Art Class: Coloring in the Lines?

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One PGCPS parent has shared with us her recent observations about her daughter’s art class curriculum. She has asked to remain anonymous until her concerns are addressed and resolved. The views and opinions expressed are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the views of PGCABS.

As an art teacher and professional illustrator, I was happy to learn that my kindergartener would have art class once a week, and I was very curious to see what kind of art curriculum would be implemented in class. I have over 5 years of experience teaching art, especially focusing on ages eight and under. My classes are structured around the elements and principles of art, and I have found kids even as young as three to be very receptive to these concepts, not to mention the frame-worthy artwork they create while learning them.

So far this year, my five-year-old has had six art classes (once per week), and for all but one she has brought home nothing but pixellated coloring pages printed from the internet, with the web address still intact at the bottom. The one day that she didn’t bring home coloring pages, she proudly showed me a scrap of paper with some fringe cut off the bottom. She told me they were supposed to glue things to it, but they didn’t have glue that day. She reported that their most recent art lesson was “learning to color inside the lines,” which some might argue could be considered an anti-art lesson.

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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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Give Input on Next Year’s Budget at Oct. 13 Forum

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by Genevieve Demos Kelley

CEO Kevin Maxwell and his team are already developing the Fiscal Year 2017 operating budget for Prince George’s County Public Schools and will present a proposed budget to the Board of Education some time in December. On Tuesday, October 13 at 7 pm, members of the community will have the opportunity to present testimony in the Sasscer board room regarding budget priorities for FY 2017. This public input will be shared with CEO Maxwell.

Speakers will be given two minutes to speak at the forum and must register by 4:30 p.m. on the day of the forum by calling 301-952-6001. Read more details in the Oct. 7 news release.

Wondering why we’re already talking about the 2017 budget? Here’s a quick review of the budget process:

  • The Fiscal Year 2017 budget actually goes into effect in 2016. It covers the period from July 2016 through June 2017.
  • The CEO and his team begin crafting a budget during the summer, a full year before it will go into effect. The CEO then presents a recommended budget to the Board of Education some time in December.
  • After work sessions and public hearings, the Board of Education adopts a version of the budget, using the CEO’s proposed budget as a starting point. Once the Board votes on the budget (probably in some time in February), it is known as the “requested budget” for the next fiscal year.
  • Why “requested”? Because the Board then sends the budget to the County Executive and County Council for approval. The County Council may or may not decide to fully fund the Board’s requested budget. (In the case of the FY 2016 budget, the Council gave PGCPS less than they asked for.)
  • Once the County Council has approved a spending level, the Board of Education must go through a process of reconciliation — making the budget fit the constraints set by the Council’s funding decision.
  • The Board of Education then votes to pass a final budget in June.

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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Sixth Grader Excited about Composting, Gardening, and Recycling at School

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Berwyn Heights Elementary has been certified as a green school by the Maryland Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education (MAEOE). One student member of the school’s environmental club wrote about how Berwyn Heights Elementary runs a successful composting and gardening program.

Hi, I’m Zada and I’m in 6th grade at Berwyn Heights Elementary School in Prince George’s County. I’m a member of the school’s environmental club for the second year now. In the environmental club we do many activities. Some things we do are composting, recycling, and trying to be as green as possible!

Composting was the main thing we did. We would compost every week last year. This year we have buckets for compost in the lunchroom and outside classrooms. Every day some sixth graders, including me, collect the buckets from the cafeteria and classrooms and empty the compost. It is later dumped into a larger compost bin that is located outside of our school. In the compost we put in greens and browns. Greens are things like apple cores, banana peels, orange peels, coffee grounds, egg shells, and salad without dressing, cheese or meat. Browns are things like leaves, grass clippings, and hay. Meat, cheese, dressing, and large sticks and twigs cannot be composted. The ratio is every bucket of greens needs three buckets of browns.

When we began composting last year, we only collected food scraps from breakfast. It took us a long time to fill our large compost bin outside. When we finally filled it, we mixed it up really well and then let it “cook.” While it “cooked” (which was really just sitting there breaking down), we took the temperature of it a few times a week. When it was really breaking down the temperatures got as high as 130 degrees! Once during the cooking process, we pulled everything out, mixed it again and then put it back in the bin.

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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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Sound Off: Best and Worst of PGCPS’s Website

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by Genevieve Demos Kelley

What are your favorite corners of the pgcps.org website? What do you find most frustrating? What links need to be updated? Tell us in the comments section below.

Just for fun, here is my personal “best and worst” list. The list reflects my own opinions and preferences and is not an official position of PGCABS.

Best:

  • Employee Directory. Not a list of employees, but a search bar that taps into an amazing data base. Type in the name of an employee and find his/her email, phone number, job location, official job title, and place in the PGCPS hierarchy (e.g. immediate supervisor).
  • Solicitations and Awards. Curious about which high school is getting a new barber and cosmetology classroom renovation, who’s doing the work, and how much it costs? This is the place to find answers about a wide range of contracts between PGCPS and outside firms. Major contracts awarded for things like construction and renovation, consulting services, equipment, and food purchases are listed here. (The answers, by the way, are Bladensburg HS, Rich Moe Enterprises, and about $521,000 initially, though the Board later voted to increase that amount.)

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Weekly News Roundup: Sex Abuse Conviction for Football Coach, School Lunch Brouhaha

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Former High Point High School football coach and special education teacher Andre Brown was convicted Friday of sexual abuse of a minor. He had been arrested in 2014 for having sex with a 17-year-old student in a locker room the previous fall. Brown is due to be sentenced in October and could face up to 25 years of imprisonment. (Washington Post)

Fox News reported that Prince George’s County students were complaining about moldy and undercooked food, tweeting photographs of disgusting school lunches. However, PGCPS responded, saying that those photographs were not taken in our school district. This was clear to food services staff, because the trays and food items pictured in the meals were not stocked by PGCPS. (Read or view the original story and the follow-up report on Fox News 5.) Several days after the Fox News story aired, PGCPS posted a positive video on its Facebook page about the cafeteria food served in county schools.

Bisnow’s article titled, “Why Prince George’s County is Just Getting Started,” is an effusively optimistic look at the county’s recent economic development and potential for future growth. For example, here’s one quote from County Executive Rushern Baker: “Think of Bethesda, Rockville, Columbia Heights. That’s how Largo is going to look.” (Bisnow)

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Party Endorsements Are Major Factor in Board Elections

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by Tommi Makila

How do you know which candidate is most likely to win a Prince George’s County Board of Education race? As with any election, there are many factors at play. Some aspects of the candidates and races may be too difficult to analyze objectively, such as the quality of the candidates’ ideas, campaign skills, and personal effort put into campaign activities. However, many important factors affecting the campaigns are quantifiable and easily compared.

In order to determine what factor has the greatest impact on the election results, I set out to analyze the 2014 BOE races in Prince George’s County. Based on my knowledge about our elections, I identified the following four factors as major potential contributing factors to a candidate’s success:

  • Incumbency
  • Fundraising
  • Democratic Party slate endorsement
  • Other endorsements (local media, county teachers union)

To refresh everyone’s memory, here are the general election results for the four BOE elections held in 2014:

Makila_BOE_table3
* Election winner

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Weekly News Roundup: Moldy Classrooms, Politics, National Merit Semifinalists

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Students were removed from eight classrooms at Samuel Chase Elementary School, so that mold could be remediated. Some parents had complained that mold was causing illness for their children (ABC 7). Samuel Chase Elementary had been in the news earlier this year when a parent complained that her daughter was suffering from allergic reactions caused by mold in the building (ABC 7).

Maryland Del. James Proctor died on Thursday, at age 79. Proctor had been with PGCPS for more than 30 years (as teacher, principal, and transportation supervisor), before becoming a lawmaker in the Maryland House of Delegates, representing Prince George’s County (Washington Post). Both County Council Chairman Franklin and County Executive Baker have issued statements of condolence (See here and here).  Proctor’s widow seeks to fill the seat (Associated Press via Washington Times).

Three Eleanor Roosevelt High School students have been named National Merit Semifinalists for 2016. The students are David Gardner, Clara Janzen and Vinaichandra Rachakonda. (PGCPS)

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