Join One Montgomery at upcoming events around East County

Summer is coming, but One Montgomery isn’t taking a vacation. We hope to use the next few months as an opportunity to continue our conversation about the state of Montgomery County’s public schools and how we can ensure stronger, more equitable schools for everyone. Here’s what we have going on:

– Tonight, we are cosponsoring a County Council District 5 candidates forum hosted by the Coalition of East County Citizens. Hear the candidates talk about their plans for education in District 5, which includes Burtonsville, White Oak, Silver Spring, and Takoma Park. That event will be at 7pm at the East County Regional Services Center, located at 3300 Briggs Chaney Road.

– On Saturday, we’ll be at IMPACT Silver Spring’s East County Family Reunion, a free event with food, games, a live DJ, and a basketball tournament. We’ll have a table and would love to meet you and hear your thoughts on Montgomery County schools. Join us from 11am to 3pm at the East County Community Center, located at 3310 Gateshead Manor Way.

-Help us elect candidates who are committed to school equity! We’re looking for volunteers to help pass out sample ballots at early voting centers. Early voting runs from June 12 to June 19 and we’d like to have people at the Silver Spring Civic Building and Fairland Recreation Center on weekday evenings and weekend mornings. Please email us at onemontschools at gmail dot com if you’re interested in helping.

– We won’t be having another community workshop until the fall, but until then, we’re interested in having smaller house meetings where we can get to know the people who are active in local school communities and talk about the issues facing our public schools. Would you be interested in attending or hosting one? Send an email to onemontschools at gmail dot com and let us know.

One Montgomery announces endorsements for the 2014 primary election

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 21, 2014

Contact: Dan Reed
ph: 202/256-7238
onemontschools@gmail.com

One Montgomery announces candidate endorsements for 2014 primary elections in Montgomery County, Maryland.

One Montgomery endorses the following local candidates for the June 24th primary elections in Montgomery County:

• State Delegate, District 20: David Moon and Will Jawando
• County Council, At-Large: Marc Elrich, George Leventhal, and Hans Riemer (all incumbents)
• County Council, District 5: Evan Glass
• Board of Education, At-Large: Jill Ortman-Fouse
• Board of Education, District 1: Kristin Trible
• Board of Education, District 3: Laurie Halverson
• Board of Education, District 5: Michael Durso (incumbent)

Organized in 2013, One Montgomery is a grassroots organization of parents, teachers, and community members in Montgomery County that is dedicated to public school improvement as a means for creating a stronger community. The group seeks a school system committed to school equity, transparency, collaboration, and accountability.

A recent report on school performance by Montgomery County’s Office of Legislative Oversight shows that the achievement gap in county schools has grown in recent years, particularly within the Northeast and Downcounty consortia. Because geographical boundaries almost always determine school assignments, school quality is closely tied to neighborhood stability and the health of our local economy.

As a result, Montgomery County Public Schools needs to dedicate adequate staffing and programs for high-needs schools to ensure high-performing schools in all parts of the county. One Montgomery has produced a set of recommendations for ways MCPS can do that, using feedback from community workshops and education forums it has organized or participated in over the past year.

Candidates endorsed by One Montgomery have records of community and political activism that prove their commitment to closing the achievement gap. Legislative and council endorsements were made based on candidate questionnaires, interviews, and public statements. For school board endorsements, One Montgomery teamed with a Takoma Park education group to interview candidates.

For further information on One Montgomery, visit its website or Facebook page. Follow One Montgomery on Twitter @onemontschools, or join One Montgomery’s listserv. One Montgomery can be contacted at onemontschools@gmail.com.

See our sample ballot below. Click here or on the ballot for a printable copy.

Two chances to hear about the MCPS achievement gap report next week

Next week, hear from education expert Rick Kahlenberg on how to close the achievement gap in Montgomery County Public Schools and discuss the performance of East County high schools at two meetings around the area.

On Monday, Kahlenberg will speak at the Montgomery County Civic Federation’s monthly meeting, Kahlenberg recently wrote an op-ed for the Washington Post arguing that integrated, diverse schools are the best way to improve the performance of all students. He’ll be speaking alongside Dr. Elaine Bonner-Tompkins of the county’s Office of Legislative Oversight, who wrote a newly-released report about the achievement gap and growing segregation in Montgomery County high schools, and at-large County Councilmember Hans Riemer.

The meeting will be held this Monday at 7:45pm in the first-floor auditorium of the Council Office Building, located at 100 Maryland Avenue in Rockville. For more information, visit the Civic Federation’s website.

And on Wednesday, the East County Citizens Advisory Board will host a presentation about Office of Legislative Oversight report, focusing on changing demographics and drops in student performance in East County schools. The Board is made up of local community members who are appointed by County Executive Ike Leggett to represent and speak for East County residents. That meeting will be at 7:00pm at the East County Regional Services Center, located at 3300 Briggs Chaney Road in Silver Spring.

We hope to see you at one of the meetings this week! It’s great to see that community leaders are interested in talking about the issues facing East County schools and how we can all work together to make them stronger.