Or we could stop measuring everyone's worth by their PARCC and SAT scores.

Somewhere I imagine Hispanic parents sitting around asking themselves what's wrong with all these UMC white parents. Why can't they clean their own houses and do their own home renovations? Why do they make their kids spend so much time on travel sports and so little time at church? And when will they learn Spanish already?

Anonymous wrote:Here you go, OP: http://www.saturdayschool.org/teach-or-volunteer/

This is a great resource; also offers AP and SAT/ACT prep., etc.

There really should be more vocational courses offered though. Not everyone wants/needs to go to college to have a stable career (auto mechanic; hair dresser; carpenter; plumber, etc.). But we do need a literate working class in both math and language. Universal pre-K would help lay the foundation. I wouldn't knock basic TV as an educational tool. In some developing countries (and here, in the 70s and 80s) this has been effective. The kids don't have to be driven anywhere to get enrichment. I learned a lot via PBS programming.

But you can't make parents enroll their kids in extra tutoring, even if it's free. So, catching them in the school day with smaller classes and more personalized instruction is the only way to potentially change a student's trajectory.

Anonymous wrote:
The truth is that lots of things are not equal between students in their personal lives. So, it is pointless to say that SES is different because a doctor will earn more than a fast food worker. A military family will see more deployments to war-torn areas than a farmer will. Womb environment, genetics, education, employment, illnesses, brain chemistry, everything makes children different. The entire world and all organisms have different experiences every moment of every day.

So, ignoring the context of the different lives lived by different people, what can MCPS do to educate all children to their potential, need and ambition? Or is it already doing that right now?

I wholeheartedly agree with this. The only way to truly 'level the playing field' would be to institutionalize kids from birth, put them in similar environments and teach them the exact same curriculum, but even then there will be differences; Some people have higher IQs, some people have ADHD, some people can sing and/or dance, and some people are creative writers who can't balance their bank accounts. We really are all different, and I don't think ANY educational establishment can truly educate "all children to their potential, need and ambition" because it really can't customize learning to each and every student. I don't think even the most expensive and well-regarded privates do that, however, with extra money, they could come closer than a public school system.

Anonymous wrote:
The truth is that lots of things are not equal between students in their personal lives. So, it is pointless to say that SES is different because a doctor will earn more than a fast food worker. A military family will see more deployments to war-torn areas than a farmer will. Womb environment, genetics, education, employment, illnesses, brain chemistry, everything makes children different. The entire world and all organisms have different experiences every moment of every day.

So, ignoring the context of the different lives lived by different people, what can MCPS do to educate all children to their potential, need and ambition? Or is it already doing that right now?

It's already doing that now

The only people really complaining about MCPS are middle to high SES folks who are afraid their kids are going to fall through the cracks if the don't get algebra in 6th grade

Here you go, OP: http://www.saturdayschool.org/teach-or-volunteer/

Here's how much the chromebooks cost the county

http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/techproducts/product-list.aspx?id=308478

The truth is that lots of things are not equal between students in their personal lives. So, it is pointless to say that SES is different because a doctor will earn more than a fast food worker. A military family will see more deployments to war-torn areas than a farmer will. Womb environment, genetics, education, employment, illnesses, brain chemistry, everything makes children different. The entire world and all organisms have different experiences every moment of every day.

So, ignoring the context of the different lives lived by different people, what can MCPS do to educate all children to their potential, need and ambition? Or is it already doing that right now?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/montgomery-announces-school-technology-initiative-with-40000-laptops-and-tablets/2014/07/10/3060e1ec-0835-11e4-8a6a-19355c7e870a_story.html?utm_term=.51af893325eb

"Schools officials plan to present the technology project’s details to the Montgomery County Board of Education at its meeting scheduled for Tuesday. A technology purchase contract cannot proceed without board approval."

Anonymous wrote:
I am proposing that the achievement gap exists for each child. The gap is between what the child needs and what MCPS provides. I am proposing that the achievement gap between racial groups is BS. Ask the parents and the kids what they want in their future and then prepare them to reach that future. Everyone does not need Algebra 2 and Calculus. But everyone needs to know how to do their taxes, how to balance their budget, how to save and how to invest their money. So teach them essential skills that will allow them to thrive in the future that they want for themselves.

Hey, that's what my father had in high school in the Midwest in the late 1940s! The kids with the English-language last names got the college-track classes, the boys with the Polish last names got the get-your-hands-dirty vocational classes, the girls with the Polish last names got typing and shorthand.

Let's not do that again.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS has already taken serious steps to address the gap though its implementation of 2.0 and Chromebooks.

2.0 allows teachers the freedom to address the unique learning needs of each and every student

Chromebooks brings the system into the 21st century by ensuring each student has access to online educational tools.

(I understand your frustration. This is an anonymous forum and I vent frequently here. )

What do you think MCPS can do to actually close the achievement gap as it exists now.

I like the idea of trade school very much. I want year round instruction for poor performing students. I want free textbooks for poor students. What can all of us do to fund this? Would everyone be willing to pay $10 annually to fund this?

Do you think that mandatory instruction will make a difference? Do you think students should be held back if they do not get an overall C in core subjects? Do you think if a student is held back for more than two years in a grade, the parents have to pay a fees? Do you think that we need to make sure that all students are legal immigrants in this county, and students who are not legal immigrants need to pay a fee, that will be reimbursed if their immigration status changes?

There are many layers to this. Some are policies of the county, state, nation. Some are things that schools and MCPS can do.

There is plenty of money in the school system, but too much of it gets squandered on admin bloat and perks, along with giveaways to developers.

1. Halt all housing development (as occurred in 2005/2006 following the Clarksburg incidents) until serious measures are taken to bring down class sizes, preferably by having developers directly finance school construction.

2. Purchase textbooks for all grade levels along with accompanying teacher guides and workbooks to standardize learning and ensure important elements (especially handwriting, spelling, and grammar) are not de-emphasized. Go back to traditional methods for teaching mathematics.

3. Let Chromebook contracts expire, get rid of the machines, and go back to computer labs. The money dumped on classroom WiFi is both unproductive and wasteful. Use the money to hire teacher assistants instead, until measures are taken to reduce class sizes.

4. Replace Promethean boards with white boards or chalk boards. Studies have shown that bringing more technology does not improve learning and can prove distracting.

5. Teach organizational skills to students beginning in Kindergarten. Have all teacher ensure that assignments are conveyed to parents using agenda books (this is inconsistent in my school). Make students more accountable for completing work in class and for not turning in homework.

1-4 are county and mcps policy changes.

?? Do you mean county (not MCPS) implemented policies?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let me phrase it differently.

What can we do to mitigate what ever parenting issues we think there exists in these communities? Obviously, every race loves their children and want the best for them. What they think is best for them may not be what we think is best for them. We have to figure out then what is their motivator. Why are we unable to reach them? Do they care about achievement gap or is this our construct. Are we looking at them and saying that this gap exists because we care about this gap, but they don't?

If we assume that all parents want what is best for their children, then should we ask what they think is best for their children? A basic core education is needed for all children to become valuable adult citizens in this country. What are we doing to achieve that?

Why do you think it's a parenting issue?

NP. Why don't you think it's a parenting issue? They control for everything else and the kids in the same classroom are doing better.

They do? They control for parental education, wealth, income, housing stability, food stability, employment stability, parental free time and schedule flexibility, all those things? The only thing that's different between the kids is that some kids have ethnic backgrounds in Europe and Asia, while other kids have ethnic backgrounds in Central/South America and Africa?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MCPS has already taken serious steps to address the gap though its implementation of 2.0 and Chromebooks.

2.0 allows teachers the freedom to address the unique learning needs of each and every student

Chromebooks brings the system into the 21st century by ensuring each student has access to online educational tools.

(I understand your frustration. This is an anonymous forum and I vent frequently here. )

What do you think MCPS can do to actually close the achievement gap as it exists now.

I like the idea of trade school very much. I want year round instruction for poor performing students. I want free textbooks for poor students. What can all of us do to fund this? Would everyone be willing to pay $10 annually to fund this?

Do you think that mandatory instruction will make a difference? Do you think students should be held back if they do not get an overall C in core subjects? Do you think if a student is held back for more than two years in a grade, the parents have to pay a fees? Do you think that we need to make sure that all students are legal immigrants in this county, and students who are not legal immigrants need to pay a fee, that will be reimbursed if their immigration status changes?

There are many layers to this. Some are policies of the county, state, nation. Some are things that schools and MCPS can do.

There is plenty of money in the school system, but too much of it gets squandered on admin bloat and perks, along with giveaways to developers.

1. Halt all housing development (as occurred in 2005/2006 following the Clarksburg incidents) until serious measures are taken to bring down class sizes, preferably by having developers directly finance school construction.

2. Purchase textbooks for all grade levels along with accompanying teacher guides and workbooks to standardize learning and ensure important elements (especially handwriting, spelling, and grammar) are not de-emphasized. Go back to traditional methods for teaching mathematics.

3. Let Chromebook contracts expire, get rid of the machines, and go back to computer labs. The money dumped on classroom WiFi is both unproductive and wasteful. Use the money to hire teacher assistants instead, until measures are taken to reduce class sizes.

4. Replace Promethean boards with white boards or chalk boards. Studies have shown that bringing more technology does not improve learning and can prove distracting.

5. Teach organizational skills to students beginning in Kindergarten. Have all teacher ensure that assignments are conveyed to parents using agenda books (this is inconsistent in my school). Make students more accountable for completing work in class and for not turning in homework.

1-4 are county and mcps policy changes.

Anonymous wrote:
MCPS and the county already does tons to encourage parent involvement and provides a number of practically free enrichment activities. What else do you think MCPS needs to do or better yet, why do you think MCPS needs to do more? At what point do we say, parents need to be accountable and that there's only so much that a system can do.

Yes, MCPS does a lot. However, since whatever MCPS does to bridge the achievement gap, usually becomes a game of smoke and mirrors and does not achieve its ends, I would say MCPS is failing massively.

When MCPS communicates with the parents, it is hard for even highly educated parents to figure out the implications of what they are pushing on us.

Maybe MCPS intentions are good and not racially motivated because there are a lot of URM administrators and decision makes in MCPS, however, MCPS hell is paved with the good intentions of MCPS policy makers. 2.0 being just one example.

I think our first step should be to ask all parents what they want for their children. Not everyone wants their kid to become a doctor or an engineer. We have to raise the floor of our education and we need to make sure that what they learn at school will help them in their adult life. From reading, writing, math, health, nutrition, personal finance to being computer literate.

I am proposing that the achievement gap exists for each child. The gap is between what the child needs and what MCPS provides. I am proposing that the achievement gap between racial groups is BS. Ask the parents and the kids what they want in their future and then prepare them to reach that future. Everyone does not need Algebra 2 and Calculus. But everyone needs to know how to do their taxes, how to balance their budget, how to save and how to invest their money. So teach them essential skills that will allow them to thrive in the future that they want for themselves.

Many MCPS students are functionally illiterate in middle school. After 8 years or more of education in MCPS schools, we cannot keep blaming that the TV was the babysitter in the formative years.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let me phrase it differently.

What can we do to mitigate what ever parenting issues we think there exists in these communities? Obviously, every race loves their children and want the best for them. What they think is best for them may not be what we think is best for them. We have to figure out then what is their motivator. Why are we unable to reach them? Do they care about achievement gap or is this our construct. Are we looking at them and saying that this gap exists because we care about this gap, but they don't?

If we assume that all parents want what is best for their children, then should we ask what they think is best for their children? A basic core education is needed for all children to become valuable adult citizens in this country. What are we doing to achieve that?

Why do you think it's a parenting issue?

NP. Why don't you think it's a parenting issue? They control for everything else and the kids in the same classroom are doing better.

Anonymous wrote:Let me phrase it differently.

What can we do to mitigate what ever parenting issues we think there exists in these communities? Obviously, every race loves their children and want the best for them. What they think is best for them may not be what we think is best for them. We have to figure out then what is their motivator. Why are we unable to reach them? Do they care about achievement gap or is this our construct. Are we looking at them and saying that this gap exists because we care about this gap, but they don't?

If we assume that all parents want what is best for their children, then should we ask what they think is best for their children? A basic core education is needed for all children to become valuable adult citizens in this country. What are we doing to achieve that?

Why do you think it's a parenting issue?