Gerron Levi’s Blog

As Superintendent Deasy and the new School Board seek to expedite improvement of the Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS), it occurs to me that perhaps the answer to improvement lies, in part, outside the school doors.  I have drawn a circle - the radius is one mile – around each of the 84 schools designated as a “school in need of improvement” .  In many cases, I have driven my car within that one-mile circle and jotted down the name and contact person of every church, business and organization within a one-mile radius of each school in need of improvement.  Here are my questions:  do each of the contact persons know that that particular school down the street is on the *school in need of improvement* list?  Might they be willing to participate in a coordinated plan with others within that one-mile radius to help move that school out of the “school in need of improvement” status?  I am envisioning a vibrant, close-knit network of homework clubs, tutors, mentors for teachers and students, help with disruptive students and with managing school suspension policy, all within one-mile of the school.  Several volunteers and I are dedicating some time this summer to collecting and contacting the churches, businesses and organizations within the one-mile radius around each of the 84 schools to ask precisely these questions.  And, to identifying up to 504 organizations across Prince George’s County that will say, “yes, I will participate”.  Join-in by signing up as a volunteer at www.levi2006.com.  

List of the 84 schools and the catalog of organizations so far:                                                     http://www.levi2006.com/blog/schools_in_need_april_07.xls