Click Here to download the  August 2008 Issue

Welcome Back!

Now, Get Involved!

While your child was in elementary and middle school, he needed you so much! Now that your family has a teenager, does that mean you can sit back and relax? Anyone with a teen knows that’s a laugh!

Your high school child needs your involvement more, not less. With more homework, after school activities, driving lessons and a growing number of friends, your teen needs you to be on the ball all the time.

FIVE KEYS TO SUCCESS:

1 Be involved. Know your child’s friends. Who does he hang out with? Who does he look up to? Where do his friends live, and who are their parents? It’s okay to be nosy about these things—this is your child! Know the adults in their life too (teachers, principals, counselors).

2 Don’t wait until a crisis occurs to learn about your child’s work load. Encourage him in his schoolwork. Ask about upcoming quizzes and tests. Set a firm schedule for studying before other activities (i.e., TV, game, & computer time).  

3 Go to open houses and parent/teacher conferences and volunteer at the school, during the day or after hours. Chaperone at dances, parties and other activities. Go to the games and activities with your teen. Be involved.

4 Listen to your teen. When he says, “My parents don’t understand me”, he’s probably right! School today is not like it was when we were in school. Make every effort to look in his eyes and pay attention to his words. It might be hard to relate to the situation but if you can relate to what your child is feeling, they will open the doors of communication.

5 Talk to your child about responsible behavior, from dating to drugs and alcohol, to interacting with other people. Talk about respectful and kind attitudes toward adults and other students, especially those who might be lonely or different.

Parents are essential to the success of any school. There are plenty of ways for you to be involved from day one!

 for more information, visit: www.partnershipforlearning.org

Wise welcomes a new King!

We optimistically welcome Mark King as the new Principal at Wise!

Our previous principal, Monica Goldson, was promoted at the end of the last school year to the position of Executive Director of the High School Consortium, which oversees the county’s 22 high schools. We wish her the best and are pleased that her skills will continue to benefit the PG County Public Schools.  

Our new principal, Mark King, has been with Prince George’s County Public Schools since 1994. He taught social studies at James Madison Middle School in Upper Marlboro for four years, then became Assistant Principal at Hyattsville Middle School for six years, and went on to become principal at James Madison for four years.  

After becoming principal at James Madison’s in 2004, the school made consistent improvements in its academic scores. Under King’s guidance, James Madison became the only middle school in the county this summer to receive county approval to start an International Baccalaureate program.  This will add a global studies concentration to the school’s curriculum and help to better prepare students for college.  

James Madison Middle School funnels hundreds of students each year into Wise. King has spent four years building relationships with students and their parents. This is a big advantage for both King and Wise.

But Wise is not only larger than Madison, it is the county’s newest high school. Wise opened its doors in 2006 and has already showed some of the best test results among county high schools. In benchmark tests taken in March for example, Wise students had the county’s third-best scores in language arts, third-best in government and second-best in biology.  

King has said he is looking forward to handling the challenges of a high school. And when asked about Wise, he simply said ‘It has the potential to be the best high school in the county.” To get us there, he plans to maintain open lines of communication with teachers and administrators and be as accessible to parents as possible.  

In his interview with the Gazette, King said his goal is to get teachers and students focused on broadening the strategies and thinking skills students use. ‘‘We need to start providing students with more strategies to solving problems,” he said. ‘‘The more strategies they have, the more likely they are to succeed.” 

Teachers and parents from Madison are optimistic that King will help Wise have a successful year. 

Wise is also looking forward to a successful school year.  Therefore, we optimistically welcome Mr. Mark E. King to high school.