Schools Chief Vows to Improve Student Achievement

The head of Prince George's County schools vowed Tuesday night to "dramatically improve student achievement" as he said that the county had showed strong academic gains.

In his first State of the Schools address since becoming superintendent this year, William R. Hite Jr. said the system should try to "make every child in Prince George's County smarter." He spoke for greater accountability for teachers, more prekindergarten classes, better customer service and alternatives for students who aren't succeeding.

In recent years, Prince George's has experimented in some schools with a pay-for-performance model that offers bonuses to excellent teachers, and Hite said Tuesday that effective teachers can make significant differences.

"We cannot construct a definition [of teacher effectiveness] that does not include student performance as one of the indicators," Hite said.

As for customer service, he acknowledged the complaints of some parents that school system employees can be unresponsive.

"We do this by not returning phone calls, e-mails, treating people like they shouldn't be treated in a school building," Hite said. "This has to change."

The pledge of improved academic performance and better customer service might have been aimed at issues Hite didn't mention in his speech.

Hite praised the county's 13-point increase in the average SAT score, its gains on state exams and greater enrollment in Advanced Placement courses. Left unsaid was that Prince George's is the only one of Maryland's 24 jurisdictions on the state's "corrective action" watch list.

The county's high schools also got off to a rocky start this year as 8,000 students didn't get their schedules on the first day of school, a logistical problem that infuriated parents.

Hite took responsibility for the scheduling crisis, and on Tuesday night county leaders gave him their support.

"Nothing is more important than having the right person who is committed and can lead in the tough times," said County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D). "Dr. Hite, you are that man."

The school board's chairman, Verjeana M. Jacobs (At Large), said that Hite was "sincere" and that "he exudes concern about the state of our schools."

Taivion Boone, a sixth-grader at Rosaryville Elementary School, shared an opinion about Hite's mission: "Lead us by example, so we will in turn become strong leaders."