Bus Fees Bill Dropped

Today, Senator Madaleno (D - District 18) announced his withdrawal of proposed local bill MC 10-11.

http://www.gazette.net/stories/12022010/montnew131723_32547.php

Local Legislation

The Board of Education voted to support three local bills: MC 7-11, 10-11, and 11-11. A public hearing for these bills will be held on December 6th, at 7 PM. It will take place in the 3rd Floor Hearing Room of the Stella Werner Council Office Building, 100 Maryland Avenue in Rockville.


Here's some clarification on these bills:

7-11
This bill would give the Montgomery County SMOB full voting rights (except negative personnel). I want as many students as possible to lobby the General Assembly for the passing of this bill, and to show up at the hearing. This will show that we care, and help us finally achieve (almost) full voting rights!

10-11
This bill would repeal the prohibition on bus fees in Montgomery County. However, there are a few issues regarding this bill that need to be addressed. This bill is NOT instituting bus fees. The Board of Education has NO plans on the table or in the pipeline to institute bus fees. This bill simply puts Montgomery County on level footing with the other counties in Maryland by repealing the prohibition on bus fees. In Maryland, 23 out of 24 counties currently do not prohibit bus fees.

11-11
This bill would create a unified process for the construction, remodeling, and placement of MCPS buildings. It would give only Montgomery County government the authority to issue permits and enforce regulations and codes, benefiting MCPS immensely.


I encourage youth to please come to observe or testify on December 6th! You can sign up here, call 410-841-3010/301-858-3010, or email saha@mlis.state.md.us. Thanks!

Fall Update!

It's been more than a month since my last post, and I apologize for taking so long - it's been a busy couple of weeks!

Here's an idea of what's happened so far:

- On October 6th, the Board of Education met with the MCAAP (Montgomery County Association of Administrators and Principals) and discussed several issues, including the change to state law regarding evaluation systems and the FY 2012 budget.

- On October 6th, I also met with the MCJC Executive Board and discussed the MCAAP meeting. On the 7th, I met with the MCR Executive Board.

- The Board of Education met on October 12th. At this meeting, we approved the Comprehensive Master Plan and discussed Wellness in MCPS, specifically the 12-week health and fitness competition called MCPS on the Move, a program between MCPS and Kaiser Permanente. We also discussed the nutrition of school lunches.

- The Board of Education's 14th Annual Distinguished Service to Education Awards Ceremony was held on October 21st. Congratulations to all of our amazing recipients! They have truly made outstanding contributions to public education and children in Montgomery County.

- The Board of Education held another meeting on October 25th. During this meeting, we took action on the sale of the former site of Robert E. Peary HS. In addition, staff updated the Board on a pilot program: Student Instructional Program Planning and Implementation (SIPPI).

- On October 27th, the Board of Education met with MCCPTA (Montgomery County COuncil of Parent Teacher Associations) leadership and discussed community engagement and communication.

- On October 13th and 28th, the Board of Education held two Community Roundtable events. They were a huge success!

- On October 29th, I attended the MCJC General Assembly at Eastern MS. It was a pleasure to return to my old middle school and talk to students from around the county, and I enjoyed the experience very much. I also attended the MCR General Assembly at Blair HS on November 4th. On November 8th I attended the MCJC Executive Board meeting, and on the 9th I attended the MCR Executive Board meeting.

- The Board of Education met on November 9th and voted on the 2011-2012 school calendar and approved several pilot courses. In addition, staff updated the Board on the K-12 Mathematics Work Group. Finally, the Board of Education voted on its Legislative Platform. We voted unanimously to support SMOB voting rights, and the Board also voted to support MC 7-11, the local bill sponsored by Delegates Kaiser and Hucker that would give the SMOB full voting rights (except negative personnel).

- On November 10th, I attended a meeting with the Montgomery County Commission on Children and Youth. This meeting was an open forum discussion among youth about stress, with many adults acting as observers. The event was a huge success and I encourage youth to attend next year.

- The Board of Education held two Facilities Hearings on November 10th and 11th, and the community came out in full force to provide testimony. Decisions on boundaries were made on November 18th. A short summary can be found here.

- On November 16th, the Policy Committee held its first meeting of the year. We discussed Policy IED, regarding Framework and Structure of High School Education. In addition, we discussed Policy JEE, regarding Student Transfers.

- The Board of Education also met with the Montgomery County Delegation on November 16th. Though some legislators were unable to attend, the meeting was still very important. The Board discussed Maintenance of Effort, the budget, and local bills that it endorsed (MC 10-11 and MC 11-11).

- I met with the SMOB Council for the second time on November 17th. At this meeting, we planned outreach with high school newspapers and testimony for educational legislation such as SMOB voting rights.


That's all for now!

SMOB Town Hall

Hello everyone!
I'm pleased to announce that I will be holding a county-wide student Town Hall at Richard Montgomery High School on Monday, October 18th, from 6 PM to 8 PM. This event will be a way for students around the county to express their concerns and opinions in an open forum, and allow them to communicate with the SMOB and understand the work that is being done.

The SMOB Council will be working diligently to plan this event, and we hope to see a diverse group of people from across the board. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone there!

Please spread the word about this!

SMOB Council Information

The SMOB Council decisions have been made! Due to privacy concerns, specific names will not be posted on the blog - instead, email notifications have been sent. There were a lot of good applicants, so congratulations to everyone on making it! Our first meeting will be on Monday, October 4th at the Carver Educational Services Center in Rockville, from 6-8 PM. I'm looking forward to meeting everyone and working with all of you over the course of this year.

Hopefully, we'll get the Tumblr, Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook more active within the next few months!

Apply for the Domestic Violence Coordinating Council!

Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett is seeking student applicants to fill a vacancy on the Domestic Violence Coordinating Council. This student member will serve a one-year term, which may be renewed for one additional year. The student should be a high school junior or senior when initially appointed, and should attend a public or private school in the County. This student serves without compensation, but is eligible for reimbursement for travel and dependent care for meetings attended. Meetings are held six times per year the second Thursday of every other month at 5:30 p.m. in the Family Justice Center building at 600 Jefferson Street in Rockville.

Applicants of diverse backgrounds, professions, gender, geography, disability and ethnicity are encouraged to apply. An application, consisting of a brief cover letter and resume, should be sent by mail to County Executive Isiah Leggett, 101 Monroe Street, 2nd Floor, Rockville, MD  20850, or by email to countyexecutive.boards@montgomerycountymd.gov. Home and employment addresses, as well as contact phone numbers and email addresses should be included. If appropriate, applicants should indicate the position for which they are applying. The deadline for application is October 8, 2010.

More information is available at: http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/apps/exec/vacancies/PR_details.asp?PrID=6919

APs

For all students taking AP tests: starting in May 2011 (this school year), all tests will no longer have a guessing penalty. According to the College Board, "Total scores on the multiple-choice section will be based on the number of questions answered correctly. Points will no longer be deducted for incorrect answers and, as always, no points will be awarded for unanswered questions." To read the entire statement or view revised grading curves for past released exams, click here.

The reasoning behind this change and possible effects are still unknown. Yet this change poses several questions. Do the new changes in AP scoring actually disadvantage certain groups at the expense of others? Also, should blind guessing be allowed on exams that measure content mastery (as opposed to skill mastery)?

Elections

Students are the largest stakeholders in the educational system, and we, the undersigned student leaders of Montgomery County, would like to release a statement on behalf of the students regarding the upcoming elections. Approximately one in every five people in Montgomery County is a school-aged child - almost 20% of this county’s demographics. Yet we students have had historically minimal representation in the political process when compared to other groups of smaller size and scope. Although society places an incredible emphasis on education, it paradoxically overlooks the youth population during the political process. This ends now.

MCPS is home to more than 142,000 students. As student leaders, we will act in the best interests of each one of these students in order to promote the welfare of our school system as a whole. We have carefully analyzed the decisions and policies of our elected officials, and have a thorough understanding of which candidates have contributed significant legislation to education. This past year has been fiscally challenging for the school system, and we hope that during this next year and the ones that follow, we will be able to maintain the world-class quality of education within MCPS. Although we will not officially endorse specific candidates in any race, these elections will have a significant impact on our education for years to come. We are paying close attention to the races and are extremely sensitive to the current political climate.

In the spirit of increasing political advocacy, we are also encouraging all eligible students in Montgomery County to register to vote in the coming months. Through collaboration with local student leaders we hope to coordinate an early voter registration drive in schools at the beginning of the school year.

We applaud the students of Montgomery County for their advocacy and encourage them to continue promoting student involvement in important issues. This election is an important step towards a new future for education and student empowerment; we are proud to be taking that step together, as a community, as a county, and as students of MCPS.

Mr. Alan Xie
Student Member, Board of Education

Mr. Daniel Arias 
President, Montgomery County Region

Summer 2010

Hello, everyone! It's the last week of summer, and school's about to start. Here's a brief update on what's happened since school ended:

• Stephen N. Abrams, a three-term Board of Education member, passed away on August 1st. His passion for education has created a lasting impact on MCPS, and he will be commemorated by the Board of Education at their next meeting, on August 26th. I offer my deepest sympathies to Mr. Abrams’ wife, family, and friends. 

• Dr. Jerry Weast, superintendent of MCPS, has announced that he will retire at the end of his current contract, on June 30th, 2011. Dr. Weast has made remarkable achievements during his tenure, and is the second-longest serving superintendent in MCPS history. To read his memorandum to the Board of Education regarding this, click here.

• Maryland is among ten winners in Phase 2 of the "Race to the Top" education grant initiative, winning $250 million in federal grants. The other winners are D.C., Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, and Rhode Island. The two Phase 1 winners were Delaware and Tennessee. 

• Last week, I attended New Board Member Orientation at MABE (the Maryland Association of Boards of Education). I met almost all of the other SMOBs/SROBs from other counties in Maryland, as well as the state SMOB. We hope to achieve a lot this year through our continued collaboration.

• With the arrival of school also comes the fall elections. Youth are playing a larger role in today's politics, and I encourage all eligible youth to register to vote and participate in the political process.

There's still time to apply for the SMOB Council! Once again, detailed descriptions of each staff's responsibilities are here, and the application is here.

Good luck to everyone with their new school year! I hope to see as many students as possible this year during school visits, SGA events, and the like.

SMOB Council Applications!

In continuing Tim's SMOB 2.0 legacy, I present: the SMOB Council Applications for the 2010-2011 school year.

Interested in student advocacy, leadership, politics, or playing a role in the decision making process of your education? Apply to join the SMOB Council!

Detailed descriptions of each staff's responsibilities are here.
To apply, click here.

All applicants will be contacted for phone interviews. Applications close Saturday, September 11th at 11:59:59 PM.

I appreciate everyone's commitment and dedication to our mutual cause, and hope to have a successful year working with the Council!