What is going on at HES?

[Anonymous]

I know a bunch of parents in the neighborhood who seem upset about something at the Hyattsville Elementary School, but I don't feel comfortable asking anyone directly. My son might be starting there next year, but it's not too late to make other plans.

[Anonymous]

Not a HES parent but I would email the PTA and see if you can arrange a tour.

[Anonymous]

I'm not a parent but what I hear is HES is having the same problem that lots of other schools in the county are having this year - a shocking number of teachers put on administrative leave at the beginning of the school, and on leave for longer than in the past, because of more stringent investigation requirements since the terrible sex abuse crimes came to light. Plus fewer substitute teachers are available because hiring requirements are also more stringent for the same reason. Plus stricter policies on parental access to the school and classrooms for the same reason. It's all about safety but we're all struggling.

Hopefully HES (and my children's schools) will have all the teachers back in the classrooms next year. The subs are almost always really, really awful.

[Anonymous]

I meant to write that I'm not a parent at HES. I am a parent of kids at other PGCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not a parent but what I hear is HES is having the same problem that lots of other schools in the county are having this year - a shocking number of teachers put on administrative leave at the beginning of the school, and on leave for longer than in the past, because of more stringent investigation requirements since the terrible sex abuse crimes came to light. Plus fewer substitute teachers are available because hiring requirements are also more stringent for the same reason. Plus stricter policies on parental access to the school and classrooms for the same reason. It's all about safety but we're all struggling.

Hopefully HES (and my children's schools) will have all the teachers back in the classrooms next year. The subs are almost always really, really awful.

From what I understand (not at HES, but have friends there), this is probably it - one or two subs that isn't working out well.

[Anonymous]

Yes. Teachers are being put on leave due to accusations; they are being replaced by long term subs, some of whom are questionable themselves. Principals are in a tight spot -- if they let the long term subs go, they will have no teacher for the class and may have to split the class between remaining teachers which will please NO ONE. Plus, test scores. In some cases principals also have been placed on leave.... It's not a great situation.

[Anonymous]

Where have principals been placed on leave?

At my child's school, one teacher returned a while ago. The other has not returned yet, and frankly, I am dreading her return. She is my child's teacher, and she has issues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where have principals been placed on leave?

At my child's school, one teacher returned a while ago. The other has not returned yet, and frankly, I am dreading her return. She is my child's teacher, and she has issues.

Highland Park has a principal and 5 teachers admin leave.

[Anonymous]

I know of three schools where someone in the administration is on leave, although it isn't being shared what for (health, administrative etc). No details.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks for all the responses. The idea that the problem involves long-term substitutes makes sense. I really don't know what to do next year. I thought HES was on such a good trajectory, but now it seems like PGCPS is a mess. I want to support our local public school, but I don't have time to take on the additional job of staying on top of all this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks for all the responses. The idea that the problem involves long-term substitutes makes sense. I really don't know what to do next year. I thought HES was on such a good trajectory, but now it seems like PGCPS is a mess. I want to support our local public school, but I don't have time to take on the additional job of staying on top of all this.

I really would encourage you to contact the Principal or PTA and see if you can get a tour or observe a classroom. You can tell a lot about a school when you step through it's doors and spend some time there. You could even see if you could monitor a lunch room or something one day.
Taking a day to check out a school is a hell of a lot less expensive than 12 years of private school tuition.
I know it is easy to judge a school by list serve posts but I found that seeing things first hand really helps make decisions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know of three schools where someone in the administration is on leave, although it isn't being shared what for (health, administrative etc). No details.

Yes, the principal at my child's school is out on medical-related leave. Two different substitute principals so far.

[Anonymous]

HES parent here. I don't think it has anything to do with substitutes.
I think that Principal Burton, who left over the summer, was very well loved and fit in very well with parents, staff and administration. She made you feel you were being heard, even if the results were not exactly as you'd like them. Principal Bey, the new principal is in the unfortunate position of trying to fill her shoes. She also had to bring in many of the new rule changes- which most parents were not happy about.
That's the change in feeling overall. For me personally, I have expressed my concerns and they were well received.
What really needs to occur is an improvement in test scores and academic achievement. Even Burton did not make any great strides with that. And as contentious as it may be, great schools only ranks the school at a 3. When I moved to the area 7 years ago it was a 2. The school couldn't have made greater improvements over seven years???
My child's first grade teacher has been excellent. And there's many amazing teachers and caring parents there. But overall until scores and achievement levels are improved, it's going to be tough.

[Anonymous]

HES parent here. PP's comments about the principal change are both right and wrong. The change in principals and different styles has had an impact, but it's mostly on the surface.

The substitutes and teachers being placed on administrative leave has been a huge issue (at least for classes where teachers are out). For background, this year PGCPS has placed a great deal of emphasis on reporting any possible instance of abuse or concerns, and anyone who does not report a concern faces sanctions. There's been confusion about what constitutes potential abuse or legitimate concerns, so people have had a tendency to over-report. This triggers a process that leads to teachers being pulled from the classroom and placed on administrative leave. At HES, each of the staff members who have been pulled have been returned to the classroom after being cleared by Child Protective Services and PGCPS. It's not that there is a massive wave of abuse, but that people are uncertain about what to report and are scared not to report things. According to what we heard at a meeting with PGCPS officials, seven years ago there were a total of 250 reports of abuse; in the first half of this school year there were 700 and they were on pace for more than 1200 reports. This has caused a huge backlog in investigations and clearing cases, and it has scared away some good substitutes who are worried they could be caught up in something without having the PGCEA to help back them. Right now, PGCPS is retraining principals to help them ID when a case can be handled within the school and when it has to go into this administrative process.

As to why the school system hasn't made great gains in test scores or on Good Schools, it's in part because test score and Good Schools aren't a good measure of the value of a school. The fact is that there is a large number of kids who come from impoverished backgrounds, who are still learning English, and who don't have support systems or early childhood educational advantages that will help them test well. You get a much better idea of the value of the school by getting inside the doors, seeing the classrooms, and talking with parents and teachers. PP notes that her/his child's first grade teacher has been excellent; all the teachers my kids have had at HES have been at least good, and several were extraordinary.

I'd urge anyone considering Hyattsville Elementary to attend the parents meet and greet next week (Thursday, Feb. 16, 8 to 9 a.m.) at Vigilante Coffee -- https://www.facebook.com/events/714401815393974/ -- it's a good opportunity to learn first-hand about the school.

[Anonymous]

Blog post about the substitute teacher situation in PGCPS, with Public Information Act request responses: https://pgcabs.org/2017/03/01/pgcps-grappling-with-large-number-of-teachers-on-administrative-leave/