The PGCPS Technology Training Team has compiled best practices to help parents and guardians be good partners in education during distance learning! 

As we count down to back-to-school, take these steps to prepare for a successful start to the school year!

This year’s Prince George’s Area Science Fair (PGASF) made history in more ways than one!

"Racial bias undermines our fundamental mission of outstanding academic achievement for all students and our work to eliminate achievement gaps among students of different races."

Meet Kalonji Harrington, senior at College Park Academy and future NASA engineer.

Meet Jeremy Kiggundu, senior at DuVal High School and published researcher.

Meet Kilmar Marcia Guzman, Posse scholar semifinalist and lover of history.

Meet custom shoe artist and Project Lead the Way student Derrick Griffin.

“We want people to know our students for their abilities — not their disabilities. With art there are no boundaries, so they can’t be wrong!”

Meet aspiring lawyer and Posse Scholar recipient Vanessa Romero

Bryan M. Swann was sworn in to fill a vacant District Four seat on the Prince George’s County Board of Education.

Completing the 2020 census this March should be on your list of New Year's resolutions! Here's what to expect.

Prince George’s County Public Schools CEO Dr. Monica Goldson shares her holiday reading list, featuring both personal picks and authors with a special connection to Prince George’s County.

Meet Lindsay Blocker, a highly motivated student who is not waiting for high school graduation to begin pursuing her dreams.

At Nicholas Orem Middle School, where more than 98 percent of scholars would be first generation college students, Principal Michelle Towles-Monroe and team know that in addition to closing the achievement gap they must also address an exposure gap.

“Glenarden Woods has a long history of excellence in teaching and learning. Strong leadership combined with high expectations for academic achievement among students, families and staff continues to ensure student success.”

October is National Bullying Prevention Month and for Unity Day (the signature event) students and staff across PGCPS are taking a stand against bullying.

Check out these tips on how to prepare for #PGCPS1stDay and have a strong start to the school year!

For more than 30 years, a mosaic window depicting the Benjamin Tasker Middle School tiger mascot has infused both color and school pride to the building’s main lobby. School leaders and community partners recently came together to restore the beloved art and bring a piece of school history full circle.

Did you know that nearly 14,000 PGCPS students play a musical instrument? For Music in Our Schools Month, band and orchestra ensembles from across the school system showed their skills at the annual instrumental music festival!

Thousands of teachers, parents and students convened on Maryland’s capital this week the “March for Our Schools” rally, shutting down roads to demand an increase in school funding over the next decade. If approved, the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future will increase education funding throughout the state by more than $1 billion over the next two fiscal years.

Did you know today's Career and Technical Education (CTE) encompasses more than skilled trades? High school programs like Project Lead the Way are preparing students to pursue high-demand careers in science, technology, engineering and math!

Student-athletes Luke Swindler and Jordan Riley are the epitome of team players. They recently led the Friendly High School bocce team to a County championship. And next week, they will take on Capitol Hill to advocate for federal funding for students with disabilities as part of the state's 2019 Special Olympics Advocacy Day team.

After Black Friday and Cyber Monday is Giving Tuesday! Join us on Nov. 27 to support the Excellence in Education Foundation for PGCPS, which each year awards hundreds of thousands in scholarship dollars to deserving students!

Scholar of the Week recognizes outstanding students with exemplary academic performance and service to their schools and community.

This week, find out why Eleanor Roosevelt High School's Daelyn Waters is a triple threat!

Did you know drug overdoses killed more Americans last year than gun violence or vehicle crashes?

On school buses serving children with special needs, school bus attendants are one half of the transportation team and play a critical role in safety, care and efficiency. Meet attendant Linda Charles-Lynch, and find out why she believes love and kindness is the most powerful form of authority.

Scholar of the Week recognizes outstanding students with exemplary academic performance and service to their schools and community.

This week, meet Bowie High School twin sisters Mikaila and Alexis Esuke who are alike in both appearance and excellence!

For National School Bus Safety Week we are recognizing the nearly 2,000 PGCPS school bus drivers and attendants for the role they play in ensuring student safety. Check out a few school system transportation quick facts!

University Park Elementary School students are practicing a critical lesson: the importance of helping those in need. In the wake of Hurricane Florence, which recently ravaged parts of North Carolina, University Park launched a schoolwide contest to collect supplies for schools that were destroyed or damaged by the storm. In badly damaged schools, teachers have to resupply classrooms.

Scholar of the Week recognizes outstanding students with exemplary academic performance and contributions to their schools and community.

This week, meet Medossa Madamesila, an International Baccalaureate scholar athlete at Crossland High School.

The Scholar of the Week feature recognizes outstanding students with exemplary academic performance and contributions to their schools and community.

This week, meet Christian Magruder, an honors student at Largo High School who Principal Afie Mirshah-Nayar describes as showing integrity and leadership in addition to a strong academic record!

A partnership between Junior Achievement of Greater Washington, PGCPS and Capital One, JA Finance Park is a “hidden jewel” right here in Prince George’s County where every eighth-grade student receives digital financial literacy training on making real-life financial decisions that will lay the foundation for how they approach their financial responsibilities in the future. Topics covered for eighth graders include income, credit and debit, budgeting, saving, and investing and risk management.

Meet Laura Guzman, Coordinator for the dual language program  at Capitol Heights Elementary School (CHES). Learn about how Ms. Guzman landed in the right place at the right time to put her expertise and love of diversity to work at CHES— a school with a quickly diversifying student body in a predominantly African American community.

A healthy diet is one of the best ways you can prepare your child to do their very best in the classroom. Set the tone for a successful year with these back-to-school health and wellness tips!

1.Start each day with breakfast, even if it’s small!  A piece of fruit and a glass of milk is enough to kickstart the body and maintain energy throughout the day.  
2.Stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water. Children can become dehydrated from excess sweating and illness. Limit soda and sweetened beverages and make H20 the beverage of choice.
3.Get kids involved in meal planning and prep. Let them select fruits and vegetables for the week’s meals. Allow children to help you regularly with small tasks such as washing produce and mixing ingredients.    

As the school system’s Diversity Recruitment Executive Coordinator, Tomas Rivera-Figueroa oversees the recruitment and hiring of Latino educators to serve our fast-growing Hispanic population – work that comes full circle with his own children’s success.

Hispanics compose 17 percent of Prince George’s County residents, yet make up 32 percent of PGCPS students, representing the school system’s fastest-growing demographic. With average growth of 1.5 percent annually, PGCPS could be a majority Latino school system within a decade if current trends hold.

September is Attendance Awareness Month! With the school year underway, it’s important that students are in class every day, ready to learn. When children don’t show up for school regularly, they miss out on critical classroom instruction. Research shows children who were chronically absent in kindergarten and first grade were less likely to read proficiently at the end of third grade. And absences add up! Just two days out of school a month (about 18 days a year) adds up to 10 percent of the school year missed!

Here are steps your family can take to keep school absences at a minimum:

1. Ensure your student has required immunizations on the first day of school.

3. Don’t permit missing school unless your child has a contagious illness.

4. Avoid medical appointments on school days when possible.

5. Avoid vacations and extended trips when school is in session.

6. Discuss the link between chronic absence and school success with older children.

Learn more about the long-term negative effects of #ChronicAbsence.

The first few weeks of school can be fast-paced, but don’t forget about back-to-school night! It’s an opportunity to meet and greet school leaders and teachers while learning about expectations and resources. It also sends a message to your child that you will have a present and active role in their education. Let Back-to-School Night be the first step in establishing a strong home and school partnership this year. 

1. Determine the most effective way to communicate with your child’s teacher(s). Teacher policies and communication tools will vary. Find out if any communication apps (e.g. Bloomz, ClassDojo) will be used and subscribe to all of them.

2. Volunteer with parent groups, such as the PTA/PTO. Don’t let the thought of meetings deter you! Your support for school events is needed most.

3. Take notes and ask questions! Be sure that you understand teacher grading policies.  

4. Planning to volunteer or chaperone class field trips? Learn how to become an approved volunteer. Even better: Get approvals in advance, make copies and deliver to your school’s front office and your child’s teacher at the event.

5.  Build on past experiences! If you have experienced challenges in the past as a parent partner, get answers to questions early to move forward positively!

PGCPS begins the 2018-19 academic year with new leadership. Learn more about Interim Chief Executive Officer Dr. Monica Goldson, her journey and mission to restore #PGCPSPride.

Watch the video "Introducing Dr. Goldson"

Interim CEO Dr. Monica Goldson kicked off the 2018-19 school year with an assist from local leaders on #PGCPS1stDay.

U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, County Executive Rushern Baker and State’s Attorney Angela Alsobrooks joined Dr. Goldson in taking an up-close look at our new investments and programs.

Highlights include the new Tulip Grove Elementary — a $26 million major renovation and addition featuring geothermal heating, natural light and industry-leading design; a backpack giveaway at Columbia Park Elementary School; a student-led tour of innovative programs at Parkdale High School; and lunch at Dr. Henry A. Wise High School, where Dr. Goldson was founding principal.

Other back-to-school highlights: $3 million in new smart boards, iPads and other technology, more than $1 million shifted from the central office to the schools and 20 additional schools to incorporate arts integration.

PGCPS also launched a new school bus tracking app that provides families with bus location and estimated time of arrival, as well as a Youth Apprenticeship Program designed to provide high school career academy students real-world experience in carpentry, plumbing and other fields.

View photos from #PGCPS1stDay.

Day One of the 2018-19 school year is bursting with excitement over new programs, new leadership, new opportunities — and for Tulip Grove Elementary, a new building. Follow us all day on social media (@pgcps) and look for the #PGCPS1stDay hashtag!

View our #PGCPS1stDay photo gallery

Download a back-to-school sign (English, Spanish or French)

Eleanor Roosevelt High junior Jeremy Mejia spent three weeks at Princeton University this summer learning more about Artificial Intelligence through the Princeton AI4ALL program, hosted by the Princeton Computer Science Department and the Center for Information Technology Policy.

Meija was one of 32 students nationwide — and the only one from Maryland — to participate. The program introduced students to key AI concepts, including the Python programming language — skills that can take an entire college semester to learn.

“Princeton AI4ALL allowed me to gain a taste of college life,” said Mejia. “I made lifelong friends with people from different parts of the country and even from around the world.”

Mentors are needed for students at Frederick Douglass High School participating in the Pathways in Technology Early College High School (P-TECH) program.

The program offers students the opportunity to earn an Associate Degree in Health Information Management or Hospitality Services Management, mentoring, internships and free college-level instruction in preparation for tech industry jobs.

Mentors meet monthly with a cohort of incoming freshmen and second-year students through June. Learn more and sign up!

Thousands of students, families and volunteers attended the annual Back-to-School Block Party at Prince George’s Stadium to meet, greet and get #PGCPS1stDayReady! The “unofficial kickoff” to the new school year also marked the end of the #PGCPS15KBackpacks campaign, which collected 15,000 backpacks and school supplies from staff, community, businesses and sponsors.

Interim CEO Monica Goldson mingled with attendees and distributed backpacks, joined by Board Vice Chair Carolyn Boston and Board Members Raaheela Ahmed and Curtis Valentine. County Executive Rushern L. Baker III and State’s Attorney Angela Alsobrooks were among the elected officials in attendance. 

 Backpacks and supplies will be donated to Title 1 schools and community organizations throughout September.

View Photo Gallery