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              PARENTS’ COALITION OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
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PRESS RELEASE


EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE             CONTACT: Barbara Fichman, Chair
Until 4:00 pm, Feb. 2, 2004                      301-530-0103    
                         Barbara.Fichman@verizon.net
                                    
       Montgomery County Parents Unite to Shape School Policies
            Coalition Endorses Astrove and Fishman for BoE


Parents from around Montgomery County today hailed the dawn of a new era of stakeholder
empowerment with the birth of the Parents’ Coalition, a political action committee
dedicated to improving the responsiveness and performance of the Montgomery County
Public Schools. Drawing from a wide range of education advocacy groups, the
coalition builds on an alliance forged among seven organizations over the last year,
after a strong cooperative effort spearheaded by the special education community came
close to defeating Board of Education incumbent Reggie Felton in the 2002 election.

The coalition made its debut today with ringing endorsements for two candidates in the
upcoming Board of Education election: Bob Astrove (District 2) and Sheldon Fishman (District
4).

“The Parents’ Coalition is pleased to offer its first public endorsements to BoE candidates
Sheldon Fishman and Bob Astrove. In addition to their experience and expertise, they’ve
demonstrated a genuine commitment to the coalition’s five basic goals: coherent,
content-rich curriculum standards; high expectations combined with timely remediation and
acceleration; a wider range of educational options for parents and children; greater
transparency and accountability; and meaningful community input,” announced coalition chair
Barbara Fichman.

If those goals sound familiar, it might be because they are identical to the principles of
the Parents’ Alliance, a partnership embracing seven community organizations (Alliance for a
Better Curriculum, Asian American Parents Advocacy Council, Emotional Disabilities Action
Group, Gifted and Talented Association, GT/LD Network, MCneeds, and Teachers' Voice.)  While
sharing the Alliance’s principles and broad base, the Parents’ Coalition is a legally
registered PAC created for the purpose of participating in the political process.

“We want to be a clear and loud voice on behalf everyone who cares about improving the
responsiveness, accountability, and performance of the Montgomery County Public Schools,”
explained Fichman. “And our first step is the endorsement of two candidates who can be
trusted to exercise the kind of responsive and responsible leadership the community expects
from the Board.”

Bob Astrove, a long-time county education advocate with widely acknowledged expertise in
budgetary and special education matters, is campaigning on a pledge to respond to input from
parents and teachers, strengthen budget management, and promote greater local control with
more choice for parents and children. A two-time recipient of the Outstanding Parent Award
given by the county PTA’s Special Needs Committee, Astrove has chaired MCPS budget review
committees and co-chaired the MCPS Special Education Advisory Committee. More information on
Bob Astrove and his positions is available at www.astrove.org.

Sheldon Fishman, recipient of the 2001 Maryland PTA Family of the Year award, is a 20-year
PTA veteran and a well-known figure in county education advocacy groups. Fishman has called
on the BoE to exercise more responsible oversight of the system’s $1.6 billion budget by
piloting new programs before implementing them countywide. He plans to move the system
toward careful monitoring and reporting of students’ progress through a content-rich
curriculum in place of the current emphasis on “one size fits all” teaching and assessment,
and he wants to give parents more choice and a greater say in student placements. More on
Fishman and his campaign can be found at www.sheldonfishman.com.

All voters will be able to cast ballots for each of the BoE district races when they go to
the polls to vote in the Maryland primary March 2. The Parents’ Coalition plans to be out in
force to provide voters with a model ballot for the BoE races in District 2 and District 4
(the coalition is not making an endorsement in the at-large race at this stage).

Membership in the Parents’ Coalition is open to all residents of Montgomery County. An open
email list to encourage discussion and input has been established at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Parents_Coalition

For inquiries, send email to Barbara.Fichman@verizon.net or call 301-530-0103.
Contributions, to be applied to the printing of a model ballot, should be sent care of Herb
Edelstein at 105000 Falls Rd., Potomac, MD 20854.


By Authority:  Parents’ Coalition of Montgomery County
Herb Edelstein, Treasurer

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PARENTS’ COALITION OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
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Frequently Asked Questions

1.  How can I participate in the Parents’ Coalition?
    Sign up at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Parents_Coalition

2.  Is the Parents’ Coalition affiliated with the Parents’ Alliance
No. It is an independent organization.  Learn more about Parents’ Alliance at their
web site: http://parentsalliance.20m.com/

3.  What is the difference between the Parents’ Alliance and the Parents’ Coalition?
The Parents' Alliance is a deliberative body consisting of designated
representatives from various Montgomery County community organizations.
Although it adopts positions on issues relating to the schools,
it does not involve itself in elections. The Parents' Coalition draws from
many of the same groups represented in the Parents' Alliance and subscribes
to the principles of the Parents' Alliance. However, it is an independent political
action committee open to all individuals who support its basic goals.

4.  Will the Parents’ Coalition continue after this year’s election?
Yes. The Parents' Coalitions has been registered as a continuing committee and will continue
to participate in the political process with a view to improving the responsiveness and
performance of the
Montgomery County Public Schools.

5.  How did the Parents’ Coalition arrive at its endorsements? Were there questionnaires and interviews?
Because of time constraints associated with the coalition's recent registration as a PAC and
the short time frame of the primary campaign in a presidential election year, the Parents'
Coalition elected to make its endorsements for this year's Board of Education election on
the basis of consensus within the organization. For future elections, it plans to distribute
questionnaires to all candidates and hold interviews before making an endorsement.

6.  Why isn’t the Parents’ Coalition making endorsements for all three BoE races?
The Parents' Coalition elected not to make an endorsement in races where it was unable to
reach a clear consensus.