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PGCPS equity office shifts closer to schools as leaders emphasize collaboration for special education
Summary
Prince George's County Public Schools leaders described lessons learned from a year of cross-department work on equity and special education, announced an administrative move of the Office of Equity, Diversity and Belonging, and outlined plans to deepen elementary outreach and family engagement.
Prince George's County Public Schools officials said Monday that deeper cross-department collaboration helped accelerate supports for students with disabilities and their families, and that the district has moved its Office of Equity, Diversity and Belonging to report to the Division of School Support and Leadership to strengthen school-level ties.
District officials told the Academic Achievement Committee that bringing equity staff closer to school leadership will allow the office to participate more directly in school-based professional learning and area office meetings and to integrate school-based equity leads into school leadership teams. "The power of deep, inclusive collaboration among departments in PGCPS," said David Rees, associate superintendent, Office of Equity, Diversity and Belonging, describing the partnership between equity and special education staff.
Why it matters: district leaders said the shift is meant to move equity work from awareness toward changes in daily practice so improvements for students with disabilities are measurable in school performance goals.
Leaders described three practical lessons from the year-long collaboration: collect ongoing feedback, co-create goals and actions with accountable check-ins, and embed school-based equity leads in leadership structures. "We heard from over 5,000 of the staff members directly through a survey around what their professional learning experiences were like," Rees said, noting staff and student feedback informed next steps.
Officials said they will continue the district's current equity focus for a second year rather than adopting a new topic, and will concentrate efforts on elementary schools — identified as the entry point where many families first learn about a child's disability. Leona Smith, innovation officer for transformation, leadership, and continuous improvement, explained the rationale for the office move: putting equity "where we want to see the rubber hit the road more dramatically, and that's where children are."
The district also plans to expand family engagement strategies tied to special education, including collecting family experience data through surveys and coordinating existing family-support bodies — parent engagement assistance, area office resolution partners and the Special Ed Family Support Center — to target supports and highlight successful schools.
Committee members asked about implementation and reception at the area level; district leaders said Area 1 principal supervisors responded positively to a draft plan for consistent school-leader professional learning. No formal board policy or ordinance was proposed or voted on in this discussion.
Looking ahead: officials said they will report ongoing family-survey results and school performance data as they adjust practices and monitor whether the shift in organizational reporting accelerates integration of equity practices into daily school operations.
