Tag: Carolyn Boston

Q & A with Carolyn Boston, District 6 Board of Education Candidate

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IMG_1989This is part of an ongoing series of interviews with the 2018 Prince George’s County Board of Education candidates. Carolyn Boston is the incumbent from District 6 (see district map here) running in the general election. Ms. Boston answered questions generated by members of Prince George’s County Advocates for Better Schools. An earlier version of this post was published in May.

Prince George’s County Advocates for Better Schools does not endorse or oppose any candidate for the Board of Education.

Tell us about your background and your plans to move our school system forward. Why do you want to be on the Board of Education?

I am running for a third term on the Board of Education because I believe we are moving in the right direction to be a model for the world on how to educate a diverse student body such as Prince George’s County. My experience as a council member in my community has equipped me with the knowledge and experience of dealing with budgets and how to run a town. My 10+ years of development and training through PTA on the local and state level, has provided me with years of advocacy and leadership skills. My years as a Parent Liaison for Prince George’s County School System prepared me to assist parents and the community on how to navigate our system. The professional training and workforce development I received has been a big asset with the work I do on this board. Also, my years of employment with one of the largest labor unions in the world has equipped me with a deep understanding of negotiations and collective bargaining process.

What would be your top three priorities while serving on the board, if elected?

My top three priorities while serving on the school board if re-elected are found below:

  1. Bring awareness and increase enrollment in our Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs that are available to our students that can equipped them with certifications and/or skills that they can use right after high school.
  2. Continue my support of community engagement by providing community workshops and encourage key partnerships that can provide resources to our students and families. Continue my work with the College and Career Readiness Summit, where I coordinate with our school system to bring colleges, universities, careers, and local agencies together to provide valuable resources to our students and families to assist with making next level education or career decisions.
  3. Engage our system to have our businesses who receive contracts from our system, to provide apprenticeship opportunities for our students. This will equip our students with hands-on experiences that would make them more marketable right out of high school.

What qualities do you believe are most important in a Chief Executive Officer?

A Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is the leader that provides the strategic direction for teaching and learning, fiscal accountability, and overall system accountability. The CEO must be transparent and must be a transformative leader for Prince George’s County Public Schools. A CEO must always maintain an open line of communication and listen to the needs of staff, parents, and students. A CEO must also have the qualifications to lead a large and complex system such as Prince George’s County Schools. An ideal CEO can lead with logic, intellect, and with their heart. Our students are our most precious gift and it is important that the CEO work with the School Board to deliver a high-quality system for families and students.

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Board of Education Primary Election Results for Prince George’s County

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Updated: Results for the 2018 general election are here.

Residents of Prince George’s County Board of Education Districts 2, 3, 6, and 9 had the opportunity to vote for a school board candidate in the Maryland primary election on Tuesday. The two candidates with the most votes will go on to the general election in November.

Incumbents did very well at the polls: In the three districts where incumbents ran for re-election (Districts 2, 6, and 9), incumbents won the most votes.

Here are the Maryland State Board of Elections unofficial results for the four school board races:

DISTRICT 2:

Rob Anthony, 16.4%

*Lupi Grady, 49.3%

*Joshua M. Thomas, 34.3%

DISTRICT 3:

* Juwan Blocker, 25.7%

*Pamela Boozer-Strother, 47.2%

Irene Holtzman, 12.4%

Catherine Bennett Nwosu, 14.7%

District 6:

*Carolyn Maria Boston, 29.4%

Caleb A. Camara, 4.6%

Pat Fletcher, 14.0%

*Belinda Queen, 24.8%

Ava Richardson, 7.4%

David Shelton, 4.9%

Anthony Triplin, 14.9%

District 9:

Matt Green, 8.1%

Don D. Massey, 8.9%

*Arun Puracken, 28.7%

*Sonya Williams, 54.3%

(*) Candidates will appear on the ballot in the general election.

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Head Start: Eight Things We’ve Learned from the Latest Documents

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by Genevieve Demos Kelley

A report from WUSA 9 has uncovered new details about the Head Start situation. The news outlet has gained access to two new documents:

  • an email dated January 19, 2016 from the mother of the three-year-old who was allegedly forced to mop his own urine, addressed to seven PGCPS employees, including CEO Kevin Maxwell, Head Start Supervisor Sandra Kee, and Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction Gladys Whitehead
  • an email dated April 7, 2016 from Chief of Staff George Margolies, addressed to Gladys Whitehead, Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction, and Shawn Joseph, who was then serving as Deputy Superintendent

Here’s what we learn from the email written by the mother of the alleged victim:

  • CEO Maxwell was informed of the alleged abuse as early as January 19. He received an email that detailed the Head Start teacher’s treatment of the alleged victim and the aftermath.
  • This was not an isolated incident. The mother of the alleged victim writes that she had previously spoken to the Head Start teacher when she learned that the teacher had swatted her son on the bottom. She writes, “After getting on her she swore to never do it again, we were cool so I gave her a chance but she kept crossing the line!”
  • Another child in the same class was also humiliated by the teacher under similar circumstances. According to the mother who wrote the email, another student was also required to mop up her own urine. The teacher “kept calling her a baby” and did not let her eat her breakfast with the other children.
  • After the abuse was reported, the Head Start teacher was not immediately removed from the classroom. As of January 19, according to the mother of the victim, the teacher was “allowed to come right back to work like nothing ever happened.” The mother first reported the incident on December 22, 2015.
  • The mother was told by several PGCPS employees not to “alert the media and seek legal action.”

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