Montgomery County Schools Superintendent Joshua Starr
A year after taking the helm of Montgomery County Public Schools, Superintendent Josh Starr talks about deciphering new report cards, boosting teachers' pay, interpreting standardized tests and dealing with passionate parents in one of the nation's top-performing school districts.
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Joshua Starr, head of public schools in Montgomery County, Md., criticized the "apparent national obsession" with standardized testing. Starr said standardized tests are an overly simplistic measure, and that schools need to emphasize creativity, problem solving and effective communication. "I am concerned that there are those out there who believe [standardized tests] are equivalent to a profit and loss statement," Starr said. He added that the county's new curriculum will help reconcile the academic achievement gap.
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Please take a look at the viral petition on starting high schools later in Mont. Co. and ask Dr. Starr about this important public health issue. In many school districts it has not cost more, or adversley affected after school jobs or activities. It can be a very cost effective way to close the achievement gap. Low income kids benefit the most from less sleep deprivation! Go to signon.org and search for "starting montgomery county later." Mandi Mader, LCSW-W, Founder of Mont. Co. Start School Later
There is a lot of talk about going “deep” instead of “fast” in math in the new curriculum. However, our 3rd grade daughter is trapped in math that she mastered several years ago. C2.0 has no pre-tests that would allow a child to show that they have completely mastered a concept. Math at school offers my daughter nothing, except the opportunity to teach other children who learn more slowly than her.
C2.0 does not allow the most accelerated learners to learn at their natural pace. We believe in public education, but we must consider other options for our children until MCPS realizes they are destroying what used to be a great school system.
The new report card offers a lot of useless information. I want to know what my child learned and how she performed on work that was challenging to her—I do not need to know whether she is proficient in elaboration “on grade level” when she started above grade level at the beginning of the year!
There is a lot of consern among parents in my school regarding curriculum 2.0, mainly due to lack of proper advancement. What is the plan to accomodatede needs of the children that were identified as Gifted in elementary school?
Curriculum 2.0 might benefit our children if sufficient resources were used to properly train and support teachers as they implement it throughout the county. Unfortunately that's not the case. It might also benefit our children if adequate means were in place to identify and challenge accelerated learners. Unfortunately that's not the case. Curriculum 2.0 also might benefit our children if MCPS officials really listened to parents about the significant disparity between 2.0's application in theory versus its actual application in the field. Unfortunately that's not the case.
We know that sugar is one of the most harmful substances that we can give to children and that we have a countrywide crisis of childhood obesity and overweight. I believe that educational institutions should implement policies that reflect current science and knowledge. I’d like to know whether Joshua Starr will support a parent effort to reduce the sugar in the meals, snacks and beverages sold in the Montgomery County Schools well below current levels.
WASHINGTON POST EDITORIAL TWO WEEKS AGO ON A TEACHER MCPS HAD FROM 1993 FROM 2010 THAT WAS REPRIMANDED SEVERAL TIMES FOR SUSPICIOUS BEHAVIOR W/ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHILDREN. MCPS DID NOT FIRE THIS TEACHER FOR FIVE YEARS. MCPS MOVED THIS TEACHER FIVE TIMES TO FIVE DIFFERENT ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS!!
CURRENTLY MCPS HAS TWO TEACHERS ..ONE TO GO ON TRIAL IN JANUARY ACCUSED OF SEXUAL ASSUALT. THE WASHINGTON POST EDITORIAL WAS HIGHLY CRITICAL OF HOW MCPS HANDLED THE INCIDENT. LAST YEAR INCIDENT ONE SCHOOL SENT IN COUNSELORS ONE SCHOOL DID NOT. WHAT IS MCPS DOING TO ENSURE SAFETY OF CHILDREN. THIS IS OFF TOPIC BUT EXTREMEMLY IMPORTANT!!
We expect public school teachers to have mastery of both subject matter and appropriate pedagogy, which is as it should be. In general, however, we pay public school teachers as if they were entry level clerks, not well-educated professionals. It never ceases to amaze me that anyone is surprised that teachers aren't always as good as we want them to be or that students aren't learning as well or as much as we'd like them to.
I would like our schools to consider introducing a foreign language by 3rd grade. Studies have shown that the younger the child when a foreign language is introduced the more likely they are to learn the language. Many of the European countries introduce a foreign language at a very young age and many Europeans can speak more than one language fluently. The world is much smaller than 20 years ago and it is important that we keep up.
Montgomery County offers a highly successful language immersion program through several elementary and middle schools, but demand exceeds supply. You've expressed your support for these programs, which provide language learning for students within the 6.5 hour day while the students learn the full MCPS curriculum. Do you see a day when the county can offer language immersion to all families who want immersion learning for their children?
This petition was signed over 5,000 in 24 hours, if I'm not mistaken.