About Montgomery Parents.org

This web site is intended to help parents of children in the Montgomery, NJ school district.

The goals of the site include:

• To disseminate information about various school programs/curricula
• To act as a forum for parents to discuss issues of concern
• To help parents organize effectively in bringing their concerns to school administrators, the Board of Education, etc.
• To work with applicable governmental organizations, such as the Montgomery Town Council, Governor's office, etc.

This site and organization differ from the existing school-related web sites and organizations in several ways:

• This site can post whatever information the parents deem necessary. It has no ties or responsibilities to existing organizations.
• The mission of the site differs from the PTA in that teachers are not members, we don't seek or disburse funding, and we are an independent voice for parents.
• This organization is designed for parent advocacy and can organize for political action if necessary.

What are some of the short-term goals or policies being currently advocated?

• We're advocating for transparency in all policy and curriculum decisions. We're currently encouraging the administration to be more public about their policies with regard to the Enrichment program.
• We're calling on the administration to implement a formal program to increase parent involvement in the classroom. It is time Montgomery made better use of parents as a resource beyond the PTA committees. We want teachers to be actively encouraged to involve parents on a regular basis in all aspects of the curriculum, including science, math, and language arts.
• We're calling on the administration to implement a method for teachers to provide anonymous feedback to the administration. In our experience, younger teachers don't rock the boat and older teachers do their own thing in the classroom without telling the administration. Newer teachers should feel free to come forward with feedback without fear of retribution and more experienced teachers should be encouraged to share their hard-won experiences. This will bring new energy and worthy experience to all teachers without regard to political ramifications.

There are no membership fees. The only requirement for membership is that you be a resident of Montgomery with interest in the public schools. You might have school-age children, or you might have younger children that you expect to enter the public schools in the future. Or you might just be a resident without children in the schools who has an interest in how the schools are being run and how your taxes are being spent.

Questions can be directed to Bruce Epstein at bruce@montgomeryparents.org