Anonymous wrote:MCPS giving teachers money is completely separate from the PTA issue. MCPS should give teachers money, and do give a small amount in ordering, but more would be nice.

However, some of it is the PTA. Our PTA president the past few years did very little nor would let anyone else do anything but a few of her friends. There was a reason why things weren't getting done.

But, the teachers getting gift cards probably didn't get from the PTA but parents. If you have 30 kids giving $20 each, that adds up.

I agree these are separate issues.

5 years ago, I also transferred from a school where the PTA was lavish in funding classrooms to one where little to nothing is done for teachers. I’m not even talking about gift cards (although the first school’s PTA gave about $200 in gift cards to each teacher twice a year*). Nope, there was not so much as a classroom grant if you wanted to do something extraordinary for instruction or as a student incentive. However, the second school is much lower income overall. I’m happy when the money is spent directly on struggling families’ needs like replacing a lost backpack or outgrown coats.


*Allegedly, this was okay because it was as if one family in each of your five classes gave you $20 twice a year.)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS giving teachers money is completely separate from the PTA issue. MCPS should give teachers money, and do give a small amount in ordering, but more would be nice.

However, some of it is the PTA. Our PTA president the past few years did very little nor would let anyone else do anything but a few of her friends. There was a reason why things weren't getting done.

But, the teachers getting gift cards probably didn't get from the PTA but parents. If you have 30 kids giving $20 each, that adds up.

The point is MCPS should prohibit PTA from giving funds to any teachers. If all teachers dont have this access, none should. It's really not difficult to understand that classrooms in Bethesda don't look like classrooms in Gaithersburg. Parents in Bethesda supply teachers with more than they could ever dream of while other schools don't even have basic supplies. Again, MCPS is about equity. We aren't ALLOWED to ask parents to bring supplies, meanwhile, it is encouraged at other schools.

Why don't you figure out a system where everyone gets funds instead of stomping on the teachers that do?

Who is stomping on anyone? I'm more than happy for them. It isn't fair for the rest of the county which is the entire point of this post. No where in these posts did I degrade the teachers who are receiving things. It'd be nice if DCUM people could...read...with comprehension.

You said: The point is MCPS should prohibit PTA from giving funds to any teachers. If all teachers dont have this access, none should
That sure seems like stomping on the teachers that do receive funds.
-np

Pretty sure you lack critical thinking skills.

You keep saying that with nothing to back it up but jabs. I’m happy to rethink if you can provide a thoughtful response beyond “you lack critical thinking skills”. Please enlighten me, because so far your posts don’t make sense and I’m not the only one telling you that.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:With regards to teacher gifts, I give to the teachers who are really great and the amount I give reflects my experience with that teacher. I don’t think it needs to be equitable. I’m sure you see some teachers are far more talented and work far harder than other teachers.
Equity is going to ruin this school system.

The bolded part of your comment interests me. Why do you say that 'equity' is going to ruin the school system? What is your definition of 'equity'? The OP is pointing to the disparities that exist within schools that are in the same school system. She is not talking about giving a gift to someone that you feel is deserving.

Kids don't choose what families to be born into. While a public school cannot solve/address all the issues that students bring with them to school, in a perfect world it would be as even a playing field as possible. Meaning--all schools in a district would have access to quality supplies and resources and it wouldn't depend on whether you lived in a wealthy part of the district or not.

The main goal of a school system is to educate students. MCPS is failing wildly because they are distracted from their mission. Equity is a political issue and out of the scope of the school system. The school system simply can’t do it all.
Schools should not have to be concerned about where supplies are coming from, but that is beside the point and a whole other issue. OP wants to prevent PTAs from finding if it can’t be equal across the board. MCPS is applying that “if one kid can’t have it, no one can” to lower the bar everywhere. It’s not working.

Anonymous wrote:This thread full of out of touch and outraged parents. This is exactly is why we are moving our family to a different county. You all are awful people.

You know, I am not leaving the county, but I agree with you....there are a lot of out of touch people in this county.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our local ES PTA has a sister school that they fundraise for/provides funds to. Instead of trying to discourage parent giving PTA’s that can afford it should work with a sister school.

A teacher not being "allowed" to ask for supplies is a Principal issue.

The PTA Pres at the above school should have their MCCPTA Rep ask for a sister school, who will gladly share supplies, fundraiser for them, etc. Any school can ask for this!

There are MCPS rules (a PTA cannot pay for a new A/C system or assistants in a classroom for example), but you are talking about PTAs. Parents can do just about whatever they want (see turf fields at Sommerset ES, gorgeous grass field taken care of by booster at Churchill).

You clearly have no idea how schools with actual needs work, but thanks for playing. Love that you're just referencing Bethesda schools as a sidenote. This county is: if I don't see it/it doesn't affect me, it couldnt possibly be happening somewhere else. Entitlement at its finest.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS giving teachers money is completely separate from the PTA issue. MCPS should give teachers money, and do give a small amount in ordering, but more would be nice.

However, some of it is the PTA. Our PTA president the past few years did very little nor would let anyone else do anything but a few of her friends. There was a reason why things weren't getting done.

But, the teachers getting gift cards probably didn't get from the PTA but parents. If you have 30 kids giving $20 each, that adds up.

The point is MCPS should prohibit PTA from giving funds to any teachers. If all teachers dont have this access, none should. It's really not difficult to understand that classrooms in Bethesda don't look like classrooms in Gaithersburg. Parents in Bethesda supply teachers with more than they could ever dream of while other schools don't even have basic supplies. Again, MCPS is about equity. We aren't ALLOWED to ask parents to bring supplies, meanwhile, it is encouraged at other schools.

Why don't you figure out a system where everyone gets funds instead of stomping on the teachers that do?

Who is stomping on anyone? I'm more than happy for them. It isn't fair for the rest of the county which is the entire point of this post. No where in these posts did I degrade the teachers who are receiving things. It'd be nice if DCUM people could...read...with comprehension.

You said: The point is MCPS should prohibit PTA from giving funds to any teachers. If all teachers dont have this access, none should
That sure seems like stomping on the teachers that do receive funds.
-np

Pretty sure you lack critical thinking skills.

This thread full of out of touch and outraged parents. This is exactly is why we are moving our family to a different county. You all are awful people.

Anonymous wrote:With regards to teacher gifts, I give to the teachers who are really great and the amount I give reflects my experience with that teacher. I don’t think it needs to be equitable. I’m sure you see some teachers are far more talented and work far harder than other teachers.
Equity is going to ruin this school system.

The bolded part of your comment interests me. Why do you say that 'equity' is going to ruin the school system? What is your definition of 'equity'? The OP is pointing to the disparities that exist within schools that are in the same school system. She is not talking about giving a gift to someone that you feel is deserving.

Kids don't choose what families to be born into. While a public school cannot solve/address all the issues that students bring with them to school, in a perfect world it would be as even a playing field as possible. Meaning--all schools in a district would have access to quality supplies and resources and it wouldn't depend on whether you lived in a wealthy part of the district or not.

Anonymous wrote:Our local ES PTA has a sister school that they fundraise for/provides funds to. Instead of trying to discourage parent giving PTA’s that can afford it should work with a sister school.

A teacher not being "allowed" to ask for supplies is a Principal issue.

The PTA Pres at the above school should have their MCCPTA Rep ask for a sister school, who will gladly share supplies, fundraiser for them, etc. Any school can ask for this!

There are MCPS rules (a PTA cannot pay for a new A/C system or assistants in a classroom for example), but you are talking about PTAs. Parents can do just about whatever they want (see turf fields at Sommerset ES, gorgeous grass field taken care of by booster at Churchill).

You first, OP

I agree with you to some extent but this is the way the world works. If you are a nanny for a wealthy family, you will likely get a more generous Christmas gift (and better pay) than a nanny for a middle class family. The school system should absolutely provide teachers with what they need (including soap and paper towels!), but it’s a bit of a reach to try to micromanage gifts. There is actually a gift limit and I also think everyone working in less wealthy school communities is not unaware of this. I also don’t feel like HS teachers get $1000 Amazon cards, only ES.

It doesn’t make sense to lower the ceiling. Why not raise the floor? Wealthy parents are going to send money and supplies to their kids teachers, and that is fine and normal. Most would also send in extra to share with a lower resourced school. But, I’m not going to be cheap with my donation to my own kid’s school for equity reasons. That is the problem with county-wide schools. In the Northeast, you have smaller town-based schools and they are so much easier to manage. MCPS has too many kids, too many schools, and too many disparate interests. It just doesn’t function well because it is so big.

Anonymous wrote:With regards to teacher gifts, I give to the teachers who are really great and the amount I give reflects my experience with that teacher. I don’t think it needs to be equitable. I’m sure you see some teachers are far more talented and work far harder than other teachers.
Equity is going to ruin this school system.

Yeah, these seem like two very different issues OP is mixing together. One is about coordinated efforts to get teachers (and therefore kids) classroom supplies. The other is a token of appreciation for personal use. Not the same.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS giving teachers money is completely separate from the PTA issue. MCPS should give teachers money, and do give a small amount in ordering, but more would be nice.

However, some of it is the PTA. Our PTA president the past few years did very little nor would let anyone else do anything but a few of her friends. There was a reason why things weren't getting done.

But, the teachers getting gift cards probably didn't get from the PTA but parents. If you have 30 kids giving $20 each, that adds up.

The point is MCPS should prohibit PTA from giving funds to any teachers. If all teachers dont have this access, none should. It's really not difficult to understand that classrooms in Bethesda don't look like classrooms in Gaithersburg. Parents in Bethesda supply teachers with more than they could ever dream of while other schools don't even have basic supplies. Again, MCPS is about equity. We aren't ALLOWED to ask parents to bring supplies, meanwhile, it is encouraged at other schools.

Why don't you figure out a system where everyone gets funds instead of stomping on the teachers that do?

Who is stomping on anyone? I'm more than happy for them. It isn't fair for the rest of the county which is the entire point of this post. No where in these posts did I degrade the teachers who are receiving things. It'd be nice if DCUM people could...read...with comprehension.

You said: The point is MCPS should prohibit PTA from giving funds to any teachers. If all teachers dont have this access, none should
That sure seems like stomping on the teachers that do receive funds.
-np

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS giving teachers money is completely separate from the PTA issue. MCPS should give teachers money, and do give a small amount in ordering, but more would be nice.

However, some of it is the PTA. Our PTA president the past few years did very little nor would let anyone else do anything but a few of her friends. There was a reason why things weren't getting done.

But, the teachers getting gift cards probably didn't get from the PTA but parents. If you have 30 kids giving $20 each, that adds up.

The point is MCPS should prohibit PTA from giving funds to any teachers. If all teachers dont have this access, none should. It's really not difficult to understand that classrooms in Bethesda don't look like classrooms in Gaithersburg. Parents in Bethesda supply teachers with more than they could ever dream of while other schools don't even have basic supplies. Again, MCPS is about equity. We aren't ALLOWED to ask parents to bring supplies, meanwhile, it is encouraged at other schools.

Why don't you figure out a system where everyone gets funds instead of stomping on the teachers that do?

Per usual, a person not listening on DCUM. Some schools are PROHIBITED from asking for supplies. Meanwhile, other schools can. It's an MCPS thing. Maybe listen to the people who are telling you it's a problem before posting because you just look like a fool.

That's a principal issue, not a MCPS issue. Take it up with the principal. We had one like that. I sent stuff anyway.

So edgy.