Jennifer Gonzalez (Cult of Pedagogy) wrote a great takedown article about The Leader in Me. Aside from the 50K price tag, here is some of what she wrote:
“Some see the program as culturally biased. We are implementing it in incredibly culturally diverse schools largely without regard to the fact that these concepts and this language will run contrary to the backgrounds of many of the students. A student from a tribal culture may generally be uncomfortable with the concept of ‘leading’ in the western sense of the word, and is it our job to try to make them comfortable with it?...The question of efficacy. Another objection is the lack of third-party research about the program’s effectiveness. The results of this program have never been tested and proven scientifically...Finally, some concern has surfaced that the program has religious roots. Without a doubt it is an indoctrination of our children with Stephen Covey’s Mormon faith teachings. While the habits seem innocuous by themselves, when you start studying Covey’s work you find the deep religious aspect hidden in the habits.”

Link to full article: https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/problems-with-leader-in-me/

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would even support giving classroom teachers, para educators, special educators, school psychologists, and school counselors pay raises. These are the positions that are hard to fill right now because MCPS underpays the staff that impact students the most to save high paying nonsense positions in Central Office.

The SEL program that MCPS has paid a private contractor for is crap. Save money and end the bs.

+1

Pay raises for staff working with children would also help with improving staff morale. With inflation and housing costs going up in Montgomery County, paychecks aren’t going as far as they used to. Many teachers are priced out of living in Montgomery County. Why work someplace you can’t afford to live?

I am curious, how has MCPS addressed the stress of the switch to and from online learning as well as the stress of going back to in person learning during a pandemic? Has there been any support, guidance, or counseling for staff that are no longer working from home?

You need a healthy and happy staff before the SEL of students can take place. It’s like the aviation saying, “put on your oxygen mask before helping your child.”

Anonymous wrote:I would even support giving classroom teachers, para educators, special educators, school psychologists, and school counselors pay raises. These are the positions that are hard to fill right now because MCPS underpays the staff that impact students the most to save high paying nonsense positions in Central Office.

The SEL program that MCPS has paid a private contractor for is crap. Save money and end the bs.

+1

I would even support giving classroom teachers, para educators, special educators, school psychologists, and school counselors pay raises. These are the positions that are hard to fill right now because MCPS underpays the staff that impact students the most to save high paying nonsense positions in Central Office.

The SEL program that MCPS has paid a private contractor for is crap. Save money and end the bs.

[twitter]

Anonymous wrote:Why not share the SEL videos with parents? Let them know what is the new focus of MCPS.

I personally think if the teachers are not buying into the importance of the training then it is a lot of wasted time and money that could be put to better use like hiring more school psychologists, counselors, and teachers. Smaller class sizes and caseloads would directly benefit student learning.

Agreed

We see this all the time with MCPS. Hard not to be cynical.

What benefits students? Smaller class sizes. More teachers, counselors.

What do we get? Crappy, expensive nonsense and useless initiatives like this.

I am wondering if there’s more discord with the training and the vision from Central Office is a reflection of a workplace that has been online for over a year. There’s something about meeting face to face that opens up discussion and understanding. I have seen a rise in unprofessional behavior at the school level that I have never seen at in person meetings before. It’s easier to blow off training when your boss isn’t sitting next to you. It’s easy to gripe on an anonymous forum than provide constructive criticism in person.

Why not share the SEL videos with parents? Let them know what is the new focus of MCPS.

I personally think if the teachers are not buying into the importance of the training then it is a lot of wasted time and money that could be put to better use like hiring more school psychologists, counselors, and teachers. Smaller class sizes and caseloads would directly benefit student learning.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
This is a different poster. That person has a very distinct and hard-to-follow writing style. Anyway, I’m neither of those posters and also am appalled by many of the things happening in MCPS. I’m sure there are people with all different perspectives on various issues.

And this is a NP as well..

+1. I'm all for firing the current Central Office and Superintendent of Schools staff and replacing them with a team of promoted, dedicated teachers who care about providing services to the children. Perhaps even talking to parents versus "pat on the back" studies commissioned for way too much money. Transparency - that would be nice too.

Agreed

Anonymous wrote:
This is a different poster. That person has a very distinct and hard-to-follow writing style. Anyway, I’m neither of those posters and also am appalled by many of the things happening in MCPS. I’m sure there are people with all different perspectives on various issues.

And this is a NP as well..

+1. I'm all for firing the current Central Office and Superintendent of Schools staff and replacing them with a team of promoted, dedicated teachers who care about providing services to the children. Perhaps even talking to parents versus "pat on the back" studies commissioned for way too much money. Transparency - that would be nice too.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have to wake up tomorrow for this bs. Not part of my contract. Nope,not learning anything new...guaranteed. Such a waste of time.

Such a defeatist attitude. Of course it won't work for you.

Not sure if you’re being facetious or serious. Either way, the training is lame and doesn’t benefit anyone.

How do teachers feel when students express that attitude?

I prefer that my students speak up when they fail to understand the relevance of a lesson. That’s how I get better. Either I need to teach better, or shift my focus. I don’t want to teach robots.

So why don’t the teachers speak up who are taking the training? Aren’t they an MCPS stakeholder? Doesn’t MCPS take surveys after training to get data if teachers think the training is helpful?

I am concerned that there is such a disconnect from Central Office and the staff that work with children. Ultimately, any program MCPS wants to implement will fail if the teachers don’t buy in to the importance of the program. Be Well 365 seems like the predecessor that fell flat.

Just saying that SEL is important to MCPS and doing teacher training doesn’t get SEL implemented in the classroom.

There was a very short survey at the end of each of the three days of training. HOWEVER, the brief survey was specifically for Franklin Covey and NOT MCPS.
In all other trainings (Benchmark & Eureka) there is always someone from MCPS who is available to answer questions. There were no MCPS reps for the Leader In Me training. The Franklin Covey facilitators made it clear that they weren’t able to answer any questions about MCPS, how this program would be implemented in MCPS, etc. MCPS hasn’t communicated ANYTHING to staff about how this program will be implemented. Administrators don’t know any more than teachers. There were admin in my sessions and they were vocal about their concerns with this program. We spent the first two days learning about the 7 habits of highly effective people. There were several videos viewed. One in particular featured an African American 12th grade boy who was struggling in school and reading on a 9th grade level. Had there been any other videos featuring people of color, this would not have stood out. However, the only video with people of color was full of implicit bias and racial stereotypes. This sparked heated discussions in the session. MCPS approved this program. Why? Providing staff with trauma based training and support would have been much more useful. There were other options available with regards to selecting an SEL curriculum. This was an awful choice.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

A random anonymous post here isn’t going to achieve that.

However, MCPS has been doing enough to undermine parent trust for the past several years. Any parent paying attention knows that Central Office is a joke and MCPS is a mess - poor leadership, no accountability.

You want to rebuild trust in parents and teachers? This SEL curriculum ain’t it.

You don't speak for me.

-MCPS parent

Then you haven’t been paying attention. As a parent, if you trust MCPS, you must be actively ignoring the crap MCPS pulls on a regular basis.

Sexual abuse issues for students at various schools and on school buses. Crappy Curriculum 2.0. Abysmal test scores. Insane staffing issues - reassigning the DUI lady being assigned as Principal at a MS.

MCPS is a disaster. The teachers who do well, do so in spite of MCPS Central Office nonsense. Not because of any support from MCPS.

Sigh..you're back? We all know you were fired-can you not get a new job? We ALL wish you would.

This is a different poster. That person has a very distinct and hard-to-follow writing style. Anyway, I’m neither of those posters and also am appalled by many of the things happening in MCPS. I’m sure there are people with all different perspectives on various issues.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

A random anonymous post here isn’t going to achieve that.

However, MCPS has been doing enough to undermine parent trust for the past several years. Any parent paying attention knows that Central Office is a joke and MCPS is a mess - poor leadership, no accountability.

You want to rebuild trust in parents and teachers? This SEL curriculum ain’t it.

You don't speak for me.

-MCPS parent

Then you haven’t been paying attention. As a parent, if you trust MCPS, you must be actively ignoring the crap MCPS pulls on a regular basis.

Sexual abuse issues for students at various schools and on school buses. Crappy Curriculum 2.0. Abysmal test scores. Insane staffing issues - reassigning the DUI lady being assigned as Principal at a MS.

MCPS is a disaster. The teachers who do well, do so in spite of MCPS Central Office nonsense. Not because of any support from MCPS.

Sigh..you're back? We all know you were fired-can you not get a new job? We ALL wish you would.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

A random anonymous post here isn’t going to achieve that.

However, MCPS has been doing enough to undermine parent trust for the past several years. Any parent paying attention knows that Central Office is a joke and MCPS is a mess - poor leadership, no accountability.

You want to rebuild trust in parents and teachers? This SEL curriculum ain’t it.

You don't speak for me.

-MCPS parent

Then you haven’t been paying attention. As a parent, if you trust MCPS, you must be actively ignoring the crap MCPS pulls on a regular basis.

Sexual abuse issues for students at various schools and on school buses. Crappy Curriculum 2.0. Abysmal test scores. Insane staffing issues - reassigning the DUI lady being assigned as Principal at a MS.

MCPS is a disaster. The teachers who do well, do so in spite of MCPS Central Office nonsense. Not because of any support from MCPS.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

A random anonymous post here isn’t going to achieve that.

However, MCPS has been doing enough to undermine parent trust for the past several years. Any parent paying attention knows that Central Office is a joke and MCPS is a mess - poor leadership, no accountability.

You want to rebuild trust in parents and teachers? This SEL curriculum ain’t it.

You don't speak for me.

-MCPS parent

We know. You won't shut up about it.

Anonymous wrote:

A random anonymous post here isn’t going to achieve that.

However, MCPS has been doing enough to undermine parent trust for the past several years. Any parent paying attention knows that Central Office is a joke and MCPS is a mess - poor leadership, no accountability.

You want to rebuild trust in parents and teachers? This SEL curriculum ain’t it.

You don't speak for me.

-MCPS parent