Author: demosgen

Journey to Kindergarten, Part 1

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This will be the first part of a series documenting the steps one family is taking to prepare for their son’s entrance into kindergarten next year.

by Gail Z.buses

My oldest son recently turned five years old, which means that we’ll be parents of a kindergarten student next school year. While some parents living in Prince George’s County choose private school for their children, my husband and I have decided that our kids will at least start out in public school. Despite the overall negative reviews Prince George’s County Public Schools tend to receive, we’ve heard good things about our area school. We’re thankful for that because we think it’s a good idea to at least give PGCPS a try.

After all, I taught in those schools as an elementary school teacher for three years and saw many students excel — from students who simply completed their assignments on time and received good grades, to those who were admitted into the Talented and Gifted (TAG) program, to those who went on to magnet programs in middle school. PGCPS does have opportunities for those who work hard and take advantage of them.

As we count down the months until August 2016, my husband and I are in prep mode. We are constantly gathering information–whether from the PGCPS website or friends–so that we are armed with all the information we need to ensure that our son has a strong start in school.

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Weekly News Roundup: International Schools, New Family Resource Center

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Prince George’s County Public Schools has opened two new immigrant-only high schools, or “International Schools” this year, one in Largo and another in Langley Park. These schools are designed to meet the needs of students learning English as a second language. In Maryland, only slightly more than half of English language learners graduate on time, compared with 87% for all students. Similar schools in New York have had success in improving graduation rates among students learing English. (Baltimore Sun) See also this Sentinel article from August.

Reporters from ABC’s “7 on Your Side” team found that confidential documents containing sensitive information about several PGCPS students were posted online on a Weebly website. (ABC7)

Local official at last week’s City of Bowie Education Committee forum discussed overcrowding at Bowie High School and acknolwedged that a new high school probably won’t be built any time soon. (Capital Gazette)

Governor Hogan announced on Monday that Maryland will partner with the private sector to launch a  P-Tech program in the state. The P-Tech (Pathways in Technology Early College High Schools) model trains kids for technology programs in a six-year program that blends high school, college, and work experience. Gov. Hogan’s goal is to open two P-Tech schools in Baltimore and two in rural areas of the state. (Washington Post)

Redskins players handed out turkeys and other traditional Thanksgiving food items at Suitland High School to 200 families in need. Schools CEO Kevin Maxwell and County Council Member Karen R. Toles attended the event. (Washington Post)

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Slight Decline in Prince George’s SAT Scores for 2015

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by Genevieve Demos Kelley

The 2015 SAT scores for Prince George’s County high schools are now available on the Maryland Report Card. Though the school system’s average math subscore was three points higher this year than last year, 2015 saw a slight decline in both the mean composite SAT score and the number of test takers.

The table below shows the average reading, math, and writing subscores and the average composite SAT scores for 2015 college bound seniors in each of the county’s public high schools, as well as the average scores for PGCPS and the state of Maryland. Next to each score, the change from the previous year, 2014, is displayed in either red or green. For example, in Bladensburg High School, the average reading SAT score was 371 in 2015, 31 points lower than it was in 2014. The average math score was 384, two points higher than in 2014.

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Mean SAT scores for college-bound seniors, as reported by the MSDE on the 2015 Maryland Report Card; changes (+/-) from 2014.

To find SAT scores for your school, for every year from 2008 to 2015, go to the Maryland Report Card and hover over the “School” tab. Choose “Prince George’s County” from the pull-down menu, then find your school. Click to open the SAT pdf file, found under the “Graphs and Tables” heading.

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Weekly News Roundup: Salary Disparities, Cricket Leagues, Proposed Legislation

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A report from the Washington Area Boards of Education (WABE) shows large disparities in average teacher salary between school districts in the Washington area. The average teacher salary in Prince George’s County is $9,300 less than it is in Montgomery County. Virginia’s Prince William County has the lowest average teacher salary in the region, and Arlington County is the highest-paying suburban district in the region (Washington Post). To read the entire WABE report, which includes other information such as cost per pupil, total enrollment, and funding sources, go here.

The Prince George’s County delegation is proposing more than two dozen bills in the upcoming legislative session. Among them are a pilot program that would move schools toward a restorative justice discipline model, as an alternative to suspensions, a bill to establish an inspector general over Prince George’s County Public Schools, and a proposal to require CEO Maxwell to report regularly to the general assembly about the school system’s finances (Washington Post).

Delegate Alonzo Washington provides more details about his proposal to establish an Office of the Inspector General in PGCPS and his proposal to move toward a restorative justice model of discipline in his November 18th newsletter.

Andre Brown, a former High Point High School teacher who was convicted in September of sexually abusing a student, was sentenced on Thursday to ten years in prison. (NBC 4)

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New Dist. 7 Board of Education Member Welcomed

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K. Alexander Wallace, the new District 7 Board of Education member, was introduced at the November 12 Board of Education meeting.

You may watch Board Chair Eubanks’s welcome and Mr. Wallace’s introductory remarks, beginning at 14:50 and ending at 16:45 in the video of the November 12 meeting below.

 

Mr. Wallace is pursuing a Master in Public Administration at the University of Baltimore, after having earned a Bachelor of Science degree in political science from Towson University. He is a graduate of Dr. Henry A. Wise, Jr. High School in Prince George’s County and currently lives in Upper Marlboro.

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Sound Off: PGCPS Parents Share Top Concerns

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At a recent community event , we asked participants to jot down what theyIMG_6404 thought were the top concerns facing Prince George’s County Public Schools. They wrote their ideas on sticky notes and posted them anonymously on a poster board.

The answers we got are listed below. These are unedited and in no particular order.

Readers, what would you add to our list? Tell us in the comments section.

  • Low rankings.
  • Community detachment.
  • Lack of link between school and jobs.
  • Lack of community confidence in the schools.
  • Some great specialty programs, but “comprehensive” students and regular neighborhood schools seem to be falling through cracks.
  • Lack of youth and parent engagement to help students succeed or prepare them for their next steps.
  • Parents have to struggle to get needed services for their kids.
  • Lack of community schools.
  • Poor communication between PGCPS and parents.
  • Not enough teacher input when decisions are made.
  • Poor communication between schools and families.
  • No entrepreneur academy for vocation and alternative career youth.
  • Abuse in public schools.
  • No oversight or follow-up to abuse complaints.
  • Teachers are overwhelmed/pulled in, a lot of directions/exhausted, etc.
  • Lack of community schools.
  • Too much standardized testing.
  • What about the children?
  • Seeking progressive education models.
  • Full state funding for schol projects/programs
  • Better engagement between the school district admin and BOE with the parent and private sector community.
  • More transparency.

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Weekly News Roundup: State Funding Issues, Charter School Applications, PARCC Scores

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With budget surpluses on the horizon, Democrat lawmakers are urging Governor Hogan to release the $68 million in GCEI education funds he withheld in May. The money would go to high-cost school districts, with the lion’s share going to Prince George’s, Montgomery, and Baltimore Counties and Baltimore City. (Washington Post)

Governor Hogan and Comptroller Franchot expressed frustration with Maryland’s spending on school construction, at a Board of Public Works meeting on Wednesday. “We can’t just keep shoveling more and more money without accountability,” Hogan said. “The taxpayers are getting pretty frustrated the results.” (Maryland Reporter)

Venture Philanthropy Partners is working with PGCPS to create a new program called “Ready for Work: Champions for Career and College Ready Graduates.” The group has already donated $5 million and has made a committment to work with graduates from Suitland, Oxon Hill, and High Point high schools to “provide internships, to give kids job coaches, to create opportunities for kids to be successful,” according to CEO Kevin Maxwell. (CBSDC)

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PARCC Results Released for Prince George’s County

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According to a PGCPS news release, the school system has received the PARCC results for the English 10, Algebra 1, and Algebra 2 tests. The new PARCC tests were administered for the first time in the spring of this year. Scores for elementary and middle school tests will be released in early December. (Update: Click here to read our story on the PARCC results for grades 3 through 8.)

Tests are scored with on a five-point grading scale, with a score of 4 indicating that expectations were met and 5 indicating that the student exceeded expectations. On the whole, Prince George’s County’s results were poor compared with the statewide results, but some PGCPS subgroups fared better than their peers: For example, 13.4% of African American students in Prince George’s County scored at a Level 4 or 5, compared with 12.8% of African American students statewide.

On the English 10 test, 28.9% of PGCPS students scored a 4 or 5, compared with 39.7% in the state of Maryland. On the Algebra 1 test, 15.1% of county students scored a 4 or 5, compared with 31.2% of students statewide. In Algebra 2, 8.3% scored a 4 or 5, compared with 23.2% of students in the state.

Read the full news release here.

To find a detailed breakdown of scores, including scores by racial/ethnic subgroup and other groups (e.g. FARMs qualifying, English language learners), go to the Maryland Report Card. Find scores for each school system in Maryland by selecting the county or city under the “County” pulldown menu.

Below is a roundup of what major news outlets have to say about the results:

  • The Washington Post reports that less than half of the Montgomery County students who took the Algebra and English tests and less than a third of those in Prince George’s County students are considered on track for college and careers, according to the PARCC test results. But deputy superintendent Shawn Joseph pointed out that Prince George’s County scores look better when broken down by racial subgroup: white students in the county outperformed their peers across the state on all three exams, and African American students beat state averages on two of the three exams.

Come Talk About Your Advocacy Efforts at Nov. 17 Meet and Greet

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Prince George’s County Advocates for Better Schools is hosting a Meet and Greet on Tuesday, November 17th, at 7 pm, in Room 114 of the Greenbelt Community Center.

This is a chance for parents and community members to meet informally and talk about the education advocacy work they are doing in the PGCPS community. We are hoping that participants will share ideas, make connections, and find common ground as they listen and learn from each other. Anyone with an interest is invited! You do not have to consider yourself a parent or community leader or education advocate to attend.

Please send questions and RSVPs to Chris Casey at pgcabschools@gmail.com.

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Demographic Shifts Accompany Growth in PGCPS Enrollment

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by Genevieve Demos Kelley

The 2015 Maryland Report Card is here. The 2015 data are not released all at once; county-specific numbers about standardized assessments and graduation rates will be published later. But in the meantime, the report has some interesting things to say about demographic trends in enrollment.

Enrollment in Prince George’s County Public Schools has been increasing since 2013, reversing a nine-year decline. The 2015 enrollment for PGCPS is 127,576, an increase of 2,440 students from 2014 enrollment and a total increase of 3,839 students since 2013.

But not all racial/ethnic subgroups are seeing growth. Though African American students still make up the largest subgroup (62.7% of all students), enrollment among African American students has declined over the last two years, from 81,786 in 2013, to 80,821 in 2014, to 79,915 in 2015.

Meanwhile, enrollment among Latino students has climbed to 35,597. That’s an increase of 3,267 since 2014, and 5,693 since 2013. Notice that the two-year gain in enrollment in the Latino subgroup (5,693) exceeds the two-year gain in total enrollment for the school system (3,839).

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