@drmonicaceo Suzanne Summerlin: Dr. Goldson, is it possible to see the syllabus with an assignment due dates and I also want to know if parents who need to work during the live instruction hours can we show attendance another way? Can we turn in assignments in a reasonable amount of time if we can’t turn them around the same day?
Dr. Goldson: We are crafting language to include in the Recovery Guide concerning assignment due dates. No assignments will be due on Mondays and the day after holidays. You can find this information in the 8/7/2020 Recovery Plan. We are still finalizing the course syllabi and should be available by 8/20/2020.
Homeless Parent(s): How can PGCPS ensure children, who are homeless will have access to the Internet?
Dr. Goldson: We will fully support our homeless families not just with WiFi access but with any instructional tools that they need to be successful. Please contact the homeless office if you are in need of assistance.
Shalana Alleyne-Shortt: Dr. Goldson, I want to know how long kids will have to turn in assignments. One or two nights isn’t feasible with parents’ schedules and kids looking at a computer all day for 5 days straight. I would like a week to get assignments in so we can spend time during the weekends when kids aren’t on the computers as long to complete them.
Dr. Goldson: We are crafting language to include in the Recovery Guide concerning assignment due dates. No assignments will be due on Mondays and the day after holidays. You can find this information in the 8/7/2020 Recovery Plan. We are still finalizing the course syllabi and should be available by 8/20/2020.
Katrina Angela Butler: Dr. Goldson, I'm still waiting to hear how PGCPS will support students with an IEP? I'm super worried about my Kindergartner starting this year. I uploaded the IEP into the registration docs but other than them accepting the enrollment I haven't heard anything.
Dr. Goldson: There are several questions I have to respond to your question? Can you send me an email to [email protected] so I can ask them privately? Thank you.
Meaghan Tuttle: Dr. Goldson, what, if any, measures will be taken to keep kids on age-appropriate screen time levels? And what things will be distributed or on the supply list (ie blue light glasses, headphones, microphone)? What, if anything, is the district doing to help with the creation of pod groups/assist families who must work out of the home?
Dr. Goldson: Please review the 7/13 version of the Recovery Plan which was updated to address screen time for our youngest learners. I believe the new schedule addresses this concern. Materials for distribution will be school textbooks (if applicable) and workbooks that students can write in. We have purchased headphones to assist those families that are entering into Pods. Once we receive them we will determine the best way to distribute them.
Natalia Walker: Dr. Goldson, what supplies are schools recommending for students? When will technology distribution be for parents who picked up one laptop for the household but not for each student?
Dr. Goldson: The basic supplies are pencils, pen, paper, composition books (ES, MS), calculator, aids for learning (post-it notes, highlighter or index cards). These are general tools needed. Schools will distribute supply list in their back to school letters. Additional laptop distribution will take place the week of August 24, 2020.
Glenda Montanez: Dr. Goldson, I'm curious to know of any supplies are needed? Will textbooks be distributed or will it be all on the Goggle platform like it was 4th quarter?
Dr. Goldson: See response above. Parents will receive the list in the Back to School letter from their respective school.
Jasmine Jazz Carpenter: Dr. Goldson, will Chromebooks be offered again? Will there be some type of daily/weekly correspondence between the teacher/parents ( especially those that have to work) informing us of assignments?
Dr. Goldson: Additional laptop distribution will take place the week of August 24, 2020. Some of our teachers have already created sites that students and parents can access to review what was learned and needs to be turned in for the week. Other teachers have created different ways to communicate with parents. I recommend reaching out to your child's teacher once school begins to determine what is the best way to stay on top of the instructional experience for you and your child.
Parent: Dr. Goldson, can you explain the process for students to remove an I earned in the 4th quarter before January 2021?
Dr. Goldson: This information has been included in the Recovery Guide. If you still have questions please let me know. Here is the language from the Reopening Plan (under the Grading section):
Dr. Goldson: Can you please provide the specific school name? Because this is a personnel issue I cannot go into specific details but please know I always have the school district and individual school community at the forefront of my decision making.
(2) What process is being followed to notify parents of their child's movement on the Specialty Program wait list?
Dr. Goldson: This process is ongoing. If a parent declines the specialty school offer then the next parent in line is offered a position. We typically do not get lots of movement until the week before school begins. Please contact the coordinator or principal at the school with the specific speciality program. If assistance is still needed please email [email protected] - Dr. McDaniel is the Coordinating Supervisor for Specialty Programs. A tele town hall meeting for specialty programs will be scheduled within the next several weeks.
(3) At what point is it too late to withdraw your child(ren) from PGCPS?
Dr. Goldson: It is never too late to withdraw your child. Only you, the parent, know when your child should transition from one school to another during the school year.
Alexandra Hudick Calloway: Dr. Goldson, what will orientation days look like for students changing schools (like 6th graders and freshmen)? How will we be notified of the process?
Dr. Goldson: Orientation/Mock Day will take place virtually on Friday, August 28, 2020. More information will be forthcoming from your child's school.
Alexandra Hudick Calloway: Dr. Goldson, will SchoolMax be available before August 27? It's a great source of information like who teachers are, but it is awful (especially now) that the system is down all summer long every summer? I know of no other system that takes so long to do maintenance. And, if PGCPS doesn't want certain information accessible, they should have a way to partition that information so that unofficial transcripts and attendance and other vital information is still available.
Dr. Goldson: We are working as fast as possible to have SchoolMax available before 8/27/200 but I can not make any promises. SchoolMax is down during the summer because we are creating master schedules for schools and to keep it open during the process is not advantageous for the scheduler and the school due to multiple changes until the schedule is finalized. Our plan was to find a way to only allow the attendance and transcript module to be open while working on the master schedule and then the pandemic happened. We will work on this for the following school year.
Curell Ellis: Dr. Goldson, no questions yet just want to tell you thank you for how you are handling everything. Her choices thus far have made it less stressful having a scholar in Prince George's County school.
Dr. Goldson: Thank you so much for this feedback. I am doing everything possible to assist families and employees during this difficult time. I am grateful for your support.
R Sheree Lee: Dr. Goldson, how can working parents best prepare for the pending school year?
Dr. Goldson: Once your school publishes your child's schedule, contact your employer to ask for flexibility during the time that lessons will be online. If you do not have the ability to do this, please contact other parents in your community or parents that are in a similar situation to see if you can work together to support each other by watching each other's child during the learning experience to give you a few uninterrupted days of work while still supporting your child.
Jess Teddy: Dr. Goldson, how will IEP students be supported? What plans are in place if and when distance learning isn’t working for diverse learning populations (special ed, ESOL)? What accommodations are being encouraged for students who struggle with the use of technology that has not been documented on the IEP in the past due to lack of data?
Dr. Goldson: Have you reviewed our Recovery Guide? We will also hold a virtual meeting for special education parents on August 13, 2020. More information is forthcoming.
Rebecca Anderson Muse: Dr. Goldson, any thoughts on how we will support immersion families. Students are going from a full day of immersion to a few hours a week. Will there be additional online tools, written resources distributed, or funding for schools to provide additional time with students?
Dr. Goldson: Yes there will be additional online and supplemental tools for Immersion Students. I just purchased tools to support students and parents. They may not arrive in time for the first day of school but they will be coming soon!
Bio
Dr. Monica E. Goldson is Chief Executive Officer of Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS), effective July 1, 2019. She previously served as Interim Chief Executive Officer and Deputy Superintendent of Teaching and Learning.
As Interim CEO, she successfully advocated for increased school funding, student supports and public-private partnerships to enhance school construction capacity. Dr. Goldson’s strategic priorities include driving more resources to low-performing schools, expanding access to prekindergarten and improving the availability of mental health services to students and families.
A product of the county schools, Dr. Goldson has spent her entire career in PGCPS, starting as a mathematics teacher, steadily climbing the ranks from the classroom to district leadership. She began her career at Suitland High School with long-term plans to become an actuary. Within weeks, she knew that education was her true calling. Two years later, she was promoted to Mathematics Instructional Specialist where she provided assistance to targeted schools across the system. She also observed and assisted more than 200 secondary teachers with classroom instruction.
Dr. Goldson later served as assistant principal for Forestville and Frederick Douglass high schools and principal of Frederick Douglass and Dr. Henry A. Wise Jr. high schools. As the founding principal at Wise, she partnered with Prince George’s Community College to launch a dual enrollment program and oversaw a 182-point increase in SAT scores. As Associate Superintendent for High Schools, Dr. Goldson worked to increase principals’ leadership capacity and helped develop action plans to improve student achievement while monitoring more than $5 million in federal grants.
Dr. Goldson believes in creating experiences that propel students to their highest levels of excellence. She increased student access to dual enrollment college credit years before state legislation granted free access to such programs. She oversaw higher passing rates on Advanced Placement exams, which gained PGCPS national recognition from The College Board. Most recently, she created a process to enhance access for all eighth-grade students to the county’s premier specialty program, Science and Technology.
As Chief Operating Officer, she managed major divisions and offices, including Student Services, Information Technology, Supporting Services, Business Management and Pupil Accounting and School Boundaries. In this role, she developed and implemented policies and strategies related to service delivery and collaborated with staff to improve organizational efficiency and effectiveness. She also served as a board member for the Prince George’s County Government’s Transforming Neighborhood Initiative @ Schools team. This initiative focused on improving schools in five neighborhoods with significant economic, health, public safety and educational challenges.
Dr. Goldson currently sits on the board of directors for Nonprofit Prince George’s. She is a member of Leadership Greater Washington and serves as an adjunct professor at The George Washington University, Howard University and Morgan State University.
A three-time graduate of historically Black colleges and universities, Dr. Goldson holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from Florida A&M University, a master’s degree in Elementary and Secondary School Administration from Bowie State University, and a doctorate in Educational Administration and Policy from Howard University. She is the proud parent of two sons; a student at Savannah College of Arts and Design, and another who attends Oxon Hill High School.
Dr. Goldson: We are crafting language to include in the Recovery Guide concerning assignment due dates. No assignments will be due on Mondays and the day after holidays. You can find this information in the 8/7/2020 Recovery Plan. We are still finalizing the course syllabi and should be available by 8/20/2020.
Homeless Parent(s): How can PGCPS ensure children, who are homeless will have access to the Internet?
Dr. Goldson: We will fully support our homeless families not just with WiFi access but with any instructional tools that they need to be successful. Please contact the homeless office if you are in need of assistance.
Shalana Alleyne-Shortt: Dr. Goldson, I want to know how long kids will have to turn in assignments. One or two nights isn’t feasible with parents’ schedules and kids looking at a computer all day for 5 days straight. I would like a week to get assignments in so we can spend time during the weekends when kids aren’t on the computers as long to complete them.
Dr. Goldson: We are crafting language to include in the Recovery Guide concerning assignment due dates. No assignments will be due on Mondays and the day after holidays. You can find this information in the 8/7/2020 Recovery Plan. We are still finalizing the course syllabi and should be available by 8/20/2020.
Katrina Angela Butler: Dr. Goldson, I'm still waiting to hear how PGCPS will support students with an IEP? I'm super worried about my Kindergartner starting this year. I uploaded the IEP into the registration docs but other than them accepting the enrollment I haven't heard anything.
Dr. Goldson: There are several questions I have to respond to your question? Can you send me an email to [email protected] so I can ask them privately? Thank you.
Meaghan Tuttle: Dr. Goldson, what, if any, measures will be taken to keep kids on age-appropriate screen time levels? And what things will be distributed or on the supply list (ie blue light glasses, headphones, microphone)? What, if anything, is the district doing to help with the creation of pod groups/assist families who must work out of the home?
Dr. Goldson: Please review the 7/13 version of the Recovery Plan which was updated to address screen time for our youngest learners. I believe the new schedule addresses this concern. Materials for distribution will be school textbooks (if applicable) and workbooks that students can write in. We have purchased headphones to assist those families that are entering into Pods. Once we receive them we will determine the best way to distribute them.
Natalia Walker: Dr. Goldson, what supplies are schools recommending for students? When will technology distribution be for parents who picked up one laptop for the household but not for each student?
Dr. Goldson: The basic supplies are pencils, pen, paper, composition books (ES, MS), calculator, aids for learning (post-it notes, highlighter or index cards). These are general tools needed. Schools will distribute supply list in their back to school letters. Additional laptop distribution will take place the week of August 24, 2020.
Glenda Montanez: Dr. Goldson, I'm curious to know of any supplies are needed? Will textbooks be distributed or will it be all on the Goggle platform like it was 4th quarter?
Dr. Goldson: See response above. Parents will receive the list in the Back to School letter from their respective school.
Jasmine Jazz Carpenter: Dr. Goldson, will Chromebooks be offered again? Will there be some type of daily/weekly correspondence between the teacher/parents ( especially those that have to work) informing us of assignments?
Dr. Goldson: Additional laptop distribution will take place the week of August 24, 2020. Some of our teachers have already created sites that students and parents can access to review what was learned and needs to be turned in for the week. Other teachers have created different ways to communicate with parents. I recommend reaching out to your child's teacher once school begins to determine what is the best way to stay on top of the instructional experience for you and your child.
Parent: Dr. Goldson, can you explain the process for students to remove an I earned in the 4th quarter before January 2021?
Dr. Goldson: This information has been included in the Recovery Guide. If you still have questions please let me know. Here is the language from the Reopening Plan (under the Grading section):
- Students who received an I (Incomplete) grade in any course during the fourth quarter of Spring 2020 should submit the make-up work to the school (principal or designee) where the original grade was earned. A teacher or team of teachers will review the work and initiate the grade change process as applicable. To begin this process, the parent and/or student should contact the teacher of the class or Principal of the school If a student has transitioned to another school they must contact the teacher/Principal of the school where they were enrolled in the class.
Dr. Goldson: Can you please provide the specific school name? Because this is a personnel issue I cannot go into specific details but please know I always have the school district and individual school community at the forefront of my decision making.
(2) What process is being followed to notify parents of their child's movement on the Specialty Program wait list?
Dr. Goldson: This process is ongoing. If a parent declines the specialty school offer then the next parent in line is offered a position. We typically do not get lots of movement until the week before school begins. Please contact the coordinator or principal at the school with the specific speciality program. If assistance is still needed please email [email protected] - Dr. McDaniel is the Coordinating Supervisor for Specialty Programs. A tele town hall meeting for specialty programs will be scheduled within the next several weeks.
(3) At what point is it too late to withdraw your child(ren) from PGCPS?
Dr. Goldson: It is never too late to withdraw your child. Only you, the parent, know when your child should transition from one school to another during the school year.
Alexandra Hudick Calloway: Dr. Goldson, what will orientation days look like for students changing schools (like 6th graders and freshmen)? How will we be notified of the process?
Dr. Goldson: Orientation/Mock Day will take place virtually on Friday, August 28, 2020. More information will be forthcoming from your child's school.
Alexandra Hudick Calloway: Dr. Goldson, will SchoolMax be available before August 27? It's a great source of information like who teachers are, but it is awful (especially now) that the system is down all summer long every summer? I know of no other system that takes so long to do maintenance. And, if PGCPS doesn't want certain information accessible, they should have a way to partition that information so that unofficial transcripts and attendance and other vital information is still available.
Dr. Goldson: We are working as fast as possible to have SchoolMax available before 8/27/200 but I can not make any promises. SchoolMax is down during the summer because we are creating master schedules for schools and to keep it open during the process is not advantageous for the scheduler and the school due to multiple changes until the schedule is finalized. Our plan was to find a way to only allow the attendance and transcript module to be open while working on the master schedule and then the pandemic happened. We will work on this for the following school year.
Curell Ellis: Dr. Goldson, no questions yet just want to tell you thank you for how you are handling everything. Her choices thus far have made it less stressful having a scholar in Prince George's County school.
Dr. Goldson: Thank you so much for this feedback. I am doing everything possible to assist families and employees during this difficult time. I am grateful for your support.
R Sheree Lee: Dr. Goldson, how can working parents best prepare for the pending school year?
Dr. Goldson: Once your school publishes your child's schedule, contact your employer to ask for flexibility during the time that lessons will be online. If you do not have the ability to do this, please contact other parents in your community or parents that are in a similar situation to see if you can work together to support each other by watching each other's child during the learning experience to give you a few uninterrupted days of work while still supporting your child.
Jess Teddy: Dr. Goldson, how will IEP students be supported? What plans are in place if and when distance learning isn’t working for diverse learning populations (special ed, ESOL)? What accommodations are being encouraged for students who struggle with the use of technology that has not been documented on the IEP in the past due to lack of data?
Dr. Goldson: Have you reviewed our Recovery Guide? We will also hold a virtual meeting for special education parents on August 13, 2020. More information is forthcoming.
Rebecca Anderson Muse: Dr. Goldson, any thoughts on how we will support immersion families. Students are going from a full day of immersion to a few hours a week. Will there be additional online tools, written resources distributed, or funding for schools to provide additional time with students?
Dr. Goldson: Yes there will be additional online and supplemental tools for Immersion Students. I just purchased tools to support students and parents. They may not arrive in time for the first day of school but they will be coming soon!
Bio
Dr. Monica E. Goldson is Chief Executive Officer of Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS), effective July 1, 2019. She previously served as Interim Chief Executive Officer and Deputy Superintendent of Teaching and Learning.
As Interim CEO, she successfully advocated for increased school funding, student supports and public-private partnerships to enhance school construction capacity. Dr. Goldson’s strategic priorities include driving more resources to low-performing schools, expanding access to prekindergarten and improving the availability of mental health services to students and families.
A product of the county schools, Dr. Goldson has spent her entire career in PGCPS, starting as a mathematics teacher, steadily climbing the ranks from the classroom to district leadership. She began her career at Suitland High School with long-term plans to become an actuary. Within weeks, she knew that education was her true calling. Two years later, she was promoted to Mathematics Instructional Specialist where she provided assistance to targeted schools across the system. She also observed and assisted more than 200 secondary teachers with classroom instruction.
Dr. Goldson later served as assistant principal for Forestville and Frederick Douglass high schools and principal of Frederick Douglass and Dr. Henry A. Wise Jr. high schools. As the founding principal at Wise, she partnered with Prince George’s Community College to launch a dual enrollment program and oversaw a 182-point increase in SAT scores. As Associate Superintendent for High Schools, Dr. Goldson worked to increase principals’ leadership capacity and helped develop action plans to improve student achievement while monitoring more than $5 million in federal grants.
Dr. Goldson believes in creating experiences that propel students to their highest levels of excellence. She increased student access to dual enrollment college credit years before state legislation granted free access to such programs. She oversaw higher passing rates on Advanced Placement exams, which gained PGCPS national recognition from The College Board. Most recently, she created a process to enhance access for all eighth-grade students to the county’s premier specialty program, Science and Technology.
As Chief Operating Officer, she managed major divisions and offices, including Student Services, Information Technology, Supporting Services, Business Management and Pupil Accounting and School Boundaries. In this role, she developed and implemented policies and strategies related to service delivery and collaborated with staff to improve organizational efficiency and effectiveness. She also served as a board member for the Prince George’s County Government’s Transforming Neighborhood Initiative @ Schools team. This initiative focused on improving schools in five neighborhoods with significant economic, health, public safety and educational challenges.
Dr. Goldson currently sits on the board of directors for Nonprofit Prince George’s. She is a member of Leadership Greater Washington and serves as an adjunct professor at The George Washington University, Howard University and Morgan State University.
A three-time graduate of historically Black colleges and universities, Dr. Goldson holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from Florida A&M University, a master’s degree in Elementary and Secondary School Administration from Bowie State University, and a doctorate in Educational Administration and Policy from Howard University. She is the proud parent of two sons; a student at Savannah College of Arts and Design, and another who attends Oxon Hill High School.
Fall 2020 Draft Reopening Plan
| final_draft_of_pgcps_reopening_plan.v2_7.28.2020.pdf |