Here’s a thought - hire more teachers and decrease class sizes.

Wonder where they’ll find these extra teachers in the middle of a National teacher shortage and after a year where many existing ones are burnt out? Also wonder where those new classes will go in the buildings that are already overcrowded?(because we know how much MCPS parents love portables).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have to laugh at the name - 2.5 Year Project plan. Looks like Curriculum 2.0. They couldn’t do a 3 year or heaven really far out planning, a 5 year plan?

Perhaps MCPS thinks it will take 2.5 years to find a new Superintendent and therefore this plan will get the boot for the new Superintendent’s agenda. Keep the pendulum that is education in MCPS swinging. The people in Central Office need to justify their big paychecks while students struggle to catch up after online learning. Here’s a thought - hire more teachers and decrease class sizes.

Wonder where they’ll find these extra teachers in the middle of a National teacher shortage and after a year where many existing ones are burnt out? Also wonder where those new classes will go in the buildings that are already overcrowded?(because we know how much MCPS parents love portables).

I wish the "MCPS needs to hire more teachers!!!!" posters would get together with the "There are no more teachers for MCPS to hire!!!!" posters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have to laugh at the name - 2.5 Year Project plan. Looks like Curriculum 2.0. They couldn’t do a 3 year or heaven really far out planning, a 5 year plan?

Perhaps MCPS thinks it will take 2.5 years to find a new Superintendent and therefore this plan will get the boot for the new Superintendent’s agenda. Keep the pendulum that is education in MCPS swinging. The people in Central Office need to justify their big paychecks while students struggle to catch up after online learning. Here’s a thought - hire more teachers and decrease class sizes.

Wonder where they’ll find these extra teachers in the middle of a National teacher shortage and after a year where many existing ones are burnt out? Also wonder where those new classes will go in the buildings that are already overcrowded?(because we know how much MCPS parents love portables).

I wish the "MCPS needs to hire more teachers!!!!" posters would get together with the "There are no more teachers for MCPS to hire!!!!" posters.

I wish MCPS parents would think through their ideas and figure out how to logically implement them at scale without violating any state or federal laws before they post said idea like its a novel concept.

[Anonymous]

Pay teachers what they are worth and give them reasonable work responsibilities, MCPS would attract and retain teachers.

Dr. Kim Hires has written an interesting book titled The Leadership Innovation Manifesto. A crisis shows an organization’s true priorities. Sure there’s a national teacher shortage now. That’s why MCPS needs to focus on being an attractive work place for teachers. The number one way to help students recover from the learning loss is more teachers and smaller class sizes.

As far as where to put more classes - staffing is below prepandemic levels. Therefore, until MCPS gets back to staffing at full capacity, there is current space. For communities that have newly constructed schools, extra classrooms were built into the design plans. For older buildings, portables are already in use. A few more to get class sizes down would be a temporary fix. Older buildings will be brought up to their capacity needs when stated in the Capital Improvement Plan.

It’s not enough to say a teaching crisis is difficult to solve then piss away $5,000,000 that could help be the solution. MCPS leadership is showing families and staff where their priorities are and it’s not teaching students.

[Anonymous]

Why? You guys are the ‘professionals’...and you break federal laws every day (IDEA).

[Anonymous]

$5 million, which is a number that somebody made up on this thread, is 0.19% of the MCPS annual budget. Optimistically, MCPS could hire 50 teachers with $5 million (assuming there are teachers to hire), which would increase the number of teachers in MCPS by 0.4%.

That's not to say it isn't worth doing, or that it wouldn't make a difference for the people immediately affected.

It wouldn't make a system-wide difference, though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have to laugh at the name - 2.5 Year Project plan. Looks like Curriculum 2.0. They couldn’t do a 3 year or heaven really far out planning, a 5 year plan?

Perhaps MCPS thinks it will take 2.5 years to find a new Superintendent and therefore this plan will get the boot for the new Superintendent’s agenda. Keep the pendulum that is education in MCPS swinging. The people in Central Office need to justify their big paychecks while students struggle to catch up after online learning. Here’s a thought - hire more teachers and decrease class sizes.

Wonder where they’ll find these extra teachers in the middle of a National teacher shortage and after a year where many existing ones are burnt out? Also wonder where those new classes will go in the buildings that are already overcrowded?(because we know how much MCPS parents love portables).

Another thread claimed that people were leaving MCPS in droves and if that were true they'd have more than enough teachers for the remaining students!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have to laugh at the name - 2.5 Year Project plan. Looks like Curriculum 2.0. They couldn’t do a 3 year or heaven really far out planning, a 5 year plan?

Perhaps MCPS thinks it will take 2.5 years to find a new Superintendent and therefore this plan will get the boot for the new Superintendent’s agenda. Keep the pendulum that is education in MCPS swinging. The people in Central Office need to justify their big paychecks while students struggle to catch up after online learning. Here’s a thought - hire more teachers and decrease class sizes.

Wonder where they’ll find these extra teachers in the middle of a National teacher shortage and after a year where many existing ones are burnt out? Also wonder where those new classes will go in the buildings that are already overcrowded?(because we know how much MCPS parents love portables).

The crappy Central Office is part of causes teacher burnout, IMO. How many useless trainings can you expect teachers to take? How often can you ‘rework’ the technology and the curriculum before teachers get frustrated.

Pay more. Offer smaller class sizes. Less bureaucratic nonsense. People will take the jobs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:$5 million, which is a number that somebody made up on this thread, is 0.19% of the MCPS annual budget. Optimistically, MCPS could hire 50 teachers with $5 million (assuming there are teachers to hire), which would increase the number of teachers in MCPS by 0.4%.

That's not to say it isn't worth doing, or that it wouldn't make a difference for the people immediately affected.

It wouldn't make a system-wide difference, though.

So your argument is basically this - MCPS is a large school system with a ridiculously large budget. So, they should get a pass and be allowed to waste $5,000,000 on useless garbage.

Large budget or not, MCPS wastes a ton of money and nobody is held accountable for that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:$5 million, which is a number that somebody made up on this thread, is 0.19% of the MCPS annual budget. Optimistically, MCPS could hire 50 teachers with $5 million (assuming there are teachers to hire), which would increase the number of teachers in MCPS by 0.4%.

That's not to say it isn't worth doing, or that it wouldn't make a difference for the people immediately affected.

It wouldn't make a system-wide difference, though.

50 special education teachers would be helpful for compensatory services students need after not receiving services during online learning. Start there and add to the $5,000,000.

At the school level, school’s wants to limit a disabled child’s opportunities because there’s a lack of staffing. The needs of students should be driving services but MCPS is so out of whack with compliance that parents are actually told they don’t have the staffing to be compliant.

MCPS needs to either hire more staff or pay for private services. That’s their legal obligation. $5,000,000 would be a start.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$5 million, which is a number that somebody made up on this thread, is 0.19% of the MCPS annual budget. Optimistically, MCPS could hire 50 teachers with $5 million (assuming there are teachers to hire), which would increase the number of teachers in MCPS by 0.4%.

That's not to say it isn't worth doing, or that it wouldn't make a difference for the people immediately affected.

It wouldn't make a system-wide difference, though.

50 special education teachers would be helpful for compensatory services students need after not receiving services during online learning. Start there and add to the $5,000,000.

At the school level, school’s wants to limit a disabled child’s opportunities because there’s a lack of staffing. The needs of students should be driving services but MCPS is so out of whack with compliance that parents are actually told they don’t have the staffing to be compliant.

MCPS needs to either hire more staff or pay for private services. That’s their legal obligation. $5,000,000 would be a start.

If you put them all in elementary schools, that would be one additional teacher per 2.7 elementary schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have to laugh at the name - 2.5 Year Project plan. Looks like Curriculum 2.0. They couldn’t do a 3 year or heaven really far out planning, a 5 year plan?

Perhaps MCPS thinks it will take 2.5 years to find a new Superintendent and therefore this plan will get the boot for the new Superintendent’s agenda. Keep the pendulum that is education in MCPS swinging. The people in Central Office need to justify their big paychecks while students struggle to catch up after online learning. Here’s a thought - hire more teachers and decrease class sizes.

Wonder where they’ll find these extra teachers in the middle of a National teacher shortage and after a year where many existing ones are burnt out? Also wonder where those new classes will go in the buildings that are already overcrowded?(because we know how much MCPS parents love portables).

The crappy Central Office is part of causes teacher burnout, IMO. How many useless trainings can you expect teachers to take? How often can you ‘rework’ the technology and the curriculum before teachers get frustrated.

Pay more. Offer smaller class sizes. Less bureaucratic nonsense. People will take the jobs.

+1 This should be an issue that parents and teachers can unite on. Who ever is chosen for the Apple Ballot at the next election should put more teachers, better pay for teachers, smaller class sizes, and less bureaucratic waste at the top of their agenda.

Downsize Central Office and increase the number of teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$5 million, which is a number that somebody made up on this thread, is 0.19% of the MCPS annual budget. Optimistically, MCPS could hire 50 teachers with $5 million (assuming there are teachers to hire), which would increase the number of teachers in MCPS by 0.4%.

That's not to say it isn't worth doing, or that it wouldn't make a difference for the people immediately affected.

It wouldn't make a system-wide difference, though.

50 special education teachers would be helpful for compensatory services students need after not receiving services during online learning. Start there and add to the $5,000,000.

At the school level, school’s wants to limit a disabled child’s opportunities because there’s a lack of staffing. The needs of students should be driving services but MCPS is so out of whack with compliance that parents are actually told they don’t have the staffing to be compliant.

MCPS needs to either hire more staff or pay for private services. That’s their legal obligation. $5,000,000 would be a start.

If you put them all in elementary schools, that would be one additional teacher per 2.7 elementary schools.

Considering most elementary schools only have one special education teacher, that’s a 100% increase. Huge impact for those schools. Add to the $5,000,000 and the impact will be felt in all elementary schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$5 million, which is a number that somebody made up on this thread, is 0.19% of the MCPS annual budget. Optimistically, MCPS could hire 50 teachers with $5 million (assuming there are teachers to hire), which would increase the number of teachers in MCPS by 0.4%.

That's not to say it isn't worth doing, or that it wouldn't make a difference for the people immediately affected.

It wouldn't make a system-wide difference, though.

50 special education teachers would be helpful for compensatory services students need after not receiving services during online learning. Start there and add to the $5,000,000.

At the school level, school’s wants to limit a disabled child’s opportunities because there’s a lack of staffing. The needs of students should be driving services but MCPS is so out of whack with compliance that parents are actually told they don’t have the staffing to be compliant.

MCPS needs to either hire more staff or pay for private services. That’s their legal obligation. $5,000,000 would be a start.

If you put them all in elementary schools, that would be one additional teacher per 2.7 elementary schools.

Considering most elementary schools only have one special education teacher, that’s a 100% increase. Huge impact for those schools. Add to the $5,000,000 and the impact will be felt in all elementary schools.

Special educators can also have their duty hours divided between schools. 50 extra special educators can be spread over 100 to 150 schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If we want the next generation to make a better country, we need them to learn from the mistakes of the past, including state sponsored, systemic racism.

But, even if they know something about systemic racism, it will not do them or anyone else any good if they can’t articulate what they know, especially in coherent written English, and form persuasive, organized arguments to support their beliefs. Schools should be very focused on training students to understand and make good arguments and much less focused on what to fill those arguments with. Content is important and some examination of what that content is might be helpful, but MCPS isn’t balancing it very well with a strong program in skills development right now.

The students may know systemic racism in the US well but they cannot balance a check book, budget their monthly expanse, find a job that pays rent and meals.

Well, it's still an improvement over when I graduated from high school - I didn't know how to balance a checkbook or budget my monthly expenses, I certainly couldn't find a job that paid rent and meals (I went to college instead), AND I didn't know about systemic racism in the US.

This.

And unless your kid is taking some specialized elective, the only time they even learn about checkbooks is one lesson in seventh grade as part of Finance Park. We should do more financial literacy, but the only way to make it work is to add a fourth required Social Studies course. It ought to be done in 12th grade as many other districts do. Or make NSL 1 semester and do 1 semester of Financial Literacy.