Gibbs PTA
William B. Gibbs, Jr. Elementary School
Parent-Teacher Association
Spring at Gibbs
Monocacy Updates
October 15, 2010
Gazette article about keeping Monocacy Elementary open.
Superintendent’s Recommendation for Poolesville and Monocacy Elementary SchoolsLink
May 05, 2010
Attached is information about the Monocacy Roundtable public meeting to be held May 24th.
Sue Amick
Attachment: Monocacy Public Info MeetingWord
April 13, 2010
Dear Gibbs Parents & Guardians,
This is just a kind reminder to please attend the PTA meeting tomorrow night - we will be discussing the Monocacy-Poolesville Roundtable update which may impact our community.
As you may or may not know, the Roundtable group has listed 14 possible approaches to address the dwindling enrollment at Monocacy E.S. (part of the Poolesville cluster).  Many of the suggestions involved (options # 3 - 12 & 14) offer special programs and would be highly dependent on students from nearby clusters (particularly Clarksburg & Northwest) to commute to Monocacy E.S., and perhaps continuing to attend the Poolesville cluster schools for the remainder of the student’s education (see attachment for the list of 14 suggested approaches).
These approaches will be pared down to the ones the Roundtable group will recommend to Dr. Weast and the Board of Education.  In order for me to effectively represent our community's needs and concerns, I need your feedback so please attend our PTA meeting tomorrow night at 7:00PM at the Media Center – and THANK YOU in advance!!
Sincerely,
Janet Sanchez
Gibbs ES Monocacy Roundtable Representative
Attachment: Monocacy ApproachesPDF
April 9, 2010
Dear Gibbs Parents/Guardians,
As you may know, after the Board of Education (BOE) meeting on November 19, 2009 the board voted NOT to adopt Dr. Weast's recommendation to close Monocacy ES.  Subsequently, a roundtable discussion group was formed to solicit ways of addressing the declining enrollment in the Poolesville cluster.
The roundtable group is comprised of a total of 18 representatives from Northwest, Clarksburg and Poolesville clusters. I am a member of this roundtable representing the Gibbs community.  We met on March 15 and during this meeting, we listed 14 approaches to address the enrollment issue. Please see attachment for a comprehensive listing of these proposed strategies.
The next step for the roundtable is to obtain feedback from the respective communities regarding the pros and cons of these approaches. I will share our community's input during the next roundtable meeting on April 19th.   Please either email me at sanchezwarrier@gmail.com or attend the upcoming PTA meeting on April 14th to share your concerns, comments or questions.  Thank you very much.
Sincerely,
Janet Sanchez
This is an important issue.  While you may not think this affects our community, some of the approaches could impact us.  Please take the time to read the attachment and forward your comments to Janet or plan on attending the PTA meeting on Wednesday, April 14th to discuss.  Thank you!
Sue Amick
Attachment: Monocacy ApproachesPDF
November 24, 2009

Call To Action

Recently, Montgomery County School Superintendent Dr. Weast recommended closing Monocacy Elementary School due to under enrollment. The parents of the approximately 175 students who attend Monocacy Elementary School do not want to see their school closed so they mobilized to block this recommendation. They attended BOE meetings where they very strongly expressed their opinions, they wrote letters to their political representatives on the county council and in Annapolis and they created a website to disseminate information.
On Thursday, November 19th, the Board of Education listened to their cries and rejected Dr. Weast’s recommendation to close the school. Instead, the Board of Education directed that a “round table” panel should be convened to identify, for presentation to the Board of Education, other options to address the underutilization of Monocacy Elementary School. The round table is to be comprised of representatives of the Poolesville, Northwest and Clarksburg clusters. The “round table” was not directed to rule out including a boundary study or change of all three of these clusters as a potential resolution to the underutilization of Monocacy Elementary School. This means that the boundaries of the Clarksburg and Northwest Clusters, our clusters, are going to be looked at, and possibly altered, in order to increase the population of Monocacy Elementary School. Do you want your child on a 40 minute, or more, bus ride every morning and afternoon? Do you want the schools your children attend to have split articulation?
Dr. Weast’s plan to close Monocacy Elementary School would move these approximately 175 students to Poolesville Elementary School, which is part of the Poolesville Cluster, as Monocacy Elementary School is. Under this plan, ALL of these children would remain with their friends and classmates through high school. Changing the boundaries of the Clarksburg and Northwest Clusters means that YOUR children may not be able to stay with their neighbors, friends and classmates through high school. The Clarksburg Cluster currently has about 6,330 students and the Northwest Cluster has over 9,000 students. We must use OUR VOICE to express OUR desires.
You can help by participating in OUR Call to Action, The Clarksburg Cluster is Paying Attention Campaign….
  1. Email and Call your representatives:
    1. YOUR Board of Education representatives: boe@mcpsmd.org. (Messages sent to this address are forwarded to ALL BOE members) 301-279-3617
    2. YOUR County Council representatives:
    3. Your State Senators and Delegates can be found here: http://www.msa.md.gov/msa/mdmanual/07leg/html/ga.html#senate
      • Tell them you do not want to see Monocacy Elementary School closed, either, BUT that you are shocked and surprised that the Board of Education would even allow consideration of a three-cluster boundary study, affecting 15,000 more students, to keep this elementary school open. The BOE should have PROHIBITED the round table from considering this option when they proposed the round table discussion.
      • Tell them you want your children to stay in their neighborhood schools and DON’T want them to spend any more time than is absolutely necessary riding around on buses.
      • Ask them what they are doing to represent OUR concerns in the legislature and at BOE meetings
        •
  2. Keep Informed: Attend your school’s PTA meetings. There will be a special PTA/PTSA meeting to find out more about this decision December 7th and 8th at 6:30 p.m., immediately before each of the Gibbs Elementary School Chorus Concerts.
  3. Check for BOE news and events by visting the BOE website here: http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/boe/
  4. Hold the BOE accountable, they are planning for YOUR children’s education.
  5. Watch the http://parentscoalitionmc.com/ website for news about this issue and more.
  6. The Clarksburg Cluster is inviting the members of the BOE to a Town Hall meeting in January. We need ALL Clarksburg Cluster students and parents to attend this meeting dressed in your school colors and prepared to ask the BOE members to support their decision.
  7. Montgomery County Council member Michael Knapp is hosting a meeting at the Germantown Library on Monday, January 11th at 6:30 pm to address this issue. We need you to attend and make it known that you represent the Clarksburg Cluster by wearing school colors or spirit wear.
The Poolesville Cluster parents are mobilized and they have done a great job in advocating their position - we need to advocate for our children, too. This decision may affect elementary, middle and high school students in three clusters if the boundaries change. Now is the time to be heard, do not be complacent and let someone else speak for you, it is important to YOUR FAMILY that YOU are heard throughout this process.
Please let us know if you have any questions regarding this issue.
Sincerely,
Sue Amick, Gibbs PTA President
Katherine Schwartz, Gibbs PTA Vice President
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