New Blair principal

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How did he get in at Richard Montgomery? What did parents and staff say of his time there?

His time at RM was pre-pandemic. Pre-pandemic experience has not translated well over to post-pandemic MCPS. So I would not weight that time and experience too heavily.

That makes no sense. That’s the period of time where he had responsibility for a large high school. It’s directly relevant. If it wasn’t he shouldn’t have got the job.

Did you read the words that I wrote? Schools, and children, are fundamentally different and changed post-pandemic. This is not something most people knowledgable about the state of public education are debating.

I didn't say it didn't count at all, I merely said I wouldn't weight it "too heavily," since we have seen over the last few years how pre-pandemic experience has NOT translated well in managing and running the post-pandemic MCPS environment.

Useless comment. Go ahead and delete it.


He was involved in multiple lawsuits before the pandemic and accused of bullying and covering up test scores. Then he was in charge during the pandemic and bungled the MCPS response leaving students without instruction for weeks. Poor performance and poor management will show no matter what is going on.

And yet, despite all of that, Chief of Schools Peter Moran and Superintendent Thomas Taylor handpicked him for this position. And the BOE rubber-stamped their choice.

So what does that say about the system?

It says that MCPS was desperate to fill the position, having not filled it when Renay Johnson retired a year ago, and with the end of May 2025 upon us. It says that Taylor was looking to off-ramp Monteleone. It's unlikely Monteleone had his hand voluntarily raised to get the job as Blair principal.

Exactly. Leave a central office job where there is far less accountability and take a principalship instead?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Damon is smart, thoughtful, cares deeply about how kids do in school holistically, not just academically...and he has a very high regard for himself.

I think he's a talented school administrator and also think he's really conceited and this gets in the way of progress sometimes - he can be "my way or the highway."

But I think his experience at RM and at CO will serve him well as principal at Blair and it's a placement that makes a lot of sense to me.

What makes sense to you won't make sense to the Blair Magnet parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Blair is a massive school. I doubt they would pick someone incompetent for the job. That being said, there are slim pickings these days for the principal positions.

There are slim pickings...

There are slim pickings if you only look at internal candidates. MCPS refuses to HS principals from outside of the system.

I thought MCPS opened up an outside-the-system search for Blair candidates.

None of the three open high school principals went to external candidates. They all went to internal Central Office people.

What does that tell you about the MCPS hiring process?

It's connected to the central office restructuring. Former principals were bound to get open principal positions.

So we cycle people in and out of CO, without seeing if outside talent might be found. I don't like the sound of the new Blair principal. And the new Kennedy HS principal has never been a principal, and comes directly from CO mid-management.

Not very inspiring.

The Blair principal position had been posted for more than a year. Ample time and opportunity for outside candidates to apply.

Correct. But they are only hiring internal candidates.

Maybe the external applicants weren't very good.

Two external candidates accepted positions outside of MCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Blair is a massive school. I doubt they would pick someone incompetent for the job. That being said, there are slim pickings these days for the principal positions.

There are slim pickings...

There are slim pickings if you only look at internal candidates. MCPS refuses to HS principals from outside of the system.

I thought MCPS opened up an outside-the-system search for Blair candidates.

None of the three open high school principals went to external candidates. They all went to internal Central Office people.

What does that tell you about the MCPS hiring process?

It's connected to the central office restructuring. Former principals were bound to get open principal positions.

So we cycle people in and out of CO, without seeing if outside talent might be found. I don't like the sound of the new Blair principal. And the new Kennedy HS principal has never been a principal, and comes directly from CO mid-management.

Not very inspiring.

The Blair principal position had been posted for more than a year. Ample time and opportunity for outside candidates to apply.

Correct. But they are only hiring internal candidates.

Maybe the external applicants weren't very good.

Two external candidates accepted positions outside of MCPS.

The PP who pretends there are no qualified external candidates for MCPS principalships has to be a troll. Because there's no way they can be a functional adult and believe that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Blair is a massive school. I doubt they would pick someone incompetent for the job. That being said, there are slim pickings these days for the principal positions.

There are slim pickings...

There are slim pickings if you only look at internal candidates. MCPS refuses to HS principals from outside of the system.

I thought MCPS opened up an outside-the-system search for Blair candidates.

None of the three open high school principals went to external candidates. They all went to internal Central Office people.

What does that tell you about the MCPS hiring process?

It's connected to the central office restructuring. Former principals were bound to get open principal positions.

So we cycle people in and out of CO, without seeing if outside talent might be found. I don't like the sound of the new Blair principal. And the new Kennedy HS principal has never been a principal, and comes directly from CO mid-management.

Not very inspiring.

The Blair principal position had been posted for more than a year. Ample time and opportunity for outside candidates to apply.

Correct. But they are only hiring internal candidates.

Maybe the external applicants weren't very good.

Two external candidates accepted positions outside of MCPS.

Ok?
2 EXTERNAL candidates accepted positions OUTSIDE of MCPS.
What's your point?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Damon is smart, thoughtful, cares deeply about how kids do in school holistically, not just academically...and he has a very high regard for himself.

I think he's a talented school administrator and also think he's really conceited and this gets in the way of progress sometimes - he can be "my way or the highway."

But I think his experience at RM and at CO will serve him well as principal at Blair and it's a placement that makes a lot of sense to me.

What makes sense to you won't make sense to the Blair Magnet parents.

Right, because the entitled helicopter magnet parents don't have the self-awareness to understand why his experience dealing with entitled helicopter IB parents would be helpful.

He has experience running a school that has a school within the school magnet program. That has impacts on student morale, creates a caste system with both students and teachers, and the parents of the non-zoned students feel entitled to take over the school's culture. It can create a lot of conflict and not every principal is capable of dealing with it.

He handled that fairly well at RM so he will be better poised to deal with it at Blair than other potential candidates.

Though if the program analysis takes away the countywide magnets that might not be as much of an issue anymore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Damon is smart, thoughtful, cares deeply about how kids do in school holistically, not just academically...and he has a very high regard for himself.

I think he's a talented school administrator and also think he's really conceited and this gets in the way of progress sometimes - he can be "my way or the highway."

But I think his experience at RM and at CO will serve him well as principal at Blair and it's a placement that makes a lot of sense to me.

What makes sense to you won't make sense to the Blair Magnet parents.

Right, because the entitled helicopter magnet parents don't have the self-awareness to understand why his experience dealing with entitled helicopter IB parents would be helpful.

He has experience running a school that has a school within the school magnet program. That has impacts on student morale, creates a caste system with both students and teachers, and the parents of the non-zoned students feel entitled to take over the school's culture. It can create a lot of conflict and not every principal is capable of dealing with it.

He handled that fairly well at RM so he will be better poised to deal with it at Blair than other potential candidates.

Though if the program analysis takes away the countywide magnets that might not be as much of an issue anymore.

So your position is that the Blair Magnet parents are all "entitled helicopter parents," and that the magnet program creates a caste system. I doubt those "entitled" parents see the magnet program as you do, but reality will reveal itself soon enough.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Blair is a massive school. I doubt they would pick someone incompetent for the job. That being said, there are slim pickings these days for the principal positions.

There are slim pickings...

There are slim pickings if you only look at internal candidates. MCPS refuses to HS principals from outside of the system.

I thought MCPS opened up an outside-the-system search for Blair candidates.

None of the three open high school principals went to external candidates. They all went to internal Central Office people.

What does that tell you about the MCPS hiring process?

It's connected to the central office restructuring. Former principals were bound to get open principal positions.

So we cycle people in and out of CO, without seeing if outside talent might be found. I don't like the sound of the new Blair principal. And the new Kennedy HS principal has never been a principal, and comes directly from CO mid-management.

Not very inspiring.

The Blair principal position had been posted for more than a year. Ample time and opportunity for outside candidates to apply.

Correct. But they are only hiring internal candidates.

Maybe the external applicants weren't very good.

Two external candidates accepted positions outside of MCPS.

Ok?
2 EXTERNAL candidates accepted positions OUTSIDE of MCPS.
What's your point?

The point is no outside candidates were in the running because the 2 who wete initially intereted didn't want the job and looked elsewhere. Posters keep complaining about why the school got an internal candidate as the next principal. Timing is everything - no external candidates to choose from and a reorg that meant former principals needed to be placed. Clear now?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Blair is a massive school. I doubt they would pick someone incompetent for the job. That being said, there are slim pickings these days for the principal positions.

There are slim pickings...

There are slim pickings if you only look at internal candidates. MCPS refuses to HS principals from outside of the system.

I thought MCPS opened up an outside-the-system search for Blair candidates.

None of the three open high school principals went to external candidates. They all went to internal Central Office people.

What does that tell you about the MCPS hiring process?

It's connected to the central office restructuring. Former principals were bound to get open principal positions.

So we cycle people in and out of CO, without seeing if outside talent might be found. I don't like the sound of the new Blair principal. And the new Kennedy HS principal has never been a principal, and comes directly from CO mid-management.

Not very inspiring.

They needed to place people who were being downsized from the CO. This happens in organizations all over, not rocket science.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Blair is a massive school. I doubt they would pick someone incompetent for the job. That being said, there are slim pickings these days for the principal positions.

There are slim pickings...

There are slim pickings if you only look at internal candidates. MCPS refuses to HS principals from outside of the system.

I thought MCPS opened up an outside-the-system search for Blair candidates.

None of the three open high school principals went to external candidates. They all went to internal Central Office people.

What does that tell you about the MCPS hiring process?

It's connected to the central office restructuring. Former principals were bound to get open principal positions.

So we cycle people in and out of CO, without seeing if outside talent might be found. I don't like the sound of the new Blair principal. And the new Kennedy HS principal has never been a principal, and comes directly from CO mid-management.

Not very inspiring.

They needed to place people who were being downsized from the CO. This happens in organizations all over, not rocket science.

Are there still more CO people to be placed? At Wootton and Blake?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Blair is a massive school. I doubt they would pick someone incompetent for the job. That being said, there are slim pickings these days for the principal positions.

There are slim pickings...

There are slim pickings if you only look at internal candidates. MCPS refuses to HS principals from outside of the system.

I thought MCPS opened up an outside-the-system search for Blair candidates.

None of the three open high school principals went to external candidates. They all went to internal Central Office people.

What does that tell you about the MCPS hiring process?

It's connected to the central office restructuring. Former principals were bound to get open principal positions.

So we cycle people in and out of CO, without seeing if outside talent might be found. I don't like the sound of the new Blair principal. And the new Kennedy HS principal has never been a principal, and comes directly from CO mid-management.

Not very inspiring.

They needed to place people who were being downsized from the CO. This happens in organizations all over, not rocket science.

Or MCPS could also have used the CO downsizing to get rid of mediocre performers and bring in fresh blood and talent. Instead, they decided to recycle the same old garbage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Damon is smart, thoughtful, cares deeply about how kids do in school holistically, not just academically...and he has a very high regard for himself.

I think he's a talented school administrator and also think he's really conceited and this gets in the way of progress sometimes - he can be "my way or the highway."

But I think his experience at RM and at CO will serve him well as principal at Blair and it's a placement that makes a lot of sense to me.

What makes sense to you won't make sense to the Blair Magnet parents.

Right, because the entitled helicopter magnet parents don't have the self-awareness to understand why his experience dealing with entitled helicopter IB parents would be helpful.

He has experience running a school that has a school within the school magnet program. That has impacts on student morale, creates a caste system with both students and teachers, and the parents of the non-zoned students feel entitled to take over the school's culture. It can create a lot of conflict and not every principal is capable of dealing with it.

He handled that fairly well at RM so he will be better poised to deal with it at Blair than other potential candidates.

Though if the program analysis takes away the countywide magnets that might not be as much of an issue anymore.

So your position is that the Blair Magnet parents are all "entitled helicopter parents," and that the magnet program creates a caste system. I doubt those "entitled" parents see the magnet program as you do, but reality will reveal itself soon enough.

LOL I am a middle school magnet parent and a product of the Takoma Park/Blair magnet.

It is a caste system and a school within a school. And other magnet parents may not see it that way but it is very clear to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Damon is smart, thoughtful, cares deeply about how kids do in school holistically, not just academically...and he has a very high regard for himself.

I think he's a talented school administrator and also think he's really conceited and this gets in the way of progress sometimes - he can be "my way or the highway."

But I think his experience at RM and at CO will serve him well as principal at Blair and it's a placement that makes a lot of sense to me.

What makes sense to you won't make sense to the Blair Magnet parents.

Right, because the entitled helicopter magnet parents don't have the self-awareness to understand why his experience dealing with entitled helicopter IB parents would be helpful.

He has experience running a school that has a school within the school magnet program. That has impacts on student morale, creates a caste system with both students and teachers, and the parents of the non-zoned students feel entitled to take over the school's culture. It can create a lot of conflict and not every principal is capable of dealing with it.

He handled that fairly well at RM so he will be better poised to deal with it at Blair than other potential candidates.

Though if the program analysis takes away the countywide magnets that might not be as much of an issue anymore.

So your position is that the Blair Magnet parents are all "entitled helicopter parents," and that the magnet program creates a caste system. I doubt those "entitled" parents see the magnet program as you do, but reality will reveal itself soon enough.

LOL I am a middle school magnet parent and a product of the Takoma Park/Blair magnet.

It is a caste system and a school within a school. And other magnet parents may not see it that way but it is very clear to me.

Right. You can benefit from the caste system and still acknowledge that's what it is.

"School within school" models are ways of maintaining more well-resourced families in a school environment they might otherwise flee. The reason for this is to improve the overall academic profile of the school.

To lure those well-resourced families into those environments, principals and system leaders have learned they need to be hyper responsive to demands and asks from those parents or else....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Damon is smart, thoughtful, cares deeply about how kids do in school holistically, not just academically...and he has a very high regard for himself.

I think he's a talented school administrator and also think he's really conceited and this gets in the way of progress sometimes - he can be "my way or the highway."

But I think his experience at RM and at CO will serve him well as principal at Blair and it's a placement that makes a lot of sense to me.

What makes sense to you won't make sense to the Blair Magnet parents.

Right, because the entitled helicopter magnet parents don't have the self-awareness to understand why his experience dealing with entitled helicopter IB parents would be helpful.

He has experience running a school that has a school within the school magnet program. That has impacts on student morale, creates a caste system with both students and teachers, and the parents of the non-zoned students feel entitled to take over the school's culture. It can create a lot of conflict and not every principal is capable of dealing with it.

He handled that fairly well at RM so he will be better poised to deal with it at Blair than other potential candidates.

Though if the program analysis takes away the countywide magnets that might not be as much of an issue anymore.

So your position is that the Blair Magnet parents are all "entitled helicopter parents," and that the magnet program creates a caste system. I doubt those "entitled" parents see the magnet program as you do, but reality will reveal itself soon enough.

LOL I am a middle school magnet parent and a product of the Takoma Park/Blair magnet.

It is a caste system and a school within a school. And other magnet parents may not see it that way but it is very clear to me.

Right. You can benefit from the caste system and still acknowledge that's what it is.

"School within school" models are ways of maintaining more well-resourced families in a school environment they might otherwise flee. The reason for this is to improve the overall academic profile of the school.

To lure those well-resourced families into those environments, principals and system leaders have learned they need to be hyper responsive to demands and asks from those parents or else....

Yes, exactly. Many other school systems do whole school magnets instead of school within school models, but MCPS is too scared to disrupt the 40-year old model of Blair, Takoma Park, and RM. If they actually cared about offering opportunity we'd see more seats available and moves to whole school magnets. Instead, let's create artificial scarcity, dangle the illusion of the potential for a high-level education for gifted kids, and maintain the status quo.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How did he get in at Richard Montgomery? What did parents and staff say of his time there?

His time at RM was pre-pandemic. Pre-pandemic experience has not translated well over to post-pandemic MCPS. So I would not weight that time and experience too heavily.

That makes no sense. That’s the period of time where he had responsibility for a large high school. It’s directly relevant. If it wasn’t he shouldn’t have got the job.

Did you read the words that I wrote? Schools, and children, are fundamentally different and changed post-pandemic. This is not something most people knowledgable about the state of public education are debating.

I didn't say it didn't count at all, I merely said I wouldn't weight it "too heavily," since we have seen over the last few years how pre-pandemic experience has NOT translated well in managing and running the post-pandemic MCPS environment.

Useless comment. Go ahead and delete it.


He was involved in multiple lawsuits before the pandemic and accused of bullying and covering up test scores. Then he was in charge during the pandemic and bungled the MCPS response leaving students without instruction for weeks. Poor performance and poor management will show no matter what is going on.

And yet, despite all of that, Chief of Schools Peter Moran and Superintendent Thomas Taylor handpicked him for this position. And the BOE rubber-stamped their choice.

So what does that say about the system?

It says that MCPS was desperate to fill the position, having not filled it when Renay Johnson retired a year ago, and with the end of May 2025 upon us. It says that Taylor was looking to off-ramp Monteleone. It's unlikely Monteleone had his hand voluntarily raised to get the job as Blair principal.

Exactly. Leave a central office job where there is far less accountability and take a principalship instead?

+1 no one wants to lead Blair; it’s too big. DM picked the short stick and will have to earn his pay again. Nobody feels sorry for him.