Anonymous wrote:How is this legal????
https://www.whitmanfoundation.org/

This makes me furious. These are PUBLIC schools! My elementary, middle, and high schools in MCPS don't have access to these resources. I mean, I knew the deck was stacked against us, but not by this much.

We are also hardworking. We are also taxpayers. But our families don't come from money, so we can't afford to buy into these districts that are dominated by $1million+ SFHs.

The extent of which the wealthy think they 100% deserve what they have makes me furious. They only see that they're giving their children the best-- not that in by doing so they're depriving other children of opportunities.

What happened to our sense of community? Everyone is just out for what they can grab for themselves.

But, how are they depriving other kids of opportunities? They are not providing those opportunities, but they are not actually putting up roadblocks to others accessing them. There will always been people with easier access to things than you. That is just life. But we are not talking about things that are fundamentally scarce. School supplies are plentiful and available as are career day events or Halloween parties if you bother to plan them. Limiting someone else’s ability to have these things makes no sense because they are not in limited supply.

News flash. Life isn’t fair. Sorry. It’s never going to be. And the more we push the narrative, the more the people in the middle are going to vote in their own best interest to stop their money from helping everyone poorer than them. Wake up. This isn’t where to focus your energy.

also!
https://www.ghsef.org/contact-ghsef/

Also this!
https://www.mbhsmagnet.org/

WTF is this, too???

https://www.bccedfoundation.org/

How is this legal????
https://www.whitmanfoundation.org/

This makes me furious. These are PUBLIC schools! My elementary, middle, and high schools in MCPS don't have access to these resources. I mean, I knew the deck was stacked against us, but not by this much.

We are also hardworking. We are also taxpayers. But our families don't come from money, so we can't afford to buy into these districts that are dominated by $1million+ SFHs.

The extent of which the wealthy think they 100% deserve what they have makes me furious. They only see that they're giving their children the best-- not that in by doing so they're depriving other children of opportunities.

What happened to our sense of community? Everyone is just out for what they can grab for themselves.

There is no such thing as equity. No one should be trying to achieve it. It does not exist. In this case, the schools should treat everyone fairly. PTA is extra. It will vary wildly but that is life. If you stopped all PTA help -- rich schools would fine another way or people would put kids in privates making public schools only for poor kids which is not helpful either.

Life is not equal. Nor should it be.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think teachers should pay anything out-of-pocket for supplies or class materials. I think it’s a shame that the county doesn’t provide a stipend for every single classroom teacher.

However I don’t think PTA should be limited or capped If they want to reimburse teachers for bells and whistles. Our school pta adopted A less fortunate school and we fund raise and give them supplies. It’s telling that the original author only cares about this now that her school does not have the resources or strong pta.

Our Principal told us that MCPS DOES pay for all supplies and class materials that are part of the curriculum. It's all the extra after-school or special programs that they don't. That's where the inequity comes in. Don't be fooled in thinking that the experience at all schools is the same. I would be okay with this fact if any MCPS kid is allowed to attend any school but they can't, and the reality is school boundaries are highly segregated by SES.

If you walked into a classroom that just had the basic supplies, no classroom library, nothing else I'm sure you would be pissed off. There's always some smart-ass who claims they are okay with the bare minimum but most are not

Engaged and resourceful teachers create good classroom environments. It is fully independent of socio-economic status.

Anonymous wrote:The National PTA clarifies that the PTA is NOT there to bridge gaps in funding. It is there to advocate for all children.

We need to fund our schools properly and challenge the culture of high budget PTAs.

https://www.pta.org/home/run-your-pta/one-voice-blog/Is-Your-PTA-an-ATM-for-Your-School

Former PTA president at a non-w ES that has high parental involvement and raises a good amount of money where we can give each teacher/grade level stipends for supplies, field trips, etc. But there were definitely times where I was asked by our principal if PTA could cover expenses (and provide volunteer labor) for things that should have been provided by MCPS (i.e. paper towels, hand sanitizer, landscaping). The fact is, when the PTA has the money, it's easier to ask them than to deal with MCPS. If she asked PTA, it will be done. But PTAs should push back and instead of just giving the money, they need to go to bat with MCPS and make them provide needed supplies to all schools. That's the vision of the PTA and why we have the organization at the county, state and national level, not just at the school level.

But here's the thing, we're all busy professionals who are not paid to do this. And in schools like mine, it's easier to just give the money/supplies to our own schools to make sure the kids have what they need and the teachers are happy so that we can keep good teachers. So we do that because it's quicker and easier and our kids are happy. Should we be doing more to make sure that all schools have what they need and all is equal? Probably. But running a PTA takes A LOT of time. A LOT. And no one is paying us. So we do what we can and you can only do so much. If MCPS wants it to be equal, MCPS needs to step up and make it happen. But I'm telling you, the richer schools will always have more. Because you can put as many rules and restrictions on them as you want---they aren't going to listen. Because, frankly, what are the consequences.

I’m not sure why this is a PTA issue. At our prior ES, our teachers would create Amazon lists and the room parents would send via email supply lists and the parents would buy everything and then some for classroom supplies.

Sounds like a great opportunity for you to start a fundraiser and maybe publicize this issue.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think teachers should pay anything out-of-pocket for supplies or class materials. I think it’s a shame that the county doesn’t provide a stipend for every single classroom teacher.

However I don’t think PTA should be limited or capped If they want to reimburse teachers for bells and whistles. Our school pta adopted A less fortunate school and we fund raise and give them supplies. It’s telling that the original author only cares about this now that her school does not have the resources or strong pta.

Our Principal told us that MCPS DOES pay for all supplies and class materials that are part of the curriculum. It's all the extra after-school or special programs that they don't. That's where the inequity comes in. Don't be fooled in thinking that the experience at all schools is the same. I would be okay with this fact if any MCPS kid is allowed to attend any school but they can't, and the reality is school boundaries are highly segregated by SES.

We're at a focus school with around 35% FARMS, but the email from the teacher said kids didn't need supplies since they had it covered.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think teachers should pay anything out-of-pocket for supplies or class materials. I think it’s a shame that the county doesn’t provide a stipend for every single classroom teacher.

However I don’t think PTA should be limited or capped If they want to reimburse teachers for bells and whistles. Our school pta adopted A less fortunate school and we fund raise and give them supplies. It’s telling that the original author only cares about this now that her school does not have the resources or strong pta.

Our Principal told us that MCPS DOES pay for all supplies and class materials that are part of the curriculum. It's all the extra after-school or special programs that they don't. That's where the inequity comes in. Don't be fooled in thinking that the experience at all schools is the same. I would be okay with this fact if any MCPS kid is allowed to attend any school but they can't, and the reality is school boundaries are highly segregated by SES.

If you walked into a classroom that just had the basic supplies, no classroom library, nothing else I'm sure you would be pissed off. There's always some smart-ass who claims they are okay with the bare minimum but most are not

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PTA President here at a middle school with a FARMS rate of over 55% and parent engagement is very little (despite the PTA trying). We have a small budget, are overworked (all officers have full-time jobs), and we have a small membership. Two miles away is another MS which has an entirely opposite profile- teachers have a $150 stipend, PTA budget over $25K, totally engaged parent community with a lot of volunteers. It's the classic story of the Haves vs the Have-Nots. I would love to see a PTA organization at a pre-defined regional level where a good amount of the funds raised are split evenly across the schools within the same region. Notice I didn't say cluster level since even amongst the clusters, SES can still be very segregated.

I think if you want everything to be equal then that should be the county’s job and not PTA’s. What would be the role of a PTA?

As I suggested, the MCCPTA (county level) can rethink how PTAs are organized today. The role of the PTA is to support their schools which is absolutely still needed. The issue is, because of the way our school assignments are done, some schools don't have that support system at all. Do you know that some schools don't even have a PTA?

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think teachers should pay anything out-of-pocket for supplies or class materials. I think it’s a shame that the county doesn’t provide a stipend for every single classroom teacher.

However I don’t think PTA should be limited or capped If they want to reimburse teachers for bells and whistles. Our school pta adopted A less fortunate school and we fund raise and give them supplies. It’s telling that the original author only cares about this now that her school does not have the resources or strong pta.

Our Principal told us that MCPS DOES pay for all supplies and class materials that are part of the curriculum. It's all the extra after-school or special programs that they don't. That's where the inequity comes in. Don't be fooled in thinking that the experience at all schools is the same. I would be okay with this fact if any MCPS kid is allowed to attend any school but they can't, and the reality is school boundaries are highly segregated by SES.