It’s clear that 2023 is the year MCPS wants to start over.
For decades, MCPS has managed to keep scandals quiet, provide publicly acknowledged rationalizations for deficiencies, and construct a community image that easily deflects all forms of criticism. Until 2023, MCPS has been able to exist like his 1920s gang, autonomous and self-interested, without any censure or repercussions.
But 2023 will be different. This year, there was a hole in the MCPS immunity dam. Decades of mismanagement, broken promises, loss of focus, and misuse of resources are beginning to spill over into our community.
In addition to continued below-average test scores, the community has been affected by the Viña Conviction, the Damascus Settlement, the East Silver Spring Settlement, embezzlement, the Biedleman Promotion, and religious families wishing to opt out of sexually explicit material. I learned about the prejudices shown against. material.
Parents who may not have previously questioned the quality of MCPS education are now wondering if the deficiencies exposed are systemic. Parents who previously had no doubts about the direction or leadership of the school system began to wonder if they could trust the leadership to run the bake sale.
As a result, new voices are being raised across the county. This is refreshing if you believe that the end result is strengthened when a new perspective, an opinion that wasn’t previously included, is added to the conversation. But if you are one of the voices who have been successful in silencing others for years and feel like you are losing your power and influence, this can be very frightening.
So it’s not at all surprising to read a recent opinion piece with the title: MoCo education cannot be decided by conservative activists.
This piece was a dog whistle to all the activists and politicians who have held the reins of power at MCPS for decades. It was a signal that if we don’t start rallying now around ideas of exclusion and hatred, we will lose our power.
What’s most jarring about this particular dog whistle is that the high frequencies of its bark are masked by the language of diversity and inclusion. The selection of Montgomery County School Board members and his MCPS influencers has never been based on principles of diversity and inclusion.
The overwhelming majority of those who hold school board seats are appointed through the MCEA Apple Ballot, a union closely aligned with Montgomery County’s political majority. As a result, the Democratic Party, aligned with MCEA and Apple Vote, loosens its grip and further limits diversity of thought by assuming that candidates for independent seats are somehow tainted without another D rating. ing. to their name.
Local media outlets in the county, including this publication, are too scared to provide unbiased reporting, but they are sympathetic in the issues they cover and the points they advocate. The activities that take place at PTA meetings and school board meetings are one-sided and rarely seek to incorporate new, marginalized voices, or different perspectives. Activists today are a small but vocal group of people who all think the same way, and who publicly privilege different people based on how they worship, the color of their skin, and the congregations they attend. They are working swiftly to eliminate them.
What our public education system needs now more than ever is more activists. They can be conservative. They may be Muslims. They could be Hispanic. They can be mothers (and fathers). they can retire. They may also be from special needs communities. Every voice matters.
If we are to be proud of the diversity and inclusivity of Montgomery County, it means that as a community we must recognize that it does not currently exist. To establish that, we will no longer tolerate this term being used as a cover for those in power pursuing their own ideological goals, but that it be put into practice, i.e. We need to invite the contributions of voices and opinions that differ from our own.
Caleb Michaud of Rockville is the parent of two elementary school students at MCPS.
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