Tuesday’s unexpected resignation of Prince George’s County Public Schools Superintendent John Deasy left officials shocked but hopeful the troubled district could stay on a reformist path minus its top reformer.
Deasy, in his third year leading 130,000 students in the nation’s 18th-largest district, announced his new position as of Feb. 1, 2009, as deputy director of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s educational division.
“It’s going to be tough on the county,” said Prince George’s County Councilman Will Campos. “We’re back to the drawing board.”
In 2 1/2 years, students have made gains under Deasy and the ball has been set rolling on districtwide changes to improve teacher quality, but the district remains near the bottom of Maryland’s educational heap by nearly every measure.
In 2008, 72 percent of third-graders read well enough to pass Maryland’s standardized test. That was up from 70 percent in 2006, but still well below the 86 percent of students in neighboring Montgomery County.
In the upper grade levels, the numbers decline. Only 57 percent of eighth-graders read at the state-mandated level, up from a dismal 53 percent in 2006 but well below Montgomery’s 83 percent.
The school board remains confident Deasy’s reforms will continue. This year saw the start of a pilot pay-for-performance initiative for teachers who exhibit classroom gains. The district also instituted a new system for computerized monitoring of student progress using a $6 million private grant.
“We’re fine, absolutely fine. And I’m not emphasizing that because it’s untrue,” said board member Rosalind Johnson. “This school system is in the best condition it’s ever been.”
Still, some worried Deasy’s short stint at the helm would slow the district’s progress.
“When you go from CEO to CEO to CEO, you can’t build on any programs that you’ve made successful, “Campos said. “Or at least it makes it harder.”
William Hite, Deasy’s deputy superintendent, will serve in the role with Deasy until taking over as interim superintendent in February.
