Category: In the Media

Weekly News Roundup: NCLB Rewrite, Higher Meal Prices, 11 New Principals, Legislation on Gaming Revenue

Leave a comment

The United States Senate passed a bipartisan rewrite of No Child Left Behind that, among other provisions, weakens the federal role in overseeing school performance. The new bill still requires annual testing in reading and math for grades 3 through 8 and once in high school, but it lets states decide how to identify and turn around struggling schools. The House and Senate must now draft a final version to send to the President. (Washington Post) Read the NEA’s take on it here. Read Valerie Strauss’s article about the debate surrounding the bill here.

Cafeteria meal prices in Prince George’s County Schools will be slightly higher this year. (Sentinel)

Montgomery County has eliminated final exams in middle school and is considering a proposal to get rid of final exams in high school as well. Loudon County is also changing its final exam requirements, moving toward an emphasis on project-based assessment. (Washington Post)

Continue reading →

Weekly News Roundup: Summer Break Packets, Beer Sold at University of Maryland Events, Board of Education Call for Applications

Leave a comment

Did you know that PGCPS has summer break homework packets online? Find them here, for all grade levels — even rising kindergarten students.

Beginning in September, the University of Maryland will sell beer at athletic events. On Wednesday, the Prince George’s County Board of Commissioniers approved the proposal. (Washington Post)

The summer jobs program for Prince George’s County youth has expanded to serve nearly 3,000 young people in its six-week program this year. (Washington Post)

The deadline to take the School Climate Survey has been extended to July 17. Find the link to the survey here. Parents will need to enter an access code which they should have received by email or post in June. For assistance,  contact Dr. Carole Keane in the Department of Research and Evaluation via e-mail at research@pgcps.org.

Continue reading →

Weekly News Roundup: Free Summer Lunches, Bitter Budget Debate at Board Meeting, Future of Forestville High, MUST Tests Suspended

Leave a comment

Free summer lunches for children 18 years and younger will be provided at several county schools from June 29 though August 7. No proof of income is required. See flyer for details. (PGCPS) News channel NBC Washington reports that the meals will also be available at a handful of libraries and provides a map. (NBC 4)

“The Prince George’s County Board of Education engaged in one of its most bitter battles in recent memory while giving approval to changes to the school system’s 2016 budget.” (Sentinel)

“To fill the vacancy created by the expiration of the term of Dr. Daniel Kaufman, County Executive Rushern L. Baker, III is now accepting applications from residents who are interested in serving as an At-Large appointed member of the Prince George’s County Board of Education.” (Prince George’s County Executive)

Continue reading →

Weekend News Roundup: Budget, International Schools, Purple Line

Leave a comment

The Board of Education adopted a reconciled budget for fiscal year 2016, but not without some tense discussion about the new international schools. (Washington Post)

The Office of Communications has confirmed that two International High Schools for English Language Learners will open this fall, one at Largo High School and the other at the Annapolis Road Academy. (PGCPS)

A county teenager was shot multiple times in an Oxon Hill park. He survived the attack and was listed in good condition at the hospital yesterday. (WUSA 9)

Continue reading →

Teen Who Stabbed Classmate at Frederick Douglass HS was Bullied, Student Says

Leave a comment

From NBC 4, Tracee Wilkins and Andrea Swalec, June 3, 2015. For the full story, go here.

The 14-year-old boy accused of stabbing a 16-year-old classmate at a Maryland high school Tuesday morning was fed up with relentless bullying, a student who witnessed the incident said.

The student who reportedly stabbed another teen tried to avoid a fight but defended himself when the other youth refused to back down, a student at Frederick Douglass High School in Upper Marlboro told NBC4.

Continue reading and watch the video at NBC 4.

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

Leave a comment
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.

County Council to Adopt Budget Today at 1:00; Baker Modifies Plan to Increase Funds for Schools

Leave a comment
From the Washington Post, published May 27 2015, reporter Arelis R. Hernandez. Go here for the full story.

Prince George’s County Executive Rushern L. Baker III on Wednesday backed away from a proposal to increase property taxes to generate new money for the county’s troubled public schools, — tacitly acknowledging that he did not have the support he needed from the County Council.

Instead of raising the tax rate by 15 percent, which would have produced $133 million, Baker (D) announced that he would seek $65 million in additional school funding in the budget the council is scheduled to vote on Thursday.

Press release on 5/27/2015 from the office of Rushern Baker.
The Prince George’s County Council will convene session on Thursday, May 28, 2015, at 1:00 p.m. (new time) to adopt a balanced spending plan for Fiscal Year 2016, which begins July 1, 2015.  Budget adoption will take place in the Council Hearing Room, First Floor, County Administration Building, 14741 Governor Oden Bowie Drive in Upper Marlboro, Maryland.
Live streaming of the Budget Adoption will be available and can be accessed by clicking here at 1:00 p.m.  Budget information is available on the County Council FY 2016 Budget web page.

Continue reading →

High Schools Charge Seniors “Mandatory” Fees to Graduate

Leave a comment

From the Sentinel, by reporter Michael Sykes, published May 27, 2015.

For the complete story, go here.

As the school year comes to an end, students from high school across the county have walked the stage to pick up their diplomas—but it might have cost them and their families a price to do so.

According to documents obtained by The Sentinel through the Maryland Public Information Act, the school system “requires” all seniors to pay a fee for a cap and gown, while schools also charge “optional” fees for events such as senior banquets, picnics and panoramas.

Continue reading at the Sentinel.

Audit Could Answer Questions About Prince George’s Schools

Leave a comment

From the Washington Post, by reporter Arelis R. Hernandez, published May 22, 2015.

For the complete story, go here.

Four years, two superintendents and one bruising state financial report after the Prince George’s County Council came up with the idea, officials are in the last stages of launching a comprehensive performance audit of the school system.

Council member Derrick Leon Davis (D-Mitchellville) sought an audit in 2011, under then-Superintendent William R. Hite Jr., after years of upheaval in school governance left many residents skeptical of how resources were being used.

Continue reading at the Washington Post.

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

Leave a comment

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.