The interim public schools superintendent in Prince George鈥檚 County, Maryland, hit the 100-day mark on his temporary, at least for now, job at the end of last week.
After many meetings and visits up and down the county, Shawn Joseph has heard the good, the bad and what he described as 鈥渢he ugly鈥� from parents he鈥檚 come across.
鈥淭he good is people love our specialty schools,鈥� he told WTOP. 鈥淚 think they love the fact that they have options in the system. They love that we have focused on music, the arts. We’ve got STEM programs, we’ve got dual enrollment programs.鈥�
He鈥檚 also touting progress with the school system鈥檚 transportation operation, with an app that actually works when parents want to see where their child鈥檚 bus is, and fewer vacancies on all those different bus routes.
Joseph also said the number of students who haven鈥檛 received required immunizations is down to the dozens as opposed to thousands (that鈥檚 important for funding).
Overall, he said communication around the school system is better than it used to be and the internal culture is better than some might give credit for.
But Joseph also acknowledged more work needs to be done to address old, lackluster school facilities in need of updating 鈥� a task that won鈥檛 be quick, easy or cheap 鈥� and chronic issues exist within the county鈥檚 special education system. One thing he heard about repeatedly, Joseph said, was the bad experiences many families around the county have had there.
He also said a plan to tackle the school system’s ongoing truancy problem is something the county needs to address.
鈥淪omebody has to own truancy at the school level,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t can’t be a macro issue at the school level. There has to be somebody who’s checking when kids aren’t coming in, calling, understanding why, and connecting kids and doing the resources and things of that nature.”
And Joseph said the school system is innovating to tackle the problem.
鈥淲e are working to invest in a new technology to help push information out to parents, gather information from parents, understanding the root causes and things of that nature,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e’ve also increased the mental health support.鈥�
But some of the most difficult challenges in regard to truancy are happening in the northern end of the county, where the Hispanic population is larger, and an immigration enforcement crackdown is impacting families.
鈥淭hose fears are real, and we think that it’s having an impact on kids feeling comfortable coming to school, the families feeling safe and sending their kids to school,鈥� Joseph said.
Priorities for PGCPS going forward
Going forward, the five priority areas are focuses on reading and math, special education and those who speak English as a second language, truancy, organizational culture and increasing dual enrollment 鈥� look for an announcement about the latter in the coming days.
The county is also putting data dashboards online 鈥� and one that helps parents at the county level, school level and even student level. And now Joseph said he’s even more confident that kids are learning when they get to school.
So then why is academic proficiency so low at so many schools?
鈥淥n average, Prince George’s County Public Schools grows kids in most schools at acceptable rates,鈥� he said. 鈥淔orty percent of our students are immigrant students, so English isn’t their first language. They’re behind multiple grade levels, so they’re not going to hit proficiency. But they are growing. So the key for us is, how do we accelerate growth?鈥�
There鈥檚 a key distinction there, he said.
鈥淚t totally changes how you approach your work, in terms of what we’re investing in, how we’re providing support for teachers,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f we’re thinking about buying remediation materials, that’s one set of materials. If you’re talking about buying acceleration materials, that’s another set. And with limited resources, you have got to be clear about what you’re doing. And for us, it’s how do we accelerate? And that’s what we need to lock in on and push folks with.鈥�
He said the county is bracing for a tighter budget next year, with the growth in teacher pay and health insurance costs outpacing revenue growth. Earlier this month the school system put a central office hiring freeze in place.
Where things stand with hiring a full-time superintendent
So with the good and the bad there in front of him, does he want the job long term?
When he first started, Joseph was noncommittal about being with PGCPS long term, and used the analogy that he was dating the job, saying you don鈥檛 jump into a marriage before you date a while first and see how things go. He returned to that analogy when asked about his feelings on the job now.
鈥淲e’ve been dating real well, you know, she looking real good,鈥� he said with a laugh. 鈥淚’m strongly considering, definitely, applying. Once the process begins I’ll know for sure, but it’s coming up. I think we’re at the point now, as we move into November and December, where the board will need to identify a search firm, and then lay the process and all that out, and then we’ll go from there.”
The county’s “state of schools” meeting is Jan. 20, he said.
鈥淭hat’s where we’ll be able to talk about the budget and kind of the investments that we’re making,鈥� Joseph added. 鈥淢oving forward, we’ll be in the throes of the strategic plan, and that’ll be a great time to be definitive about what we’re doing.鈥�
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