Several speakers talked about the new education law, the No Child Left Behind Act, passed in January, and the impact on MCPS.
Maribeth Oakes, from the national PTA, spoke about the provisions of the new education act (the regulations are over 1100 pages!). The priorities for the national PTA are parental involvement, equity, and adequate resources/funding so that school districts can meet the requirements of the new law. They are concerned about an overemphasis on testing.
Dr. Ronald Peiffer, an asst state superintendent for MD Dept of Education said that their focus is on eliminating the achievement gap and making sure that the state tests comply with the new law. All tests in the future will have individual scores. The tests will be next spring, and the results will be known before school starts in the fall. The state is very concerned about how little time they have to get the new tests up and running. (The MCPS web site has lots of info on the high school assessment tests.) Other state priorities are teacher credentialing (almost 10% of teachers in Md have provisional certifications, largely in schools with the greatest needs) and parental involvement.
The last speaker was Michelle Cox, a school board member. She spoke about some of the things thee School Board is doing to comply with the law--MCPS is revising the curriculum in grades K-8 to meet new standards, and working with the state on new tests. The county is also working to make sure that what's being taught in the classroom is the same no matter where you live in the county.
There was also a handout requesting that parents write to elected officals and urge them to fund education. (www.montgomerycountydelegation.com for state officials, county.council@co.mo.md.us for county officials)
Ellen Gerecht
MCCPTA delegate