Category: In the Media

Weekly News Roundup: No Child Left Behind Rewrite Passes House

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Three community meetings to discuss boundary changes, school reassignment, and consolidation have been announced. Schools to be discussed include Accokeek Academy, Buck Lodge MS, Calverton ES, Forestville HS, Fort Washington Forest ES, G. James Gholson MS, Martin L. King Jr. MS, Potomac Landing ES, Princeton ES, Skyline ES, Suitland ES, Suitland HS, William Beanes ES. Reassigning sixth graders to middle schools will also be discussed. For dates and locations, see the flyer.

Dr. Henry A. Wise, Jr. High School won the Maryland 4A state football championship on Friday, defeating Howard High School 55-6 (Sentinel). Watch highlights of the game at Fox 5.

Side by Side, a faith-based nonprofit organization in Laurel, works with parents at five elementary schools to help parents learn how to help their children succeed in school. (Baltimore Sun)

A suspicious backpack with what looked like wires sticking out of it was found at Bladensburg High School after a bomb threat was called in to the school. An inspection showed that the backpack was harmless. (NBC 4)

Derrick Leon David (D-Mitchellville) and Danielle M. Glaros (D-Riverdale Park) were elected by the Prince George’s County Council as the new chair and vice chair, respectively. According to Davis, the council is “committed to creating a more business-friendly county.” (Washington Post)

A bipartisan rewrite of 2002’s much-criticized No Child Left Behind law, bill S. 1177,  easily passed the House on Wednesday and has moved on to the Senate for a vote early next week. The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA,) would give the federal government a smaller role in overseeing and guiding public education. The new legislation retains the requirement for annual testing in math and English and in grades 3 – 8 and once in high school. However, states would be able to make their own decisions about how to evaluate teachers and schools. (Washington Post)

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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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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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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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Weekly News Roundup: Financial Literacy “Mini-city” Opens, Low PARCC and NAEP Scores

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After a student filmed a PGCPS school bus driver texting while the bus was in motion, PGCPS is changing its transportation discipline handbook so that drivers who misuse cellphones on a school bus can be fired. (NBC 4)

A new financial literacy center opened Tuesday on the campus of G. James Gholson Middle School. The Prince George’s County Junior Achievement Finance Park is a partnership with PGCPS, Capitol One, and Junior Achievement of Greater Washington. It is a 13,500 square foot experiential learning center that will serve 9,000 students per year. Students visiting the center will take on a role (e.g. career, salary, financial obligations) and, using a digital tablet, put their financial skills to the test in a “mini-city” with storefronts and kiosks. (PGCPS)

Columnist Michelle Singletary writes of the need to be wary of conflict of interests in financial literacy programs. (Washington Post)

An Eleanor Roosevelt HS freshman writes an opinion piece for the Washington Post, questioning whether extracurricular activities should affect college admissions. (Washington Post)

At Central High School, a student’s cell phone went missing, and campus security searched the binder and book bag of every student in the class. Now the family of one of the students who was searched has filed a lawsuit, claiming that the search was illegal. (Washington Post)

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Weekly News Roundup: Tragedy in Oxon Hill

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A 14-year-old Oxon Hill teenager was fatally stabbed on Monday as he tried to protect his mother, who was being held at knifepoint by her boyfriend. His 18-year-old brother was also injured in the attack. Keyshuan Mason was a freshman at Potomac High school, and his family has seen an outpouring of support from the school community. (Washington Post)

Five were injured when a school bus and a pickup truck collided in Brandywine on Friday. Fifteen children were on the bus when the accident occurred. One student, the driver, and three others were injured. None of the injuries were life threatening. (WTOP, ABC 7)

Prince George’s County Public Schools is expanding its commitment to integrating arts with core academic subjects like math and English. The five-year plan is to expand the program to all schools in the system. (CBS DC)

A student recorded a cellphone video of a PGCPS school bus driver texting while the bus was in motion on the way to James Madison Middle School. The bus driver is still employed but is under investigation and may be temporarily suspended with the right to appeal. Changes in the PGCPS policy to include termination in the future are under consideration. (WTOP)

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Weekly News Roundup: School Lunches, Arts Integration, Saturday School, and Standardized Testing

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CEO Responds to School Lunch Reports:  As part of National School Lunch Week, PGCPS CEO Kevin Maxwell invited FOX 5 along to a Bowie school to have lunch and discuss the recent reports of substandard quality in school lunches.  FOX5

PG County School Closed Due to Fire:  Samuel Chase Elementary School in Temple Hills, MD, was closed Wednesday and Thursday due to a fire caused by an overhead fan.  Students were relocated to a nearby high school.  WTOP

State Lawmakers Investigate Overtesting Complaints:  Lawmakers in the State House and Senate hold a hearing to investigate the common complaint of too many standardized tests in schools.  WBALTV

PGCPS Officials Look to State for School Repair Funds:  Maryland Comptroller visits Suitland High School in a bid by PGCPS to have the state provide matching funds for renovations to ailing schools.  CBSDC

Arts Integration Gains Momentum:  An initiative in PGCPS to integrate arts into the classroom has expanded from 15 to 41 schools over the last year.  This follows a national trend as research emerges showing how combining arts with academics can improve learning.  The Washington Post Continue reading →

Weekly News Roundup: Construction Delays, Maintenance Concerns, Literacy Coaches, Openings for Bus Drivers and Nurses

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Accokeek Academy middle school students thought that they would begin the new school year in a newly renovated building, but due to construction delays, they are still in portable classrooms. The Academy is a K-8 school, and the elementary school portion of the renovation was completed in 2014. However, the new HVAC system has not worked properly since the upgraded building opened. (Sentinel)

In a September 24 meeting, the Board of Education discussed the need for better maintenance of facilities and debated whether there is inequity between schools in the southern and northern regions with respect to the system’s responsiveness to maintenance needs. (Sentinel)

In 2014, only 12% of PGCPS students who took the SAT demonstrated college readiness, compared with a 41% of students in the state of Maryland. PGCPS hopes that literacy coaches in schools will help to change that. (ABC 7)

Arne Duncan’s departure as Education Secretary — happening in December — has been met with a wide range of reactions. The Washington Post publishes a roundup of reactions, from Duncan’s critics and supporters. (Washington Post)

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Weekly News Roundup: Health Director Placed on Leave, New U.S. Secretary of Education

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Dr. Angela Wakhweya, PGCPS’s director of health services, has been placed on leave for reasons that are not entirely clear. School records indicate that thousands of students have not been properly immunized (NBC 4).

Related stories: Dr. Wahkweya discussed challenges of immunization and blamed PGCPS administration for failing to help her get the job done (NBC 4). Almost 2,000 students were not permitted to attend Prince George’s County schools on October 1, because they did not have up-to-date vaccinations on record (NBC 4).

Forty-one schools are participating in PGCPS’s arts integration program, where students learn academic concepts through visual art, music, and movement. PGCPS hopes to expand the program to all schools in the county within five years. (The video at WUSA 9 is a more complete story than the text below the video viewing window.)

Twenty-nine elementary schools will benefit from a federally funded grant of $911,200 aimed at helping students sample fresh fruits and vegetables that they might not otherwise experience (e.g. asparagus, star fruit). Schools will be given $50-75 to spend per student for a vegetable or fruit snack during the day. (PGCPS News Release)

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will step down in December. President Obama has chosen deputy secretary John B. King, Jr. as his successor. King previously served as New York state’s commissioner of education, where he came under fire for implementing new teacher evalutions tied to test scores and for pushing the state to adopt new Common Core tests. King also has a background in charter school leadership. (Washington Post)

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Will 28,000 PGCPS students miss school tomorrow because of missing vaccinations?

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by Kate McElhenny

http://www.nbcwashington.com/video/#!/news/local/Health-Director-Blames-Discrimination-on-Immunization-Rates/330012861

This clip from NBC Washington misstates the number of students missing vaccinations as 28,000. (That would be almost 25 percent of the total student population!) A quick call to Sherrie Johnson, PGCPS Public Information Officer cleared up the confusion. Drop a zero.

The number remains disturbing at 2800. For comparison, Montgomery and Charles Counties have numbers of students without proper vaccinations in the single digits.

In the above clip, Dr. Angela Wakhweya, PGCPS Health Director, cites PGCPS for failing to reach out to residents with language and economic challenges as the reason for the high number of those without necessary vaccinations.

Missing student records were also mentioned as a cause. Some parents have questioned whether the number of students without proper immunization is actually as high as reported.

As a parent of a kindergartener, I was contacted by the district (after registration and before the start of school) for not having her immunizations on file. When reached, staff at her elementary school assured me that they did possess her files and there was no need for concern. A district employee called days later again stating that they did not have our daughter’s immunizations on file.

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