Advocacy & EDUCATION ISSUES

An important part of our local PTA's mission is to engage in advocacy that supports our students, families and school. As such, our PTA is actively engaged in education-related advocacy throughout the year, at both the school, county and state levels. We also share information about MCPS policies, practices and issues of interest to our community. Scroll down the page for updates and information on upcoming events.

Advocacy at the County level

As a member of the Montgomery County Council of PTAs (MCCPTA), our PTA has a Delegate who respresents our school's PTA at MCCPTA monthly meetings. We also have representatives that work with MCCPTA Committees to advocate across a variety of issues. To serve as an OTES representative on an MCCPTA committee, email ptaotes@gmail.com. More than one person can serve as our committee representative!

Current MCCPTA Committee representatives from OTES:*

• Health & Wellness: Vacant

• Gifted/Enrichment: Vacant

• Curriculum: Alison Pflepsen

• Special Education: Kim Stefanski

In addition to the committees listed avove, MCCPTA has many more that work on a variety of advocacy priorities.  The power of MCCPTA is having representation across our wide and diverse county.  If you are intersted in joining a committe, please complete this MCCPTA Committee Interest Form. For additional questions about MCCPTA-led advocacy, contact vpadvocacy@mccpta.org. 

*More than one person can serve as our committee representative.

UPCOMING EVENTS AND RESOURCES OF INTEREST

LGBTQ+inclusive texts in MCPS: Frequently Asked Questions and Responses 

To help parents and our school community understand the use of LGBTQ+ inclusive texts in English Language Arts (ELA) curriculum for grades K-8, the MCCPTA Curriculum Committee drafted a “Frequently Asked Questions” (FAQ) sheet that provides detailed information, as well as links to MCPS resources. Click here to access this helpful resource.  

You’re invited! 2025 Operating Budget Forum for PTAs to take place October 16

The Montgomery County Council of PTAs invites PTA members to participate in a forum with the County Executive, Marc Elrich, about the 2025 Operating Budget. The Forum will be in-person, with an on-line option, on Monday, October 16th from 7:00 - 8:30 pm at the Executive Office Building in Rockville. Address: 101 Monroe St, Rockville, MD 20850. 

How to access MCPS education data 

Wondering where to find student achievement and other data about our school, and MCPS as a whole? There are several places where you can find information. 

• MCPS’ Schools at a Glance dashboard allows you to download information about individual schools, by year. The information provided includes enrollment, demographic and school staffing data. To access information about our school, select Oakland Terrace from the Elementary School drop-down menu. 

• MCPS’ Data Dashboard provides student performance data as required by the county’s Equity Accountability Model Academic Achievement component. This initiative is focused on reporting achievement data for specific groups of students who “have not experienced the same level of access, opportunity or success as other students.” Specifically, the reports use Evidence of Learning (EOL) results on student performance in literacy and mathematics for specific grades.  (Click here to learn more about the Evidence of Learning framework.) To access reports about Oakland Terrace, scroll down the webpage until you see the heading “Equity Accountability: Achievement Component.” From the “School” dropdown menu, select Oakland Terrace. 

• The Maryland Public Schools Report Card portal allows you to download report cards by year. Report cards for Oakland Terrace can be found here. 

Interested in more data? 

• Visit MCPS’ Office of Shared Accountability (OSA) webpage, and scroll to School Summary Data section.

• Data on graduation rates, AP/IB tests, and other measures can be found on this Evidence of Learning webpage. 

Updates from the MCPS Health Officer 

At a recent MCCPTA meeting, the MCPS Health Officer, Dr. Patricia Kapunan, and staff provided an overview of MCPS’ actions related to her office’s work this school year. She also shared a variety of resources and information about upcoming events. Key information shared included the following:

• When students/staff test positive for Covid-19, these cases should be reported to the school and the school will work directly with health officer to track outbreaks. This current approach was distributed at start of the school year.

• Parent Craft is a self-paced online video course that teaches parents the skills they need to discuss the risks of substance abuse with their children.

• MCPS is organizing a Girls’ Summit on October 21st at Clarksburg HS. The event is geared toward middle and high school girls. Sessions will be available in English and Spanish on a host of topics. See link for details. 

• Mental Health Awareness Week takes place October 30th – November 4th.  There will be school-based activities planned with age-appropriate “toolkits” available for schools.  MS/HS students may earn SSL hours by attending/participating in activities.  Key items:

1. November 1st, in person event with Dr. Jay Barnett to talk about mental health – this will be livestreamed.

2. November 4th, virtual fair to access mental health information.

3. Waymaking sessions will also be available and through google signups and students can earn SSL hours.