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'Listen and Learn' Events; Superintendent's Book Club Among Fall Activities to Help Dr. Starr Get to Know the Community

July 29, 2011

New Montgomery County Public Schools Superintendent Joshua P. Starr has released his plan of activities for this fall to meet with school system stakeholders across the county through a series of public events. The events will give Dr. Starr an opportunity to interact with a variety of parents, students, staff and community members to hear their opinions and perspectives about MCPS. A detailed schedule with event dates, locations and times will be released later in August.

Dr. Starr, who began his tenure as superintendent on July 1, will host 10 “Listen and Learn” community events in the coming weeks to introduce himself to community members and to seek their observations and perspectives about the school system. Similarly, Dr. Starr will talk with MCPS staff members in six “Listen and Learn” events meant to give employees an opportunity to meet with the new superintendent.

The superintendent also will conduct two Town Hall meetings for students this fall that will be streamed live on the web. Dr. Starr will answer questions submitted via Twitter and email, as well as from students in the audience at two high schools.

"This entry plan is designed to provide me with maximum opportunities to hear from various voices across our county and inform me of the opinions and perspectives of our many stakeholders," said Dr. Starr. "I want to hear what people value most about our system, as well as those areas that may need attention. We all know that there is much work to do and that we must be strategic and focused on the work to ensure that we take MCPS to the next level of success."

Dr. Starr also is planning three book club events for the coming school year, which will give the community an opportunity to learn about his educational philosophy and approach to managing MCPS. For the first book club, to be scheduled in late October, Dr. Starr has selected Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck. The book clubs will be available for audience participation at the Carver Educational Services Center in Rockville and via webinar.

Plans are also underway for Dr. Starr to conduct two live, televised call-in shows that will enable people who could not attend one of the listen and learn events to participate. Dr. Starr will answer questions that are submitted by telephone, Twitter, and email, as well as from people in the studio audience.

During the first week of school, Dr. Starr will visit approximately 25 schools. After that, his goal is to visit at least five schools per week until he has visited every school in the system.


Dr. Starr's Entry Plan

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