Things are looking up for Prince Georges County Public Schools. On Monday, October 16, the county received a $25 million grant from the federal government.
On Monday, Prince Georges County announced that the U.S. Department of Education has awarded the County's Public School System with a three-year, $25 million grant to be used to help recruit teachers, and improve placement, support and retention at the County’s 40 highest needs schools. It will also help further develop data systems and evaluation tools. The grant has been named the “Great Teachers, Great Leaders, Great Schools” grant. Prince Georges County Schools received the new $25 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education under the department’s “Teacher and School Leader Incentive Program.” The federal program is designed to assist high needs schools in other states and counties nationwide in the same way as is planned in P.G. County. It's the third largest grant ever received by the P.G. County School System and should be enough make a significant impact in the short and long term. The county intends to use the money specifically to higher better and more experienced teachers. Changes will be made to help improve procedures that will ideally result in better efficiency amongst staff. Currently, there's a high turnover rate of less qualified teachers in many of the schools attended by students who come from low income families.
In addition to tapping into the teacher talent pool, the County intends to better train current staff members by the use of preparation and development programs that the grant has made possible. Teachers will be encouraged to take on leadership roles in various school activities that, prior to the grant award, the County was unable to adequately provide.
Many parents are sure to be delighted by the news as the P.G. County School System has been troubled as of late. In June, the Maryland State Department of Education voted unanimously to investigate alleged fraudulent grading by teachers, who are accused of helping boost graduation rates. Back in 2016, P.G. County Schools saw the termination of a $6.3 million grant after county school teachers were caught humiliating young children in the county’s Head Start program.
The Prince Georges County School System is one of the largest in the country, which has over 130,000 students and 19,000 employees.
What are your thoughts on the grant? Do you think it will benefit the P.G. County's Public School Systems? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.
