10 minute read
Prince George's County
SECOND OF A TWO-PART SERIES
Prince George’s Teachers Share Tools, Strategies for Successful School Year
William J. Ford WI Staff Writer
Prince George’s County public schools count as one of several school districts in Maryland that began the new school year on Wednesday, Sept. 8.
But for thousands of educators to achieve success, they must prepare their schedules, classrooms and minds for students who must wear masks. And with the county leading the state in confirmed COVID-19 cases, substitute teachers must now be vaccinated.
Three teachers at Capitol Heights Elementary, a Talented and Gifted [TAG] school located inside the Beltway near the D.C. border, shared their backgrounds, goals and strategies which they hope will lead to a smoother transition for in-class instruction.
Besides pencils and books being on their checklists, Kori Edwards, Natasha Rubin and Tyrone Frierson must now include masks, Lysol spray, wipes and other personal protective equipment for themselves and their students.
While the three educators have different backgrounds, their similarities extend beyond the classroom as Black residents of Prince George’s County, each of them vaccinated, who appreciate the “resiliency” of elementary, school-age children.
PGCPS
BRIEFS
Compiled by Dorothy Rowley WI Staff Writer
PGCPS officials were excited to welcome students back to school on Wednesday, Sept. 8!
“Before and After School Ex-
VETERAN BRINGS FOUR DECADES TO THE CLASSROOM
When Frierson attended Benedict College in Columbia, S.C., he wanted to study law “to sue people.”
But after someone in the education department suggested he mentor students in an after-school program in mathematics and social studies, the teaching bug soon kicked in.
He moved to Virginia and almost quit his first-year teaching gig in Woodbridge but stuck it out.
“Something told me not to give up,” he said. “Some students would show up in my class only talking about football and other things in life. I realized that I needed to find a way to connect with them.”
After three years in northern Virginia, he moved to Capitol Heights Elementary in 2004 where he bears the distinction as the school’s longest-serving teacher. As a math and science teacher, the 47-year-old educator of Upper Marlboro integrates hip hop with old-school artists into some of his lessons.
He said each song, such as “Children’s Story” by Slick Rick, can be used to help multiply the number of verses and chorus lines, or hooks, that repeat throughout the song.
“Math is all about patterns,” he said. “They listen to the flow of the song, what it’s about and how certain things repeat. It’s about solving
5 Natasha Rubin, a fourth-grade reading, language arts and social studies teacher at Capitol Heights Elementary, explains some of the professional development she and her colleagues will receive this year. (Robert R. Roberts/The Washington Informer)
a problem to get the answer.”
The pandemic has increased the student’s ability to utilize various technologies. Fortunately for Frierson, he’s competent in Zoom and other remote forms of communication.
“I always wondered what it would feel like to be an online teacher at a college,” he said. “I realized I don’t want to do that. I’d rather be in a classroom with some paperwork, still using some technology and being with the kids. Plus, sitting at home all day is kind of boring.”
ARETHAtended Learning” programs are now Vendor Managed Childcare Programs (VMCCP).
The school system is also pleased to announce that two additional vendors – “Champions” and “Sanbridge Early Learning Center”-- have been selected to provide school-age child care for selected sites.
In addition, “AlphaBEST Education” program services will be expanded to more schools. Parents should 5 Bowie High School Cadet Ashton Burton was one of 21 nationwide participants to complete contact the vendor representatives to the Flight Academy program and receive his private pilot's license. (Photo courtesy PGCPS) demonstrate interest in using the vendor’s services.
More specific instructions regarding enrollment will be distributed once the site capacities are determined by Maryland State Department of Education - Office of Child Care.
However, keep in mind that an expression of interest to enroll does not guarantee enrollment. FLIGHT ACADEMY GRADUATE Bowie High School Cadet Ashton Burton has completed an intensive eight-week “Flight Academy” program at Delaware State University to become a FAA Certified Private Pilot. Burton was one of 21 participants from across the country to complete the program and receive his private pilot's license. With plans to become a naval aviator, Burton entered the program with no flying experience and earned 35 hours of classroom aviation academics, more than 45 hours of flight training and 17 hours of solo flights to receive his license. WI
Teaching youth inside a classroom didn’t touch Rubin until she and her family moved from New Jersey to Bowie, Md., more than six years ago. Her husband works with the county’s Social Innovation Fund.
Before Rubin entered her fifth-year of teaching, all of them at Capitol Heights, she served as a parent liaison who later became a substitute teacher and then a long-term substitute. Some of the long-term requirements at www.marylandpublicschools.com include a bachelor’s degree and work experience.
Rubin, 46, received her bachelor’s degree in business economics at Fordham University in New York before beginning a career at a health care company and as a youth program coordinator in New York and New Jersey.
She’s also an author of two books entitled “When Waiting Hurts: A Personal Journey From Pain to Promise” and “21 Words to a Better You.” She received copies of her second book last month. She keeps connected to others through her website, www.natasharubin.com, but her first love remains teaching fourth-grade reading, language arts and social studies.
“I don’t have a traditional teaching background but I bring a different skill set and I’m a parent with a child in the school system,” she said. “I am
TEACHER Page 53
Prince George’s Libraries Helping Students, Educators
William J. Ford WI Staff Writer
Students and educators in Prince George’s County can receive additional resources outside the classroom during the 2021-22 school year, thanks to the county’s library system.
One major boost will be a $500,000 grant it received to purchase nearly 900 Chromebooks with unlimited data students can borrow free of charge.
The Chromebooks are currently at these locations: Baden in Brandywine; Bladensburg; Fairmount Heights; Glenarden; Largo-Kettering; New Carrollton; Oxon Hill; and Spauldings in District Heights. They will be available at the remaining branches in the fall.
Nicholas A. Brown, the library system’s chief operation officer for communication and outreach, said the county has about 116,000 residents without broadband internet access.
“The library is here to supplement the primary education PGCPS students receive. We try to make the learning fun and engaging,” he said.
A new online feature from the library called “Brainfuse HelpNow” allows students in kindergarten through 12th grade to register for free tutoring in both English and Spanish. Patrons will have access to 3,000 tutors nationwide, Brown said.
On the Brainfuse page under the “Expert Help” tab, a person can click live tutoring which provides a choice to select a grade and a subject. Under eighth grade, certain subjects listed include English-language arts, algebra and pre-algebra for math and social studies.
If a parent or guardian doesn’t have a library card, then access can be obtained using a student’s ID assigned by his or her school.
Brown said 55,000 tutoring sessions have been offered since the pandemic affected the county last year.
Educators, no matter where they live, can receive online access to books, high school testing materials and even invite a librarian to talk with their class about the library’s assets. A frequently asked questions tab can be found at www.pgcmls.info/2120.
Although the highly contagious delta variant continues to increase confirmed coronavirus cases in the county, each of the nearly two dozen branches are open with limited hours.
Parents seeking a head start on their child’s education can register for the “Books from Birth” program at www.pgcmls.info/ freebooks, which allows children to receive a free book in the mail every month until the child’s fifth birthday.
For more information on the library system, go to www.pgcmls. info, or call 240-455-5451.
WI @jabariwill
5 The Prince George’s County library is offering Chromebooks with unlimited data which students can borrow. (Anthony Tilghman/The Washington Informer)
4 Ann Jennifer, an associate at Spaulding Library in District Heights, is ready to help students with the resources offered by the library. (Anthony Tilghman/ The Washington Informer)
William J. Ford WI Staff Writer
After working through most of the summer to conduct platform work and other safety improvements, Metro recently reopened four stations in Prince George’s County.
Commuters who travel those stations along the Green and Yellow lines – West Hyattsville, Prince George’s Plaza in Hyattsville, University of Maryland in College Park and Greenbelt – will see LED lights, walk on slip-resistant tiles, hear improved sound systems and can charge cell phones underneath stainless steel shelters.
The stations closed May 29 as part of the transit agency’s 10-year, $15.5 billion capital improvement plan to refurbish platforms and perform other safety measures. Next summer, the agency plans to complete the three remaining stations in Prince George’s along the Orange line: Cheverly, Landover and New Carrollton.
“This is a special day on which we not only reopened the station but ask everyone to remain safe,” Metro General Manager Paul Wiedefeld said at the Prince George’s Plaza station.
As Wiedefeld toured the station with Rep. Anthony Brown (D-Maryland) and Prince George’s County Council Chair Calvin Hawkins II, Metro employees and patrons must wear masks when inside any of the 91 Metrorail stations in the D.C. region or while traveling on trains or buses.
Tuesday also marked the agency’s latest COVID-19 vaccination policy which requires employees to be vaccinated or to either face weekly testing or provide documentation which requests religious or medical accommodations.
As a way to encourage patrons to return, Metro has provided discounted fares and an extension in service hours that include: • Metrorail flat rate of $2 on the weekends and free bus transfers to and from Metrorail. • Seven-day regional bus pass from $15 to $12. • Metrorail stations closing at midnight Sunday through Thursday; at 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday. • About three dozen bus routes operating between 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. (20 bus lines every 12 minutes and 16 bus lines every 20 minutes).
In addition, Metro will work toward decreasing average wait times at Metrorail stations.
Commuters at stations serviced by three lines are expected to wait no more than three minutes, with two lines no more than five minutes and with one line no more than seven minutes.
When patrons entered and exited the Prince George’s Plaza Metro station, Metro workers handed each person a flier about the SmartTrip card. All cards purchased before 2012 will no longer be valid because of updated technology at faregates throughout the transit system.
If the numbers “0167” appear in the second position of serial number on the back of a card, passengers need do nothing. In addition, incorporating a SmartTrip card in a mobile wallet also allows customers to utilize Metrorail service.
Metrorail rider Dorothy Manahanch of New Carrollton said she traveled on Metrorail this week to Hyattsville so she could shop at Prince George’s Plaza.
“It’s good it opened back up,” she said minutes after getting off a Green Line train. “I use Metro every morning when I’m going to work. This [Metrorail] service is something I need.”
A summary of the service changes can be found at https://bit.ly/3n7SO7b.
WI @jabariwill
5 P.A. Hill, one of the two station managers at Prince George’s Plaza Metro station in Hyattsville, helps a commuter at a fare vending machine. The plaza was one of four Metrorail stations in Prince George’s County that reopened Sept. 7. (Robert R. Roberts/The Washington Informer)
