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Prince George's County Schools
With Iris T. Metts, superintendent
Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2001; 1:30 p.m. EDT
As leader of the largest school system in Maryland, Iris T. Metts often has her hands full.
Recently, Metts said she is considering year-round school for the schools that are struggling and are targeted for state takeover. (Read the article.)
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washingtonpost.com:
The discussion will start momentarily.
Forestville, MD:
What are your plans for improving the magnet program lottery system?
Iris T. Metts: Good Afternoon and thank you for joining us today.
We have just completed an evaluation of our Magnet school program. We have received recommendations to replicate some of the successful programs. Additionally, we received a $4 million Magnet school grant to enhance and expand our Magnet programs. Currently there are 15,000 students on the lottery waiting list. The Board of Education and community groups are discussing proposals to replicate successful Magnets and offer additional Magnet seats across the County. The Board has scheduled a work shop discussion on Magnet programs for September 6, 2001. Public participation is encouraged. You can sign up to speak by calling the Board Office on 301-952-6115. Thank you for your question.
Capitol Heights, MD:
I am a parent at Suitland High School. At our meeting last night we were informed that we now have the largest enrollment in the school's history. Concerns are that the Suitland High School campus can not physically accommodate this number of children. There were two temporary trailers taken from the grounds over the summer. Can we get these and more temporary trailers back to the school and probably more teachers as well? And how quickly?
Iris T. Metts: Unfortunately, we have schools across the county that are well over capacity. We have some schools at 130% capacity. We've attempted to distribute temporaries in an equitable manner. There are nine high schools that exceed their capacity at a greater percentage than Suitland. However, I am concerned about the physical plant at Suitland HS and its growing population. I have scheduled a meeting with Ms. Allen (principal) to discuss possible solutions. Thank you for your question.
Camp Springs, Maryland:
I have a child that attends the Allenwood Elementary school in Temple Hills, I am very concerned with the overcrowding situation in the kindergarten classes. There is only one teacher and no teacher aides for approximately 27 children. I spent time assisting the teacher but I'm unable to do this on daily basis. What plans are there to find teacher aides and additional teachers for this school and schools with similar situations?
Additionally, I am sadden at the SAT results for Prince George's County schools. I would like to know what efforts are being made to improve the embarrassing test scores. What are the plans for improving teacher skills and assistance for students requiring additional help with grasping fundamentals?
Is there funding available or alternative educational opportunities for families that are unhappy with the current school system? Where can I find this information?
Iris T. Metts: We will be reviewing all student enrollments and staffing adjustments will be made where necessary. Our staffing formula uses a divisor of 22 to 1 to determine the number of teachers in K-1.
With regards to the SAT scores, there were improvements in specific populations. We are providing students with free CDrom tutorials and SAT prep courses during the school day and Saturdays. We are confident that with consistent efforts the SAT scores will improve. We have had a great deal of success with improving the students' basic skills, as indicated by the highest improvement of a nationally normed test (CTBS) in the history of the school system.
For further information on any of these programs, please talk to your school principal.
Bowie, Md.:
My children were involved in a school bus accident (Kenilworth Elementary) yesterday afternoon at Peach Walker and Perrell in Bowie. What is the administration's guidelines (1) for ensuring that kid's are properly and preliminarily examined at the accident scene and (2) what should a parent do if injuries are subsequently discovered/noted by a physician?
Iris T. Metts: We are sorry for this unfortunate incident. we have discovered that our driver was not at fault. We rely on the police department to make a determinination on who needs medical assistance. If an injury is discovered by your physician at a later date, please report it to the school principal. Please don't hesitate to contact us if you need additional assistance.
Mitchellville, MD:
What can parents do at this time to resolve transportation problems?
Iris T. Metts: This year, the school system implemented a computerized bus routing system. The new system allows us to implement bus routes that maximize the use of our resources. It also allows us to know specifically who is on each bus and assigns specific bus and bus stops. Parents can assist the school system by working with us as we implement this new system. Specifically, ensuring that the school has the proper addresses for pick up and drop off. Also, if you have a concern, please contact Transportation or send an email to the Superintendent at imetts@pgcps.org. Thank you for your patience while we implement our new system.
funding levels are appropriate
University Park, Md.:
What long-term plans are in place to gradually raise the test scores of our children in Prince George's County schools over the next 5 years. As a parent paying decently high taxes in University Park I certainly expect to see more bang for my buck than we are currently getting from Prince George's County schools. Thanks
Iris T. Metts: I thank you for the opportunity to share test scores from the University Park community. The average MSPAP test score was 64.6, which is well above the state average. Also, the scores for the CTBS exam are well above the national norm scores. We continue to see improvement across all schools by intensifying our instruction in basic skills. Please check our web site for the Academic Improvement Plan for details. We are seeing results.
Suitland, MD:
Hi,
I am the mother of 3 interacial children. 2 of which are currently school age. I've applied to the magnet program for 2 consecutive years for the oldest who, each time has been placed on the waiting list.
I somewhat feel that the magnet program discriminates against black children, since most of the programs are for non-blacks. Yet, the rules of the program currently do not allow you to change a child's racial designation, or choose more than one. Are there plans to change this for the next school year?
Iris T. Metts: The Magnet program currently has 15,000 students on the waiting list. The Board of Education is currently considering theme schools that would be race-neutral, as well as replication of successful Magnet programs. To get more information about Magnet programs, please visit our web site at www.pgcps.org. Thank you for your interest in Magnet schools.
Silver Spring, MD:
Dr. Metts,
I've asked you this personally before via email (although you didn't answer it). Why, if you (we) know there is going to be a national shortage of certified teachers over the next 10 years, aren't there already programs in place to offering alternative methods of certification under than the traditional day time program or Master's of Art in Teaching?
In the DC metro area why aren't more colleges and universities encouraged to offer course count education certification programs -- undergraduate education courses for adults who already have degrees, -just not in education-, who want to become certified to teach? For that matter, why don't any of the colleges and universities in this area offer adult -evening- and/or online courses/degrees in education?
I wish you and your fellow Superintendents would band together to make this happen. Surely the availability of more certified teachers would benefit you as well as the entire student population. In my mind there should be just as many Undergraduate AEP's as there are day time programs.
FYI. I took and passed the NTE 5 years ago, but because I hadn't taken any specific education courses, even though I already had bachelor's and master's degrees in other fields, nobody in Maryland would let me teach at the Elementary level. This despite a national shortage. Isn't there something wrong with this picture?
Iris T. Metts: The school system does have programs in place for people seeking alternative certification routes. We have exhausted all funds to support these efforts for the current school year. We continue to seek out additional avenues for funding and we are looking for top-notch substitutes who could gain additional teaching experience. The substitutes would be among the first considered for the alternative certification program. I hope that you are interested. We will forward a copy of your email to Dr. Judith Miller, associate superintendent for Human Resources.
Bladensburg:
Why weren't the Bladensburg HS kids sent to the new Flowers school, instead of being sent to a sub-par facility that does not meet the needs of a high school. The Bowie school used to be a middle school, how can it effectively house high school students and operate as a high school?
Iris T. Metts: I visited Bladensburg HS at its new facility on the first day of school and it was operating successfully and effectively. We have provided the school with temporary classrooms to accommodate the number of students while the new Bladensburg HS is constructed. Both communities are very supportive of this endeavor.
Hyattsville, MD:
With the first day of school beginning last Monday, my son and others were NOT PICKED UP AT ALL from the morning bus stop -- Bus Rte 563 (9th Ave and Sheridan St.) going to Nicholas Orem Middle, on Mon, Tuesday or today (Wed.) My son got a ride with someone on Monday, he and others CAUGHT THE REGULAR METROBUS to school on Tuesday and I gave him instruction to come back home if the bus did NOT come today, which is what he did. I spoke with transportation and finally spoke directly with the bus driver who simply said he was running late and admitted that he just "missed that stop". He said it is the first week and it's hectic. This is totally unacceptable and I told him as much and could be potentially dangerous. PG County has been running a school system since the beginning of time, I'm guessing, and I demand to know what is going to be done about a problem such as this? My son has already missed a day of school (which if he had not had an alternative) it would have been 3 days that he missed. Also there is an article in the Washington Times today regarding missing money and Nicholas Orem was named. What exactly does that mean? I look forward to a reply from you. These issues desparately need to be addressed. Thank you. Sheryl A. Baker
Iris T. Metts: We regret that this incident occurred. We are implementing a new system, and we have new bus drivers, as well as new bus routes. We expect to have problems ironed out with a few days and thank you for your patience and consideration throughout this process.
With regards to Nicholas Orem, we will be investigating the situation at the school and the activity fund budget. We thank you for expressing your concern.
Hyattsville, MD:
Would you support year-round classes for our whole county, not just the failing schools? I think it would help kids retain what they had learned and provide a break at various times of the year which I think would reduce burn-out of kids, parents and teachers. Since many parents have to pay for up to 10 weeks of day-care in the summer anyway, they could pay for the "intersession" classes to help defray the additional cost. The school system, corporations, non-profit orgs. and parents could work together to create interesting, challenging intersessions for the kids at a time of year when people aren't so overloaded with the summertime rush.
Iris T. Metts: I would certainly support year-round classes for students. Research shows that year-round school improves student achievement. This is a discussion that would have to occur between parents, administrators, our elected officials and the community. We have had some success with extended year programs (mandatory summer school, full day kindergarten)in the school system and we will continue to explore all options.
Lanham, MD:
In my opinion, this new bus system has been confusing and ineffective. My children who go to Glenn Dale Elementary in Lanham have had to wait at their usual bus stop while
their bus, the first scheduled bus, never showed up. When the second bus showed up, 20 minutes later, they were late for school, the bus was overcrowded because at that point you had two groups of children waiting for buses. Then to top it off, the bus driver had to ask a parent which way to the school! This has happened 2 days straight. Are there measures in place to make this new system more efficient? Thank you.
Iris T. Metts: Our new bus routing system is complex. This system helps us to transport more than 93,000 students, using 1025 buses over 3000 bus routes. Our funding for transporation is $62 million for this year. This is not an increase over last year's budget and we are accommodating more students and more routes. It is a new process and is not without challenges. This week alone, we have received more than 6,000 address changes that must be incorporated into the system which may result in additional route changes. We are asking parents to work with us and be patient as we work through this new system.
I thank the Washington Post and everyone who joined us today to discuss the school system. Your interest in Prince George's County Schools is appreciated and your input welcome. Again, I thank you.
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