Sherwood High School PTSA

Rachel Hickson, Sherwood HS MCCPTA Delegate, reports the following:

Board of Education Election

Board of Education Candidates spoke at a Candidates Forum organized by MCCPTA on October 24. This forum was televised and other information about the candidates was posted to the MCCPTA web site.

The following were elected November 7, 2006 to the Montgomery County Board of Education, as announced in the Washington Post:

• Shirley Brandman (At-Large)
• Judy Docca (District 1)
• Patricia O’Neill (District 3)
• Nancy Navarro (District 5)

FY2008 Operating Budget Priorities

On October 24 the Resolution on FY2008 Operating Budget Priorities was introduced at the Delegates’ Assembly. This resolution is to be discussed by local PTAs and voted on at the November 28 Delegates’ Assembly.

The resolution language is in regular print, bold face. Because I think this resolution requires further elaboration, I submit my interpretation in italics for each item of priority.

Resolution on FY2008 Operating Budget Priorities

Whereas, MCCPTA’s mission is to speak for children and without question our highest priority is education;

Whereas, the Delegates have approved an “Operating Budget Compact” from which these priorities are taken;

Be it resolved that the MCCPTA Delegates approve the following operating budget priorities for the organization to concentrate on this budget year.

Increase Secondary Literacy,

Secondary literacy refers to reading skills among students in Grades 6 through 12. A budget priority in this area advocates for increased spending on such items as expansion of existing special reading programs in middle and high schools (e.g. Read 180, Comprehensive Reading); increasing reading specialists and special education staff; purchasing targeted educational software, etc.

Close the achievement gap,

The achievement gap refers to differences in academic performance from one racial/ethnic group to another. Local and national gaps in academic performance currently exist, when students of White and/or Asian background are compared with students of African American and/or Hispanic background. A budget priority in this area advocates for increased spending on such items as personnel, programs and materials that would help minority students to improve academic achievement.

Expand after school programs and in school programs for prevention and intervention of bullying and gang activity,

Self-explanatory.

Expand the Special Education Hours based staffing Model,

Hours-based staffing analyzes the hourly and weekly needs of special education students to meet the goals of their Individualized Education Plans (IEP), then staffs the school or program to cover all needed hours. This is in contrast to current practice in many MCPS school buildings, wherein student plans are designed to fit within current staffing levels and restraints.

Increase the number of Parent Community Outreach Coordinators, and

Parent Community Outreach Coordinators are positions primarily in high-poverty and high-ESOL schools. These coordinators work to increase parent participation in the life of their school and increase communication between parents, teachers and school administration in order to improve children’s academic performance, school attendance, behavior, identification of special needs, and other issues. Communication with parents in languages other than English is a particular focus.

A formal job description of these positions is available at

http://www.mcps.k12.md.us/departments/personnel/posclass/6500.shtm.

A budget priority in this area advocates for spending to increase the number of positions within schools and especially to increase the number of schools with Parent Community Outreach Coordinators.

Provide for safe, clean, healthy, modern school facilities.

Facilities-related issues of concern to the MCCPTA, included in draft FY2008 operating budget compact: Increased maintenance and repair personnel, particularly HVAC mechanics; expanded indoor air quality staff; adequate security personnel (for both school buildings and portables); key-card locking of ES doors to portables; adjustment of traffic patterns and school bus stop locations to promote pedestrian safety; increased staffing of Ride by the Rules program; increased coverage of school health rooms (recent resolution). A budget priority in this area advocates for spending on these and related issues of facility and safety improvement.

The draft Operating Budget Compact for FY2008 is a large and evolving document. Though the priorities described above are mostly listed within the Compact, some were collected during recent cluster meetings and at other county venues. MCCPTA has tried to prioritize local PTSA members’ concerns as much as possible. Your feedback is welcome.

I will be presenting this information at our November 21 PTSA meeting. We will have limited time for discussion, so feel free to e-mail me before the meeting with any questions you may have.