Prince George’s County to phase out some elementary/middle IB and two boundary immersion sites, shift AVID funds to career coaches

Prince George’s County Public Schools presented a plan to reconfigure several specialty programs and reallocate related staffing dollars as part of its fiscal review.

Dr. White, a district presentation lead, told the committee the district will maintain high‑school International Baccalaureate (IB) coursework but intends to phase out elementary and middle years accreditation and stop new ninth‑grade entries into the Largo High School immersion track. "We believe in every program that we have. There's not a single program that we had that we didn't believe in," Dr. White said, adding that the proposed changes were prompted by low enrollment and staffing cost imbalances rather than a decision to abandon rigorous instruction.

Why it matters: district staff argued the moves reduce duplicative spending and extend services to more students. Dr. White said 23 AVID middle‑school positions cost about $2.5 million this year and would have been $2.8 million next year; the proposal redirects those funds to hire career coaches in every middle and high school so every student receives college‑ and career‑readiness supports.

Key details: the presentation highlighted two boundary‑based immersion sites—Paint Branch and Capitol Heights—that staff said are more expensive to operate than application‑based immersion programs because buildings must be staffed to serve students who can enroll at any grade. Dr. White cited a small and shrinking enrollment pipeline at Largo High School (roughly 120 students now versus an expected 300) and specific staff‑only cost figures for affected sites: Paint Branch approximately $1.7 million (rising to about $1.8 million next year), Greenbelt Middle about $352,000 (projected $534,000 next year), and Largo about $286,000 for the current (partial) high‑school cohort. The presentation noted the numbers shown were staff costs only and do not include central‑office program dollars.

On IB, Dr. White said the decision to change elementary/middle accreditation was not driven by diploma rates: "We did not cancel our IB program based on our graduation rate," she said. The district will keep its high‑school IB program intact and plans to assign an IB specialist to help schools retain core IB practices even where formal accreditation is withdrawn.

Board questions and concerns: committee members pressed staff on evidence for the changes and what would be required to restore programs. Camila asked whether a comprehensive, longitudinal study compared outcomes for IB students versus peers; Dr. White said the district had gathered multiple data points and used focus groups and a Hanover Research survey to inform decisions but characterized the practical driver as enrollment that does not sustain the staffing model. Dr. Cabrera asked what conditions would bring Largo’s immersion pathway back; Dr. White cited negotiated limits on teacher prep loads and reiterated that enrollment shortfalls were the principal constraint.

Policy and operational issues: members discussed barriers in pupil‑accounting rules that can impede moving students between buildings and noted high transportation costs associated with countywide specialty programming. Ms. Sawyer raised the prospect of converting Capitol Heights from a boundary model to an in‑house lottery to help fill underused seats; Dr. White said the board had passed an initial proposal and that a 90‑day workgroup would further develop recommendations.

Next steps: committee leadership moved the meeting into three breakout subcommittees focused on fiscal review and resource alignment; review and sustainability; and stakeholder engagement and policy recommendations. Superintendent Joseph and co‑chairs said the work could extend beyond the 90‑day window and emphasized that all materials are public and will be posted on the district website (pgcps.org). The committee did not take a formal vote on adoption of final changes during the session.

Ending: staff will refine the proposals in subcommittees and return with recommendations for the board; no immediate program closures affecting current students were announced, and the district said current students already enrolled in affected pathways would be allowed to complete their program.