Sue Katz Miller: Seven Resolutions

Sue Katz Miller's article from one year ago is important reading TODAY! Her seven suggested resolutions should be required reading for our current (and future) Board of Education! Read the whole article HERE.

School Scene: Better Schools, in a Bad Budget
By blogpop on January 13, 2010 4:07 PM
Seven Resolutions for the New Decade

by Sue Katz Miller

The end of a decade provides a crucial opportunity to "stop and think," in the immortal words of one school anti-bullying program. Every year at this time, Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) Superintendent Jerry Weast asks for half of the county budget for our schools. This year, huge shortfalls are predicted in the wake of the recession, and Weast has, as he does each year, threatened painful cuts designed to stimulate parent demands for full funding of his proposed schools budget.

But some of us have lost patience with what appears to be emotional manipulation in order to fund a budget heavy on central office expenses. In addition to the new decade, we have substantive reasons to step back now and take a look at where our schools are heading.

Read the whole article HERE.

(p.s. This year Jerry Weast is asking for 62.3% of the county budget!)

Community Forum: Selecting a New Superintendent

Montgomery County Civic Federation
Panel Discussion: Choosing a New Superintendent

PANELISTS
- Lyda Astrove, Special Education Advocate
- Emily Barton, Executive Director, Teach for America, DC Region
- Phil Kauffman, Board of Education, member of the BOE ad hoc group, Superintendent Search Process
- Neal McLuskey, Associate Director, Center for Educational Freedom, Cato Institute
- Fred Stichnoth, President, Gifted and Talented Association of Montgomery County



TIME: 7:45 pm
DATE: Monday, December 13, 2010
LOCATION: 1st FL Auditorium, County Council Office Building 100 Maryland Ave., Rockville, Maryland



Directions: http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/csltmpl.asp?url=/content/council/dir.asp

COB parking garage at traffic light at E. Jefferson Street (Route 28 East) and Monroe Street intersection (paid visitor parking available on first level).

Seneca Creek Charter School

Read about plans for the Seneca Creek Charter School HERE.

From their website:

Seneca Creek Charter School is applying to become a K-8 public charter school in upper Montgomery County, MD, with a focus on natural sciences, community-based studies, and outdoor education.

Our research-based EIC Model™ Curriculum (Using the Environment as an Integrating Context) will enable us to:

Encourage children to make discoveries for themselves (inquiry-based learning) and solve problems creatively
Offer integrated-interdisciplinary instruction that breaks down traditional barriers between disciplines
Use learner-centered approaches adapted to the needs and unique abilities of individual students
Structure the school day with plenty of daily outdoor time - incorporating the natural world into each discipline
Connect children with their community through service learning opportunities, and field trips
Offer small class sizes, which will allow for more tailored instruction.

VOTE FOR KAREN SMITH for BOARD OF EDUCATION

Many, many folks have been phoning and emailing, asking me who to vote for in Tuesday's general election.

I wholeheartedly support KAREN SMITH for Board of Education.

Here's her website: http://www.karensmith4boe.org

Don't forget: the general election is TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 2!

Ten Thousand Thank Yous!

Although the "Campaign for Board of Education" is over, the campaign for fiscal responsibility, accountabilty, and a continuum of services in MCPS endures! I want to thank all ten thousand of you who voted for me!
Special thanks to the dedicated pollworkers, flyer distributors, sign displayers, folks who donated money, and everyone who called to offer encouragement and support. We went from zero to ten thousand votes in a short period of time, and while it didn't carry the day, I think we brought some visibility to our issues. Now let's take that energy and collectively move forward on the things that we think are important: restoring a full continuum of special education programs and services, ensuring that MCPS deals fairly and forthrightly with the community, and prioritizing school and child-centered services over administrative overhead.
Shout-out to the Young Activist Club at Piney Branch ES: don't be discouraged! Keep up the good work, and let us all know how we can help you in your continued advocacy to help our environment with your Dishwasher project.
Gratefully,
Lyda Astrove

Takoma Voice: My Dream Superintendent

From the online Takoma Voice: School Scene, by Sue Katz Miller, September 9, 2010:

My Dream Superintendent: Top Ten Qualities

What should the search process look like? What kind of Superintendent are we seeking? These two questions are closely linked. The biggest frustration many parents have with MCPS is the lack of two-way communication. So we need to seek out a Superintendent who is going to restore parents to their role as full partners in education, dismantle the fortress that surrounds the inner-workings of the Rockville bureaucracy, release data to the public, and recognize that the Board of Education is elected to represent the taxpayers in a system of checks and balances.

Read more of Sue Katz Miller's column by clicking HERE.

Sue Katz Miller's ideal superintendent is one who will collaborate with the community, be responsive and transparent, and who will recognize that the "one size fits all" classroom doesn't really fit all. Let's work together to find this superintendent in an open, public process.

Approve the Dishwasher Pilot Project! UPDATE!

Below is my article written on July 17, urging that the Dishwasher Pilot Project be approved. I've been wondering why the incumbent in my race opposes the Dishwasher Pilot Project, and now I know why. In a questionnaire, Ms. Brandman made the following statement: "Despite several attempts, however, we have not been able to reach a meeting of the minds on the actual costs and risks associated with their plan to install a used dishwasher. I am simply not willing to take a risk that children could be harmed."

Personally, I've had a used dishwasher in my house for 10 years now, and no children or adults have been harmed by using it. The statement of Ms. Brandman, above, is an insult to the Young Activist Club and their sponsors, and shows us to what abusurdities the incumbent will go to maintain the status quo. I reiterate my support for the Dishwasher Pilot Project, and think that the Board of Education should be encouraging innovative ideas like this one.


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Youngsters today are definitely more aware of environmental issues than their parents and grandparents before them, who may have only hazy memories of the very first Earth Day in 1970. How many of us have had our kids remind us to recycle a can or turn out the lights when leaving a room?
The Piney Branch Elementary School Young Activist Club is taking environmental advocacy to a whole new level. With assistance and support from their local community, they have raised funds for a pilot project at their school to eliminate the use of polystryene meal trays, and replace that use with a dishwasher and reusable trays.
The current Board of Education continues to refuse to allow this pilot project to go forward. Why? The Young Activist Club and their advisors have addressed every possible concern, raised the money, and are ready to move forward.
If elected, the young environmentalists at Piney Branch Elementary School have my vote to approve the dishwasher pilot project. It's just the right thing to do.