Prince William County Public Schools (original) (raw)

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School division in Virginia, United States

Prince William County Public Schools
14715 Bristow Road Manassas, Virginia, 20112[1]
District information
Type Public
Motto Launching Thriving Futures[5]
Grades Pre-K–12[2]
Superintendent LaTanya D. McDade
Deputy superintendent(s) Carol E. Flenard
Chair of the board Babur B. Lateef
Budget $1.64 billion (FY 2024)[3][4]
Students and staff
Students 91,180 (2022–23)[6]
Teachers 5,696.94 (on an FTE basis)[2]
Staff 10,740.34 (on an FTE basis)[2]
Student–teacher ratio 16.19 [2]
Other information
Website www.pwcs.edu

Prince William County Public Schools (PWCS) is a school division in Virginia with its headquarters in the Kelly Leadership Center located in the unincorporated community of Independent Hill in Prince William County, Virginia.[1] As of the 2020 census, the population of the county was 486,943.[7]

Prince William County Public Schools is the second largest school division in Virginia with 91,180 students.[6] Prince William County Public Schools is the fourth largest school system in the Washington Metropolitan Area after the Fairfax County, Virginia; Montgomery County, Maryland; and Prince George's County, Maryland school systems, and the 33rd largest school system in the United States.[8][9]

The county system serves all parts of the county except for Marine Corps Base Quantico, which is served by the Department of Defense Education Activity.[10]

The Superintendent of Prince William County Public Schools is Dr. LaTanya D. McDade, replacing Dr. Steven Walts.[11] She is the first woman and the first African-American superintendent in the district's history. Prior to her appointment in 2021, she was the Chief Education Officer for Chicago Public Schools.[12] In 2024, she was selected as Virginia Region IV Superintendent of the Year.[13]

Prince William County Public Schools is governed by the Prince William County School Board.[14] The school board is composed of eight elected members.[1] One member is elected by the citizens of each of the seven magisterial districts also used to elect the Prince William Board of County Supervisors, while the Chairmen At-Large is elected by all citizens in the county.[15] A Vice Chair is elected by the school board members each January.[16] School board members serve four-year terms, with the next election being held in November 2023.[15]

Board Members[17]

Babur B. Lateef Chairman At-Large
Lisa A. Zargarpur Vice ChairwomanColes District
Erica C. Tredinnick Brentsville District
Jennifer T. Wall Gainesville District
Tracy L. Blake Neabsco District
Richard M. Jessie Ocooquan District
Justin David Wilk Potomac District
Loree Y. Williams Woodbridge District

Two non voting student representatives are selected each school year to serve and provide input from a students perspective on decisions made by the school board.[18] A Student Senate is made up of one student from each high school who applied for the student representative position.[18][19][20] They work together with the student representatives to advise the school board.[18]

Traditional Schools (K-8)

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Prince William County provides an "alternative" school service for what they deem as "troubled teens". Students who become pregnant, sell or use drugs, write graffiti, have general behavioral issues or are prone to violence are usually sent to learn together in the same facility, regardless of their base school. The PACE program targets students with more extreme cases of psychological issues.

Schools of excellence

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Prince William County Public Schools honors schools as Schools of Excellence based on a variety of criteria, including: performance targets; Adequate Yearly Progress under the No Child Left Behind Act; Virginia Wellness Tests; school attendance rates; and parent, student, and teacher satisfaction. The Virginia state Standards of Learning (SOL) tests for both students on grade level and students below grade level are also considered.[23] In 2006, the criteria were adjusted to reflect the continuous improvement of the system's schools.[24]

School administration and staff are presented with a commemorative flag, a plaque, and a check to be used at the school's discretion. Schools receive $1,000 for each year the School of Excellence designation is obtained.[25]

| | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | | | ---------- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | -- | | Elementary | 13 | 10 | 28 | 40 | 32 | 23 | 22 | 27 | 35 | 36 | 16 | 32 | 37 | 38 | 30 | | Middle | 0 | 2 | 7 | 12 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 0 | | High | 2 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | | Other | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | | Total | 15 | 15 | 42 | 58 | 46 | 28 | 25 | 29 | 41 | 42 | 18 | 40 | 44 | 46 | 34 |

  1. ^ a b c "Contact Us/Telephone Directory". Prince William County Public Schools. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d "PRINCE WILLIAM CO PBLC SCHS". District Directory Information. National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  3. ^ "FY 2024 School Board Advertised Budget Presentation to the Board of County Supervisors" (PDF). Prince William County Public Schools. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  4. ^ "Board of County Supervisors approves PWCS FY24 budget". Prince William County Public Schools. April 26, 2023. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  5. ^ McDade, LaTanya D. (September 28, 2022). "A message from Dr. McDade". Prince William County Public Schools. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  6. ^ a b "Prince William County Public Schools Quality Profile". Virginia Department of Education. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  7. ^ "QuickFacts Prince William County, Virginia". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  8. ^ "The Washington Area Boards of Education FY 2023 Guide". Fairfax County Public Schools. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  9. ^ "Table 215.30. Enrollment, poverty, and federal funds for the 120 largest school districts, by enrollment size in 2019: 2018-19 and fiscal year 2021". National Center for Education Statistics. United States Department of Education. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  10. ^ "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Prince William County, VA" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved July 4, 2022. - Text list - "Quantico Marine Corps Center School District" is a reference to the Department of Defense Education Activity as that agency operates the base schools.
  11. ^ Writer, Jill Palermo Times Staff (March 24, 2021). "UPDATED: Chicago's chief education officer picked to be Prince William's next superintendent". Prince William Times. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  12. ^ "CPS Chief Education Officer LaTanya McDade Named Superintendent of Virginia School District". WTTW News. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  13. ^ Seymour, Emily (January 25, 2024). "Prince William schools Superintendent LaTanya McDade named regional Superintendent of the year". INSIDENOVA.COM. Retrieved July 9, 2024.
  14. ^ "POLICY - Authority and Purpose". Prince William County School Board. September 19, 2019. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  15. ^ a b "POLICY - Election, Number, Qualifications, and Term of Office of School Board Members". Prince William County School Board. September 19, 2019. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  16. ^ "POLICY - Annual Organizational Meeting". Prince William County School Board. October 17, 2019. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  17. ^ "School Board". www.pwcs.edu. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
  18. ^ a b c "POLICY - Student Representative(s) to the School Board". Prince William County School Board. November 6, 2019. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  19. ^ "Student Representatives and Senate". Prince William County Public Schools. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  20. ^ "Student Representative Application Process". Prince William County Public Schools. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  21. ^ "Prince William County votes to rename schools honoring Stonewall Jackson". WTOP. June 29, 2020. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
  22. ^ Seymour, Emily (April 12, 2024). "Prince William officials break ground on first new Woodbridge-area elementary in decades". INSIDENOVA.COM. Retrieved July 9, 2024.
  23. ^ "Prince William County Public Schools". Archived from the original on August 16, 2009. Retrieved February 16, 2010.
  24. ^ "Prince William County Public Schools". pwcs.edu. Archived from the original on March 2, 2007. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  25. ^ "Prince William County Public Schools". pwcs.edu. Archived from the original on March 2, 2007. Retrieved January 13, 2022.