Issue Position: Education

Issue Position

Improving Education in Prince George's County
The number one issue I heard as I knocked on over 10,000 doors in our district was: "We need better." And, I couldn't agree more. My highest, number one priority as your Delegate is to improve Prince George's County's public schools.

New Facilities Evaluation Models
First, we must re-examine how our schools are physically evaluated. Currently, many of our schools are in need of severe renovation or total replacement. Every day, students and teachers at William Wirt Middle School are suffering from black mold, rodent infestation, and failing pipes. But, they are also suffering from a facilities evaluation model that is far out-dated and too narrow-minded.

It is clear that we must rethink the process by which we evaluate the physical needs of our schools. Under the current evaluation model, schools are solely graded on the structural and engineering needs of the building.

To reform how our school facilities are assessed and ensure that all students and teachers are working in a 21st Century learning environment, I have proposed legislation to require the State to complete a statewide assessment of all school facilities by 2020 and establish new criteria to evaluate and rank school facilities in the State.

Ending School Suspensions
In the 2012-2013 school year, 13,951 students were suspended from Prince George's County Schools.While this figure does represents a 1,664 drop in student suspensions from the 2011-2012 school (15, 615 students suspended), it also means that still almost 9% of students in Prince George's County were issued a suspension in the 2012-2013 school year.

This number is simply too high. The subjective nature of suspensions that often takes on a racial bias must be eliminated by eliminating suspension as a disciplinary tool altogether.

I plan to propose legislation that will pilot a program to remove the option of a suspension as a form of punishment from one high school in Prince George's County and replace it with an opportunity for community service. Such legislation would demonstrate that we as a County are actively working to eradicate forms of discipline that are racially biased, too subjective, and frankly, overall ineffective. Community service would also provide students with a chance for personal and community growth, an opportunity that out of school suspensions clearly deny.

Boosting Parental Involvement
Another threat to our County's school system is the staggeringly low high school graduation rate. For the 2013 school year, Prince George's County had a 69.5% high school graduation rate, one of the lowest in Maryland.

I believe a significant contributing factor in the County's low high school graduation rate is poor parental involvement. Increased parental involvement has been proven to increase high school graduation rates and improve overall student achievement.

To help improve parental involvement, I am working with the Prince George's County School System to institute a new outreach program to get parents, especially those parents or family members who cannot be reached through our traditional parent outreach methods, more involved in their student's education.

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