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Ricky Ribeiro @ricktagious.bsky.social · 18/11/2025

"Today’s education system remains more concerned with adult employment than with student achievement. It pays little attention to differences in teacher and school effectiveness." AND THE CHURCH SAID, AMEN! www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

washingtonpost.com

Opinion | Declining K-12 achievement adds up to a lifetime tax on students

Fundamental reform, not quick fixes, will save America’s education system.

Ricky Ribeiro @ricktagious.bsky.social · 23/09/2025

This is so disheartening. I support Donesha Price speaking out on behalf of her child and #MCPS students and staff. These conditions are unacceptable and not consistent the system's obligations to provide a safe learning environment: wjla.com/news/local/m...

wjla.com

Montgomery County parents say schools have suspected mold; superintendent responds

Parents in Montgomery County continue to complain to 7News about suspected mold inside their children's schools.

Ricky Ribeiro @ricktagious.bsky.social · 13/09/2025

Spent some quality time with my Kennedy Cluster people at the Kennedy Block Party. #MCPS

Ricky Ribeiro @ricktagious.bsky.social · 29/08/2025

WOW! This piece from MCCPTA leader Evelyn Chung was a mic drop! I want answers to every single one of the questions she posed from #MCPS: bethesdamagazine.com/2025/08/29/o...

Opinion: MCPS needs to build stronger foundation before expanding regional programs

Moving ahead will only deepen inequities among schools

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Ricky Ribeiro @ricktagious.bsky.social · 07/08/2025

I support @bnhowe.bsky.social's call for transparency as #MCPS scrambles to clean up its background check/CPS clearance non-compliance: "I would like to see a monthly report, publicly shared by the school system, that gives their progress on that," Howe added. wjla.com/features/i-t...

wjla.com

DHS says MCPS is the only school district with a backlog of CPS forms for new hires

Maryland's Child Protective Services conducts background checks on new school district employees, but thousands lack that background check.

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Ricky Ribeiro @ricktagious.bsky.social · 26/06/2025

Tucked into this piece about Melissa Hortman and the role of state reps was this nugget from @joshkurtznews.bsky.social: "I’d argue that the state is reaching the point where it might be better-served by a full-time legislature, with vastly bigger staffs." marylandmatters.org/2025/06/23/w...

marylandmatters.org

What Melissa Hortman means to Maryland - Maryland Matters

After the recent shootings of Minnesota lawmakers, Josh Kurtz asks us to give a thought to the scores of Maryland policymakers living in our neighborhoods, lifting up their constituents and doing thei...

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Ricky Ribeiro @ricktagious.bsky.social · 10/06/2025

This is an important article from @washingtonpost.com that does the deep, intricate work of connecting the interdependent issues of chronic absenteeism, school safety and security, the lack of accountability in public education and juvenile crime. Please read it: wapo.st/3FWu7pY

wapo.st

How D.C.’s failure to curb truancy fueled a surge in youth crime

District leaders linked school attendance to crime, but failure to reduce absenteeism in middle schools yielded the biggest youth crime surge in a generation.

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Ricky Ribeiro @ricktagious.bsky.social · 05/06/2025

I appreciated this in-depth piece from Bethesda Today on the state of what USED to be the marquee mall in #MoCo, Montgomery Mall: bethesdamagazine.com/2025/06/04/w... As a '90s kid, I'll always have a soft spot for malls, but they clearly need to figure out a new reason-for-being to survive.

From Bethesda Magazine: What’s happening at Westfield Montgomery mall?

Since opening its doors in 1968, Westfield Montgomery mall has seemingly survived it all, from a pandemic to changes in tenants.

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Ricky Ribeiro @ricktagious.bsky.social · 05/06/2025

I do not want to hear a damn thing from anyone about "DEI hires" not being qualified for their jobs if this is the crap that is being pulled at the highest levels of govt.

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Ricky Ribeiro @ricktagious.bsky.social · 23/05/2025

Wow. Well this was a well-reported story on the unsafe situations in #MCPS elementary schools due to a lack of special ed personnel and, IMO, bad organizational culture: bethesdamagazine.com/2025/05/23/b...

MCPS parents: Behavioral issues, lack of support creating unsafe classrooms

Multiple families have raised concerns that a lack of support by MCPS for students with behavioral challenges is leading to safety issues.

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Ricky Ribeiro @ricktagious.bsky.social · 23/05/2025

"The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function" — F. Scott Fitzgerald Such an oldie, but this nugget of wisdom is incredibly applicable today and I find myself citing it quite often.

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Ricky Ribeiro @ricktagious.bsky.social · 13/05/2025

Oooooh, @ezrakleinbot.bsky.social is asking all of the right questions. Definitely worth the deep dive as I struggle to make sense of #MCPS and its ways.... www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQQt...

‘We Have to Really Rethink the Purpose of Education’ | The Ezra Klein Show

YouTube video by The Ezra Klein Show

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Ricky Ribeiro @ricktagious.bsky.social · 09/05/2025

As we try to dig out of the literacy crisis, it's scary to see how vulnerable school systems were to unproven, wishful-thinking curriculum. This report uncovers similar patterns of problematic decision-making by school leaders as was outlined in Sold a Story: www.youtube.com/watch?v=_A0A...

Literacy Crisis: How Decades of Teaching Practices Left Children Behind

YouTube video by Atlanta News First

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Ricky Ribeiro @ricktagious.bsky.social · 26/04/2025

Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves has taken over my gaming life in a way that I didn't expect! As a young gamer, I ALWAYS would rent and play the Fatal Fury games on Genesis. So this game is scratching incredible nostalgic itches for me.

Ricky Ribeiro @ricktagious.bsky.social · 24/04/2025

I want an internet full of creativity and humanity, not AI slop. But if we let Big Tech steal content from creators to power their AI systems, soon enough there won’t be any creators left. supportresponsibleai.org

supportresponsibleai.org

Support Responsible AI

Big Tech is stealing from writers, artists, journalists, and publishers to build AI programs. Stealing American content hurts everyone. Let’s stand together for fairness, transparency, and the future ...

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Ricky Ribeiro @ricktagious.bsky.social · 23/04/2025

As #MCPS budget season approaches its close, with the outcome being incredibly uncertain, I wanted to share this CNBC video which does a good job of explaining the broader public education funding landscape: www.youtube.com/watch?v=496k...

Why Public Schools Are Going Broke In The U.S.

YouTube video by CNBC

Ricky Ribeiro @ricktagious.bsky.social · 17/04/2025

The positive feedback on this movie made this movie go from "maybe" to "must-see" for me.

Ricky Ribeiro @ricktagious.bsky.social · 14/04/2025

I watched the debate and discussion about this supposed change for #MCPS for the next school year, and I walked away with more questions than answers. I would have expected the recommendation to be a bit more firmed up for the presentation than it was: bethesdamagazine.com/2025/04/11/m...

MCPS to change how grades are earned, calculated

MCPS will be revamping its grading regulations to "establish high expectations for students,” for the 2025-2026 school year.

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Ricky Ribeiro @ricktagious.bsky.social · 03/04/2025

It's concerning to me that there's such a gap in understanding between #MSDE and #MCPS on how the federal government's decisions will impact our budget. Wright and Taylor not being on the same page speaks to systemic communication issues: bethesdamagazine.com/2025/04/02/t...

Trump’s cut of COVID funding may minimally impact MCPS

The impact on MCPS of the Trump administration's cut off final payments of COVID funding may be limited, but is still being determined.

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Reposted by Ricky Ribeiro

Jonathan Haidt @jonathanhaidt.bsky.social · 02/04/2025

To mark the anniversary of "The Anxious Generation," I have a new resource to share. I get invited to speak at conferences, schools, and parent groups all the time, and I can’t always make it, so I made this video. anxiousgeneration.com/parent-teacher-talk

anxiousgeneration.com

Jonathan's Parent & Teacher Talk

Watch Jonathan Haidt's talk on rolling back phone-based childhood and discover practical solutions for parents, educators, and communities.

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Ricky Ribeiro @ricktagious.bsky.social · 22/03/2025

Fighting for transparency and accountability in matters concerning school safety is an exhausting, uphill battle. My heart goes out to the U-Va shooting victims' families who wanted accountability, answers and information from the university sooner than they received it. wapo.st/41LDS1k

wapo.st

U-Va. releases reports on 2022 shooting, but many details remain shielded

The reports on the University of Virginia shooting highlight the need for better emergency response and communication between law enforcement agencies.

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Ricky Ribeiro @ricktagious.bsky.social · 11/03/2025

And thank you for sharing my response to MCPS's response. We need vision, real plans, impactful leadership, culture shifts and action when it comes to improving safety and security at Kennedy and other #MCPS schools.

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Ricky Ribeiro @ricktagious.bsky.social · 11/03/2025

Thank you, Adam, for shining a spotlight on our community and digging into this.

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Ricky Ribeiro @ricktagious.bsky.social · 11/03/2025

Are you kidding me? The two free checked bags was the last competitive advantage that Southwest was holding onto after they announced they were getting rid of open seating: wjla.com/news/nation-...

wjla.com

Southwest Airlines to begin charging for checked luggage for first time

Southwest's president and CEO said this change is meant to help drive revenue growth and reward the airline's most loyal customers.

Ricky Ribeiro @ricktagious.bsky.social · 04/03/2025

Thank you to Bethesda Today for covering our community meeting on safety and security last week. I hope that the #MCPS leaders who attended listened and internalized the concerns of the Kennedy Community in a genuine way: bethesdamagazine.com/2025/02/28/k...

Kennedy High community looks to MCPS to improve safety in Silver Spring school

After continued concerns for safety, Kennedy students, staff and families gathered to discuss how to improve safety in the school.

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Ricky Ribeiro @ricktagious.bsky.social · 21/02/2025

Anyone else tune into the @mocoboe.bsky.social meeting today? www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tdf... I was glad to hear that MCPS is hiring a vendor to assess the condition of its school buildings. Bringing outside expertise where #MCPS lacks it should be a normal thing.

Board of Education - Board Business Meeting - 2/20/25

YouTube video by MCPS-MD

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Ricky Ribeiro @ricktagious.bsky.social · 20/02/2025

Please join us on Feb. 26 at 6 pm for an important community conversation on improving safety and security at John F. Kennedy High School. #MCPS More info here: kennedyhsptsa.org/.../communit...

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Ricky Ribeiro @ricktagious.bsky.social · 17/02/2025

The challenges that cell phone use has on our schools is seriously complex, interconnected, nuanced work. Unfortunately, the current #MCPS Away All Day "pilot" lacks the kind of rigor and consistency that I think is needed to get to real solutions: bethesdamagazine.com/2025/02/13/m...