Parent Involvement

From yesterday's Gazette:

Parents blasted the county school system this week, saying that it moves forward with initiatives - ranging from the closing of secondary learning centers to the approval of a sex-ed curriculum - without properly involving them in decisions that directly affect their children.

School board members, faced with a constant barrage of letters and e-mails from parent advocates this year, counter that parents had ample opportunity to weigh in on issues during two budget worksessions last month.

The board held a daylong retreat last month where members discussed open communication with parents and advocates. During an informal breakfast with the school board last month, some County Council members said they hear about important initiatives from constituents before hearing from the board.

"Why do you think parents are upset for so many different reasons?" asked John Garza, new president of the Citizens for a Responsible Curriculum, which has fought with the school system over revisions in the recently passed sex education curriculum. "Parents aren’t included. There’s a feeling in the school system that they know what’s best for the children." School system leaves out parents, advocates complain

Ah, interesting: John Garza is their new president.

Let's see what else he's whining about this time:

CRC, Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays and the newly formed Family Leader Network have filed an appeal with the Maryland State Board of Education, claiming that the county school board released factually inaccurate information and did not put out material for public review before unanimously approving a revised curriculum.

If the state board does not throw out the curriculum, CRC will sue the Montgomery school board, Garza said. "I just wish they’ll pick up the phone and say, ‘Let’s sit down and work this out,’" he said.

Oh, that's rich. Garza wishes the school board would call him.

Why would they?

Board member Patricia B. O’Neill (Dist. 3) of Bethesda, a member of the board’s communications and public engagement committee, does not agree with parents who claim they are not fully involved in school system’s decision making.

"People believe that if their opinion is not adopted, then they didn’t have input," she said. "Everyone in Montgomery County has their own opinion about everything."

Amen, sister.

Everybody has an opinion. And as long as everybody can negotiate and compromise, I'm sure the school district will be able to work with them.

The controversy in MoCo over the sex-ed curriculum is not that some parents are more conservative and others are more liberal. The problem is that the CRC insists that everything has to be their way, or no way. The problem is that they want to recall the board, and file lawsuits, and appeal to the state, when they are outvoted by the majority.

There are conservative parents in Montgomery County, people who are concerned about their kids learning too much too soon. And that's fine, everybody understands that, the trick is to find a balancing-point between what they want and what the more progressive parents, who are also more numerous in this county, would want. I think the school board and the citizens advisory committee have really succeeded at that, even with all the background noise.

Here's an example, here's the problem. After the citizens advisory committee had seen the school district's proposed condom video, the CRC member announced she would vote to adopt it -- but only if no changes were made. Well, there were things wrong with it -- misspellings, incomplete information, some production details -- and the committee did vote to change it. So CRC voted against it. The video was improved greatly by the committee's recommendations, but CRC was unable to compromise, unable to accept that the version they liked could be improved.

I don't know about other changes the district has been working on, special ed issues, mobile classrooms, Seven Locks, other things, but as far as sex-ed development goes, it has seemed to me that parents are pretty well integrated into the change process.

It doesn't bother me that the school district is staffed with professionals who are competent to see that our children are educated well, and it doesn't bother me that decisions are made inside Carver without a referendum by the public. Because the board is elected, members are motivated to serve the public. If they don't ... adios.

The school board notices when parents show a commitment, they hear the public comments, they read the emails -- but they are human, they recognize who the nuts are, too. Just because you write an email or talk to them about some gross sexual details, or just because you hold up signs at a school board meeting, doesn't mean you get your way. Sometimes you lose, and that's part of the process, too.