Dr. Shawn Joseph, interim superintendent of Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) unveiled his 100-Day Plan, with hopes to revitalize the school system, on June 27 at the Board of Education headquarters in Upper Marlboro.
The plan is titled “Listening With Purpose, Leading With Integrity and Advancing Excellence with Every Child.”
“Our schools are only as strong as the people in them,” said Joseph, adding that his goals include assessing the school system’s hiring practices and examining how teachers are onboarded and undergo professional development.
The interim superintendent, who formerly served as an assistant professor of educational leadership, administration and policy at Howard University, announced his goals at a press conference that came the day after the board voted to approve his $375,000 contract. He was joined by newly minted County Executive Aisha Braveboy and Board of Education members.
Braveboy said that she, the County Council, and Joseph all consider Prince George’s students to be a top priority, emphasizing the “fierce urgency of now.”
”Now is the time that we have to prepare our school system to take our children back in the fall,” she said. “Our classrooms have to be ready, our teachers have to be ready and the education of our children has to be ready.”
Joseph succeeds former PGCPS superintendent Millard House II, whose last day was June 18.
His 100-day plan features six “Core Values,” to be implemented across three periods — days 1-30, 31-60, and 61-100.
- Students are our priority and all students can achieve at high academic levels.
- Families, students, and educators share the responsibility for student success.
- High expectations inspire high performance.
- All staff share the responsibility for a safe and supportive school environment contributing to excellence in education.
- The support of everyone in our community is essential to the success of our schools and students, and this success enriches our community.
- Continuous improvement in teaching, leadership, and accountability is the key to our destiny.
With his plan in place, Joseph has high hopes for the future of Prince George’s County Public Schools.
“In a district as proud, complex and vibrant as Prince George’s County, this 100-Day Plan is a beginning — not an end. It is a promise to listen before leading, to act with equity at the core, and to model the excellence we expect of every educator, student, and stakeholder,” Joseph said in a statement. “We rise together — not by chance, but by commitment.”
Joseph’s Return to PGCPS With Excellence as the Goal
While he was recently named interim superintendent, Joseph is not new to Prince George’s County.
From 2014-2016, Joseph served as PGCPS’s deputy superintendent for teaching and learning.
In addition to his work at Howard and Prince George’s County, the former classroom teacher was also superintendent for the Seaford School District in Delaware and in Tennessee’s Metro Nashville Public Schools.
As interim superintendent for Prince George’s County, Joseph said he plans to elevate family and teacher union engagement in the school system and create partnerships that will allow individuals and collaborators to meet regularly.
He emphasized his hope to work with parents and families to strengthen Prince George’s schools.
“I tell parents if they have a question or challenge, to engage— come to one of the monthly meetings we’re going to have. I’ll listen and I’ll work to satisfy all reasonable requests. That is our goal,” the award-winning educator said.
He also emphasized the importance of unity to effect positive change and growth for students, teachers and the school system overall.
“At some point we have to stop pointing fingers and we’ve got to start working together to get things done,” Joseph said. “I think we spend too much time blaming and not enough time saying, ‘What can I do to help things go right?’”
