December 2018 Newsletter
Dear Resident,
As you will read in more detail below, over the past couple of weeks, two important education announcements were reported that directly impact Prince George’s County Public Schools. First, County Executive Angela Alsobrooks announced last week the appointments of Dr. Alvin Thornton to Chair the Prince George’s County School Board and Mr. Paul Monteiro to serve as one of the appointed members on the School Board. Both Dr. Thornton and Mr. Monteiro will join the Board with decades of education policy and governance experience. I am completely confident in their ability to lead our School Board and take on school construction, student achievement, and ethics and accountability issues.
Earlier this month, Maryland also released its first-ever five-star rankings for every public school in the State. This ranking system is required under the federal government’s Every Student Succeeds Act and takes into account a variety of factors within a school, not just test scores. Prince George’s County had over 80% of its public schools receive a three-to five-star ranking.
In addition to these announcements, the Kirwan Commission plans to release its final report later this month. The Commission will meet for the last time on December 18th and 19th to finalize its recommendations. I encourage you to attend these meetings in Annapolis or follow them online HERE.
Finally, as we approach the end of 2018, I want to wish you and your families a sincere Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!
We have accomplished a lot over the past year – from winning our re-election campaign to passing landmark legislation to secure our elections and implement free community college statewide. To celebrate these victories and look ahead to a New Year and a new Legislative Session, I want to personally invite you to my New Year’s Happy Hour Reception on Friday, January 5th at 5:30pm at Burtons Bar & Grill in Riverdale Park. Your endless support over the past year has meant so much to me, so please join me to celebrate the New Year!
Dr. Alvin Thornton & Paul Monteiro Appointed to the PGCPS School Board
I am proud to strongly support Dr. Thornton’s and Paul Monteiro’s recent appointments to our School Board. I look forward to working with them both to improve our public school system.
As Chair, Dr. Thornton will be tasked with leading our schools at a critical time as the Kirwan Commission plans to release its final report. As the previous chair of a similar commission, I trust that he will understand how best to integrate the Kirwan Commission’s recommendations once they are passed by the legislature. Dr. Thornton served on the School Board in the 1990s and was chairman for three one-year terms during a long career in public life and at Howard, where he was a political scientist for 37 years and held a number of senior administrative posts.
Mr. Monteiro was most recently a candidate for County Executive earlier this year. A lifelong Prince George’s County resident and a graduate of High Point High School, he was an adviser to President Obama’s White House Office of Public Engagement, leading outreach to faith-based organizations and antipoverty groups; director of AmeriCorps VISTA, the domestic Peace Corps; and director of the community relations service in the Justice Department, where he led efforts to address conflicts rooted in race, gender identity and sexual orientation. As the first in his family to graduate from high school, Mr. Monteiro shows a demonstrable passion for education. He has been a strong advocate for universal pre-K, raising teacher salaries, and ensuring that high school students find post-graduation opportunities.
Five-Star Rankings Released for Every MD Public School
The State recently released a new rating system to evaluate every Maryland public school in a more holistic way.
Designed to prepare all students for post-secondary success, the new accountability system gave over 80% of Prince George’s County Public Schools a ranking between three-and five-stars. Click HERE to check the ranking your public school received.
The school ranking system was developed based on a wide range of factors, not just test scores as had been done in the past – in fact, the General Assembly passed legislation in 2017 that said academic achievement accounts for more than 65% of a school’s rating. Schools received points for chronic absenteeism (students missing more than 10 days of school) and how well do in teaching English language learners. To measure student achievement, schools earned points for student learning growth, which recognizes schools that bring students up to grade level in reading and math.