With the hometown Washington Commanders seeking a new coach, there’s lots of talk of which candidates came off whose “coaching tree.” One candidate came off the Bill Belichick coaching tree. Another came off the John Harbaugh coaching tree.
And it got me thinking. That same coaching tree idea is true of the incredible teachers in our community. This past Tuesday, longtime MCPS teacher and former MCEA president Chris Lloyd passed away.
I came off the Chris Lloyd tree.
A lot of us came off the Chris Lloyd tree. Senators, journalists, advocates, social workers and—of course—more teachers. Who are now creating trees of their own.
Many Montgomery County residents knew Chris Lloyd as a fierce advocate for his members. Or a tough negotiator. Or a labor leader without peer. And he was definitely all of those things.
But I knew Lloyd—and we all just called him Lloyd—as a teacher. Lloyd was a demanding educator. He treated teens as adults. He required excellence. He demanded accountability. But he asked no more of us than he asked of himself. Which was why each day in his classroom was a powerful combination of knowledge, inspiration, and mentorship.
When I speak to my Montgomery Blair classmates, I am amazed at how many of us ended up in various aspects of public service. It’s not a coincidence. Regardless of who gave us our current titles, it was Lloyd who gave us the courage and inspiration to demand change—and to make it.
Chris Lloyd was the best of Montgomery County. His service to our incredible community has ended. His tree continues to grow unabated.
Sen. Jeff Waldstreicher (D) graduated from Montgomery Blair High School in 1997. He represents Silver Spring, Wheaton, Bethesda, Kensington, Rockville, Garrett Park, and Chevy Chase.
Editor’s note: MoCo360 encourages readers to send us their thoughts about local topics we have covered for consideration as a letter to the editor or op-ed piece. Email them to editorial@moco360.media. Here are our guidelines. We require a name and hometown for publication. We also require a phone number (not for publication) for us to verify who wrote the letter.
Please provide a source for any facts in your letter that were not part of our coverage; if they can’t be verified, they likely will be omitted. We do not accept any submissions from a third party; it must come directly from the writer. We do not accept any pieces that have been published or submitted elsewhere.