Board of Education meeting Aug 21 2025

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Shouldn't it be a conflict of interest for Karla Silvestre to be evangelizing and pushing dual enrollment during board meetings as she did during the program analysis Q&A, given her role with Montgomery College?

Absolutely! She asks about it at every BOE meeting.

I thought MCPS didn’t provide transportation for classes at MC. So how is that even an option if the whole point of the program study is equity and increased access

The kids take classes at MC fully remote or if there are enough kids, at the high school. This is not a bad thing for a class or two where a kid has an interest but not as a replacement for AP. Colleges don’t respect the dual enrollment as much in admissions, as AP exams are standardized.

[Anonymous]

They need to phase in the region approach at a minimum. Start with Woodward and Crown regions and show some success there. Do this the right way with proper planning and training. Keep the countywide programs. Don’t fix what ain’t broken.

No reason to do all 6 regions at once. These are students and teachers, not a venture cap firm taking over a company. It’s too much and will lead to chaos and be harmful to students’ learning.

There’s such a rush to do this and it will never work like that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They need to phase in the region approach at a minimum. Start with Woodward and Crown regions and show some success there. Do this the right way with proper planning and training. Keep the countywide programs. Don’t fix what ain’t broken.

No reason to do all 6 regions at once. These are students and teachers, not a venture cap firm taking over a company. It’s too much and will lead to chaos and be harmful to students’ learning.

There’s such a rush to do this and it will never work like that.

And no additional busing (Woodward option 3). We can never afford that. Be mindful of those who have recently lost federal or federal adjacent jobs trying to hang on to their homes and can’t afford giant property tax increases. We have to expect less funding from the federal government as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Shouldn't it be a conflict of interest for Karla Silvestre to be evangelizing and pushing dual enrollment during board meetings as she did during the program analysis Q&A, given her role with Montgomery College?

Absolutely! She asks about it at every BOE meeting.

I thought MCPS didn’t provide transportation for classes at MC. So how is that even an option if the whole point of the program study is equity and increased access

The kids take classes at MC fully remote or if there are enough kids, at the high school. This is not a bad thing for a class or two where a kid has an interest but not as a replacement for AP. Colleges don’t respect the dual enrollment as much in admissions, as AP exams are standardized.

Just to add in - a lot of staff at schools where dual enrollment (specifically MC2) is offered do not appreciate professors from MC coming into the building to teach, especially when many of these teachers have the expertise already to teach those classes.

[Anonymous]

DD took a fully remote class from MC in the spring. Couldn’t use the MCPS chrome book so we had to buy a lap top for her. They have loaners at MC but they were all out. Technology was difficult - they had a contractor watch her while taking exams. Really wouldn’t do this again, but good experience so she knows to steer clear of fully remote classes in college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Shouldn't it be a conflict of interest for Karla Silvestre to be evangelizing and pushing dual enrollment during board meetings as she did during the program analysis Q&A, given her role with Montgomery College?

Absolutely! She asks about it at every BOE meeting.

I thought MCPS didn’t provide transportation for classes at MC. So how is that even an option if the whole point of the program study is equity and increased access

The kids take classes at MC fully remote or if there are enough kids, at the high school. This is not a bad thing for a class or two where a kid has an interest but not as a replacement for AP. Colleges don’t respect the dual enrollment as much in admissions, as AP exams are standardized.

Just to add in - a lot of staff at schools where dual enrollment (specifically MC2) is offered do not appreciate professors from MC coming into the building to teach, especially when many of these teachers have the expertise already to teach those classes.

Just curious - do the MC educators have to attend the HS' meetings? Do the MC educators have to substitute teach for other teachers in the building?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They need to phase in the region approach at a minimum. Start with Woodward and Crown regions and show some success there. Do this the right way with proper planning and training. Keep the countywide programs. Don’t fix what ain’t broken.

No reason to do all 6 regions at once. These are students and teachers, not a venture cap firm taking over a company. It’s too much and will lead to chaos and be harmful to students’ learning.

There’s such a rush to do this and it will never work like that.

+1