Anonymous
Post 04/09/2025 21:57     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.


Maybe the kid needed pencils.
Anonymous
Post 04/09/2025 21:56     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.


Yes they do. We had a para sub for months after several long term subs. She was one of the best teachers we’d have. Farms can show up as free lunch but now that kids get pins it may not show up.
Anonymous
Post 04/09/2025 21:23     Subject: FARMS & Confidentiality
Anonymous wrote:teachers know which of their students get farms, they can see the demographics of all their students.


How do families posting here not know this?
Anonymous
Post 04/09/2025 21:20     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.


DP. That's terrible. Could it have been done so student doesn't pick out an item or total purchase price that is more than the voucher?
Anonymous
Post 04/09/2025 20:31     Subject: FARMS & Confidentiality
1. Book fair - just don't put out the pens and other crap, only the books. Our ES book lady does this.

2. Past ESPTA President- we never knew who had FARMS. For our ticketed entrance events (and for auctionable items), we gave a roll of tickets to the school counselor who would give out to those who were eligible. No way to know who bought them and who was given them
Anonymous
Post 04/09/2025 15:50     Subject: FARMS & Confidentiality
Anonymous wrote:teachers know which of their students get farms, they can see the demographics of all their students.


where do they see these demographics? it's not in synergy
Anonymous
Post 04/09/2025 15:39     Subject: FARMS & Confidentiality
teachers know which of their students get farms, they can see the demographics of all their students.
Anonymous
Post 04/09/2025 15:01     Subject: FARMS & Confidentiality
There are so many tchotchkes and pens and such for sale… clearly these help to raise funds. Frankly, I wish my own kid (not FARMS) had not come home with all of those bits and bobs, but at the end of the day, it helped to raise funds for the school. They are for sale and should be available to all, voucher or not! It should not be up to the PTA to restrict what certain children can and cannot buy. It reeks of something paternalistic and patronizing.
Anonymous
Post 04/09/2025 14:22     Subject: FARMS & Confidentiality
Anonymous wrote:
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.


Is that the rule for other kids? Because if not it’s pretty hateful.
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…