Category: Health and Safety

School Mistakenly Sends Email to Mother Concerned about Mold in the Classrooms

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From ABC 7, by Chris Papst, Published on May 29, 2015. Go here for the full story.

TEMPLE HILLS, Md. (WJLA) — A Prince George’s County mom who pulled her child out of school because she said mold in the building was making her daughter sick may be onto something. The 7 On Your Side I-Team obtained a document the district accidentally released explaining how mold could possibly have been in the school.

In this age of spreadsheets and word documents it’s easy to see how someone could send the wrong attachment in an email. But in this case that wrong attachment included information the Prince George’s County School District apparently did not want public.

Recess: A Thing of the Past?

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The following is an opinion piece written by Prince George’s County parent Li’l Dan Celdran. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of the owner of this website, Prince George’s County Advocates for Better Schools, or its members.

My son attends our neighborhood school as a kindergartner this year. As a product of Prince George’s County Public Schools myself, I knew that school would be different for my son: I just didn’t realize hoIMG_6473cropw much. For instance, at the orientation I learned that his school gets only 15 minutes of recess daily (weather permitting). When I attended kindergarten, I went for a half day. We had 30 minutes for lunch, then 30 minutes for recess. We used construction paper, scissors, crayons and glue. We played “house” and dress up. We used blocks to build structures. School was fun.

Now, students don’t go outdoors when it’s snowing, raining or too windy. Instead, they have recess indoors. This may include playing “quiet” games (e.g. board games), free play with manipulatives, or going to classroom “centers” (e.g. library corner, science area, drama-imaginative play). Although he receives regular Physical Education classes, this does not take the place of recess. Recess is a break that would allow children to play (or not play) as they wish. I want my child to have a break from his learning and more time for movement and creative play.

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Prince George’s Group Offers Support for Parents of Students with Health Needs

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The support group Parents of Students with Health Needs recently held a listening session with board of education member Verjeana Jacobs and other PGCPS officials, so that parents could share their experiences.

The excerpt below is from the Gazette, reporter Jamie Anfenson-Comeau, published May 20, 2015.

For the complete story, go here.

Beth McCracken-Harness of Cheverly said that the three years her son spent in and out of school while being treated for a major illness were some of the most difficult experiences in her life.

“There was a time when I couldn’t go to the doctor right across the street without getting a call that my son’s heart monitor was going off,” McCracken-Harness recalled. “It was very isolating. Thank God for the Home and Hospitals teachers who came by.”

Continue reading at the Gazette.

PGCPS Policy Prohibits Use of Food or Recess as Punishment/Reward, Lunch Must Last 30 Minutes

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by Amy Alford

Prince Georges’ County Public Schools has a policy on Wellness, Nutrition, and Physical Activity (Administrative Procedure 0116) that specifically prohibits the use of food, physical activity, recess, or physical education as a reward or punishment.

playground_6403.v01a.25percentThe policy also states that lunch must last at least 30 minutes, and principals must ensure that students have at least 20 minutes to eat. Additionally, it calls for principals to provide a cafeteria environment that is “pleasant and conducive to appropriate food consumption and socialization.”

It may surprise some parents that the policy requires that “all elementary children will have multiple opportunities daily for physical activity lasting 15 minutes or more, in addition to a daily recess period, preferably before lunch.” Earlier in the document, physical activity is defined as, “Any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles those [sic] results in an expenditure of energy.”

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15 Minute Minimum Recess in PGCPS Is Shortest in the Area

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by Genevieve Demos Kelley

Some elementary school students in Prince George’s County have as little as 15 minutes of recess per day. PGCPS policy states that recess for students in kindergarten through fifth grade should be “no less than 15 minutes per day and for no more than 30 minutes per day.” (Middle school and high school students do not have recess.)

playground_6394.v01b.25percentIn a 2013 policy statement, the American Academy of Pediatrics has written about the “crucial role” of recess as an “essential, planned respite from rigorous cognitive tasks.”

The AAP does not recommend a specific number of minutes for daily recess. However, its recess policy statement notes that across the nation, “the length specified for recess ranges widely, from 20 to 60 minutes per day,” suggesting that a 15 minute recess is outside the norm.

Recess Policies of Nearby Districts

How does PGCPS’s recess policy for elementary schools compare with policies in nearby districts?

  • Montgomery County requires that recess for elementary school students be between 20 and 30 minutes.
  • Howard County elementary schools schedule a 30 minute recess into the school day.
  • Anne Arundel County Public Schools cites on its website the recommendation of the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) that recess be at least 20 minutes per day. (Read the full NASPE statement here.)
  • Fairfax County elementary schools recently increased their scheduled recess to 20 minutes per day, after the recent move to a full-day schedule on Mondays.
  • DC Public Schools allow for a minimum of 20 minutes of recess per day in elementary school.

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Teacher Arrested in Alleged Abuse of 9-Year-Old Student

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From the Washington Post, by reporter Lynh Bui, published May 6, 2015.

For the complete story, go here.

A Prince George’s County elementary school teacher was arrested Tuesday after police allege he kissed a 9-year-old student.

Erwin Magnaye, 39, of Laurel, was charged with sex abuse of a minor, second-degree assault and other sex offenses, police said.

The mother of a William Paca Elementary School student told authorities in February that her son said Magnaye “kissed him in a classroom and had also inappropriately touched him several times beginning in September of 2014,” police said in a statement.

Continue reading at the Washington Post.

Police Officer Found Guilty of Assaulting Student

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From the Washington Post, reported by the Associated Press, published May 4, 2015.For the complete story, go here.

UPPER MARLBORO, Md. — A Prince George’s County police officer has been found guilty of assaulting a student.

Authorities announced Monday that Police Officer First Class Charles Pickard was found guilty of second-degree assault, reckless endangerment and malfeasance.

The whole story at the Washington Post.