The Montgomery County Education Association (MCEA) President, Jennifer Martin, has released a statement in response to the allegations made against an MCPS principal. The full statement by the head of the teacher’s union can be seen below:
“The recent exposure of allegations against a principal in MCPS shines a light on the school system’s failure to fulfill its fundamental duty of protecting staff, students, and the school community from bullying and harassment. When members raised their concerns to us, I met with them, and provided guidance and assistance from union staff to again bring their complaints to MCPS management’s attention.
Unfortunately, MCPS leaders chose to dismiss or ignore the pleas of our members and the compelling evidence we provided. Seeing that following MCPS’s processes was ineffective, our members then reached out directly to the superintendent and members of the MCPS Board of Education. Once again, their concerns were met with silence. As the situation continued without appropriate action from MCPS, impacted members began to escalate their efforts to get MCPS to take these allegations seriously. We are proud of our members courage in coming forward to report the purported abuse. It is unfortunate that MCEA members must bring such serious allegations to the media for MCPS to take them seriously.
The school system’s recent staff survey on school climate has revealed that there are unaddressed problems in other schools, as well. The exposure of this one situation by MCEA members may lead to others to step forward publicly, as well, to shine a light on issues at their worksites.
In Solidarity,
Jennifer Martin, MCEA President”
The message, made via X, can be seen here.