Accelerating Excellence: Stories of Growth and Innovation Across PGCPS

Progress doesn’t happen by chance — it happens when dedicated people, strong leadership, and intentional investment come together. The stories you’ll explore here represent the State of Our Schools at its best — examples of excellence already in motion, and the very work we are working to scale to ensure every school, every classroom, and every student benefits.

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Accelerant: Professional Development

Streamlined Professional Development accelerates instructional quality by reducing variance and scaling excellence across classrooms.

Instructional Coaching: The Longfields Elementary Success Story

Longfields Elementary School has become a statewide model for how intentional leadership and job-embedded coaching can transform a school's culture and academic trajectory. Recently, the school served as the backdrop for a visit by Governor Wes Moore and Maryland State Superintendent Dr. Carey Wright, who observed firsthand how instructional coaching is driving some of the largest academic gains in the school system since 2022.

• A Culture of Trust and Ownership: Under the leadership of Principal Carmen Bell, Longfields has shifted away from a top-down evaluative approach to a growth-oriented coaching model. Principal Bell treats challenges as opportunities for growth rather than judgment, allowing staff to feel safe when sharing concerns or taking professional risks.
• From "Surviving to Thriving": Fourth-grade teacher Will Addison notes that before this shift, balancing the demands of the classroom felt like a solitary struggle. Through the support of instructional coaches and peer modeling, his mindset transformed. "It has changed my mindset from surviving to thriving," Addison shared. "Coaching helps me as a teacher, and helps me coach my students. I feel valued and able to make an impact."
• Data-Driven Decision Making: Principal Bell and her leadership team analyze data daily, participating in weekly collaborative meetings where student performance is the central focus. The school features a transparent "Data Wall" titled “What Are We on Paper?” which invites staff and stakeholders to reflect on progress and provide feedback.
• Protecting Instructional Time: To ensure success, Principal Bell has restructured school schedules to protect uninterrupted instructional time, particularly in low-performing subject areas. A unique structure called "Connect Time" was implemented, providing students with themed recess and peer-relationship building while teachers gain vital extended time for collaboration.
• Peer Modeling and Collaboration: Inside the classrooms, teachers at Longfields regularly model lessons for one another. This peer-to-peer observation reduces the pressure of traditional scores and allows educators to learn in a "risk-free" environment based on real classroom contexts.

The success at Longfields aligns with the MSDE Academic Excellence Program (AEP), which will deploy literacy coaches to ensure educators have the skills to implement evidence-based literacy instruction.

Empowering Careers and Solving the Transportation Crisis

The PGCPS Transportation Academy is part of the district’s "Grow Your Own" strategy, designed to simultaneously address the critical bus driver shortage and create meaningful career advancement opportunities for current employees.

Key features and impacts of the program include:

• Internal Pipeline: The Academy targets internal staff who are eligible for additional assignments, allowing them to transition into pupil transportation roles. This has already yielded results, helping the district reduce driver vacancies from 148 in September 2025 to approximately 60 as of January 2026. 
• Comprehensive Career Pathways: Participants are introduced to more than just driving; the curriculum covers operational management ( bus lot payroll, scheduling, and routing technology) alongside essential professional skills like resume writing, interviewing, and conflict resolution.
• Professional Growth: Using tools like Gallup StrengthFinders, the program prepares a select cohort of 25 participants each year for long-term careers and future leadership roles within the transportation department.
• Immediate Results: The Academy creates a steady stream of certified personnel, such as the six new drivers who completed the program and began active routes on December 1.

By investing in its own workforce, PGCPS is ensuring a more stable and reliable transportation system while rewarding dedicated employees with the tools to grow professionally.

Accelerant: AI Literacy 

AI Literacy accelerates staff efficiency and equips students with the skills needed for college, careers, and an evolving economy.

PGCPS is not just adopting AI; we are cultivating "AI Intelligent Leaders" empowered to solve systemic challenges. Our approach focuses on using AI to close learning gaps and empower students with future-ready skills, and automating tasks to reclaim time for leading and teaching.

• Human-Centered Strategy: Kimberly Roberson, Director of Technology Integration, emphasizes that AI literacy is now a foundational skill: "Just as we had to learn to read and write, AI is adjusting what that looks like... we need to be able to think about judgment and critical thinking and evaluating information".
• Piloting the Future: The district has conducted seven AI pilots to determine what can be scaled. These include Amira and Lumi for literacy and creative supports, and Khanmigo for math. Dr. Sandra Rose notes these tools provide a "personalized tutor" for students to bridge gaps independently.
• Internal Efficiency: We’ve developed internal agents like the "Synergy Attendance Database" using Google’s NotebookLM to help staff navigate policy questions instantly. Additionally, Zoom AI Companion and Gemini for Education are helping staff automate repetitive tasks like meeting summaries and communication drafts.

Bridging the Language Gap with AI

For a district representing 116 countries and 123 languages, AI has become a critical bridge for equity.

• Pocketalk (Live Translation): The district adopted Pocketalk, a secure, AI-powered handheld device providing immediate translation in over 90 languages. Launched in August 2024 for school nurses, its success led to rapid expansion to front office staff and teachers. Principal Simley of William Wirt Middle School describes it as an "invaluable tool" that builds trust, recalling how it allowed staff to immediately support a new student who arrived without a coat in winter by communicating in his native Dari.
• Instructional Support (Summit K12): To help secondary students acquire language skills, PGCPS utilizes Summit K12. This platform integrates AI scoring, moving teachers away from manual data management and back toward focused, differentiated instruction.
• Language Justice: Dr. Jennifer Love, Director of Language Access, views these investments as a commitment to "language justice," ensuring native languages are treated with the same importance as English.

Leveraging AI for Exceptional Customer Service

With the rollout of a new AI chatbot on pgcps.org, the district has enhanced how our community accesses information, responding to the need for faster, more consistent answers to routine questions without overburdening staff. By implementing the IBM Watson Chatbot, families and staff now have instant, 24/7 support, streamlining information delivery and allowing our team to focus on higher-value work while ensuring the public can quickly find the resources they need.

Accelerant: Safety and Security

Safety and Security accelerate learning by ensuring students and staff can focus fully on teaching, growth, and achievement.

Safety is a partnership between the school system, the community, and law enforcement. By integrating technology with community vigilance, we ensure that every student has the right to get to and from school safely.

• Security Enhancements: Since 2024, the district has installed security enhancements, including metal detectors, in every high school and 14 middle schools. This initiative has led to a significant reduction in weapons and contraband coming into buildings.
• Safe Passage and Safe Routes: The Safe Passage program, championed by Board of Education Chairman Branddon Jackson, began as a pilot that leveraged community volunteers to ensure students get home safely. Jackson notes that having adults present in "high challenge areas" served as a deterrent for violence; during the pilot, no fights or traffic accidents occurred. Meanwhile, Timothy Meyer focuses on Safe Routes to school, using walkability events to raise awareness about missing sidewalks and the need for crosswalks to guarantee every child's safety.
• Secure Design: Newer buildings are designed with "buffer zones," visual barriers, and secure vestibules. Visitors must be vetted via the Raptor system before entry. Architect Shawn Matlock notes that these schools also feature "invisible" safety measures like fire-rated walls and high-visibility hallways to ensure administrators can effectively monitor the building.

Accelerant: Special Education 

Special Education investments accelerate outcomes by strengthening staffing, supports, and consistency for students with disabilities.

Our Special Education (SPED) educators are recognized as models of best practice, focusing on instruction, classroom management, and fostering student independence.

• Beatrice Alvarez (Kenilworth ES): A stand-out Autism Program teacher, Ms. Alvarez is known for her meticulously prepared lessons and expertise in Social-Emotional Learning. She scaffolds instruction so effectively that her strategies are often adopted by general education teams. One of her third-graders is currently reading at a fifth-grade level thanks to her high expectations and the use of the Lexia intervention program.
• Shannon McVeigh (CMIT Academy North ES): Shannon views behavior as a form of communication and approaches teaching with empathy. She has created targeted "social skills groups" and a schoolwide "Wall of Success" to celebrate achievement. Her collaborative approach has helped the SPED population at her school triple as parents see the progress students are making.
• Chase Thomas-Kennedy (James Ryder Randall ECC): Serving intensive needs autism classrooms, Mr. Thomas-Kennedy focuses on early intervention and nurturing relationships. In the 2024-2025 school year, 100% of his students made progress on their goals, with nearly half transitioning to more inclusive environments.
• Goalbook Toolkit: This innovative tool helps teachers implement specially designed instruction. Research shows that teachers who used Goalbook demonstrated student gains of up to 9 percentiles in reading on the Maryland Comprehensive Assessment.

Accelerant: Employee Compensation

Employee Compensation accelerates student success by stabilizing the workforce and ensuring continuity in classrooms.

Competitive compensation is a primary tool for addressing system-wide vacancy issues and ensuring our educators and support staff feel valued as professionals. By investing in the people who power our schools, PGCPS is building a more stable and sustainable educational environment.

• Stabilizing the Workforce: PGCPS recently raised starting salaries for educators above $60,000, a significant milestone achieved a full year ahead of the state mandate. Tiffany Doster of Talent Acquisition notes that this shift has completely changed recruitment conversations; candidates now see PGCPS as competitive right away, allowing the district to focus on growth and leadership opportunities rather than defending pay rates.
• The Power of Employee Voice: Donna Christy, President of the PGCEA Union, emphasizes that the "number one thing" for educators is knowing their voice matters. She advocates for a living wage in Prince George's County, highlighting that fair compensation is essential for maintaining a dedicated and effective workforce.
• Transportation Success and Marketable Pay: The impact of these raises is visible across all departments. In the Transportation department, marketable pay and salary increases have been a "game changer," helping to reduce bus driver vacancies to historic lows.. Director Keba Baldwin notes that these raises were well-deserved, as drivers are the first and last PGCPS staff members many students see each day.
• Comprehensive "Security Blanket": Beyond the paycheck, the district provides a robust benefits package designed to care for the "whole body." This includes medical and dental coverage, as well as an "awesome" pension plan offered through the 

Veteran employees like Rhonda Tuck share that these benefits, combined with recent raises, provide a sense of security that allows staff to focus on long-term careers within the district.