Subject:RE: A Response to Mr. Martin Creel's Request that Asian American Voices be Stifled Date:Wed, 11 Feb 2009 21:41:57 -0500 From:Creel, Marty <
[email protected]> To:<************>, "BOE"
, "Weast, Jerry D." <[email protected]> CC:***ADVISORY COMMITTEE** References: Dear Mr. Singam, Thank you for your interest in membership on the AEI Advisory committee. MCPS shares your interest in ensuring that perspectives of Asian-American parents are well-represented in MCPS. We greatly value the perspectives of our many stakeholders as we work to serve all children in our community. We are committed to a strong representation of MCPS Asian-American parents on this committee. When the committee was formed in 2007, representatives from organizations reflecting the diversity of MCPS were included on the committee. The Organization of Chinese Americans, Greater DC Chapter and the Asian American Parents Advocacy Council (AAPAC) recommended representatives for the committee. In addition, one student member and one staff member is Asian-American. The membership list is available at: http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/enriched/aeiadvisory/aeiadvisor yi.shtm Two days ago, Hoi-may Wong, a longstanding member of the committee representing AAPAC indicated she will no longer be able to serve. As I mentioned in conversation with Mr. Preston Rico of AAPAC, there are three other parents from the Asian-American community who indicated their desired to serve on this committee long before you expressed an interest. I feel obligated to speak with them about their desire to serve on the committee out of fairness. You have shared with me that your child is not enrolled in MCPS. While we have not required every parent member of the committee to have a child enrolled in MCPS, we do prefer parent representatives who can speak to current instructional experiences in MCPS. Mr. Rico shared with me that he believes your child is enrolled in MCPS - I hope you can clarify this issue for me. Other than enrollment status, we did not speak of you or your child in any other manner. We will review the parent nominations for Hoi-may's seat in the next few weeks, including yours, and expect to have a decision in time for the March AEI Advisory meeting. I feel compelled to provide this response in public because you chose to personalize this process by questioning my integrity in this forum. I would prefer that we continue this conversation privately. Marty ------Martin Creel, director Enriched and Innovative Programs www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/enrichedinnovative/