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Patricia Richardson Superintendent Tuesday, August 26, 2003; 2:00 p.m ET
Superintendent Patricia Richardson of St. Mary's County Public Schools oversees the operations of 25 schools that serve over 16,000 students. She became superintendent in 1997 after having spent more than 20 years in county schools as a teacher, principal and administrator. In 2000, Richardson received the Outstanding Leader in Education Award from the University of Maryland. Richardson was online on Tuesday, August 26 at 2 p.m. ET, to discuss the plans of the county for the new academic year. A transcript follows. Editor's Note: washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.
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washingtonpost.com: Thanks for joining us, Dr. Richardson. Can you start by outlining your top priorities for the 2003-04 school year?
Patricia Richardson : Thank you for the opportunity to talk about some of the wonderful things going on in our school system this year. Our top priorities for 2003-2004 include:
- increasing student achievement through our new Master Plan
- implementing the new Maryland Voluntary State Curriculum
- assisting teachers with the Highly Qualified Teacher requirements of "No Child Left Behind"
- supporting paraeducators with the new requirements of the federal law
- moving forward with several major school construction projects, including renovation of the Dr. James A. Forrest Career and Technology Center, Margaret Brent Middle School and a new replacement school for George Washington Carver Elementary School.
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Hollywood, Md.: What is the average age of your teachers? Are you experiencing a lot of turnover?
Patricia Richardson : We have approximately 1,200 teachers in our school system. The average number of years of experience is 15 and the average teacher in our school system holds a master's degree. Our turnover rate last year was 9.1%, while the national turnover rate for teachers is just over 16%.
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Washington, D.C.: I am mostly pleased with the increased academic rigor that I have witnessed in St. Mary's Public Schools, but I am concerned about a recent move by the board to cut Technology Education at the middle school level. I understand there was a lot of public dissonance about the decision to drop technology education and yet the board went ahead with the change and have since had all heavy machinery and other tools removed from middle schools in the county, despite the public's dissent. It seems someone has lost sight of the fact that many students in this region may not take the route of higher education. These individuals are still needed in careers like construction, electrical work, mechanical work, plumbing, HVAC and other techonology-oriented fields. Shouldn't young students be shown all types of opportunities starting at the critical ages of sixth and seventh graders?
Patricia Richardson : Thank you for your support of the increased academic rigor. We have worked hard to equip our students with everything they need to be successful with their chosen careers. We agree that not all students will choose the route of higher education. That is why we have invested more than 22 million dollars in a major renovation and expansion of our Dr. James A. Forrest Career and Technology Center. In addition, we modified our middle school curriculum to better reflect today's workforce demands. Technology Education, now called Exploring Engineering, will continue to be offered at eighth grade. In addition, a new course, Information Technology Science, has been added to the seventh grade curriculum. Changes in curriculum are often difficult to make. In this case, however, we recognized the community support for technology education and maintained it as an elective in middle school. Students are also required to take a career technology education course in high school.
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Leonardtown, Md.: Are you still hiring for non-teacher positions?
Patricia Richardson : We are still hiring for paraeducator positions. Please contact the Human Resources office at 301-475-5511, extention 187 or 188 to inquire about specific vacancies. You may also want to access our website at: www.smcps.k12.md.us/hr
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Lexington park, Md.:
Could you please ask Dr. Richardson to answer the following: My daughter has scoliosis (45 degree curvature of the spine) for which she is in physical therapy and is to be re-evaluated next summer. I was told that I should ask the school for an additional set of books for my daughter to take home for homework purposes. I spoke to the school nurse and was told they didn't have enough books to accommodate me. Please advise what I can do, as the school bus does not drop my daughter off at my front door and she has to walk several blocks to get home. Thank you.
Patricia Richardson : We appreciate your concern on behalf of your daughter and are anxious to assist you in resolving this. Please call Mrs. Kathleen Lyon, our Director of Pupil Services, at 301-475-5511, extension 198 and she will personally assist you.
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Valley Lee, Md. : I need to know how the re-districting of St. Mary's public schools has curried the problem; to me it has caused nothing but problems with the transportation. Yesterday and today no bus ever showed up to pick my children up for school and yesterday afternoon the assigned bus, per the enterprise, collected my children from school and never brought them home. The bus driver stated that it was not her route when asked by number of students. She was mistaken as it was an addition to her route due to redistricting. All of the children who had previously gone to Esperanza were left standing on the side of the road in the morning and in the afternoon they were let off any where they asked. Dr. Richardson, I have known you for many, many years and the redistricting is by far the worst decision you have ever made.
Patricia Richardson : The redistricting that occured last year was necessitated by the massive overcrowding in several of our schools. At the same time, we opened additional classrooms through the renovation of two schools providing the space we needed to accommodate our growing population. We typically experience an adjusment period during the first few days of school as we attempt to move more than 16,000 students. While we regret the inconvenience your family has experienced, we are quickly addressing each of the transportation issues as they are identified. Specific concerns may be directed to our transportation office at: 301-475-4256, menu option #2.
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Leonardtown, Md.: How do you feel about merit raises for school board staff as opposed to the current system of everyone getting the same kind of raise without regard to performance?
Patricia Richardson : You have raised an interesting issue. This is one that continues to be debated in the public education arena. Maryland has a collective bargaining law that requires salary, wages, benefits, and working conditions to be negotiated with teachers' unions. At the same time, school systems across the nation face teacher shortages in critical subject areas and in schools that serve children with high need. Clearly, we will need to find innovative and effective ways to recruit and retain highly qualified teachers in order to meet the needs of all of our students.
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Dallas, Texas: Having grown up in a rural part of Maryland that is attracting new residents by the thousands, I understand the kinds of challenges and opportunities currently in your quickly-growing system. Do you see a trend of parents and students resisting an influx of teachers, both experienced and inexperienced, from outside the county (i.e. the teachers haven't been a part of St. Mary's County communities for an appreciable amount of time)?
Patricia Richardson : The colleges in Maryland produce only about 50% of the teachers needed to fill Maryland classrooms. We must hire teachers from other states to meet our needs. St. Mary's County mirrors this hiring pattern. Our community has traditionally welcomed all of our new teachers. In fact, our Chamber of Commerce works closely with our Human Resources Department to find housing for new teachers. In addition, we provide an expanded new teacher orientation that acquaints new teachers with our community and the wealth of resources that are available. Often, we partner with the Naval Base at Patuxent River to hire military dependents as employees of our school system. This Base is an integral part of our community and has welcomed newcomers to the community. This year, we hired teachers from 22 different states. We believe, that this diversity in hiring is one of our greatest strengths.
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washingtonpost.com: That wraps up our discussion for today. Thank you Superintendent Richardson for joining us.
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