Anonymous
Post 04/09/2025 14:13     Subject: FARMS & Confidentiality
Anonymous wrote:Regarding the book festival… at our ES, I saw a parent volunteer following a student with a voucher around the space, and every time he would look at a pen or keychain, she would remind him that he needed to purchase a book with the voucher. The thinking behind this is savior-like and passive aggressive, and I am determined to not let this be the policy or practice next year.


I mean, good luck. I have run a book fair for many years and every year when we give out vouchers kids try to use them to buy only pens and erasers and stuff. We created a rule where they can spend $20 but need to buy at least one book. I don’t think doing that is wrong.
Anonymous
Post 04/09/2025 13:43     Subject: FARMS & Confidentiality
Regarding the book festival… at our ES, I saw a parent volunteer following a student with a voucher around the space, and every time he would look at a pen or keychain, she would remind him that he needed to purchase a book with the voucher. The thinking behind this is savior-like and passive aggressive, and I am determined to not let this be the policy or practice next year.
Anonymous
Post 04/09/2025 13:21     Subject: FARMS & Confidentiality
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Who at your ES has access to which families receive FARMS? Admin? Teachers? PTA? Asking because it doesn’t seem very confidential at my school (this is an observation / suspicion, not a substantiated fact), and I am wondering what the protocol is here. Thanks.


Only specific staff should have direct access to this information. However, many can discern it easily from other sources.

For example, if the PTA runs a book fair, admin staff might provide vouchers to children receiving FARMS so they can redeem them for books or other items at the fair. Anybody accepting the voucher immediately knows the child receives FARMS.

Also, children can easily determine another child receives FARMS when they have exactly enough money each day to buy a lunch and breakfast, and never bring one from home. This is because their accounts are loaded to allow a single lunch purchase each day.


The voucher thing really gets me. It might be convenient, but it makes the child stand out unnecessarily. Better to do something more inclusive. Perhaps the voucher could be an e-card with a certain balance…


That is an interesting idea. I'll suggest this next time.
Anonymous
Post 04/09/2025 13:13     Subject: FARMS & Confidentiality
Teachers can look it up if they know how to do baseball card reports in performance matters. I only ever do it for SLO’s.
Anonymous
Post 04/09/2025 12:58     Subject: FARMS & Confidentiality
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Who at your ES has access to which families receive FARMS? Admin? Teachers? PTA? Asking because it doesn’t seem very confidential at my school (this is an observation / suspicion, not a substantiated fact), and I am wondering what the protocol is here. Thanks.


Only specific staff should have direct access to this information. However, many can discern it easily from other sources.

For example, if the PTA runs a book fair, admin staff might provide vouchers to children receiving FARMS so they can redeem them for books or other items at the fair. Anybody accepting the voucher immediately knows the child receives FARMS.

Also, children can easily determine another child receives FARMS when they have exactly enough money each day to buy a lunch and breakfast, and never bring one from home. This is because their accounts are loaded to allow a single lunch purchase each day.


The voucher thing really gets me. It might be convenient, but it makes the child stand out unnecessarily. Better to do something more inclusive. Perhaps the voucher could be an e-card with a certain balance…
Anonymous
Post 04/08/2025 22:29     Subject: FARMS & Confidentiality
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Are you the same poster with your knickers in a pinch because teachers can view grades in classes they don’t teach?

Coming soon…another unsubstantiated lawsuit against MCPS to waste even more tax dollars…


We had a para who looked and gossiped.


Paras don't have accounts in synergy OR mymcps classroom, what are you even saying? FARMS doesn't even show up when we pull demographics for our classes as teachers.


They do in HS in the co-taught classrooms. I don't know about other cases.


You have to be a teacher to get teacher access on synergy. Tell me how a para gets this, because paras and co teachers are not the same.
Anonymous
Post 04/08/2025 22:14     Subject: FARMS & Confidentiality
Anonymous wrote:Who at your ES has access to which families receive FARMS? Admin? Teachers? PTA? Asking because it doesn’t seem very confidential at my school (this is an observation / suspicion, not a substantiated fact), and I am wondering what the protocol is here. Thanks.


Only specific staff should have direct access to this information. However, many can discern it easily from other sources.

For example, if the PTA runs a book fair, admin staff might provide vouchers to children receiving FARMS so they can redeem them for books or other items at the fair. Anybody accepting the voucher immediately knows the child receives FARMS.

Also, children can easily determine another child receives FARMS when they have exactly enough money each day to buy a lunch and breakfast, and never bring one from home. This is because their accounts are loaded to allow a single lunch purchase each day.
Anonymous
Post 04/08/2025 22:06     Subject: FARMS & Confidentiality
I’m at a focus school and that information is in all of our data in google docs and in print-outs with data we analyze at staff meetings. Specific columns of who receives FARMS and who does not.
Anonymous
Post 04/08/2025 21:41     Subject: FARMS & Confidentiality
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Are you the same poster with your knickers in a pinch because teachers can view grades in classes they don’t teach?

Coming soon…another unsubstantiated lawsuit against MCPS to waste even more tax dollars…


We had a para who looked and gossiped.


Paras don't have accounts in synergy OR mymcps classroom, what are you even saying? FARMS doesn't even show up when we pull demographics for our classes as teachers.


They do in HS in the co-taught classrooms. I don't know about other cases.
Anonymous
Post 04/08/2025 21:07     Subject: FARMS & Confidentiality
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Are you the same poster with your knickers in a pinch because teachers can view grades in classes they don’t teach?

Coming soon…another unsubstantiated lawsuit against MCPS to waste even more tax dollars…


We had a para who looked and gossiped.


Paras don't have accounts in synergy OR mymcps classroom, what are you even saying? FARMS doesn't even show up when we pull demographics for our classes as teachers.
Anonymous
Post 04/08/2025 20:29     Subject: FARMS & Confidentiality
Anonymous wrote:Are you the same poster with your knickers in a pinch because teachers can view grades in classes they don’t teach?

Coming soon…another unsubstantiated lawsuit against MCPS to waste even more tax dollars…


We had a para who looked and gossiped.
Anonymous
Post 04/08/2025 17:14     Subject: FARMS & Confidentiality
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Pp again. Our pta funds some things for students (after school clubs, etc) on an as needed/requested basis. So the treasurer will know but we don't share that information among ourselves.


Baloney


NP but this sounds right to me. Our parent group ordered t-shirts for fifth graders. Parents were asked to send in money for their kid's, and those who qualified got theirs for free. I'll bet they got a list from admin.


Not in our case. Our 5th grade had T-shirts too but the way it worked was parents were asked for a donation of a certain amount. The teacher collected the money and gave it to the person handling the order or the treasurer. The PTA made up whatever the shortage was. The donation was not linked to the t-shirt order and no one would have been able to tell whether people didn't donate due to not having money or some other reason. Some parents gave $100 while I'm sure others gave nothing.

It's possible your child's teacher was handling the money and no one else needed to know who paid and who did not.


DP. This sounds right. Teachers collect to give to 5th grade lead buying shirts. counselor in some schools may ask PTA to cover shortage or pta does on own. but pta doesn't get a list of who didn't pay. They may know another way though.
Anonymous
Post 04/07/2025 20:31     Subject: FARMS & Confidentiality
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Pp again. Our pta funds some things for students (after school clubs, etc) on an as needed/requested basis. So the treasurer will know but we don't share that information among ourselves.


Baloney


NP but this sounds right to me. Our parent group ordered t-shirts for fifth graders. Parents were asked to send in money for their kid's, and those who qualified got theirs for free. I'll bet they got a list from admin.


Not in our case. Our 5th grade had T-shirts too but the way it worked was parents were asked for a donation of a certain amount. The teacher collected the money and gave it to the person handling the order or the treasurer. The PTA made up whatever the shortage was. The donation was not linked to the t-shirt order and no one would have been able to tell whether people didn't donate due to not having money or some other reason. Some parents gave $100 while I'm sure others gave nothing.

It's possible your child's teacher was handling the money and no one else needed to know who paid and who did not.
Anonymous
Post 04/07/2025 20:27     Subject: FARMS & Confidentiality
Are you the same poster with your knickers in a pinch because teachers can view grades in classes they don’t teach?

Coming soon…another unsubstantiated lawsuit against MCPS to waste even more tax dollars…
Anonymous
Post 04/07/2025 19:56     Subject: FARMS & Confidentiality
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Pp again. Our pta funds some things for students (after school clubs, etc) on an as needed/requested basis. So the treasurer will know but we don't share that information among ourselves.


Baloney


NP but this sounds right to me. Our parent group ordered t-shirts for fifth graders. Parents were asked to send in money for their kid's, and those who qualified got theirs for free. I'll bet they got a list from admin.