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.

Anonymous wrote:I'm sorry..I just came from a school where the PTA gives teachers $250 at the beginning of the year for supplies...to a school where teachers are given nothing. For a school system that is all about "equity" this is not fair. There also needs to be enforced limits on Christmas gifts, etc. I know there is a cap per parent but there are parents who just throw as much as they can into the "class" gift. I was talking to new colleagues about this- they get nothing on Christmas, and I had former teammates who received over 1k in Amazon Gift Cards for Christmas. MCPS should just give teachers $200 across the board for the beginning of the year and not allow PTA to intervene. Not all PTAs are created equal. This is absolutely not fair.

Anonymous wrote:Teachers need all the help they can get. I would love to find a way to add to the deficient PTA resources rather than cap what PTAs/parents can give even further.

Anonymous wrote:

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.

+1 ours too in MoCo and I bought this was county-wide.

There aren't enough big sisters to have little sisters. You can't have an ever farms school PTA supporting a farms PTA.

Anonymous wrote:

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:This sounds like if you can't have it then nobody should be able to have it. Lame.

Anonymous wrote:

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: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.

+1 ours too in MoCo and I bought this was county-wide.

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.

Anonymous wrote:

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.