Anonymous
01/17/2026 11:12
Subject: Principal Harold Barber
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:He accepted a position at a DC elementary and has now reneged on that offer.
Glad to see MCPS are trying to retain their good employees.
I work at JLES and I am just hearing of this.... I am not sure that I would agree with your statement in this situation.
Anonymous
12/03/2025 10:45
Subject: Principal Harold Barber
I’m going to add a bit of reality here: Dr. Barber doesn’t speak Spanish, or at least he has never spoken Spanish with the parents at JoAnn Leleck. And honestly, families have felt very disconnected from the school’s work because, in recent years, the culture at JLES has not fostered real community connection... which is especially striking for a community school
Anonymous
06/07/2020 20:11
Subject: Re:Principal Harold Barber
Make up your own mind based on your experience!
Anonymous
06/07/2020 12:22
Subject: Principal Harold Barber
Anonymous wrote:I just read his profile and he sounds amazing: Spanish speaker, master’s in Special Ed, went through Edison because he valued having a trade although he knew he was college-bound.
What about that resume tells you that he would be a good Principal?
How many years did he teach? How much leadership experience does he have? Have prior staff found him to be a good leader?
Anonymous
06/07/2020 09:29
Subject: Principal Harold Barber
A couple of reasons. Minority admin may often be promoted very quickly when they are young. Some of them need more seasoning to relate to older staff or other stakeholders in the building that often don’t get enough credit. They are often placed in more struggling schools where the teachers are more stressed out, and that can affect ratings. The principal work very hard to keep parents happy, but sometimes that is not well balanced with keeping staff concerns met. A lot of the admin’s attention is now focused on difficult situations. Everyone’s hands are tied dealing with discipline. Teachers have no where to turn to voice their frustrations except reviews of admin.
Anonymous
06/07/2020 07:14
Subject: Principal Harold Barber
Anonymous wrote:In MCPS, white teachers generally give black principals low ratings when it comes to staff climate surveys. It's been an issue in our county for quite some time and we are trying to address this matter. Thank you for asking.
Perhaps the black principals are not doing a good job