I think this article from 2013 is worth reading. Investing in the education needs of middle class families is one way to look at what we are talking about.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/middle-class-parents-closely-watching-changes-in-prince-georges-public-schools/2013/05/26/1d21d492-c330-11e2-914f-a7aba60512a7_story.html

OP here. Good points about middle and high school. I had basically resigned myself to private by that point, but I had high (futile) hopes for getting in a specialty program.

Our inbound school is not bad, I guess, but I just feel it is inadequate. The building is inadequate, there is no TAG as far as I can tell, no foreign languages, it's a testing factory.

Anonymous wrote:I agree. I was so down yesterday about not my child not getting into a specialty school. The good news is my local school is pretty decent-Bond Mill, but I feel horrible for parents and students who are zoned to a mediocre school.

I think we also need to be more aware of our measures for success. A large immigration population will bring test scores down. This doesn't mean that they are not smart, it just means that they may not be good test takers in a foreign language.

Our local elementary school is great but it is FULL of English Language Learners. They are doing a fantastic job but it is not a good fit for non-ELLs. My child was one of 2 native speakers of English in her first grade class. She did fine, but it was clear that the school could not continue to meet her needs as their focus was obviously elsewhere.

I agree also. My child didn't get into any of the specialty schools either but she does have a number in the teens on the waitlist for a charter school so I'm hopeful. I don't think it's fair PG county students have such limited options.

I agree. I was so down yesterday about not my child not getting into a specialty school. The good news is my local school is pretty decent-Bond Mill, but I feel horrible for parents and students who are zoned to a mediocre school.

I think we also need to be more aware of our measures for success. A large immigration population will bring test scores down. This doesn't mean that they are not smart, it just means that they may not be good test takers in a foreign language.

Yes. Start by improving middle schools and middle school options. That is definitely the weak link here.

If you are going to email people, I would add Executive Baker to the list. He is very interested in improving local schools etc.

I feel strongly that they should focus on expanding the specialty programs for middle and high schools rather than just on elementary schools. There are lots of great elementary schools in PGCPS but the MS and HS options are abysmal if you live in the wrong part of the County. If you knew you were very likely to get into a good MS program I feel like a lot of people would stay in their local ES, which would in turn improve the performance of the local schools etc. It's a vicious circle.
It makes me so sad to see many of the neighborhood kids bail on our local ES in order to go to a specialty program that will take them through 8th grade. If we could attract them to the local ES (which are actually often better than the specialty programs) it would benefit everyone!!!
Oh- and universal Pre-K....that would be fantastic too.

At the very least, send an email to your school board and to CEO maxwell.

Personally, I think expanding specialty/charter programs is SO important to improving pgcps overall. People need to feel like they have viable options for schools of we want to encourage more upper and middle class families to move to PG, increasing the tax base and uplifting the schools overall.

OP here. I looked around. Here is the board of education calendar:

http://www.boarddocs.com/MABE/pgcps/Board.nsf/files/A8RNN759BD4E/$file/2015-2016%20Board%20Calendar%20-%20April%202016%20-%20August%202016.pdf

I do not know which of these meetings is most beneficial for parents to attend.

Here is a list of people to advocate to:
http://pgcabs.org/advocate/

If I were to write a form letter to CEO Maxwell and Board of Education members, would anyone else be interested in sending it along with me? Do you think it would be good to cross-post such a message on the PGParents and PGPolitics listserve?

The reason so many people want specialty programs is that local schools are not a viable option. I agree that it is really tough in PG county. You have to scramble for options. Getting into a program really is like winning the lottery. However, expanding specialty programs is only part of the solution. Making local schools strong too is really important for people to really have a choice.

Anonymous wrote:How do we advocate for the increased expansion of these schools? This year, the county budget has experienced some relief. Why not use some extra money on specialty school expansion? Who do we need to call/email, and should we do it en masse?

Good questions. I looked at the PGCPS website to see if I could find information about upcoming school board meetings with public access. I found nothing helpful. Anyone know how to get notifications of such meetings? In addition to the specialty programs, I'd like to know more about school testing which seems too frequent. With a kid about to enter kindergarten my wife and I both would like to be more engaged on these matters if we can figure out how to do so.

I agree, We did get in but the stress and waiting felt more like school chance than school choice. As soon as you find out who we should contact please post so I can advocate with you.

I'm not sure, but I agree with you. I just posted because we got in
but the zoning seems off. There needs to be more choices.

Like many other parents, I was disappointed this week by a large waitlist number for a specialty school. Looking at the waitlist online, it appears that thousands of people are interested in these programs, which only have a few hundred spots. That is not counting the people who do not bother applying and stick with private school or their local school because they feel the odds are so small it is not worth it.

We pay a lot in taxes. PG County has many under-enrolled schools, and claims that it wants middle class and upper middle class parents in the public school system. It is obvious that specialty schools are what these parents want. How do we advocate for the increased expansion of these schools? This year, the county budget has experienced some relief. Why not use some extra money on specialty school expansion? Who do we need to call/email, and should we do it en masse?