Hugs and Jitters on a First Day Full of Change

Public schools in Prince George's County opened their doors yesterday, welcoming 132,000 students back to a system in the middle of a wide-ranging transformation that local leaders hope will improve the county's education fortunes.

A new school, new personnel and a raft of new programs at every level greeted the students and their parents. With 91 new pre-kindergarten classes, middle school-level International Baccalaureate programs and a new high school organization geared toward training in such subjects as engineering, hospitality, science and business, the academic lives of students, at least on paper, will be more rigorous than ever.

But none of that altered the core of a day that is essentially the same everywhere every year, spoken in the universal language of emotion. Parents parted from tearful kindergartners and pre-kindergartners taking their first tentative steps into an unknown world. Classmates separated by sleepy summers reunited happily with hugs and handshakes. And among students and teachers, parents and principals, there was the optimism that with a new year comes the opportunity to change and grow.

The difference in Prince George's is that they don't have much other choice but to change, and quickly. This year's initiatives, put in place by Superintendent John E. Deasy and executed by 10,000 teachers and staff members, are driven by a cold reality: The county and Baltimore are the only two jurisdictions in "corrective action" ordered by the Maryland State Department of Education because of ongoing low scores on state tests. Continued trouble could subject the county's schools to state-imposed restructuring.

This year's goal, Deasy said, "is to build on the incredible successes we had last year," when the county showed marked improvement on the state test and pulled 11 struggling schools out of "school improvement" processes mandated by the federal No Child Left Behind law.

Among eighth-grade students at Greenbelt Middle School, the goals were simple but no less important: Joe Gbassah wanted to make the honor roll. Darrius Dancy was looking forward to graduating so he could play football in high school. And Aziza Mansaray said that she was looking forward to the experiments in her science class and that she hopes to become a nurse or a doctor.

The changes Deasy has made to help the students attain their goals were evident from the moment he stepped inside Northview Elementary School in Bowie. Northview didn't exist last year; it is a new school, bringing the county's total to 207 schools. Dee Greene, the woman standing near the door watching students slip in, was also a new presence. She is a pupil personnel worker assigned to the school under another one of Deasy's initiatives.

Greene, who started her job three weeks ago, said her duties are to monitor attendance, academics and behavior and to intervene in cases of students who need extra help.

"I will make a difference here," she said. "I don't have a choice."

Deeper in the building, two new pre-kindergarten classrooms welcomed a handful of 4- and 5-year-olds. Starting this year, most elementary schools in the county will have a pre-kindergarten program open to children who live within school boundaries -- or who are homeless -- and whose families meet state income guidelines.

The education is as basic as it gets: an introduction to literacy, math and manners. In the classroom, such objects as a light switch, paper towels and a mirror were labeled. The children filed in, deposited their lunches in a large red bucket, put their backpacks in cubbyholes and sat down in their seats, where they played with brightly colored toy gears meant to help them understand shape, number and color.

This year, there also will be an intensified focus on middle school, viewed by educators as the critical link between the very different environments of elementary and high school. In June, Deasy presented a plan to have each of the county's 32 middle schools offer a "signature program" that would bolster academic rigor.