Schools

Starr Discusses Curriculum and Achievement at 'Listen and Learn'

About 100 people turned out for the town hall meeting.

Superintendent Joshua Starr stressed that he still has a lot to learn about Montgomery County Public Schools and discussed curriculum, resource allocation and accountability at a "listen and learn" event at on Monday.

About 100 parents and stakeholders filled the Einstein cafeteria to share their opinions and concerns with the new superintendent, who also yesterday.

Many parents asked about how resources are allocated between schools, giving some schools state-of-the-art materials while others lag behind.

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Starr said the differentiation is by design, and that specializing schools is part of the county's "robust choice package."

"I'm OK with differentiating resources if need be," he said. "The question is: Does everyone understand how it is done, and are we getting what we need from the process?"

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Other parents were concerned about the ongoing overhaul of math curriculum for elementary students and the availability of advanced classes for high schoolers.

Starr said MCPS is striving to provide the best education for its students, maintaining accelerated programs for high achievers without leaving behind those who need more help.

"There's one thing that improves student achievement: great teaching," he said. "Great teachers will create great outcomes for students."

Starr said the schools' shift in curriculum is a response to research showing that kids learn better when exposed to cross-cutting concepts and hands-on lessons.

"Kids need to have fun with science—that's equally important," he said. "Much more important, in many ways, than just memorizing things for a multiple-choice test."

Patricia Williams said that as the parent of a black teenage male, she's concerned about dropout rates among black and Hispanic boys.

Starr said that while MCPS has done commendable work over the past 20 years keeping its graduation rate high, he thinks the schools can do better. He suggested using data to identify kids who may be at risk and reaching out to them.

"Every child needs to identify with at least one adult in the building, whether it's a teacher, bus driver, whatever," he said.

Starr has seven more stops on his town-hall tour, going next to on Oct. 3, and then to on Oct. 10.


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