Maryland state delegates examine the Kirwan Commission’s latest recommendations and education proposals to reform funding based on each district's need and ability to contribute financial support. Based on the initial proposal, Prince George’s County was asked to contribute a substantial amount of the funds to support public school programs for the state.
Prince George’s County budget director Stanley A. Earley said in an article for Maryland Matters that the original funding formula would create a situation where the students and districts with the most need would be asked to commit the most money in the long run. This led to an opportunity for Maryland State Officials and the Kirwan panel to collaborate on a revision to the final amount.
“When you look at the goals of Kirwan to not only become a 21st century public school system but also fix the gaps that are there, I really think that you have to look at the individual populations and take into account the influence of systematic issues.”
-Del. Wanika Fisher (D-47B)
“The numbers for Kirwan have been changed in the final passage of what the counties are accountable for,” said Del. Wanika Fisher (D-47B), who represents a district in Prince George's County. “The commission was able to recalculate the formula to work better for us and meet our needs.”
According to the Kirwan Commission’s final recommendations for 2020, the commission proposes to review current funding formulas for schools in Maryland and raise the standard for college and career opportunities to the level of the world’s best systems. Maryland Public Schools have large achievement gaps for students based on income, race, and disability.
“Education is a constitutional mandate, it is in our constitution to provide an education for all citizens in Maryland,” Fisher said. “When you look at the goals of Kirwan to not only become a 21st century public school system but also fix the gaps that are there, I really think that you have to look at the individual populations and take into account the influence of systematic issues.”
Prince George’s County schools have historically been underfunded and have large populations of students with disabilities or special needs. The importance of examining each district's current resources – or lack thereof – is crucial for the success of the Kirwan Commission’s goals and future efforts towards the county.
“You have two major African American populations in Baltimore and Prince George’s County, and in those two jurisdictions they have the most need,” Fisher said. ”We have the most need because we have two of the biggest populations that have been subject to slavery, Jim Crow laws, and systemic oppression, such as the school-to-prison pipeline.”
Percentage of in-school suspensions by race in Prince George's County schools, 2017-18 school year
Source: Maryland Department of Education
The socioeconomic state of households differs across counties and school districts in Maryland, contributing to the lack of unity in today’s public school system. The commission’s goal to have each county contribute support should help bridge these gaps, among a list of other disparities – such as enrollment rates and teacher retention rates. Students who are disruptive in class often have difficulty finding valuable resources such as counselling or emotional support for issues in various areas of their lives.
“When it comes to school disciplinary problems, I do think the ... addition of school counselors or social workers is important,” Fisher said. “School suspensions, things like that which disproportionately affect students, need to be taken into account as well as alternatives to implement such as mandatory meditation or yoga for children who are disruptive in class.”
The presence of school resource officers can negatively impact the lives of students in public schools and create a harsh learning environment rather than nurturing students and their educational goals. Despite necessary measures to recognize students who disrupt class or the progress of others, state officials, administrators and teachers need more support and training to handle these cases effectively and with appropriate counseling.
Prince George's County students were 244% more likely to be arrested in a school-related incident than the national average.
Arrests per 100,000 students. Source: Department of Education Civil Rights Data Collection and Maryland State Department of Education
“What teachers are paying for their own college education needs to match what they’re going to get back from our system, and we need to be able to retain teachers.” Fisher said. “Prince George’s County has one of the lowest retention rates for teachers, so that is very important.”
The Kirwan Commission’s 2020 recommendations recognize the need for teacher salaries to increase along with statewide funding. Teachers influence the culture and learning environments for their students and this would help retain educators, especially in districts that are already understaffed. Valuable and passionate educators can help prevent students from falling into the school-to-prison pipeline and increase enrollment rates.
“I think Kirwan has a lot of great potential to revitalize our school system and I’m excited about it.” Fisher said. “A lot of effort and time went into Kirwan and I think we are in a good place with the proposal, I’m proud to vote for it and I’m hoping we can continue to work on it to revitalize and reenergize our schools so that the next generation of kids is going to have better outcomes and further lift these communities out of poverty.”
Joshua Omolola, student board member of Prince George's County Public Schools, talks to Sean McGoey about behavioral policies in county schools.
Prince George’s County students face adversity in finding adequate counseling services and community support programs during their educational career. School administrators lack appropriate funding to support salaries for professional counselors leaving students without access to emotional, behavioral, or academic support.
According to the National Association for College Admission Counseling, the total enrollment for Prince George’s County public schools was 128,936 in the 2015-2016 school year, with a student to counselor ratio of 385:1 – well above the NACAC's recommended ratio of 250:1. The presence of professional school counselors is crucial for students of color in low-income households and prospective first-generation college students. School districts with a higher presence of police or school resource officers also tend to have a lower rate of counseling services available to students.
The American Civil Liberties Union reported last year that 1.7 million students nationwide go to a school with police officers but without counselors. Professional counselors in public high schools can offer an outlet for students to communicate their anxieties about their professional future in a healthy and constructive way while planning for a career. School resource officers and the absence of professional counseling negatively impact a student’s academic potential or ability to succeed.
According to the Maryland State Department of Education, professional school counselors have three directives to follow which help guide their interactions with students in grades K-12. The programs are organized to address the three main areas of a student’s educational experience: personal and academic growth; educational and career decision-making; and social/emotional growth and interpersonal relations.
PGCPS’ outline for professional school counseling services follows the standards and guidelines recommended by the American School Counseling Association. The district’s counselors seek to offer all-inclusive counseling services to address academic, career, and personal development for students. With increased awareness and support of school counseling programs, administrators can incorporate behavioral and academic support into each student’s daily experience in Maryland public schools.
Prince George's County lays out a more detailed policy than Montgomery County, identifying specific situations that teachers and faculty may face when dealing with disciplinary actions. The disciplinary levels are rated on a scale from 1 to 5, broken down by grade level. For example, dishonesty, cheating and plagiarism are levels 1 or 2 for all grades, while use or attempted use of weapons is a 5 for students grade 3-5 and 6-12.
Each example is broken down into a category and given to an official administrator to contact in case of misconduct. Although this chart is detailed, it may lead to more overall suspensions if administrators strictly follow through on the guidelines.
According to data from the Maryland State Department of Education, Prince George's had a total of 1,646 suspensions in the 2017-18 school year, a majority of which were given to black male students. Over 60% of the suspensions were attributed to "disrespect/disruption," another vague categorization for a signficant punishment.
Although the policy does not outline a “restorative discipline philosophy” like Montgomery County does, the Prince George's school system says that discipline should be "both corrective and instructive and designed to foster growth and understanding in the student," and that "appropriate responses to misbehavior are determined by the age and maturity of the student."
According to the policy, this type of approach may look like “restorative chats/questions, circles, academic circles, peer mediation, and community conferencing.” The lack of detail surrounding what makes discipline restorative may also lead to more re-offenses by already punished students.
The disciplinary policy laid out by Prince George’s County is more detailed and thorough than Montgomery County’s, but both ultimately fail to create accountability among administrators to promote restorative practices for disciplinary actions.
The school is required to ensure “minimum education services” are provided to students during their suspension meaning, they are able to complete academic work they miss during the suspension period without penalty, but the policy is left open-ended for individual administrators to interpret, and there is no accountability outlined in the policy on how to measure the success of the “restorative discipline philosophy.”
135,962
63%
$2.04 billion
206
19,000