May 15, 2016
To Whom It May Concern:
At the start of 2016, my husband and I made the decision to move our family to southern Pennsylvania for several reasons; one of the main being to leave Baltimore County Public Schools. This letter serves to inform Baltimore County Board of Education and other county officials of the rationale behind our decision. This is not a specific criticism of our particular school, which I will not name, but rather concerns we have with BCPS systemically. With one child in kindergarten and one entering in 2016-17, we have many more years in a school system and do not feel as if Baltimore County is going to give our children the foundation that we feel is important to their educations.
We began kindergarten in the fall of 2015 with cautious optimism despite being warned by a former BCPS employee that we would not be happy with our zoned school. We were met the first week of school with a list of playground rules. I understand the need for rules and the need to make sure the children understand the rules. But when the first rule for kindergarten recess is “No running on the playground”, I begin to have a problem. Five and six year-old children are expected to focus on academics 6 hours a day with a 20-minute recess, and they are not allowed to run? I spent time touring and interviewing the elementary schools in Southern York County School District. Each school representative I spoke with was stunned to learn that my kindergarten student was not permitted to run on the playground during recess.
An excerpt taken from “The Crucial Role in Recess in School”, published by The American Academy of Pediatrics, stresses the importance of unstructured play in the development of children; “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines recess as ‘regularly scheduled periods within the elementary school day for unstructured physical activity and play.’1 The literature examining the global benefits of recess for a child’s cognitive, emotional, physical, and social well-being has recently been reviewed.2 Yet, recent surveys and studies have indicated a trend toward reducing recess to accommodate additional time for academic subjects in addition to its withdrawal for punitive or behavioral reasons.”
Our children will begin the 2016-17 school year in Southern York County School District where they will have recess two times a day, with regular opportunities to earn additional recess as a class. They will also participate in a district wide “Walking Wednesday” program where all teachers, students and administrators in the district walk the school campuses as an additional opportunity to get outside. Studies have shown that more opportunities for recess and outside time actually helps children refocus, and there is data to support higher test scores.
Our next concern is the use of technology in BCPS. This year, my son has not had a tablet and has not participated in the “personalized learning” of which our superintendent is so fond. My husband and I have some serious concerns regarding the use of technology in the classroom, including decreased interaction between students and teachers, lack of traditional and proven teaching methods and safety of the students-both online and physically. There is no data to support the use of technology as Superintendent Dance envisions it in BCPS classrooms is an effective teaching tool, and yet BCPS is rolling out the use of personal devices throughout the entire county, without having all security measures in place or even knowing all the possible risks. There are too many studies to cite here directly but I encourage you to visit
www.waldorfresearchinstitute.org/research-technology/
to see studies on “How Screentime is Affecting Kids’ Moods and Attitudes”, “The Impact of Technology on the Developing Child” and how note-taking is a more effective learning tool than technology. If you take the time to read any of these articles, you will understand the concerns that parents of young children have regarding one-to-one technology in the classroom. There has been no reassurance or proof that our children’s identities will be secure with these online learning programs proposed by Mr. Dance. In fact, a recent article stated that ” ‘75% of schools don’t tell parents that kids’ data is shared’ according to Cheri Kiessecker.” (edworkforce.house.gov). It should be noted that my husband and I are not alone in these concerns. There are many parents in Baltimore County who share our concerns and do not want our children learning from a computer instead of a teacher.
The next area of concern we have is the Common Core curriculum and PARCC testing. Pennsylvania does not participate in Common Core. The school districts follow a curriculum laid out by the state. There is the Pennsylvania State Assessment (PSA) as a means of measuring student achievement. The PSA, however does not cause the high levels of stress and anxiety in students and teachers that PARCC testing seems to. And taking the PSA is not a requirement for graduation.
Finally, Pennsylvania schools are funded differently than Maryland schools. We will pay a “school tax” when we move and each year thereafter as long as we reside in the state. And that’s okay with us. Because of the school tax, Pennsylvania schools are better funded. We received our kindergarten supply list recently. The comparison between our new school and our current school is not only astonishing, but very telling of the use of funds allocated to the schools. In PA, we have 6 items on the list with one optional item. In BCPS, there are 35 items and 10 optional items. The kindergarten supply list is just one example of the funding differences between the two school districts.
My husband and I thought it was important that we share our concerns about BCPS to those who can help facilitate a change. We are Baltimore County taxpayers who are in the position to purchase a house and we have chosen to take our purchase and our money to another state. We may only be one family, but most of the houses we looked at during our search were owned by someone who was commuting to MD. I know of other BCPS families who are considering a similar move for the same reasons cited here.
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Noelle S. Wilson
STAT-us BCPS 