PG interim superintendent scheduled to leave early

[Anonymous]

Contract was originally ending on June 30th and now the last day will be June 3rd. Reason cited by the board is due to the legislation allowing the county executive to takeover the superintendent search and revamp the structure of the school system. Not sure if this is the real reason though. It is only a month early.

[Anonymous]

I'm curious to see what happens with the superintendent search.

I'll admit, I have mixed feelings about the takeover. I don't know that it sets a very good precedent.

But I'm willing to withhold judgement until I see what actions are taken and if there is actually some improvement.

Honestly, the next superintendent not only needs to be a good, well-qualified choice, but I seriously think it needs to be someone who plans on sticking around for a long time.

[Anonymous]

The problems with the PG school system seems to be much larger than a superintendent and a takeover by the county executive.

Has the county executive published a a short- and long-term plan that county residents can access?

[Anonymous]

Honestly when I saw the three final candidates put forth by the board, I lost all faith that they were excervising good judgment in finding a new super. So while I am not sold on the takeover, I definitely don't think the board can do a better job in this decision.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Honestly when I saw the three final candidates put forth by the board, I lost all faith that they were excervising good judgment in finding a new super. So while I am not sold on the takeover, I definitely don't think the board can do a better job in this decision.

I agree the candidates were lackluster at best. One of the problems is that that the job is completely undesirable. Who wants to come work in PGCPS with such a looney tunes board? Maybe with the new set-up, the job will seem like it has greater potential for stability. The central office is in disarray. They need help and quick.

[Anonymous]

What is preventing the state from relaxing the charter school restrictions and attracting the same momentum that is happening in DC to the county.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is preventing the state from relaxing the charter school restrictions and attracting the same momentum that is happening in DC to the county.

Honestly, I would love to see the state step in. To be honest, I don't think it works very well that the school systems are run on the county level. It causes huge disparities between counties, and these disparities, while no one wants to admit it, always end up coming down racial lines. If the school funding and administration happened on a state level, people wouldn't be able to cast entire counties as "bad," which ends up becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is preventing the state from relaxing the charter school restrictions and attracting the same momentum that is happening in DC to the county.

I don't think DC is a great model to move towards. Adding more charter schools will continue to direct resources away from neighborhood schools. Not to mention the wait lists for families in DC trying to get into certain schools are extraordinarily long.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is preventing the state from relaxing the charter school restrictions and attracting the same momentum that is happening in DC to the county.

We don't need charter schools. We need to continue the improvement being seen in the central offices -- payroll, HR, curriculum and instruction. These departments have become more professional, but there is still a lot of room for improvement.

And we need to raise salaries to encourage stronger teachers and principals to apply.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is preventing the state from relaxing the charter school restrictions and attracting the same momentum that is happening in DC to the county.

We don't need charter schools. We need to continue the improvement being seen in the central offices -- payroll, HR, curriculum and instruction. These departments have become more professional, but there is still a lot of room for improvement.

And we need to raise salaries to encourage stronger teachers and principals to apply.

I disagree with the last part. Salaries of PG County teachers are extremely competitive. In fact, they exceed AA County salaries, and AA County has more expensive housing.

Example, an elementary school teacher in PG makes approx. $65k. There's a website where average salaries are broken down in Maryland by county. PG County and Howard County teacher salaries are about the same. PG County is higher than AA County (and AA County schools have consistently higher scores).

So, NO, teacher salary is NOT the issue. In fact, money is not the issue. The amount of money spent per child in PG County is not the problem.

[Anonymous]

Changes to the curriculum and method of instruction are long-term solutions. An excellent charter school can offer solutions now.

For families with young children, change needs to happen sooner rather than later. I already have over 10 years invested in the county and I am not willing to sacrifice the most important early learning years waiting on changes to payroll and HR.

I love that my neighborhood is changing, but how many more children will fall through the cracks in the county before real movement takes place.

I love that Jeff is creating our own forum. I attended the Washington Post event this past Wednesday and I would love to have a forum like that about PG county.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is preventing the state from relaxing the charter school restrictions and attracting the same momentum that is happening in DC to the county.

We don't need charter schools. We need to continue the improvement being seen in the central offices -- payroll, HR, curriculum and instruction. These departments have become more professional, but there is still a lot of room for improvement.

And we need to raise salaries to encourage stronger teachers and principals to apply.

I disagree with the last part. Salaries of PG County teachers are extremely competitive. In fact, they exceed AA County salaries, and AA County has more expensive housing.

Example, an elementary school teacher in PG makes approx. $65k. There's a website where average salaries are broken down in Maryland by county. PG County and Howard County teacher salaries are about the same. PG County is higher than AA County (and AA County schools have consistently higher scores).

So, NO, teacher salary is NOT the issue. In fact, money is not the issue. The amount of money spent per child in PG County is not the problem.

You can't just consider average teacher salaries. The average could be affected by having many more experienced (older) teachers in one county compared with another.

Let me offer a personal example:

Say I am a new arrival to Washington DC and am looking for a teaching job in the suburbs. I have National Board Certification, a Master's degree in my area of certification, and 7 years' experience teaching. What woudl I earn in Montgomery County Public Schools versus in Prince George's County Public schools versus Arlington County Public Schools?

http://www.marylandpublicschools.org/NR/rdonlyres/CAFE5C56-843C-4D45-8DDB-D7D26146E60F/25636/salsch12.pdf

page 9 (this is dated 2010-2011)

MCPS: $70,000 + $2,000 for NBPTS certification = $72,000
http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/press/index.aspx?page=showrelease&id=3282

PGCPS: $61,000 + no extra pay for NBPTS = $61,000

Arlington: $70,000 ?? I cannot tell for sure P. 21 http://www.apsva.us/cms/lib2/VA01000586/Centricity/Domain/22/Pay%20Plan%20FY%2012.pdf
No automatic extra pay in APS for National Board Certification, but you are eligible to jump through some hoops and get a "bump" in your salary scale up to three times... which would be considerable.
http://www.apsva.us/site/Default.aspx?PageID=1239


Where would I look for a job?

Why would I choose PGCPS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is preventing the state from relaxing the charter school restrictions and attracting the same momentum that is happening in DC to the county.

We don't need charter schools. We need to continue the improvement being seen in the central offices -- payroll, HR, curriculum and instruction. These departments have become more professional, but there is still a lot of room for improvement.

And we need to raise salaries to encourage stronger teachers and principals to apply.

I disagree with the last part. Salaries of PG County teachers are extremely competitive. In fact, they exceed AA County salaries, and AA County has more expensive housing.

Example, an elementary school teacher in PG makes approx. $65k. There's a website where average salaries are broken down in Maryland by county. PG County and Howard County teacher salaries are about the same. PG County is higher than AA County (and AA County schools have consistently higher scores).

So, NO, teacher salary is NOT the issue. In fact, money is not the issue. The amount of money spent per child in PG County is not the problem.

You can't just consider average teacher salaries. The average could be affected by having many more experienced (older) teachers in one county compared with another.

Let me offer a personal example:

Say I am a new arrival to Washington DC and am looking for a teaching job in the suburbs. I have National Board Certification, a Master's degree in my area of certification, and 7 years' experience teaching. What woudl I earn in Montgomery County Public Schools versus in Prince George's County Public schools versus Arlington County Public Schools?

http://www.marylandpublicschools.org/NR/rdonlyres/CAFE5C56-843C-4D45-8DDB-D7D26146E60F/25636/salsch12.pdf

page 9 (this is dated 2010-2011)

MCPS: $70,000 + $2,000 for NBPTS certification = $72,000
http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/press/index.aspx?page=showrelease&id=3282

PGCPS: $61,000 + no extra pay for NBPTS = $61,000

Arlington: $70,000 ?? I cannot tell for sure P. 21 http://www.apsva.us/cms/lib2/VA01000586/Centricity/Domain/22/Pay%20Plan%20FY%2012.pdf
No automatic extra pay in APS for National Board Certification, but you are eligible to jump through some hoops and get a "bump" in your salary scale up to three times... which would be considerable.
http://www.apsva.us/site/Default.aspx?PageID=1239


Where would I look for a job?

Why would I choose PGCPS?

Actually, the PG gig is the better financially, because MOCO only pays $12,000 more per year, but housing is triple that. So, if you teach in MOCO, you make 12k more, but it will be way more expensive for you to find housing near your work. If you are single, you'll be able to rent an apartment in MOCO. If you're single in PG, on the $60k, you'll be able to buy a house in a nice area (as I did) or if you don't want to buy, you can afford to rent a house or a bigger apartment and actually have money to travel. In MOCO, that salary won't get you far.

Of course, you could work in MOCO and live in PG, but then you're commuting more and spending more in gas.

So considering cost of living, that $12k more you get to teach in MOCO doesn't amount to much.

[Anonymous]

meant "housing is triple compared to PG."

[Anonymous]

And no, it's not longevity. I know of one example of a person who teaches in pg and makes in the 60s and is still pretty early in her career.