PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS >  BROWSE

Board of Education Receives an Update on Collaborative and Coordinated Supports to Schools; Takes Final Action on Policy about Student Well-being and School Safety; Sets Tuition for Nonresident Students for Fiscal Year 2020; and Appoints a New Member to the Ethics Panel

June 26, 2019

The Montgomery County Board of Education (Board) met on Monday, June 24, 2019, at Carver Educational Services Center, 850 Hungerford Drive in Rockville.  During the meeting, the Board received an update on collaborative and coordinated supports to schools; took final action of Policy COA, Student Well-being and School Safety; set tuition for nonresident students for Fiscal Year (FY) 2020; and appointed a new member to the Ethics Panel.

The agenda for the meeting, with links to related materials, can be viewed on the Board of Education website.

Update on Collaborative and Coordinated Supports to Schools

Staff members briefed the Board on actions taken to implement structures, processes, and practices to improve services and leverage resources specific to the diverse needs of Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) students and staff.

During the 2018–2019 school year, three structural changes were made to promote improved communication, collaboration, and coordination of services, including: coordination of supports to schools through the reorganization of offices and staff reassignments; cross-office leadership meetings; and professional learning community for central services staff.  These structural changes have allowed the central office to leverage resources by aligning work in central services to provide differentiated support to schools; establish learning-focused partnerships with principals; establish principal networks across the district; strengthen vertical articulation within school clusters; and build capacity of school-based administrators and instructional staff to improve teaching and learning and meet school improvement goals.

In addition, MCPS has partnered with the University of Washington Center for Educational Leadership (CEL) to develop strategies to assess and monitor the impact of its structures, processes, and practices on improving outcomes for students.  MCPS continues to work through challenges of serving larger clusters of schools with increasingly diverse student learning needs, specifically building the collective capacity of staff in the areas of special education, and addressing institutional barriers to the success of all students.

Read the memorandum to the Board.

Final Action:  Policy COA, Student Well-being and School Safety

On May 14, 2019, the Montgomery County Board of Education tentatively adopted new Board Policy COA, Student Well-being and School Safety. The tentatively adopted policy was distributed for public comment from May 15, 2019, to June 5, 2019.  On June 12, 2019, members of the Policy Management Committee (Committee) further discussed Board Policy COA, and the comments received from the public. During the meeting, Committee members made clarifying edits to the draft policy, including revisions that were in response to the Montgomery County Council of Parent-Teacher Associations’ comments regarding the MCPS memoranda of understanding with county agencies, communications with the community on threats and safety, as well as making threat assessment data available to the community. Other edits clarified the MCPS relationships with public safety partners, and information about monitoring and assessing information received from the Safe Schools Maryland anonymous reporting system. At its June 24, 2019, meeting, staff members summarized the comments received from stakeholders and revisions made to the policy.  After additional discussion, the Board took final action and approved the policy.

Read the resolution.

Other relevant attachments may be viewed by going to the Board meeting agenda, Item 7.1. 

Fiscal Year 2020 Tuition for Nonresident Students

The Board set tuition rates for students who are not residents of Montgomery County.  The calculation for FY 2020 is based on the following three factors:  the approved operation budget, the cost of debt service, and the current revenue funding for the capital budget.

Read the memorandum, which includes the rates for FY 2019 and the approved rates for FY 2020.

Ethics Panel Member Appointed

The Board appointed Ms. Lisa Jones Toms to serve a three-year term on the Ethics Panel, effective July 1, 2019, and ending June 30, 2022.

Read the resolution.

Administrative Appointments

The Board approved the following administrative appointments:

Eugenia S. Dawson, currently acting director, Department of Materials Management, Office of the Chief Operating Officer, as director, Department of Materials Management, Office of the Chief Operating Officer

Gregory S. Edmundson, currently coordinator, Compliance Unit, Office of the Chief of Staff, as director, Student Welfare and Compliance, Office of the Chief of Staff

C. Douglas Hollis, Jr., currently deputy chief, Operations, District of Columbia Public Schools, as executive director, Office of the Chief Operating Officer

Natalia M. Ahn, currently assistant general counsel, Office of the General Counsel, as legal director, employment and operations, Office of the General Counsel

Stacy R. Swain, currently program manager, Victim Services Division, United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, as legal director, special education, Office of the General Counsel

Dr. Christine C. Handy, currently principal on special assignment, president, National Association of Secondary School Principals, as principal, Albert Einstein High School

Aaron K. Shin, currently principal intern, Forest Oak Middle School, as principal, Parkland Middle School

Dr. Jessica V. Palladino, currently principal intern, Rolling Terrace Elementary School, as principal, Rolling Terrace Elementary School

Recognitions

The Board approved the resolution recognizing the recipients of the 2019 Association of Vietnamese academic awards and scholarships. 

Read the resolution.

Future Meetings

The Board of Education will hold its next regular business meeting Thursday, July 11, 2019.  Please check the Board of Education website and meeting calendar for further information. 

About the Board of Education
The Montgomery County Board of Education is the official educational policymaking body in the county. The Board is responsible for the direction and operation of the public school system. The Board consists of seven county residents elected by voters for a four-year term and a student elected by secondary school students for a one-year term. Board members are elected countywide but run at-large or from the Board district in which they reside.

Montgomery County Board of Education: Mrs. Shebra L. Evans, president; Mrs. Patricia O’Neill, vice president. Members: Ms. Jeanette E. Dixon, Dr. Judith Docca, Ms. Karla Silvestre, Mrs. Rebecca Smondrowski, Ms. Brenda Wolff, and Ms. Ananya Tadikonda, student member. Dr. Jack R. Smith, superintendent of schools and secretary-treasurer. Office of the Board: 240-740-3030.

 

 

 

<<Back to browse