Board of Education Meeting Recap - October 27, 2020

by David King

On Tuesday, October 27th, the Board met briefly to discuss the current state of virtual learning, including the unveiling of MAP Testing data, a revamping of the Wednesday schedule for elementary schoolers, and metrics for reopening, as well as approval of a proposal regarding the MCPS anti-racism audit.

Public Comments

Seventeen people testified to the Board this week, largely playing along three themes: a return to in-person instruction, the alleged dangers of WiFi radiation, and grading reform as it pertains to student mental health. 

Eight parents and one student all testified about their problems with virtual learning. In scathing reviews of the ways that this model has failed them and their families, they condemned the failure of MCPS to create a safe plan for reopening. Many argued that other school districts are proving the risks associated with reopening are vastly overblown, and there was sharp criticism of the power of the teacher’s union preventing MCPS from reopening at all this semester.

Four people, including middle school students Elena Katzin and Hannah Solomon, testified on the risks of WiFi radiation and expressed their beliefs that it can cause cancer. Citing the workings of insurance companies and resolutions passed in Europe, they noted their fear for the safety of all MCPS-affiliated persons but especially teachers and early learners who they perceived as the most vulnerable subjects. They demanded that MCPS stop distributing WiFi and immediately roll out hard-wired ethernet cables to all 160,000 students and 20,000 staff that the school system encompasses.

Two students, Dana Graham of Montgomery Blair and David King of Walter Johnson, spoke about their concerns with the grading system and the impact it was having on student mental health. They spoke of exhaustion and frustration navigating intense workloads with unresponsive teachers, and called upon MCPS to seek out an alternative system for measuring academic performance. Superintendent Jack Smith confirmed that MCPS is doing an analysis of interim and first quarter grades to determine what, if any, steps are necessary. Finally, Byron Johns and Diego Uriburu, co-founders of the Black and Brown Coalition, talked about the disparities in Montgomery County that already existed but have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and called for black and brown communities to be given access to accelerated learning opportunities.

For more information on public testimony, go to:

https://go.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=BQEMEY596143

Opening Schools in Recovery of Education: Student Progress - Update

MCPS unveiled for the first time data from last month’s MAP testing, centering around three focus groups - students in the 3rd, 6th and 9th grades. MCPS displayed all data using a tri-point method: this year’s scores were compared to their fall counterparts in 2018 and 2019. Additionally, data were described as the percentage of students meeting the 50th percentile of scores nationwide - though this year’s scores were not measured against other 2020 scores but rather what appears to have been a compiled average. As could be expected, 3rd and 6th graders both saw large drop-offs in MAP-M (mathematics) scores - about five and three percentage points from 2019, respectively. Surprisingly, both saw only a slight drop in MAP-R (reading) scores from 2019, a small enough change that it could be attributed to a statistical anomaly.

The truly damning data, though, came from the 9th grade students. The percentage of students meeting the national 50th percentile in math decreased from 63.4% in 2019 to 46.3% in 2020, and that same number in reading dropped from 73.6% to 53.2%. An absolutely shocking and catastrophic plummet in reading and mathematical proficiency, these data shocked many Board members who immediately asked for an explanation into why they looked like this. Superintendent Smith reminded the Board that MAP tests are not traditionally given to 9th grade students, which means that these same tests were being measured against the 8th grade counterparts of these students instead of historical 9th grade data. Dr. Smith suggested that the county re-investigate the data, specifically measuring the scores of eighth grade students who took the MAP tests against the scores that these same students obtained in ninth grade. He suggested that this would do one of two things - normalize the data to more acceptable numbers, or reaffirm that 9th graders have actually lost vast amounts of learning during the pandemic.

Later, Sarah Sirgo (Director of Learning, Achievement and Administration), Janet Wilson (Associate Superintendent, Office of Shared Accountability), and Brenda Lewis (Director, Department of Elementary Curriculum and Districtwide Programs) presented a proposal to the Board to modify the use of Wednesdays in elementary schools. Originally, Wednesday mornings had been a full block of structured instruction. However, as parents have complained about excessive screentime and teachers have begged for more planning time, the Superintendent’s Office proposed a change to this plan. Approved by the Board (though not by any official vote, merely through general consent), this plan now modifies Wednesday mornings to include a block of “teacher directed learning experiences” meant to generally pull from already-existing lessons like Khan Academy and YouTube videos and a block of independent teacher planning time. Afternoons are still spent in student support and “specials” like art and music. This proposal should come into action at the start of the second quarter.

At the end, the Board spoke briefly about a possible return to in-person instruction. Though concrete steps will not be rolled out until the Board’s work session on November 6th and subsequent business meeting on November 10th, they did discuss metrics - revolving around fewer than 5 in 100,000 new cases in Montgomery County’s 14-day rolling average - and precautions to be taken in order to safely reopen. In addition, Jeff Sullivan (Director of Athletics) says that although the state permitted in person practice to begin as soon as December 7th, MCPS is still studying how to safely construct protocols for our own unique situation as one of the largest and most COVID-dense counties in the state. In all, MCPS is slowly developing plans to potentially re-open in person if the metrics allow, but this prospect seems a distant possibility rather than a concrete, impending reality.

For more information, go to:

https://go.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=BQEMEY596143

New Business: Anti-Racism Audit Proposal

In the hopes of tying up a loose end of the MCPS Anti-Racism audit that relates specifically to images and symbols, Jeanette Dixon (at-large) put forward a policy to have the Superintendent revise Board Policy ACA (non-discrimination, equity, and cultural proficiency) and all other related policies, regulations, and handboosk to incorporate the prohibition of images and symbols that may be reasonably perceived to promote hatred, intimidation, or harassment. These recommendations will be delivered by MCPS to the Policy Management Committee by the end of December and to the whole Board by February 2nd, 2021. Patricia O’Neill (District 3) amended the policy to say that a message should be developed and sent out to the students immediately communicating how inappropriate these symbols are. The policy passed unanimously.

For more information, go to:

https://go.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=BQEMEY596143

Election

On November 3rd, 2020, three seats are up for election on the Board - District 2 (Rebecca Smondrowski), District 4 (President Shebra Evans), and At-Large (Jeanette Dixon). Smondrowski is running for re-election, challenged by Michael Fryar. Shebra Evans, the Board’s incumbent President, is challenged by Steve Solomon. Jeanette Dixon is not running for re-election; the two candidates for her seat are Lynne Harris and Sunil Dasgupta. Early voting is open now at select sites across the county. Alternatively, voters can come in-person on November 3rd or vote either by mailing in their ballots or placing them in dropboxes. For more information, go to vote.org.

The Board will conduct their next business meeting on Tuesday, November 10th. Signups for public testimony will open on Wednesday, November 4th at 9am and run through noon on Friday, October 23rd.