Prince George's County Board of Education

"I’m a student of kenmoor middle school i am so upset with the school everyday there are fights and kids getting bullied and jumped and their belongings stolen the staff does nothing we are fed horrible food that kids get sick from and all school is no longer fun its just draining we are bullied about clothes,hair,shoes,etc i have had the staff do my hair and give me clothes because they said my clothes look bulky me and my family are not in the best place financially so this was truly embaressing we have lessons that are extremely hard and are not given ways for help my avid teacher is the worst she gives us work that doesn’t make sense or have any purpose but gives no assistance multiple kids in my class have had mental breakdowns because of it i have added pictures of the different foods we get fed these schools dont care for our education nor well-being they just want us to make them look good i ask for change in the staff, the curriculum, and the meals we deserve better,safer schools please do not send your children to pgcps it will only mentally and emotionally destroy your children"

"I have filled out multiple bullying and harassment forms for NO HELP for my son, everyone in that school is failing my son letting the little boy bully him and other classmates on numerous occasions. No documentation, they only separate them in the lunch room however another incident has happened and no one at all staff wise are acting on this."

"The staff at Applegrove Elementary School are so ghetto and unprofessional, they lack of experience from the head of the school on down. They don't do have any idea of how to run a school let alone how to teach, the children are falling behind on education, no homework comes home and everything they do is last minute. They take no time in effort to put things together. Worse school ever!!!! They need to replace a lot of there staff especially the Principal and a lot of the teachers they need better organization the kids can run the school better than the adults... Again I say worse place ever if you want your kids to learn and have a better education don't send them there!"

"This school system went to hell in a hand basket. They are dirty, they demoted educators from out of the classroom only to bully them to return. But what's even shocking is they pull them in lots of meetings and then bully those educators to get people they know to come in as substitutes so they don't have to return to a classroom but they all eventually end up going back. The school system lies to get the teachers to locate more employees and then that substitute gets unstable work and the teacher is given an ultimatum to go back to the classroom, don't call out more than 3 days or get fired and not have a job. I have gotten at least 20 calls from teachers crying. I tell them hell no! I worked in the school system for 5 years and after I saw all the Ph.D BIPOC educators forced to leave... many often fired without substantial cause and cheated out of their retirement, I left without notice immediately. All of my mentors did not obtain their retirement and had awards for education in classrooms but were replaced with white educators with lower level degrees. The Principal has the power to remove any educator for reason or no reason at all. The So I saw POC removed but replaced by white educators and they came in as temporary workers but it was kept silent. They get preferential treatment and perks of full time staff. They didn't need certification at all but the school will pay for them to take the class while nonwhites have to find any way to pay $1,800 for two tests. The white teachers quit as well. Try to get your certificate without the Board reviewing your classes in undergrad/ grad. If your out on disability or unable to work they will violate for FMLA rights; the HR office will lie in your records and say they fired you but can't give your next employer a reason why. The HR records department will avoid you by phone and you will have to visit upper Marlboro to obtain a copy of your records but most times you will not get it.. this is illegal but this school system doesn't care...Before you even accept any offers ... You better figure out a way to still work another job so they are not your only income source and references....most schools don't care how well you did as an educator and it does not matter how many strong relationships you have built with other employees...the school system won't give you a reference nor verification you have to wait a specific amount of time to get it in writing and you have to pay for it and but you better look at your record before sending it to any job, any university. You should check to see what's written about you, which includes your evaluation by the Principal, Board and any visitors. The educators I know did find other employment outside of the USA with higher pay. Several sued and won prior to moving from the USA. I knew as a little girl that I didn't want my children to enter the PG county schools system but that was solidified my first year as a teacher in 2005.Let me tell you why from the educator perspective:Your sweet child is a walking IEP, which equals state funds but the school more than likely won't diagnosed correctly and they pay substitutes with no behavioral degree training to observe your child and complete the assessment but the principal obtains money for the budget of the school. The principal also has the power to select which child is observed and by the time the parent is made aware the teacher has to report that childs progress to the principal with an entire group of people in a meeting several times. You better get your hand on your childrens student file and you can go to the board of education to have things removed. It was a wonderful learning experience because I was able to walk away knowing that my education, passion, integrity, skills, degree and abilities can reach more families with school age children outside of this school system. Lastly homeschool your kids or make sure that you have so many people mentoring them that, they make it to walk away and make it in life without you by the time they graduate from high school."

"This is my children first year in Prince George's county public school and it has been the worst experience for us. My 13 year old son have gotten bullied. The school is paperless so it's a difficult change for him. The teachers attack him like he doesn't do anything and don't realize that he came from Charles county which is a totally different system. My children school doesn't communicate with me what so ever. I had to find out by my own kids that they were not happy and struggling at school. When I have tried to speak with my kids teachers, I have felt attacked by them, I'm not listen too. Teachers blame the low grades on my own children. The staff at Charles Carole Middle school, are not friendly and not helpful. It's a shame I came to live at PG county. I am considering moving back to Charles county, where my children were happy honor students."