ACT BEFORE JULY 15th!

ACT BEFORE JULY 15th!

The initial Woodward boundary study survey closes on Tuesday, July 15, which is in less than two weeks. Farmland feedback is trailing behind the other schools in the Walter Johnson (WJ) cluster and many others in the study overall. This study will decide where Farmland students attend middle and high school. It is critical that our community makes our voices heard in large numbers NOW to preserve the WJ cluster’s advocacy goal of almost a decade to send each of its six elementary schools to either WJ or Woodward. 

The PTA has compiled a toolkit of resources, data, news articles, and bullet points that Farmland parents have shared. The initial boundary maps can be found here. 

Here is how you can have your voice heard NOW:

1. Fill out the survey. Not sure what to say? Here are template responses that have been created by Farmland parents that you can use as a starting point and customize if you choose. 

2. Attend office hours hosted by MCPS and the consulting team. The Zoom link can be found here. Sessions will take place on Thursday 7/3 at 6PM, Tuesday 7/8 at 8AM, Thursday 7/10 at 6:00 PM, Friday 7/11 at 12 NOON, and Tuesday 7/15 at 8:00 AM. The host is taking notes on what cluster each attendee is from and their questions/concerns. It is not a discussion or debate. It is a low pressure chance to speak for 1-2 minutes about your opinion. We believe participation in one of these calls will be very impactful. We are trying to get as many Farmland families as possible to show up at the Zoom call on 7/10 at 6:00 PM. If you cannot attend that one, please go to another one.

3. Email Cat Malchodi, executive director for MCPS, and copy local officials (a list and email template can be found in the toolkit).

4. Submit testimony for an upcoming Board of Education meeting. Members of our community have given testimony at recent meetings. Contact us if you would like to hear their experiences. 

Everyone’s feedback is important. Please take at least one of these actions prior to July 15. Contact Farmland PTA’s representatives to the WJ cluster at Farmlandclusterrep@gmail.com if you have questions and/or would like to get more involved.