Prince George's County Public Schools

PGCPS Students Go Back to School Amid Staffing Shortages, Potential Mask Changes

A severe teacher shortage within PGCPS has resulted in an all-hands-on-deck approach for anyone in the system who’s qualified to teach a class

NBC Universal, Inc.

Students headed back to school Monday in Prince George’s County, Maryland, as the district coped with a teacher shortage and bus driver shortage. Students began the school year with a mask mandate, but the schools CEO said she expects a change soon. 

Prince George's County Public Schools CEO Monica Goldson said the county’s health department is expected to make masks optional in schools by next week. 

“When you say mask-optional, that means that people have the opportunity to either keep their mask on or not,” Goldson said Monday. 

At Benjamin Tasker Middle School in Bowie, some students said they would keep wearing masks. 

“I have younger family, and I would like to protect myself and my family,” an eighth grader named Mia said. 

“I would like to protect other people and plus myself as well,” an eighth grader named James said. 

Some students at the school year were experiencing middle school for the first time after two years of distance learning and hybrid learning. 

Mia and James said they were happy to be back, although James, who rides the bus, experienced first hand the impact of the school system's driver shortage Monday morning.

“It didn't show up on time and it was running late, but we made it to school,” he said. 

Monica Goldson, the CEO of Prince George's County Public Schools, said the system is short about 100 bus drivers, and she’s hoping to fill some of those slots with candidates who are currently training with the district to get their commercial drivers licenses. 

“I had the opportunity to be at Cherokee Lane Elementary, and there was a great example of a bus driver who doubled up on routes to make sure that students got to school on time,” she said. 

Bus drivers aren’t the only ones who have had to do double duty. A severe teacher shortage is resulting in an all-hands-on-deck approach for anyone in the system qualified to teach a class.

“Last week we moved 150 of our central office educators back into the classroom. We have retiree hires  who have stepped up and who have agreed to come back and assist,” Goldson said. 

With so much to take on this school year, the key is to keep students focused on education. The county's teacher of the year, Evelyn Policarpio, said she knows how to do that.

“After so many years of teaching, I figured out the magic, and that is teaching with the heart,” she said. 

Goldson says the system is down about four full-time teachers per school. They will continue to hire teachers and bus drivers as the year continues.

Contact Us