Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

It doesn’t look like a private school if it’s just more MCPS administrators (many many administrators!) getting paid from public funds with no accountability.
Should this not be a nonprofit?
If it was a great thing I would think that the Gates foundation would already have sent over a large contribution. But instead they are just taking public money meant for MCPS on the sly and not having any accountability for the ‘product’. Sounds like an entitlement program for county administrators and free babysitting for some county residents.

It is a non-profit. Specifically, a 501(c)(3).

Then why our MCPS school funds funding it in part?

Being a non-profit doesn't mean you don't charge for services. It just means that the money from those charges goes back into the program.

MCPS pays for services from plenty of non-profits. They bring in Red Cross staff members to do CPR/First Aid. They pay the non-profit that runs the place where they have Outdoor Ed. They pay DAR for the use of Constitution Hall for graduation. They pay the Council for Exceptional Children for PD for their special education staff. I could go on.

So, the fact that MCPS pays a nonprofit for a service designed to help kids and close the achievement gap is not weird at all. It is a little weird that they're paying the salary directly, rather than paying the organization to use the money as they see fit.

Its goal or motto is: "Working to close the achievement gap in Montgomery County"

The Saturday School provides help to MCPS students who need help at a HUGE discount. In our area of Bethesda/Potomac and Chevy Chase people just hire tutors and it's no big deal. But if you are not wealthy and you know your child needs extra help what do you do? This is why Saturday School exists. Most of the students tend to be URMs from Title I or Focus schools but since it's advertised generally at those schools they get students of all backgrounds.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a friend in Rockville who is a single mom, and she swears by Saturday school (can't afford private tutors), that her kids got the help they need (currently HS and MS), at a price she could afford.

That's great! And good anecdotal evidence that Saturday School is a booming success. It must be doing pretty well if it's been continuing on for all these years, unquestioned. If MCPS is going to continue to pay for Private Saturday School, there should be some evidence that it is a successful program.

Also, it is possible that the parents who choose to send their kids to Saturday School are more invested in their kids' education in general. Maybe these kids would have done well if there were smaller class sizes and more resources in their public schools.

Instead of paying a completely separate private business to run a Saturday Tutoring service, maybe MCPS could use those funds to support the schools that it is already in charge of.

+1

MCPS is incredibly inefficient and corrupt.[b] With all of the money they receive they should be able to find two whole school systems but instead they fritter a ton of money away.

I'm pretty sure most parents and teachers will agree with you on that. Especially recently after the Curriculum Fiasco, plus the horrible way they have handled sexual predators over the past decade. MCPS is a model of inefficiency and corruption.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a friend in Rockville who is a single mom, and she swears by Saturday school (can't afford private tutors), that her kids got the help they need (currently HS and MS), at a price she could afford.

That's great! And good anecdotal evidence that Saturday School is a booming success. It must be doing pretty well if it's been continuing on for all these years, unquestioned. If MCPS is going to continue to pay for Private Saturday School, there should be some evidence that it is a successful program.

Also, it is possible that the parents who choose to send their kids to Saturday School are more invested in their kids' education in general. Maybe these kids would have done well if there were smaller class sizes and more resources in their public schools.

Instead of paying a completely separate private business to run a Saturday Tutoring service, maybe MCPS could use those funds to support the schools that it is already in charge of.

+1

MCPS is incredibly inefficient and corrupt. With all of the money they receive they should be able to find two whole school systems but instead they fritter a ton of money away.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

It doesn’t look like a private school if it’s just more MCPS administrators (many many administrators!) getting paid from public funds with no accountability.
Should this not be a nonprofit?
If it was a great thing I would think that the Gates foundation would already have sent over a large contribution. But instead they are just taking public money meant for MCPS on the sly and not having any accountability for the ‘product’. Sounds like an entitlement program for county administrators and free babysitting for some county residents.

It is a non-profit. Specifically, a 501(c)(3).

Then why our MCPS school funds funding it in part?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a friend in Rockville who is a single mom, and she swears by Saturday school (can't afford private tutors), that her kids got the help they need (currently HS and MS), at a price she could afford.

That's great! And good anecdotal evidence that Saturday School is a booming success. It must be doing pretty well if it's been continuing on for all these years, unquestioned. If MCPS is going to continue to pay for Private Saturday School, there should be some evidence that it is a successful program.

Also, it is possible that the parents who choose to send their kids to Saturday School are more invested in their kids' education in general. Maybe these kids would have done well if there were smaller class sizes and more resources in their public schools.

Instead of paying a completely separate private business to run a Saturday Tutoring service, maybe MCPS could use those funds to support the schools that it is already in charge of.

+1

The last report on their website says that 28% of their funding comes from MCPS. For $626,000.

http://www.saturdayschool.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Annual-Report-2015-Final.pdf

Also, there are no reports for after 2015. How much money has MCPS been providing for the past 2 years? I'd like to know. YMMV

Anonymous wrote:I have a friend in Rockville who is a single mom, and she swears by Saturday school (can't afford private tutors), that her kids got the help they need (currently HS and MS), at a price she could afford.

That's great! And good anecdotal evidence that Saturday School is a booming success. It must be doing pretty well if it's been continuing on for all these years, unquestioned. If MCPS is going to continue to pay for Private Saturday School, there should be some evidence that it is a successful program.

Also, it is possible that the parents who choose to send their kids to Saturday School are more invested in their kids' education in general. Maybe these kids would have done well if there were smaller class sizes and more resources in their public schools.

Instead of paying a completely separate private business to run a Saturday Tutoring service, maybe MCPS could use those funds to support the schools that it is already in charge of.

Anonymous wrote:^^^^this is classic "Parents' Coalition" style. It's why I wouldn't believe them if they told me it was raining.

I have no idea what the Parents Coalition is, but either way this thread raises some good questions.

Why is MCPS using funds to pay the salary of a private non-profit. Does MCPS have oversight over the program in question?

Anonymous wrote:After reading this thread, I learned a few facts: 1. The Saturday School is NOT a part of MCPS, 2. The Saturday School’s serives area includes PG county. 3. The funding sources of the Saturday School are diverse but include MCPS and MC.
The key question is : why MCPS is paying the salary of its Executive Director? Is she a MCPS employee currently?
It appears that the Saturday School has been successful in seriving the communities but its successes should not prohibit county residents asking question about its relationship with MCPS.

What PG County service area is included? The Saturday School takes place in MCPS schools with MCPS teachers.

Anonymous wrote:

It doesn’t look like a private school if it’s just more MCPS administrators (many many administrators!) getting paid from public funds with no accountability.
Should this not be a nonprofit?
If it was a great thing I would think that the Gates foundation would already have sent over a large contribution. But instead they are just taking public money meant for MCPS on the sly and not having any accountability for the ‘product’. Sounds like an entitlement program for county administrators and free babysitting for some county residents.

It is a non-profit. Specifically, a 501(c)(3).

Anonymous wrote:^^^^this is classic "Parents' Coalition" style. It's why I wouldn't believe them if they told me it was raining.

Living in ignorance is better, yes.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a friend in Rockville who is a single mom, and she swears by Saturday school (can't afford private tutors), that her kids got the help they need (currently HS and MS), at a price she could afford.

Why don't they get the education they need in MCPS?

Good question!

Why are kids not getting a the education they need in MCPS? Why is it that MCPS has to pay private schools to help kids fill in the gaps?

It doesn’t look like a private school if it’s just more MCPS administrators (many many administrators!) getting paid from public funds with no accountability.
Should this not be a nonprofit?
If it was a great thing I would think that the Gates foundation would already have sent over a large contribution. But instead they are just taking public money meant for MCPS on the sly and not having any accountability for the ‘product’. Sounds like an entitlement program for county administrators and free babysitting for some county residents.

Anonymous wrote:^^^^this is classic "Parents' Coalition" style. It's why I wouldn't believe them if they told me it was raining.

^^^not the RICA post immediately above; the ones before that