Board of Education Summary

I think this article over at the Gazette does pretty good job of summarizing the Montgomery County Board of Education elections.   

Also, another report on Martha Schaerr, this time from the Washington Post.

Montgomery County Board of Education: Michael Durso vs. Martha Schaerr

Traffic to this site is up heavily as the election approaches so I'd like to take some time be clear about my intentions for readers who might approach this blog with something of a healthy skepiticism.
1) I believe voters should make educated decisions in the upcomming elections.
2) I do not believe the Apple Ballot encourages citizens to make independent decisions- especially given that  MCEA did not interview any of the challengers for Board of Education.
3) I am a member of MCEA.
4) My primary agenda item is improving education- namely through the creation of a new more robust teacher evaluation system that more readily identifies and removes ineffective teachers.


Onto the elections:

Michael Durso has proven to be the one current member on the Board of Education willing to question the policies of Superintendent Weast and the other generally supportive members of the Board.   He was also one of two Board members to ask for more time to consider an MCPS parternship with Pearson Education.  The Board was provided 48 hours notice to vote on this contract- a contract with the potential to have lasting impact on the county and the way it does business.   Healthy discord on a Board of Education is a must, and Michael Durso does not appear shy about voicing his opinion.

Durso's responses to the MCEA questionnaire prove he is a reflective practitioner that he does not reject ideas out of hand.  He serves on the board of a DC charter school- proof positive that the charter school movement does not have to be the front line enemy of public schools.   In my estimation, these are the type of thinkers our county needs on the Board of Education.   He appears driven by ideas rather than politics.

Challenger Martha Schaerr has some excellent ideas about how to reform evaluation systems in Montgomery County.   I'd like to put aside her apparent social conservative history as it would likely be a singular and dominated voice on the Board of Education, but that's not in my make-up, and Durso has already proven he can be a powerful minority voice when he deems it appropriate. 

Durso earns my unequivocal support.

Montgomery County Board of Education Response- Martha Schaerr

A second response has rolled into my inbox for a set of questions I posed to the candidates running for the Montgomery County Board of Education.   Martha Schaerr is running in district 5 against incumbent Michael Durso.  Her responses:

1. What would you consider the biggest weakness of the current teacher evaluation system in Montgomery County? What should be done to address this weakness?

Besides the seniority system I see a problem with the lack of recognition either monetarily or otherwise for teachers who perform beyond the minimum requirements or who take on tough teaching assignments.
As I understand it MCPS teachers either “meet standard” or “do not meet standard”. There is no further breakdown in their evaluations. No one can reasonably argue that all teachers who meet standards are equally effective, and yet there is no recognition for teachers who are more effective or who take on challenging assignments.
I would reward teachers by adding at least one additional rating—superior—for teachers to achieve. What constitutes “superior” can be defined by either the union, administration, by a group of teachers outside the union, or a group of educators and parents together. I would reward teachers who take on tough class assignments with a “challenging assignment bonus” . This would give the best teachers an incentive beyond basic professionalism to take tough classes.
I also believe that allowing underperforming teachers three years to improve is too long. I believe two years is long enough. We need to be serious about improving the way EVERY day is spent in school, and great effort should be made speed up improvement.



2. Pay for MCPS teachers is currently decided by a seniority system. If consensus could be reached on a new evaluation system, would you support a merit based pay scale to reward the highest performing teachers?

Yes. While the value of classroom experience is great and should be included in the evaluation system, teachers who work hard, are more effective, and taken on tough assignments should be compensated accordingly. We should do everything we can to improve the quality of classroom instruction.



3. What are your reflections on Michelle Rhee? Should the search committee consider interviewing her for the Superintendent position?
I admire Michelle Rhee’s courage and effectiveness at getting rid of low-performing teachers and in focusing on improving classroom instruction. I’m not sure she’s the right person for MCPS, however. I worry that Ms. Rhee would not be able to get the union to cooperate with her, and the current budget crisis will require that.