By Adam Pagnucco.
Part One described how I reached out to my source network to get their grades on MCPS Superintendent Thomas Taylor’s first year. Part Two featured remarks from sources who gave Taylor a C+ or below. Today we will hear from Taylor’s fans – and he has a bunch of them! (See TT? I told you it would get better.)
All comments begin with a grade. All remarks were provided confidentially. Let’s go!
Grade: A-. His honesty, open communication style (at least in my experience with direct interactions with electeds), diplomatic skills, willingness to take responsibility, understanding of the interrelationships between MCPS and other levels of government, and willingness to announce and stand by difficult choices (on budgeting, school safety, snow days, DEI, etc.) have been a breath of fresh air and a very promising start. He has also been very present at community events outside of just the MCPS world. All that said, I am reserving judgment on how he continues to handle school boundary changes, continuing budget challenges, procurement problems (electric buses etc.), school safety and antisemitism and other hate incidents, etc. (hence the minus on the A).
Grade: A. Setting new standards of performance (grading), working to remove cell phones from classrooms, affable, self-deprecating, easy to reach, and seems to have a good working relationship with the BOE. The boundary studies will be a test though.
Grade: A. Although I was furious with what the Board did to Monifa McKnight, I feel that Supt. Taylor has been outstanding. Very responsive, good listener, humble, self-effacing and quite woke for a privileged white boy!
Grade: A. The grade is based on Taylor being politically savvy. From Day 1 Taylor “read the room” and knew who the power brokers were. He knew that David Stein was a force and he had to show that he was all in for MCEA. Taylor has balanced his relationship with the School Board and the County Council not an easy feat. And the Council did him a favor – no property tax hike – which has helped Taylor greatly. Taylor knew the temperature of the room and knew that he needed to be part of the change that MoCo educators and stakeholders needed given recent scandals.
Taylor showed his smarts by presenting a substantial budget and showed transparency – something that had – according to many MoCo residents – been lacking. A budget that takes care of teachers. Taylor has also been omnipresent throughout the county. This is not a slight against former Superintendent McKnight, but McKnight was not politically savvy, did not break bread with the power brokers and was not omnipresent in the way Taylor is. Simply put she was not well liked enough which helped to hasten her unusual exit.
Grade: A+. Dr. Smith had no ego but no political instincts. Dr. McKnight had great political instincts but ego. Dr. Taylor has no ego and great political instincts. It turns out that’s exactly the combination MCPS needed in a leader right now.
Grade: A-. Dr. Taylor has been transparent in his assessment of long-standing issues in MCPS related to special education, security, maintenance, and lax attendance, grading, and student conduct policies. Most importantly, he has taken action on those issues by fighting for – and receiving – nearly full funding of a large MCPS budget request, and by initiating policy changes at the Board level to hold students to a higher standard. The one area which could have been handled better is the internal reorganization of positions, which has caused some confusion among some staff and community members.
Grade: A. Thomas Taylor is putting rigor and merit before faddishness. He’s putting accountability and safety before political correctness. Solid A.
Grade: A-. Down to earth, collaborative, transparent, takes responsibility, funny videos.
Grade: A. Clean straight A from me. Taylor came into a real mess and is faced with many long-term issues. He hit the ground running and has managed to stay out of the polarizing politics of the county. Taylor is approachable, he listens, and he is level headed. His approach is no nonsense and practical. Give him a solid two years to achieve great things for the schools and the students.
Grade: A. He came into an extremely difficult situation. So many school leaders abandoned our school system under Dr. McKnight. And there was so much fear and distrust after the scandal. But he came in with a smile, open heart and a sense of humor. He willingly apologized for school system errors — that was huge. He admitted to not knowing everything. He hasn’t backed down from our values in the face of MoCo being a MAGA target. He has brought the stability, willingness to take on difficult challenges, and approachable attitude we have needed for a very long time.
Grade: A-. Dr. Taylor has been a breath of fresh air in terms of his commitment to improving the communications from his office to students, educators, and the community. His request to increase the MCPS budget by an amount well above the “usual” annual request was bold and highlighted the degree of need for improvement in the schools generally. His ambitions for MCPS are also bold and I hope that he uses the resources given to achieve them.
Grade: A-. One year in and I think that Thomas Taylor has done a pretty darn good job so far. No significant (new) controversies this past year that I can think of. He has done a good job in most instances being a proactive communicator and everyone that I know who has interacted with Taylor over the past year, whether they be politicians, school board members or business leaders, have shared positive feedback and experiences. He appears to be systematically addressing problem areas throughout the school system, though there are too many to tackle in one year and a number of which will take years to begin to resolve. MCPS is an aircraft carrier of a school system and it will take years to turn this ship around. Taylor seems to have the right temperament and tactical skills to work cooperatively with both the politicians and unions without pissing off the rest of us. The current boundary study will truly put him to the test. So far, so good. I have liked what I’ve seen from him. The real test is coming this year.
Grade: A-. An A- represents an exemplary achievement while acknowledging room for growth.
Dr. Taylor has adeptly guided MCPS through a challenging year, and I admire his dedication to improving transparency, efficiency, and communication. His partnership was crucial during the Council’s budget deliberations, helping us to avoid painful tax increases or cuts to education and essential services.
These efforts mark the beginning of a long journey towards sustainable school funding, engaging parents in decision-making, eliminating racial disparities in student achievement and disciplinary treatment, and ensuring that all students, teachers, and staff have the resources to thrive.
I look forward to continued collaboration with Dr. Taylor to achieve this shared vision.
Next: We will hear from sources who gave Taylor grades of B+, B or B-.