Last week was an important week for our school system. At our Systemic Principals Meeting and subsequent Cabinet Retreat, we confronted a question that must guide our work: What must we do differently to make excellence the predictable experience of every child in Prince George's County Public Schools?
Our conversations centered on the PGCPS Public Promise, four commitments that will define our work this school year:
There is nothing particularly innovative about these commitments. Children should learn to read and become mathematically proficient. They should arrive at school safely and on time. Families deserve timely, respectful, and responsive service.
These are fundamental responsibilities of public education.
Yet, we must confront a difficult truth. We have not consistently delivered on these promises at a level where excellence is predictable across our school system.
Our latest Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program (MCAP) results remind us why this work matters. PGCPS ranked 21st among Maryland’s 25 school systems in English Language Arts and 22nd in mathematics. Although our students demonstrated growth in nearly every tested grade in reading, and mathematics gains in grades three through eight outpaced statewide growth, significant challenges remain.
Elementary reading proficiency continues to trail the state by approximately 10 to 15 percentage points. Mathematics performance remains concerning, particularly as students approach Algebra I, a gateway to advanced learning and future opportunities.
Our students with disabilities and multilingual learners face significant barriers to demonstrating proficiency. Their outcomes demand that we strengthen access to rigorous instruction, specialized services, language development, and early intervention.
Our operational challenges are equally important. The transportation difficulties families experienced at the beginning of this school year, along with concerns about the timeliness and responsiveness of our customer service, remind us that excellence must extend beyond the classroom. We have made progress, but families deserve consistent, reliable service. I appreciate the thousands of employees whose dedication makes our progress possible.
But we must never confuse improvement with having arrived.
Our students are not the problem. Our responsibility is to create the conditions in which their brilliance can emerge and their achievement can accelerate.
Last week, at Legislative Day, I returned to the story of Harry, a young student I met during the opening days of school.
I reminded our educators and elected officials that our work is ultimately about changing one child's life at a time.
When I think about Harry, I think about the thousands of young children who enter our classrooms with extraordinary possibilities before them. Each arrives with different strengths, experiences, and needs. Every child deserves adults who recognize their potential and create the conditions for them to flourish.
We may not know what the future holds for every young child who walks through our doors.
But we have a responsibility to ensure that the opportunities we provide never become the reason their possibilities are diminished.
That responsibility begins with our earliest learners. It is why strengthening special education, identifying learning needs early, and ensuring access to excellent instruction must remain central to our improvement efforts.
We owe Harry, and every child in Prince George's County, access to excellence.
And we do not have to do this work alone.
At Legislative Day, we joined our Board of Education and the Prince George's County legislative delegation to discuss our children's needs and the importance of securing dedicated, sustainable resources for special education. I appreciate Board Chair Branndon Jackson, Vice Chair Phelton Moss, Legislative Day Chair Aimee Olivo, and our elected officials for their leadership and partnership.
We also met last week with representatives of Local 2250 and the Prince George's County Educators' Association (PGCEA). I am encouraged by the respect, candor, and genuine collaboration developing among our organizations.
Our educators, transportation professionals, families, elected officials, and community partners bring different experiences and perspectives to the table. We need all of them. The challenges confronting our school system require meaningful partnerships and a shared commitment to children.
Our 2026–2027 Legislative Platform outlines the priorities we are advancing on behalf of our students.
As we enter the second quarter, our greatest challenge will be maintaining the discipline to focus on what matters most.
We must focus on focus.
At our Cabinet meetings, we continue finalizing the abandonment goals I promised to communicate this year. These goals will identify the initiatives, administrative requirements, and activities we must stop, reduce, or simplify so that our schools and departments can concentrate on delivering our Public Promise.
We will share these goals as we begin the second quarter.
Asking people to focus without removing competing demands is not a strategy for improvement. Our employees deserve clarity, meaningful support, and the time to do their most important work well.
We will also monitor our progress on the four commitments and communicate what is improving, where challenges remain, and what we are doing in response. Our community deserves to see the difference between what we promise and what we deliver.
I know there are frustrations across our school system. I hear concerns about competing demands, administrative responsibilities, and the need for more timely communication and support. These concerns matter. Our responsibility as leaders is to address the conditions creating them and work alongside our employees to make meaningful improvements.
That is how trust is strengthened. That is how culture changes.
And that is how we move Forward by Design.
Excellence Everywhere. Every child. Every day.
As I reflected on our work this week, I thought about Celine Dion's A New Day Has Come. The song reminds me that even after difficult seasons, hope remains possible. Every new day offers another opportunity to make a difference.
For a child struggling to read, a new day can begin with a teacher who discovers another way to reach that child.
For our earliest learners, a new day can begin when we recognize their potential and provide the foundation they need to thrive.
For students with disabilities, a new day begins when the services, instruction, and opportunities they deserve become the experiences they receive.
For a parent waiting for reliable transportation or a response to a concern, a new day begins when our system demonstrates that their trust matters.
And for our employees, a new day begins when they feel heard, respected, supported, and empowered to do the work that brought them into public education.
I believe that a new day is within our reach.
Years from now, our children will not remember how many meetings we held, how many plans we developed, or how often we spoke about improvement.
They will remember the adults who believed in them, the opportunities we created, and the doors that opened because someone cared enough to act.
Let this be the year we move from promising excellence to delivering it.
Changing a school system ultimately means changing one child's life at a time.
A new day is before us, Team PGCPS.
Together, let's make it a day worthy of our children.
With appreciation and resolve,
Shawn Joseph, Ed.D.
Superintendent
Musical Inspiration for the Week: Celine Dion, A New Day Has Come
