Montgomery County finalist for the Broad prize
Last week, Montgomery County's public school system was named a finalist for the Broad Prize for Urban Education, which is a prestigious award given each year to a school system that makes significant gains in its overall performance as well as reducing acheivement gaps.
The finalists are chosen from a committee that looks at about 100 school systems nationwide. Montgomery is the first school system in the region to be named a finalist.
The award comes at a somewhat awkward time for education leaders around the state who are trying to persuade the county to come around and support Maryland's application for Race to the Top.
Last week, the U.S. Department of Education announced that only Delaware and Tennesee were the winners in the first round of the biggest reform giveway in education in the U.S. The two states apparently won, in part, because they had gotten all their school districts to sign on to the application. Maryland can hardly maintain that it will have unity among its school systems to carry out progressive, sometimes contentious reforms, if its biggest school district doesn't agree to sign on. Right now Montgomery isn't in the game.
Baltimoresun.com's 
Comments
Liz,
Thanks for this report!
Odds are good we won't hear about this issue from local MCPS reporters.
Question, what makes the "Broad prize" prestigious?
We know that the Broad organization is all about its own brand of school reform - eliminate school boards, put in a CEO Superintendent who makes executive business based decisions without the public process.
We know MCPS has sent at least 3 top administrators to the Broad Academy to "train" in the Broad method. The admins then leave MCPS and take jobs elsewhere. Some have success, some don't.
Is the Broad "prize" related to the school system's participation in the Broad programs?
How "urban" is Montgomery County?
Posted by: Janis | April 7, 2010 4:27 PM
On March 9, 2010, the Montgomery County Board of Education voted 6 - 1 to oppose Race to the Top legislation SB0899 Education Reform Act of 2010
http://mlis.state.md.us/2010rs/billfile/SB0899.htm
Here is the Board of Education meeting video.
http://montgomeryschoolsmd.org/boe/meetings/archive/2010-0309.shtm
Go to minute 34 and you will hear the MCPS discussion of this Race to the Top legislation, including Superintendent Jerry Weast's statement that "slogan's don't work" and "why seek a solution to a problem that you have already solved."
What Superintendent Weast says is that he is advising that MCPS as a system go after the Race to the Top because MCPS qualifies by itself. (Minute 39)
MCPS Board member Laura Berthiaume was the only Board member to support this Race to the Top legislation.
So is it the intention of the MCPS Board of Education to not support the State of Maryland's Race to the Top application but instead file their own separate application?
Posted by: Janis | April 7, 2010 5:08 PM
Personally, I find it hard to read about Montgomery County receiving this award without gagging. They may meet some one's definition of urban, but they are the richest county in the state and they consistently shine in all sorts of academic competitions because they have the money to support these kids 100%. I realize that because of the tax structures to support education the rich continue to shine while other districts struggle - it's a fact of life. But why on earth would some sort of foundation want to give a monetary prize to the richest district in the state?!?!?! It's a kick in the teeth to any real urban district (i.e. not rich) that is making academic gains.
Posted by: a parent | April 8, 2010 10:50 AM