Reply to New curriculum selection process delayed

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Reply to "New curriculum selection process delayed— new RFP must be issues now"

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[quote=Anonymous]Here’s what the President of MCEA sent out today:

Dear Colleagues,
 
Last night, the MCPS Board of Education acted to halt the current process of purchasing a new curriculum for the 2018-2019 school year.  This action resulted following concerns that one of the vendors submitting a proposal for curriculum had extended offers of employment to two employees in the Office of the Chief Academic Officer.  While unclear when the offers were made and their resultant impact on the process, at the advice of the Superintendent of Schools, the Board of Education withdrew the Request for Proposals (RFP) for a new curriculum.
 
As educators, we have consistently communicated to our school system leadership the need for a new curriculum.  Nevertheless, last year the system commissioned a curriculum audit at a cost of $446,000.  The contract for that study was awarded to Johns Hopkins University, under the direction of Dr. David Steiner.  Following the contract being awarded, Dr. Steiner was appointed to the State Board of Education by Governor Hogan, a seat which he held when presenting the findings of the audit to the MCPS Board of Education in March of this year.
 
Based on the audit, the Board of Education approved the RFP for the purchase of a new curriculum.  This RFP was published on April 13, 2018 and closed on May 11, 2018.  This past week, a team of educators from schools and central office started to review the proposals, with the intent of choosing a few vendors who would then present their products to a larger group of educators, parents and community members next week.  The review was interrupted, and no finalists will be selected at this juncture.
 
We have been clear that we need a new curriculum and have expressed the need for proper professional development prior to implementation.  Many of us as educators had expressed an excitement and desire to begin implementing a new and better curriculum this fall.  We also expressed a desire to have ample professional development prior to the beginning of school, so that we could be prepared to meet the needs of the young scholars before us.
 
That’s why this news is challenging for so many of us, because we will not have a new curriculum in the fall of 2018.  We understand the school system plans to publish a new RFP in the months ahead and look forward to working together in a deliberate process to review and select curriculum, plan appropriate professional development, and provide support to educators.  In this new window, we have an opportunity to slow down our thinking and collaboratively develop a process and plan that will lead to success.  Be sure to talk with your building rep about what professional development you need in order to be successful with your young scholars.
 
As more information becomes available, I’ll provide additional updates.  Thank you for your work with children in the sunset of this school year.  Once again, we have demonstrated to a community our commitment and dedication to the hearts, souls, and minds of its most precious citizens.
 
Christopher Lloyd, NBCT
Loving Husband
President, MCEA[/quote]

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