Just a quick update here that’s recently come to the PTA from Principal Hayden after our most recent PTA meeting in which we discussed screen time and Chromebook usage in the classroom.
- MCPS Principals (including Principal Hayden) had a conversation with MCPS leadership about parent concerns during Administrator Professional Learning with MCPS last month. Over the summer, the Maryland Board of Education called for a K-8 screen time review (“will be presented to the Board by March 2027,” no results have been published as of October 12, 2026). Principals across MoCo have not received official guidance yet.
- Principal Hayden realizes that MCPS can be slow when it comes to taking action and is prepared for TPES itself to identify places to reduce screen time, especially in cases that it’s not directly related to instruction or curriculum.
- TPES’ leadership plans to continue discussing screen time and Chromebook use with the ILT Team (grade-wide leads, etc).
- Principal Hayden acknowledges a need to make some adjustments now while MCPS is conducting the review and determining district wide next steps. In the meantime, she is prepared to develop a common-sense general TPES screen policy. The goal is to present this to TPES families by late-October, early-November. Once guidance from MCPS has been provided, this policy will be adapted to reflect that guidance.
- Parents and caregivers are encouraged to email teachers directly to ask specific questions about screentime and Chromebook usage in that classroom OR to schedule a time to come into class and see Smart Board use, Chromebook use, the Boost curriculum, etc at work in-person.
If you’re interested in being part of an unofficial parent advisory group on this topic, please join for an informal meet up this Sunday, October 18, 8-9PM @ Olive Lounge to connect, share experiences/concerns, and talk about ways to support advocacy efforts happening across MCPS. See the announcement for this meet up in the TPES WhatsApp community or on our listserv.