Contact: Joshua Harris [email protected]

MEDIA ADVISORY
For Wednesday, May 8, 2019

 TODAY:

Prince George’s County Educators Declare May 8 “Teacher Un-Appreciation Day” in Response to Funding Gaps at Area Schools

During Pickets at Multiple Schools, Educators Call for Quality Education

During multiple protests across the county, Prince George’s County Educators’ Association (PGCEA) calls for the Board of Education and County Council to fully fund our public schools to create a holistic and healthy learning environment for all students.

“Even though yesterday was Teacher Appreciation Day, educators in Prince George’s County feel unappreciated because county officials are failing to adequately fund our schools. This has led to unsustainable class sizes, too many students learning in temporary trailers, inequitable educator compensation, and a failure to build new schools at a pace that keeps up with residential development,” said Theresa Dudley, PGCEA President.

Prince George’s County officials have neglected educators and students for too long.  Spending on administrative and bureaucratic costs has increased by 25 percent in the past five years, while students, families, and educators go without. Meanwhile, students are being forced into closets for lack of classroom space to take countless hours of tests, instead of being in the classroom actually learning. At the protests, PGCEA will demand that the officials appreciate educators and students by adequately funding area schools.

Who: PGCEA members including PGCEA President Theresa Dudley, educators, school counselors, students, and parents

What: Protesting Teacher Un-Appreciation Day by demanding a new contract that provides quality education for Prince George’s County Public Schools’ students

When & Where: 

Laurel High School
8000 Cherry Ln, Laurel, MD 20707, USA
May 8, 2019
7 a.m.

Friendly High School
10000 Allentown Rd, Fort Washington, MD 20744, USA
May 8, 2019
7 a.m.

High Point High School
3502, 3601 Powder Mill Rd, Beltsville, MD 20705, USA
May 8, 2019
3 p.m.

Dwight D. Eisenhower Middle School
1300, 13725 Briarwood Dr, Laurel, MD 20708, USA
May 8, 2019
3 p.m.

Perrywood and Kingsford Elementary School
The intersection of Central Avenue and Enterprise Road
May 8, 2019
3 p.m.

Why: Today, PGCEA members are holding multiple protests across different schools in the county to demand that the Board of Education and County Council adequately fund area schools and agree to a new contract that helps fund quality education for all students. The Educators Association is focused on eight important ways the PGCPS can serve all students better:

• Fair Compensation for Highly Trained Educators: A school system succeeds when its educators are treated – and compensated – like the dedicated professionals they are.
• Sensible Workload: Educators want to spend more time planning their lessons and teaching their students, and less time on burdensome and unnecessary paperwork.
• Less Testing and More Learning: Testing can serve an important role, but only when the instruments used provide useful and actionable data.
• Healthy Learning Environment/Safety & Security: Educators and their students thrive in safe and positive school environments. From mental health supports for students and adults to timely maintenance and repair of facilities, we should strive to create a healthy and productive climate in every school.
• Smaller Class Sizes: Research has proven that children learn better in classes that are not overcrowded.
• Evaluation: The evaluation of educators should serve as a tool to support and improve their performance and professional learning, and not as an excuse for punishment.
• Student Conduct and Expansion of Restorative Practices: Suspension rates remain stagnant, and students need – and deserve – a system that is responsive to their social and emotional needs.
• Professional Autonomy and Voice: Educators must be active participants in the development of a curriculum that is designed to create a lifelong love for learning that will serve our students well beyond their graduation.