New Superintendent, A Former Prince George’s Educator, Begins Role
Carey Wright, the former Mississippi education superintendent, will begin as Maryland’s interim state superintendent on Oct. 23.
Wright got her start as a teacher in Prince George’s County in the 1970s, before becoming a principal and eventually serving as Maryland’s Director of Special Education.
In Mississippi, under her tenure, test scores and literacy rates rose from among the worst in the nation to around national average, and she assisted the implementation of pre-K across the state.
Her chief concerns in Maryland are: test scores, transparency, and implementing the Blueprint for Education.
“Maryland’s math scores are abysmal. I’ll use that word,” Wright said at her first press conference on Oct. 12. “I am grounded in the research about what are best practices, where literacy and mathematics particularly are concerned.”
State Sen. Malcolm Augustine (D-District 47) praised the selection by the Maryland State Board of Education, particularly her diversity of experience as an educator, principal and administrator.
“What I’m hopeful for is a refreshed and renewed emphasis on achieving the goals laid out in the Blueprint,” said Augustine. “I am very, very encouraged that she will help us to make real progress towards the goals we laid out in the Blueprint.” Augustine serves on the Senate’s Education, Energy and the Environment Committee.
Mohammed Choudhury, former superintendent of Education, announced in late September that he did not plan to seek a second term and left the role on Oct. 6.
New School Construction And Sonia Sotomayor Opening
Eight new schools, including two in New Carrollton, are now planned to begin construction in Prince George’s County.
Sonia Sotomayor Middle School opened this year, with Delegate Deni Taveras (D–District 47) spreading the announcement via email, and Fort Washington’s Kindergarten through 8th Grade Colin Powell Academy is expected to open after this year’s Thanksgiving break.
While some have criticized the novel public-private partnership for potentially ballooning the costs of school construction, numerous parents have urgently called on the Board of Education to build the schools, while noting structural deficiencies in existing facilities during this year’s meetings.
“In its most simplistic form, this opportunity is the same as taking out a loan to finance your home, car or education. For most people, it would be impossible to make such expensive purchases without a loan. It is impossible for the county to finance and expedite this vast and much needed construction project without this partnership,” said concerned County resident LaVonn Reedy Thomas in an interview with the Informer about her opinion on new school construction.
“For years, communities in certain areas of the county have objected to boundary changes which contribute to overcrowding in some schools, while reducing the census in other schools. Also, no one has studied the impact on our school system because of specialty school, charter school and parochial/private school choices by parents,” Reedy Thomas continued. “Density in certain areas of the county creates over-crowded schools, but instead of spreading development equitably throughout the county, efforts are underway to curtail it. So, schools in central and south county continue to suffer with lower registrations.”
New School Boundary Proposal Converts Crossland to Career and Technical Hub
A new boundary proposal would effectively transform Camp Springs’ Crossland High School into a Career and Technical hub.
This proposal would transfer most of their existing student population that lives north of the school to Potomac High School and all of the students living south of Crossland to Surrattsville High School. If approved, rising ninth grade students, and rising 10th – 12th-graders not currently attending Crossland, will be assigned to their new neighborhood high school at the beginning of the next school year. Students will still have the option to attend Crossland, but must apply to a Career and Technical program.
The Board of Education will hold a final vote on the proposed Crossland High School boundary change on Nov. 9.
School Safety
Following shootings at Morgan State and Bowie State during their respective homecoming weekends, safety has been of concern to many parents starting off the school year in Prince George’s.
By November, each high school in the county will be equipped with at least eight screening devices, said Gary Cunningham, director of School System Safety and Security Services. He added that eight of the county’s 42 middle schools will also have screening technology by spring 2024. The security screening devices are portable and can be moved as needed throughout the schools’ campuses for sports games and other events. High schools including Suitland, Wise, Bowie, High Point, Central, Oxon Hill and DuVal currently have metal detectors installed.
“As a community, we must do more,” said DuVal senior Rayne Rivera-Forbes, a student member of the Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) Board of Education.
Rayne spoke during a PGCPS town hall on student safety shortly after the tragic shooting of Jayda Medrano-Moore near DuVal High School.
“A lot of violence happens outside of school, off of school property, and we have to start asking more questions like, ‘What is causing students to take actions like this?’”
She also said at the forum that the metal detectors and clear backpacks make a big difference, but further action is needed.
The union representing PGCPS bus drivers also requested additional security measures and to hire 228 more drivers in late September.