Category: Board of Education

Q & A with Jeana Jacobs, District 5 Board of Education Candidate

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Jeana Jacobs Turquoise Standing1This is part of a series of interviews with PGCPS Board of Education candidates. Verjeana Jacobs is running for re-election to the Board as one of four candidates from District 5 (see district map here) whose names will be on the ballot in the April 26th primary election. Ms. Jacobs answered questions generated by members of Prince George’s County Advocates for Better Schools. Leading up to the election, we will publish responses from other candidates as well.

Prince George’s County Advocates for Better Schools does not endorse or oppose any candidate for the Board of Education.

Tell us about your background and why you are running for the Board of Education.

I am an Attorney, Licensed Consultant by Maryland Nonprofits Standards for Excellence Institute, and trained Mediator by the American Arbitration Association. I have over 25 years in public service working with multiple complex bureaucracies including non-profit organizations, government/quasi-government agencies, urban education systems and labor unions. Working with diverse stakeholders, I support group identification of a shared agenda and always seize opportunities to build respect and trust. In various leadership roles whether as Chair of one of the largest school districts (Prince George’s County), in the United States for almost six years, President of the Maryland Association of Boards of Education, or as Vice Chair of the National School Boards’ Council of Urban Boards of Education, I have been effective in bringing divergent stakeholders to the table to tackle contentious, yet necessary issues with the focus on improving the quality of education.

I am running for re-election to continue to strongly advocate on behalf of students, parents, teachers and others who work tirelessly with our students. There is still work to do to continue to fight to reduce overcrowded classrooms, ensure services for our special needs students, and help to empower parents be the best advocates for their children. This is my life’s work. I care deeply about student success. 

What are your top three goals for PGCPS, and how do you plan to accomplish them if elected?

My goals for the next term are to (1) Ensure accountability of student based budgeting so that schools get their fair share of the nearly $1.8 billion dollar budget allocated for the school district; (2) Continue to fight for Pre-Kindergarten for ALL students; (3) Continuous improvement of neighborhood schools, to include special education services

I will accomplish these goals through joint community effort. I will continue to find ways to empower families to be the best advocates developing strategies to resolve problems and achieve results – one issue at a time. In addition, I will continue to do the work necessary to be an effective board member – engage stakeholders at all levels, and collaborate with my board colleagues and the CEO through policy development and best practices.

What experience do you have working with parents or parent organizations, and how will you increase parent engagement with the system?

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Q & A with Raaheela Ahmed, District 5 Board of Education Candidate

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imageThis is the first in an ongoing series of interviews with PGCPS Board of Education candidates. Raaheela Ahmed is one of four candidates from District 5 (see district map here) whose names will be on the ballot in the April 26th primary election. Ms. Ahmed answered a series of questions generated by members of Prince George’s County Advocates for Better Schools. Leading up to the election, we will publish responses from other candidates as well.

Prince George’s County Advocates for Better Schools does not endorse or oppose any candidate for the Board of Education.

 

Tell us about your background and why you are running for the Board of Education. 

My name is Raaheela and I am a lifelong Prince Georgian and resident of Bowie who is a product of Prince George’s County’s public elementary, middle and high schools. I hold degrees from the University of Maryland in Finance and Economics. I am running for the School Board because I feel that my current and fresh perspectives will have a positive impact on the District in improving student success. I believe in the potential of our students and will work hard to ensure that our students are not only college and career ready, but also culturally competent and globally competitive. My professional experience as a federal financial consultant for the Department of Homeland Security, boardroom experience on the University System of Maryland Board of Regents, and volunteer work focused on enhancing the lives and education of our county’s students (America Reads*America Counts, Health Leads, Moneythink Maryland, and Court Appointed Special Advocate) enhance my effectiveness as your representative on the board. Together we can ensure a bright future for our children and our communities!

What are your top three goals for PGCPS, and how do you plan to accomplish them if elected?

Community Engagement:

I believe in the statement: It takes a village to raise a child. This proverb highlights the need for collaborative effort in making change….the necessity of not one, but several caring individuals and institutions in human growth and development. K-12 education systems are grounds for this kind of development. Whether we like it or not, our schools are responsible for teaching hard subjects like math and science as well as intangible skills like work ethic and acceptable societal behaviors. It takes effort from all stakeholders in building our schools and our community. That is why efforts to encourage parental involvement in schools and develop partnerships with local universities and businesses are important to the progress of our schools and students. To encourage community engagement, I’d like to spearhead the establishment of active formal parent-teacher organizations in all schools, corporate partnerships to provide internship and other academic opportunities for our students, and personally engaging in community outreach as I have been doing on the campaign trail.

Transparency and Accountability:

Prince George’s County has a history of corrupt elected figureheads, mismanagement of money and general public distrust. In order to overcome these issues and thrive as a community, both transparency and accountability must be prioritized. I believe fiscal transparency is needed with the school budget so that individuals know not only how their taxpayer dollars are being spent, but whether that spending has a good return on investment given demographic metrics (test scores, graduation rates, etc.) I support having a thorough evaluation of our academic programs. Understanding what works and what doesn’t will allow PGCPS to align resources and funding efficiently and increase academic excellence. Additionally, I’d like to see more advanced technology use in sharing detailed information, similar to the UNC Data Dashboard.

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What is the Parent and Community Advisory Council?

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by Lori Morrow

What does parent engagement mean to you? When my son started kindergarten eight years ago, parent engagement meant walking him to class each day, assisting during class parties, and occasionally volunteering at a PTA event. Over the years, my level of involvement grew as I took on the role of PTA President during my son’s 2nd and 3rd grade years. I began to attend school board meetings and hearings, and I became a familiar face to many of our local elected representatives.  Now with children in elementary and middle school, I am reminded daily that parent engagement shifts as our children mature and become more independent. I no longer walk my 7th grader to class, but it is still important to communicate with his teachers and understand how his school functions.

Last fall, after 8 years of involvement and advocacy, I was nominated for the PGCPS Parent and Community Advisory Council (PCAC) by my Board of Education representative, and in March of 2016, I received my official appointment letter to a 2-year term on the council.

Established by PGCPS Board Policy 1500, the Parent and Community Advisory Council serves as one of three advisory groups to the Board of Education. Members are

Officially the PCAC is tasked with providing “counsel and advice on issues pertaining to student academic achievement, parental and community engagement and public perception of PGCPS.” That leaves a lot of latitude for the Council Co-Chairs and members to set priorities and topics based on the current issues in our school system. Recent topics of discussion include specialty programs, Parent Engagement Office initiatives, communication about school consolidations, and school safety.

The Council meets monthly with Board of Education Chair Dr. Segun Eubanks, Board Member Curtis Valentine, and staff from the Parent and Community Engagement and Board of Education offices. Meetings are held on the second Monday of the month at 6 pm in the Sasscer Administration Building, in the small room that adjoins the Board Room. Meetings are public; guests are welcome to attend and observe meetings, but space is limited.

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Please Send Us Your Stories

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100_3401We want you to write for us! Send your original content to Genevieve Demos Kelley at pgcabschools@gmail.com. If we like it, we’ll publish it on this blog.

Your story may fall into one or more of the following categories:

  • Opinions. (Go here, here, and here for examples.) Opinion pieces must take a respectful and reasonable tone and must be grounded in documented evidence. Constructive criticism of ideas, policies, and practices is welcome; character attacks are not.
  • Personal narratives. (Go here, here, and here for examples.) We want to read about your experiences — good and bad — with Prince George’s County Public Schools. Stories should not focus on one particular school, unless the narrative is instructive for the larger PGCPS community. Some pieces are a mix of story telling and opinion (like this one, for example). That’s fine.
  • News, information, and analysis. (Go here, here, and here for examples.) Almost any topic is fair game, as long as it is directly tied to PGCPS and follows the guidelines below.
  • Positive pieces. (See here, here, and here for examples.) We love publishing stories that put our schools in a positive light. Keep the good news coming.

Some points to keep in mind:

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Thoughts After a Boisterous Hearing on School Closings and Boundary Changes

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by Tommi Makila

The views expressed are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Prince George’s County Advocates for Better Schools.

The Prince George’s County Board of Education’s Public Hearing on Boundary Changes and Proposed School Consolidations on February 23, 2016 was an amazing and wild affair. If you were not able to attend the hearing, you may view a recording of it online.

The hearing was eye opening and thought provoking. The issues that generated the most comments were the proposed closures of Forestville High School and Skyline Elementary, as well as boundary changes in the Accokeek and Fort Washington areas.

As I was sitting at the hearing, many thoughts came to mind. It is hard to organize those feelings into a chronological narrative, so I am providing the following rather random list of thoughts:

  • CEO Kevin Maxwell did not attend the hearing. Yet, since 2013, when the school board was restructured (see Maryland House Bill 1107), it is the CEO — not the Board of Education — who has authority to close schools. Moreover, it was the CEO who introduced these proposals for school consolidations and boundary changes (see p. 17 of this document) to the Board of Education. It was a surprise not to see him there.
  • Sometimes people power works! The hearing was one of the most powerful public hearings I have ever attended—powerful enough to push the BOE to postpone all boundary decisions until next year. But residents and parents only seem to get involved when these kinds of drastic problems come up, issues that dramatically impact their children and families. In many ways this is natural, but we need to be engaged at other times too.
  • We need to keep the needs of our students first and foremost. The Skyline Elementary closure proposal was the most striking example of student needs getting lost in the shuffle. Skyline has a large population of autistic kids, and parents convincingly argued that the school provides high-quality services for them. Testimony from the Skyline parents was heartbreaking. It is obvious that we must find a way to maintain the existing special services for these kids.
  • Schools are important for communities. When we are looking at school closures or major boundary changes, we must work with the impacted communities and always try to find community solutions. Try to keep Accokeek students in Accokeek, Ft. Washington kids in Ft. Washington, Forestville in Forestville, and so forth. I believe that for local schools, strong community support and school pride are factors in their success.
  • When looking at school closures and boundary changes, central office personnel comes up with solutions that look fine on their spreadsheets and maps. But they may not be such great solutions for the people impacted. It is the responsibility of the CEO and Board of Education (BOE) members to work with communities to really understand all the issues and find the best solutions.
  • The process for handling these issues—school closures and major boundary changes—must be longer. While some community hearings on these issues were held in early December 2015, no specific plans were shared at that time. The first time actual proposals were made public was when the CEO presented his recommendations at the January 21 BOE meeting. The public hearing was held on February 23, and the BOE vote was originally scheduled for February 25. Considering the impact these changes have on communities, the process must be much longer and entail significant outreach and collaboration with local communities.

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Prince George’s County Parents Speak up About Recess

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The following opinion was presented by LaShayla Clark, one of four Prince George’s County parents who spoke during the public comment portion of the February 25, 2016 Board of Education meeting about the need for longer recess. You may view Ms. Clark’s comments beginning at 1:21:58 in the video below.

Good evening. Thank you for the opportunity to speak about the topic of recess. Two and a half years ago, my husband and I decided to move our family from Georgia to Maryland with the hopes of our children receiving a high quality education. Despite what we heard regarding education in Prince George’s county, we looked for a school that was ranked high and bought a home a little over a year ago. I have three small children, a four year old, a two year old and a 7 month old. My oldest will be starting school this fall.

Recently, my eyes have been opened to a number of issues that reside with our county’s school system. Many of the families that I have met here are planning to home school their children or send them to private school. One of those parents who send her children to private school said, “Our children will be done with school by the time they fix everything.” Nevertheless, I believe that my children can and will receive a great education in Prince George’s County and so I am here to ask you to consider research based policies for our school system.

It was while visiting schools, that I asked an administrator how much time the students have for recess. She told me 15 minutes. I was in shock. She went on to say that Prince George’s County schools require 15 minutes. I have since learned that each school has an option to allow up to 30 minutes of recess a day. However, many schools only provide the minimum. I recently spoke to a principal in Prince George’s County who increased the time of recess at her school. I learned a couple of things in my conversation with her. One is that she wants what is best for all of her students. Two, she wants her school to aim for the Bronze level for the Healthy Schools Program, which encourages at least 20 minutes of recess per day.

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Skyline ES Parents Fight to Keep Autism Program, School Open

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by Genevieve Demos Kelley

Parents of children in the autism program at Prince George’s County’s Skyline Elementary School gave emotional testimony during last night’s Board of Education meeting.

Below, I have noted the points in the board meeting video where each parent who spoke on behalf of their autistic child began their comments. I have also included a few sentences from each parent’s testimony.

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HB 1107: Putting Last Night’s Five-Hour Board Meeting into Context

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by Lori Morrow

Last night, I attended the PGCPS Board of Education Meeting to hear the members vote on the CEO’s Proposed Operating Budget. The five-hour meeting provided an interesting glimpse into our local county politics. (Click to watch Part 1 and Part 2 of the video of the meeting.) Nearly two hours of the meeting were spent listening to students, parents and community members discuss the impact of recommended school closures and consolidations in southern Prince George’s County. Having faced a similar situation in my Tulip Grove Elementary School neighborhood years ago, I empathize with those families and understand how frustrating the uncertainty can be. As yet, no final decisions on school closures have been made.

A comment I heard multiple times was that the Board Members are elected by us.  However, since House Bill 1107 passed in the 2013 Maryland legislative session, that is not entirely true. HB 1107 changed the structure of the Board of Education and made changes to the position of chief executive officer, formerly known as superintendent of schools. The impact of those changes was evident last night.

Nine of our Board of Education members are elected, and four are appointed by the County Executive.  Moreover, the Board needs a 2/3 majority to override a decision of the CEO, other than a personnel decision. HB1107 also transferred many powers directly to the CEO, appointed by the County Executive.  Under the new law, the PGCPS Board of Education is charged with only two responsibilities: 1. Raise the level of academic achievement of the students in the Prince George’s County Public School System; and 2. Raise the level of engagement of parents, students, and community as a whole. Other responsibilities, including school closures, belong solely to the Chief Executive Officer. It is an important distinction, as the voter’s influence in choosing the CEO comes from our election of the County Executive rather than the Board of Education.

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Board Votes to Postpone Decision on Boundary Changes

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by Genevieve Demos Kelley

It was standing room only at last night’s public hearing on the proposed boundary changes, school closings, and grade reorganizations. At three and a half hours, the meeting lasted so long that video of the proceedings was posted in two separate parts on PGCPS’s Youtube channel.

You may watch Part 1 here (the first three hours) and Part 2 (the last thirty minutes) here.

After nearly two hours of testimony, Board Member Verjeana Jacobs (District 5) made a motion to postpone the voting on the boundary changes — originally scheduled for February 25th — until this time next year. (Watch Ms. Jacobs’s motion and the ensuing discussion beginning at 1:51 in Part 1 of the video.) The motion was met with loud, sustained applause from the audience, with many in the crowd rising from their seats. Though opposed by Board Chair Segun Eubanks, the motion carried with a near-consensus. The item appears to have been removed from the agenda for the February 25th meeting. After the vote on the motion to postpone the meeting, public testimony continued for the next one and a half hours.

Alternatives to School Closings: One Resident’s View

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The following is written testimony submitted by community member and longtime youth advocate Denise Joseph in advance of tonight’s Public Hearing on the proposed boundary changes, and school consolidations. The views expressed are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Prince George’s County Advocates for Better Schools.

Greetings,

I would like to provide some ideas and suggestions as testimony for upcoming school decisions to be considered to help improve schools:

I would like to see PGCPS apply for grants to renovate and improve schools. Some grants to be considered are from the Gates Foundation, Microsoft, U.S. Department of Education or other organizations that specialize in grants for CIP funding.

I propose that Fort Washington Forest Elementary should become an ESOL or Spanish Immersion School to help populate the school so that it does not have to be part of the consolidation plan. I think that you should also consider a home school partnership program to help with the under enrollment, since the home school population is high in this area.

Please consider creating a middle years program at Stephen Decatur Middle to help with the enrollment and reduce the overcrowding of nearby schools.

I would like to see the creation of a 6-12 grade model, secondary school at Friendly High School, similar to Hayfield Secondary in Fairfax County Public Schools

Bring back the military academy to Forestville High School and make it a military career academy and partner with several branches of the military and possibly Andrews Air Force base. You can also partner with colleges that specialize in the military like VMI and Navy to encourage high school graduation and help students to become college and career ready. This will help with enrollment but will also help capture a portion of the students that might not go directly to college after graduation or drop out before graduating. This in turn will help the Prince George’s economy and tax base and provide hope to students that feel hopeless and trapped, because they feel like their only option is college.

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