Bringing Trust Back to Our Public Education System

By: Maggie Litz Domanowski

I was recently asked my opinions on how we can build trust back in our public school systems—specifically between educators and parents. My answer starts with something simple, but powerful:

Stop saying “they.”

“They don’t have anything.”

“They have no idea what they’re talking about.”

“They are indoctrinating our kids.”

“They get paid a full-year salary to do nine months of work.”

They, they, they—always followed by something negative. Just stop.

Because here are some truths both parents and educators need to understand: we are stuck with each other. And if we keep talking about each other like enemies, we’ll keep getting the same results—more frustration, more division, and fewer students thriving.

The Reality We Can’t Ignore

Teachers and educators: You can no longer afford to tell parents, “If you don’t like it, homeschool,” or “Send your kids to private school,” because that is exactly what’s happening. Public school systems rely on enrollment for funding. You can’t tell your funding to go elsewhere and then complain about a lack of funding.

For the first time in nearly two decades, BCPS is witnessing a decline in enrollment—a decline that started

BCPS 2025 Students Count Updated June 2026

during COVID, has yet to recover, and will continue if we don’t do something, and fast.

Parents: Like it or not, most of you are not cut out to be homeschool educators—and even more of you aren’t in a position to afford private school. You need public educators. Maybe not as much as they need you, but still pretty close.

Proof We Can Agree (When We Actually Listen)

In recent events, Maryland passed legislation to ban cell phones in the classroom—something parent groups have been advocating for for at least the last four years that I’ve been serving as your Board of Education member for Baltimore County’s District 3.

Now we’re also seeing momentum around reducing large-scale digital device use for our youngest learners. California school districts and Randi Weingarten, president of one of the largest teacher unions, are advocating for scaling back digital devices in early grades—again, something parent groups have been pushing for for years.

So what does that tell us?

It tells us parents aren’t automatically wrong.

It tells us educators aren’t automatically resistant.

It tells us progress happens when people stop dismissing each other and start listening.

My Advice to Teachers, Educators, Parents, and Students

Listen before you formulate your response.

Not all parents are “uninformed” or “uneducated” just because they didn’t earn a certificate, degree, or doctorate in education.

And not all teachers are doing the bare minimum just to collect a paycheck.

In fact, in both instances, neither is true for the majority.

This is not “us versus them” when it comes to educating our children. It’s just us—working for what’s best for academic outcomes for our students.

Steps We Can Start Taking Today

Teachers, educators, and front office administrators:

Listen to parent groups. They are not going anywhere. And eventually, even more families will figure out a way to take their kids somewhere else. Parent advocacy for education is here to stay. If you want their help, you have to respect that.

Parents:

Stop putting all the blame on educators and teachers. More often than not, they are doing exactly what they’ve been trained to do in professional development—and they may genuinely not understand why you’re frustrated or why something isn’t working for your child. They are just as worn out, frustrated, and ready to walk away as you are.

Administrators and school leadership:

Stop waiting for local, state, and federal government to do something about what you already know are the right policies for your school system. We should not have to go to elected officials and politicians to advocate for school policy. They should be coming to us and asking what they can do to improve academic outcomes for our students.

Bringing Trust Back Starts With How We Talk

Trust doesn’t come back through slogans. It comes back through habits—how we speak, how we listen, and how we treat each other when we disagree.

So let’s stop saying “they.”

Because when it comes to our kids, it’s not “them.”

It’s us.