Anonymous wrote:I do fully admit to not knowing all of the details but let's make sure we are not jumping on a bandwagon for a person who was wrongly accused.

He was acquitted and staff at Ritchie Park said that the whole thing was overblown and fishy. It was also started because the AP called her husband about how to handle it- and he just happened to be a police officer. So many things seem off in this case. It seems like you are trying to drag a person down when it actually might be the county that is at fault.

+1 million

We were at Barnsley when Winter was principal and we thought he did a good job.

The new principal is not great, so be careful what you wish for.

I'm confused about the risk, and the use of resources within a school. The current principal (also new to the school) will now be babysitting. The staff is not going to welcome someone like this with open arms.

If this is only until June, and it's clear he IS being reprimanded by the demotion to assistant principal, WHY does he need to have a job in another elementary school where the population is vulnerable? FWIW, this school has programs for students who are deaf/hard of hearing as well as students with autism. That alone makes it a poor placement choice. Pair that with the fact that it's still in Rockville - like his past two schools - I just don't get it. Let him have a cushy office job for six months. No need to take this risk. (And what kind of person wants this position with all this noise?)

Anonymous wrote:Dr Taylor is doing the same old. He’s failing our kids.

I'm actually really pleased with Dr. Taylor's performance so far. On this matter, I think he is correct to follow standard HR procedures. Dr. McKnight was known for going rogue and directing the HR process to her whims and in order to protect her favored staff. Taylor appears to be willing to let the process move forward and adhere to the outcome, which is what we should all want.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I worked with him in two schools and he was always positive and wanted only the best for kids. While he sometimes confronted teachers about how they were teaching and got pushback he never was sexually inappropriate with anyone. This allegation that is being made is truly unfounded and libel. I was very involved in both schools and there were no reports about that ever made.

He didn’t always handle every situation best but his intentions I believe were always good. There were staff who wanted to be left alone and not consider his feedback and they became very defensive and confrontational.

I think it is sad that someone who went through due process and the courts and was cleared to return isn’t being given a fair chance to do his job that he’s devoted his life to doing.

You were not aware of any reports or inappropriate behavior.

He was the principal at my kids’ school. I heard enough stories from parents I trust that he can be volatile and ill tempered if he feels he isn’t “respected” enough. My spouse and I interacted with him a little and definitely noticed that he was extremely adverse to anyone disagreeing with his views. He also ignored several emails we sent him about concerns we had.

But we also knew people who loved and defended him - because they never had a disagreement with him or kids who were struggling.

I think he should be sent to the central office, maybe admin at a middle school. But he doesn’t have the temperament necessary to deal with any conflict involving younger children.

If that truly went on for years, then you'd expect more evidence than vague and anonymous complaints. And certainly you wouldn't expect the only documented incident to be one where he was cleared of wrongdoing.

You are showing your naivete about MCPS.

1) Not all parents have the energy, courage or competence to go beyond a verbal complaint about their experience. So there isn't a paper trail many times cause parents either swallow it or just pull their kids out of MCPS.

2) Even parents do complain, MCPS will justify and side with the principal. Any complaints that do exist are not made publicly available so parents don't know the extent of complaints about an admin unless it's forcibly made publicly available by the media or a lawsuit.

+1
This is the way of mcps

I am a teacher that worked with Andrew for several years and I am honestly sick of this narrative. Andrew was the one who helped me get out of a school where a principal WAS ACTUALLY a bully, to the point where several teachers left during the school and the end of the year. It's funny to me that that admin has never been investigated.

Is he perfect? No, no one is. But he does care about students and I have seen him go out of his way to plan events and programs to make the school community fun for kids, only to be met with negativity from some staff about why those things couldn't be done. He led his previous school to earning a Maryland Blue Ribbon, again leading his staff to do data analysis and really boost supports for struggling students -- again met with negativity by some staff who did not want to do those things and complained about it every chance they could get. How do I know? I saw it and those who complained were so loud and overbearing that they overpowered those of us who had good experiences with Andrew. Give him a chance before you write him off, sheesh.

Dr Taylor is doing the same old. He’s failing our kids.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I worked with him in two schools and he was always positive and wanted only the best for kids. While he sometimes confronted teachers about how they were teaching and got pushback he never was sexually inappropriate with anyone. This allegation that is being made is truly unfounded and libel. I was very involved in both schools and there were no reports about that ever made.

He didn’t always handle every situation best but his intentions I believe were always good. There were staff who wanted to be left alone and not consider his feedback and they became very defensive and confrontational.

I think it is sad that someone who went through due process and the courts and was cleared to return isn’t being given a fair chance to do his job that he’s devoted his life to doing.

You were not aware of any reports or inappropriate behavior.

He was the principal at my kids’ school. I heard enough stories from parents I trust that he can be volatile and ill tempered if he feels he isn’t “respected” enough. My spouse and I interacted with him a little and definitely noticed that he was extremely adverse to anyone disagreeing with his views. He also ignored several emails we sent him about concerns we had.

But we also knew people who loved and defended him - because they never had a disagreement with him or kids who were struggling.

I think he should be sent to the central office, maybe admin at a middle school. But he doesn’t have the temperament necessary to deal with any conflict involving younger children.

If that truly went on for years, then you'd expect more evidence than vague and anonymous complaints. And certainly you wouldn't expect the only documented incident to be one where he was cleared of wrongdoing.

What evidence would expect to be made publicly available? He could most definitely have performance issues that would be between him and his supervisor/HR. Personnel matters are private. Just because you haven’t heard about anything doesn’t mean something hasn’t happened.

THIS

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Shame on anybody trying to defend the man's behavior, jfc

1000%

+100

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's clear this guy has some defenders on DCUM. Maybe it's himself, maybe it's MCPS trying to do damage control. I suggest those interested in this case read the actual news reports.

News reports aren’t always accurate and I don’t believe Winter has ever commented or shared his thoughts of what happened.

The Judge dismissed this and she’s been on the bench for over 15 years and a Harvard grad too. MCPS says he is cleared to return.

My guess is Winter is not the same after enduring everything that’s happened and he’s going to be the AP not the principal. As a parent at RCV with two young children, I believe he should be allowed to serve as AP.

All the more reason.....

Anonymous wrote:I'm just surprised that MCPS didn't do their usual MO of putting a disgraced admin into a poor school, hoping that parents with more pressing needs won't notice or care.

Boom. Great point. That's yet another common move in the MCPS playbook for handling disgraced or low-performing admin.

He would be a better assistant principal than any of the AP’s at DC’s high school.

Anonymous wrote:Shame on anybody trying to defend the man's behavior, jfc

1000%

I'm just surprised that MCPS didn't do their usual MO of putting a disgraced admin into a poor school, hoping that parents with more pressing needs won't notice or care.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I worked with him in two schools and he was always positive and wanted only the best for kids. While he sometimes confronted teachers about how they were teaching and got pushback he never was sexually inappropriate with anyone. This allegation that is being made is truly unfounded and libel. I was very involved in both schools and there were no reports about that ever made.

He didn’t always handle every situation best but his intentions I believe were always good. There were staff who wanted to be left alone and not consider his feedback and they became very defensive and confrontational.

I think it is sad that someone who went through due process and the courts and was cleared to return isn’t being given a fair chance to do his job that he’s devoted his life to doing.

You were not aware of any reports or inappropriate behavior.

He was the principal at my kids’ school. I heard enough stories from parents I trust that he can be volatile and ill tempered if he feels he isn’t “respected” enough. My spouse and I interacted with him a little and definitely noticed that he was extremely adverse to anyone disagreeing with his views. He also ignored several emails we sent him about concerns we had.

But we also knew people who loved and defended him - because they never had a disagreement with him or kids who were struggling.

I think he should be sent to the central office, maybe admin at a middle school. But he doesn’t have the temperament necessary to deal with any conflict involving younger children.

If that truly went on for years, then you'd expect more evidence than vague and anonymous complaints. And certainly you wouldn't expect the only documented incident to be one where he was cleared of wrongdoing.

You are showing your naivete about MCPS.

1) Not all parents have the energy, courage or competence to go beyond a verbal complaint about their experience. So there isn't a paper trail many times cause parents either swallow it or just pull their kids out of MCPS.

2) Even parents do complain, MCPS will justify and side with the principal. Any complaints that do exist are not made publicly available so parents don't know the extent of complaints about an admin unless it's forcibly made publicly available by the media or a lawsuit.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I worked with him in two schools and he was always positive and wanted only the best for kids. While he sometimes confronted teachers about how they were teaching and got pushback he never was sexually inappropriate with anyone. This allegation that is being made is truly unfounded and libel. I was very involved in both schools and there were no reports about that ever made.

He didn’t always handle every situation best but his intentions I believe were always good. There were staff who wanted to be left alone and not consider his feedback and they became very defensive and confrontational.

I think it is sad that someone who went through due process and the courts and was cleared to return isn’t being given a fair chance to do his job that he’s devoted his life to doing.

Because there are just too many red flags here. And when you’re dealing with a job like an elementary school administrator, you have to err on the side of caution. Like it or not, he’s got baggage that will impact his ability to do his job well. Even you note that he hasn’t handled situations appropriately. There are enough people, staff and parents, that are questioning his performance. It’s a job that requires a greater level of trust than a lot of other positions. MCPS should just put him in a central office position.

But MCPS cares more about the adults than the kids

They care about some adults.

Principals are invincible in MCPS. It is very difficult to hold them accountable.

MCPS demoted him from principal to AP, so it seems they are not invincible.

If it was a teacher, the punishment would have been a lot worse, trust me. But you're right, he got a slap on the wrist.

Demoting someone who's been a principal for 20 years to an assistant principal seems like more than a slap on the wrist.