Category: Policy and Legislation

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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Maryland Legislative Session: Sensible Sugar in Schools

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The following is testimony given by Rachel Hinton at the Maryland House of Delegates Ways and Means Committee Public Hearing on February 18th, 2016, in support of the Sensible Sugar in Schools Act (House Bill 528), a bill that require schools to put a plan in place to reduce added sugar in school meals. The views expressed are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Prince George’s County Advocates for Better Schools.
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These are wrappers from snacks served at school to the author’s daughter.

Thank you for hearing my testimony today.

My four-year-old and six-year-old children attend a public school in Prince George’s County, Robert Goddard Montessori, where I am Vice President of the PTSA. In addition to serving breakfast and lunch, this school provides a daily snack in the classroom to the preschool and kindergarten students who are between three and six years old.

Like all families, my husband and I are focused on raising healthy kids. We are part of a growing group who are concerned about how food choices affect lifetime health. So it has been very upsetting to have sugary and heavily processed foods like Kellogg’s Froot Loops and Rice Krispy Treats served to my children on a regular basis as part of their school day.

The World Health Organization, the American Heart Association, and the USDA are all recommending dramatic reductions in sugar consumption. The latest USDA guidelines for all Americans state that added sugars should be no more than 10% of total calories. The American Heart Association says young children should consume no more than 3 teaspoons of added sugar per day. These recommendations are impossible to implement when foods served in school can be 35% sugar. A typical serving of chocolate milk has 13 grams, or 3 teaspoons, of added sugar in a single 8 oz. serving.

I have been in touch by email with the Prince Georges County Public Schools Department of Food and Nutrition Services. They have shared with me that they are required to serve a fresh fruit or vegetable two times a week in the snack program and that the packaged, branded snacks, such as the Kellogg’s products, have been reformulated to contain no more than 35% sugar by weight. I have asked them what barriers exist to serving a fresh fruit or vegetable, or other more wholesome food, every day, instead of just 2 times a week, and never serving packaged “junk” foods. The only answer I have been given is that they are working within the existing requirements. Although I had been hopeful that advocating directly to Food and Nutrition Services at the county level would lead to change, it now appears that the best way to change the practices in my county is to change the requirements that are imposed by the state of Maryland, as the counties only seem to make changes when they are required to by a higher authority.

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Maryland Legislative Session: The Kindergarten Readiness Assessment

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The following is a testimony given by Genevieve Demos Kelley at the Maryland House of Delegates Ways and Means Committee Public Hearing on February 18th, 2016, in support of House Bill 657, a bill that would limit the Kindergarten Readiness Assessment to a random sample of students. The views expressed are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Prince George’s County Advocates for Better Schools.

Image 2-20-16 at 4.28 PMThank you for giving me the opportunity to speak in support of HB 657. I am a mother of two boys: a seven-year-old in the Prince George’s County school system and a four-year-old who is still in preschool.

My older son started kindergarten in the fall of 2013, one year before the Kindergarten Readiness Assessment was implemented statewide. I vividly remember the mix of anxiety and excitement that we both experienced as I took him to his classroom and then said goodbye. Of course I wanted him to learn to read and and to write, but most of all, I wanted him to learn to love learning, to learn to love school. And he did! He was fortunate to have a teacher who sparkled in the classroom. Her lessons were engaging, and she cared about her students. I was confident that my son was in good hands.

The next school year, as my son was adjusting to first grade, I kept hearing the same complaints from parents in my community whose kids had just entered kindergarten: Their children were underwhelmed, and they did not understand why the kindergarten teachers were so frequently absent.

Eventually, an article in the Washington Post and a quick google search led me to MSEA’s Report and Recommendations on the Kindergarten Readiness Assessment. I learned about the terrible disruption to the classroom that this new test was causing, as teachers were required to administer a one-on-one test to every child in their class. Hundreds of teachers had responded to MSEA’s survey, and I found pages and pages of heartbreaking comments from teachers — teachers who felt that they were no longer able to do their jobs effectively during the critical first few weeks of school.

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Teachers Concerned about Time-Consuming Test for Kindergarteners

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by Genevieve Demos Kelley

IMG_6404I have been a teacher in Maryland for over 33 years and I have never had anything impact my instruction negatively as the administration and recording of the KRA.  — from MSEA’s Survey of Kindergarten Teachers, (Appendix I, p. 34)

Maryland’s Kindergarten Readiness Assessment (KRA), introduced during the 2014-2015 school year, is designed to measure a child’s readiness for school in four areas: Language & Literacy, Mathematics, Physical Well-being & Motor Development, and Social Foundations.

On the surface, this sounds reasonable: Teachers have always assessed their incoming students’ skills, so that they can better meet the needs of the class. But the outcry from kindergarten teachers over this new assessment was so loud that the Maryland State Education Association (MSEA) asked that the use of the KRA be suspended until “critical revisions” are made. A 100-plus page report issued by MSEA documents survey data and narrative responses from hundreds of kindergarten teachers.

The feedback has been overwhelmingly negative. Teachers are deeply concerned about the loss of instructional time, and they see little value in the data generated by the test.

  • The test is administered by the child’s kindergarten teacher — not an assistant or other staff member — on a one-on-one basis. Since the assessment occurs during the school day, instructional time is lost as teachers pull students for testing and substitutes take their place. Here are comments from three teachers who responded to MSEA’s survey:
    • The time used to administer the KRA…could be used to pull small groups, work one-on-one with students, provide enrichment to students, collect data for progress reports, etc. (p.2).

    • Some of the fun projects we do in the beginning of the year, that go along with the curriculum, have gone by the way side (Appendix I, p. 58).

    • The first few months of school are the most important in setting routines, expectations and getting to know my children. I have spent more hours ignoring their needs or handing off instruction to substitutes then I can count (Appendix I, p.1).
  • Initially, teachers were told that the test would take about 45 minutes for each child. But according to the Maryland State Education Association’s (MSEA) survey of kindergarten teachers, about 80% of teachers found that the test took more than hour to administer. Nearly one in five teachers (17.7%) reported that the test took over two hours. Multiplying this by the number of kindergarteners in each class means many hours of lost instruction.

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Maryland Legislative Session: Healthier Food for Schools

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Healthy School Food Maryland is a statewide coalition lobbying for better cafeteria meals for Maryland schoolchildren. Coalition coordinator Lindsey Parsons recently met with Prince George’s County Advocates for Better Schools to talk about legislative goals for the current session. The coalition is working to pass two bills in the 2016 Maryland state legislative session:

  • The Sensible Sugar in Schools Act (SB 65, HB 528) will require school districts to work toward lowering sugar in meals to levels within the guidelines set by the American Heart Association.
  • The School Food Transparency Act (HB 109) will require schools to list à la carte items and snack foods on breakfast and lunch menus. Parents and teachers often find that kids spend their money on sugary snacks, instead of eating the protein and vegetables served at lunch. (Bonus: This bill is sponsored by Delegate Diana Fennell (D-47), who represents parts of Prince George’s County.)

You  can find more details, including bill drafts and fact sheets, on the Healthy School Food Maryland website.

If you support these legislative goals, there are several ways to get involved:

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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: Drop-Out Age Increases to 17 in Md., PG Real Estate Market Improves

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Maryland has increased its legal drop-out age from 16 years to 17 years, a result of legislation (SB 362) that was passed in 2012 but did not go into effect until July 1, 2015. Under the same legislation, the drop-out age will increase again in 2017, to 18 years. (WMDT)

Two PGCPS graduates have received National Merit Scholarships. Kristen Ramsey and Charles Bond, both 2015 graduates of Eleanor Roosevelt High School, have received college-sponsored merit scholarships from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. (PGCPS)

On August 3rd, Congresswoman Donna Edwards and USDA Deputy Under Secretary Katie Wilson will participate in a tour of William Hall Academy to highlight the Team Up for School Nutrition Success Initiative. (PGCPS)

The real estate market’s health is steadily improving in both Prince George’s and Montgomery Counties, and several communities in Prince George’s are making dramatic gains. Greenbelt, Oxon Hill, and Glenn Dale have seen big increases in home sale prices. Clinton, Mount Rainier, and Capitol Heights had big drops in median days on market. (Washington Post)

A 14-year-old resident of Oxon Hill is being charged as an adult in the fatal stabbing of an 18-year-old man. (WTOP)

The back-to-school information page on PGCPS’s website has this advice for parents registering their child at a PGCPS school: “Registrations completed after August 8 will result in students receiving a temporary grade level schedule with selected general classes until August 30, 2015. Early registration is advised to ensure an “official’ schedule for the 1st day of school!” (PGCPS)

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Smaller is Better: Maryland State Department of Education Publishes School Size Study, PG High School Sizes Vary Widely

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by Genevieve Demos Kelley

The Maryland State Department of Education has released a report on school size and its impact on education. The study finds that after school enrollment reaches a point where economies of IMG_6335scale no longer decrease operating costs, smaller schools are usually better.

The research team recommends that enrollment limits be set according to school level (i.e. elementary, middle, high) with a maximum of 700 students per elementary school, 900 students per middle school, and 1,700 students per high school. The report clarifies that these are recommended maximum limits, not necessarily optimal enrollment numbers.

Prince George’s County high schools have an enormous variation in size of enrollment, with some high schools more than three times as large as some others. According to data from the  Maryland Report Card, Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Prince George’s County had an enrollment of 2,445 students in 2014, while Bowie High School was even larger, with 2,573 students. As of 2014, ten high schools in the county had more than 1,700 students, the enrollment limit recommended in the report. But, as the study points out, Prince George’s County has the largest range in high school enrollments of all Maryland counties. Several high schools in the county have fewer than 900 students. At 775 students, Surrattsville High’s enrollment is one of the lowest in the county.

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

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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)

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How to Find an Official PGCPS Policy or Procedure on Anything You Want

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by Genevieve Demos Kelley

Prince George’s County schools have an official administrative procedure on nearly everything — from employee use of social media, to homecoming IMG_6358bonfires, to controlling head lice  — and you can find them all at the Office of General Counsel’s web page. More than one hundred Administrative Procedures (each is usually at least two pages long) are detailed on the website, as well as dozens of separate Board Policies that tend to be shorter and deal with governing principles rather than procedural minutiae.

The policies and procedures make for fascinating reading. For example, here are a few interesting details:

  • The guidelines for selecting read-aloud books for the elementary classroom include prohibitions against books that promote stereotypes (e.g. racial, gender, etc.), books with reference to sex education issues, and books “with reference to the supernatural (i.e., devils).”  Administrative Procedure 6180.4, Guidelines for Selecting Read-Aloud Books
  • Bonfires are permitted at homecoming athletic events but at no other time during the school year. The bonfires are heavily regulated to ensure safety and must be supervised by the Fire Department. Administrative Procedure 6146, Bonfires for Homecoming Athletic Event
  • Under certain conditions, teachers and other school personnel may use exclusion to address a student’s behavior, but each period of exclusion may not exceed 30 minutes. “Exclusion” is defined as “removal of a student to a supervised area for a limited period of time during which the student has an opportunity to regain self-control and is not receiving instruction including special education, related services, or support.” Administrative Procedure 5062, Student Behavior Interventions
  • Students found to have lice are excluded from school at the end of the day and may be readmitted with proof of treatment (e.g. note from medical provider or “empty package or box top from an over the counter medication and receipt of recent purchase.” The school nurse should re-screen affected children 7-14 days after treatment. Administrative Procedure 5162, Pediculosis (Head Lice) Control in Schools

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