From saving on school supplies to the impact of federal cuts, the WTOP team is studying up on hot-button topics in education across the D.C. region. Follow on air and online in our series, “WTOP Goes Back to School” this August and September.
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The more than 160,000 students returning to Montgomery County Public Schools are free to use their phones on the way to and from school, but during this new school year, they’ll find new rules in place.
For elementary and middle school students, phones must be put away during class, when changing classes and at lunch.
High school students will be able to fire up their phones during lunch and between classes, but when classes get underway, they have to switch them off.
Once on the bus at the end of the school day, students in all grades will be able to use their phones.
New grading guidelines
When teachers start grading assignments, students will also encounter new rules. To get a 50% mark on their work, students will have to go beyond making an effort — teachers will have to see progress on the assignment for a student to earn a 50% grade.
The final grade for a class will be calculated with the averages of numeric grades the student earned in each marking period. For classes that last one semester, the same metric will be used for the two marking periods in the semester.
There will also be — in some, not all classes — “summative assessments,” tests or projects that can make up 10% of a student’s grade for the second and fourth marking period.
Teachers will also be required to provide chances for a minimum of two reassessments. The county is also introducing deadlines for late work and for grading. Late work by students has to be submitted 10 school days after the original due date.
Teachers will also have to make sure their grades are submitted in a timely fashion. They’ll have 10 days from the due date to return graded work to students.
An updated student code of conduct is emphasizing student accountability. Among the notable changes: The county has escalated the severity of penalties for particular violations for the most serious infractions, including drug possession, bomb threats and attacks on students and staff.
New ‘refrigerator curriculum’
In the weekly briefing held by Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich, Superintendent Thomas Taylor fielded questions and was asked about some of the infrastructure issues in the school system.
With more than 200 buildings to manage in the district, Taylor said, “Our HVAC situation is not great in Montgomery County Public Schools. We have about 40 of our 230 campuses that we manage, and about 40 of them are really on chewing gum and duct tape.”
But he said the issues in those schools are “fixable” and are being remediated.
Taylor also talked about the new “refrigerator curriculum” that the school system will make available to parents. At the start of each marking period, parents will be able to download a one-page summary of the nine-week education plans. If they object to content based on religious grounds, they can have their child opt out and get an alternate assignment.
The move follows a Supreme Court ruling ordering that schools provide alternative lesson plans when parents object on religious grounds.
Taylor said the lead time gives “time to digest what their children would be reading and what their children will be talking about in class.”
There are subjects that are not in place in classrooms yet, but are being explored, Taylor said. One has to do with AI.
“We introduced a couple of things to our principals about a week ago — some different ways to think about mathematics instruction as well as creative writing instruction, and classroom lesson planning that I hope will really catch fire and inspire our educators to lead with this passion,” he said.
Seniors: Last ‘first day’ in MCPS
Tuesday morning, outside Northwest High School, in Germantown, Taylor reflected on seniors beginning their final year in the school system — many of whom are already thinking ahead to what’s next.
“It’s a tough time for kids, especially growing up in today’s world,” Taylor said. “It’s a lot of pressure, and a lot of challenge, whether it’s going directly into the workforce with an industry credential, or going to an institution of higher learning.”
Taylor empathizes, recalling raising his own children.
“I think it’s really incumbent on us, as parents, to be mindful of what our kids are going through, and recognize that it’s different than what we went through as young people,” he said.
Teachers and parents can each play a role in diffusing some of the tension being experienced by seniors, by “trying to find different ways that we can support them to bring down the temperature a little bit, and make school fun.”
Taylor says senior year “doesn’t always have to bring all of the pressure that comes with these really high expectations,” of what students will do, immediately after graduating.
The reality is, Taylor said, many students will have multiple careers in their lifetime: “Not just multiple jobs, but multiple careers.”
The skills seniors will practice this year will benefit them, regardless of what the immediate future holds, Taylor said: “It’s really more about who they are as a person, developing that internal sense of grit, that creativity, those good communication skills, those problem-solving durable skills that improve executive functioning.”
“And a place that’s fun,” said Taylor, smiling.
WTOP’s Neal Augenstein contributed to this report.
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