School equality, frazzled teachers all topics at Prince William education forum 

MANASSAS –What is a world-class education? And, is Prince William County Public Schools living up to that motto? 

That was the question posed at the March 18 meeting of the Prince William Committee of 100 at City Tavern in Manassas. 

The committee asked me to moderate the panel discussion that included a School Board member, a teacher, school district employee, and the President of the Prince Willam Education Association. 

“To me, a world-class education is libraries full of books… music rooms full of instruments,” said Prince William Education Association President Riley O’Casey. “It’s technology that works.” 

The schools are attempting to live up to it’s “world-class” motto, but teachers today are being faced with going to more meetings than ever before, she added. There’s also a lack of focus on creativity, and more of a focus on teaching to the test.

“Today, students are seen as numbers, not children,” said O’Casey. 

Prince William County School Board Gainesville District Representative Alyson Satterwhite spoke at the dinner one day after she fought for an additional $3.5 million in the upcoming school budget that includes funding for 12 more school social workers. The move comes after the mass shooting at a Parkland, Fla. high school.

“Are we perfect? By no means are we perfect,” said Satterwhite. 

But school officials continue their focus on reducing the number of students in each class to improve the learning environment, as well as try to minimize the impacts of student boundary changes as the school division continues to grow.

She also called for more vocational education opportunities for students. Those classes, dubbed career and technical education (CTE) have proven popular among Prince William students, especially when it comes to robotics. 

School Superintendent Dr. Steven Walts did not attend the meeting but said new initiatives like a joint committee of School Board members and from the Prince William County Board of Supervisors have led to a better understanding of the positions of both boards, and yielded a new school site next to Chinn Regional Library that will be the location of a much-needed new elementary school. 

As it pertains to the upcoming budget and the $3.5 million in new funding for school social workers, Walts says that new funding is dependent upon state legislators passing a budget that includes the new monies. If when state officials don’t pass a budget with the monies when they reconvene for a special session of the General Assembly in April, Walts said he’ll look to make cuts in the school division to fund the new social worker positions. 

Charles Ronco, a math teacher at Stonewall Jackson Senior High School and now a candidate for President of the Prince William Education Association, also spoke at the Committee of 100 meeting about finding equity in the schools. He pointed out the stark differences between the school buildings in eastern Prince William County, many constructed in the 1960s and 70s, with the newer amenities of the newer buildings in the western areas of Prince William.

“When you go west, the schools are younger, and there is a difference. You can see it,” said Ronco.

He suggests examing a long-standing county schools policy called “site-based management” where principals are free to manage their schools based on the needs of the student population. Ronco said, under this system, however, some school needs are not being met.

“In some cases, you have teachers who are the real leaders of the school and you have principals who are just managers,” he said. 

Prince William Committee of 100 President Ann Wheeler said Ronco had not yet declared his candidacy for the PWEA presidency at the time he agreed to speak at the forum.

Prince William County Associate Superintendent for Student Learning and Accountability Rita Gross also spoke at the forum and focused on the multiple opportunities afforded to school students through the CTE program, and spoke about the upcoming opening of the county’s new Independence Nontraditional School at Independent Hill. The school will house classes from New Directions, New Dominion Alternative Education, and PACE East all under the same roof.

The Prince William Committee of 100 will meet on Wednesday, April 18 at at the National Museum of the Marine Corps at Quantico for a discussion on the economic importance of the military to Prince William County. A social with dinner begins at 6:45 p.m. (members $30 / $35 non-members) with the discussion starting at 7:45 (free to attend).