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PGCPS and Employ Prince George's roll out state‑mandated career counseling, hire 50 coaches
Summary
PGCPS described the Youth Career Connections counseling program required by the Maryland Blueprint: an MOU signed in Oct. 2023 establishes a funding and invoicing structure and Employ Prince George's hired 50 career coaches to be embedded in schools.
Olivia Pearson, who led the district's second briefing, summarized the county's implementation of the state‑mandated career counseling program known locally as Youth Career Connections.
Pearson said the MOU for the program was signed in October 2023 and allocates state funds to the three partners: Prince George's County Public Schools, Employ Prince George's, and Prince George's Community College. "Each organization in partnership would provide an invoice to the school system to give them upfront 0.25 of the funding," she said, explaining the quarterly invoicing process.
Pearson added that Employ Prince George's was responsible for hiring career coaches and that 50 career coaches and several supervisory and clerical positions were onboarded and placed in schools. "These career coaches are to service all of our students, whether they are in a CTE program or not," she said. The district said coaches are embedded in schools; middle‑school coaches may be shared across sites while high‑school coaches are dedicated.
Employ Prince George's director of youth services, Jennifer Ricks, told the committee coaches use grade‑level toolkits and hands‑on activities such as vision boards and small‑group presentations to build relationships and help students explore career options. Ricks also said coaches take part in school life—lunch duty and other activities—to build rapport.
Committee members asked about follow through and how the partners measure outcomes. Employ Prince George's said coaches have performance measures by grade and that the partners meet weekly to coordinate implementation. Staff committed to provide more detailed performance metrics and to clarify how Employ Prince George's is connecting with school counselors and principals.
