Achievement Gap Focus of Oct. 14 Candidate Forum

From a news release:

The Montgomery County Education Forum will sponsor a county Board of Education candidate forum from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday, October 14, at the Silver Spring Civic Center.

The forum aims to distinguish this BOE Candidate Forum by providing students, candidates, and citizens an opportunity to focus on the achievement and opportunity gaps that exist in the Montgomery County Public Schools.

This Forum aims to provide a venue for students, candidates, parents, and citizens to address education equity issues. The evening will start with a panel of MCPS students who will share their stories, experiences and thoughts about barriers to academic achievement. The student panel will set the framework for the BOE Candidate’s question-and-answer session.

• “Despite efforts to address achievement, the gaps are persistent and in some cases are growing,” said Maryland Delegate and MCEF Chair Ana Sol Gutiérrez. “While overall student achievement in the district is improving, the drop-out rate of English Language Learners increased by 8%; the suspension rates for Black students increased by up to six times higher than their White peers; and in above-grade level measures, such as Algebra I by 8th grade, the gap widened by up to 19% from 2010-2012.”[i]

• A survey of MCPS Latino youth stressed concern for the impact of the widening gaps through responses that indicate “youth who reported low expectations from her teachers/counselors during high school were more than 3.5 times as likely to report being dropouts as youth who perceived high expectations from their teachers.”[ii]

Co-sponsors of the BOE Candidate Forum include advocacy and public interest organizations promoting equity in education in Montgomery County: Identity, IMPACT-Silver Spring, NAACP, LAYC/Maryland Multicultural Youth Centers, GapBusters, League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), Mid-Atlantic Equity Consortium, Inc., MC Young Democrats (MCYD), Progressive Neighbors, MC Hispanic Democratic Club (HDC), African American Democratic Club MC (AADCMC), Voices Engaging Latinos for Action (VELA), among others.

MCEF invites all students, families, school staff, and community members interested in a more equitable public school system to attend.

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MCEF is a progressive advocate for equitable and effective policies and practices for all children in the Montgomery County Public Schools. For more information about the Montgomery County Education Forum (MCEF), please visit www.mcef.org.

[i] MCPS Office of Legislative Oversight Report 2013-2014.

[ii] Connecting Youth to Opportunity: How Latino Youth Perspectives Can Inform A Blueprint for Improving Opportunity in Montgomery County, MD. (Identity, 2014)