kaiser permanente. thrive. ♪ ">> good morning. >> she is a 24-year veteran of the prince george's county school system. her task, to put the past in the rearview mirror and steer them in a new direction welcome, dr. goal son. >> thank you. >> it's so good to have you. you spe your entire career in the county school system. congratulas onour new job. did you ever dream of running the whole thing? >> no. under no circumstance. h actually graduated from potomac h school in prince george's county and went to

florida a a m to major in mathemats and minor in actuary science. so i did not think i would be leading what is an amazing school system. >> b you are now, and you are taking over a system where you've been parent, a teacher, a principal, deputy superint and operations chief. you were also a student. you've seen it from all sides, and you a son in schghl now. how will all of those perspectiv, do think,he impactay you approach this job? actually, every opportunity and every job i've had haswe al me to really get to know the employees that we have in our school system and to really clearly underst the work that it takes to make sure that our students have an amazing experien each and every day that they're in school. so havingorked my way up from a mathematics teacher to this position now, humbled, honored and grateful for it. and having worked with employees even on our support services

side and knowing the time that they give, even when students are at home, thatin they're m sure that when they return, the facility is ready, our buses ary rend food is ready for them to receive has been a humblin and enjoyable experience. >> all the detailsov areed? details are covered. >> i's dotted and t's crossed. yes. >> you came on board in july just before the new year started so you really had to jump in with both feet. you hit the ground running. one of the first you did was to cut some of the staff in the executive and centr offices. wh did you feel it was so important to do that right out of >> so, we already have a lot of processes in place to make sure that the openi of school would smooth. so i felt it would be good to ga and begin the transition of reducing the number of central office staff so we could put the focus back on the schoolhousd in doing that i was realign so that we ve an effective structure that parents

could work with, that would help to get their issues responded to in a timely fashion. during the reorganization, i was able to out all of elementa schools together, all of our middl and high schools together. i provided resource specialists in each of those area offices so if a paren has problem they know exactly which level to intact to get immediate support. committed to making sure that during the eeorgani i would make s we had a savings of at least a be redirected bac to our schoolhous what's been mostchildren. d over the past couple of years we lost that focus. i wanted to make sur all of our staff members understood and knew that we come to work each and every day to make sure that our students have an amazing educatiol experience. >> your predecessor, dr. kevin zedwell was heavily criti for approving a lot of those raises while at e teachers and principals and unions were bitterly complaining about their cost of living increases. they getncreases now?

>> so, this past year all of our union negotiad agrees a unions did receive an increase. what i hav done is made sure i in the ed some lanes executive tab to make sure our executive staff does not get large increases, t t ourinbe crease is wit wt e end up giving our labor partners. addi, one of the things that i'm focused on this year is to create a compensation restoratn tforc and that's to really look at what is the market rate of our employees compared to other local education agencies inhe we don't want to lose our talented because of pay. we want to make sure we keep them so our students are prepared for t 21st century. >> teachers, where are theysen the pay r ladder? are theyike third behind everod else? >> so, it depends -- >> two or three steps behind? >> actually depends where our employees are. if they're new employees, if they've been in mid level for several years or if they're toward end of their tenure

in prince george's tyco and so this compensation, we're going to hire restoration task force. we'r going to hire an external evaluator to see where those gaps exist on our pay table. we believe that there are some gaps tha we have to close. and in order to do that, we want to get a lensm f external vendor. but it's also important to know that it's not just our teachers. it's our administrators, our bus drivers, cafeteria workers. so i'm not looking at just one clas employees. i'm looking every last o of our employees who contribute to the educational experience. they allo deserve paid at the rate that their neighbors are being paid. >> our guest is dr. monica goldn who is thenterim ceo of prince george's county public

welcome back. we are talking with the new

leader of the prince george's p interim ceo dr. monica goldson who has just taken the job. you've done a lot of work in just a couple of months. getting back to schools for just a seconde learn that valerie irvin, former montgomee county councilmember for lieutenant govee leaving mo and she's joining your staff in prince georges coming on board as the assistant employee labor relations office. a told her job will be to help the school system with the union, the relationship. >> correct. we're excited to have miss irvin join our team. she's serving as a lee an a son to help resolve any issues they mightave or experience wit our employees. employees.ur and from them is that they felt that the process, when they were on l administrativve or the contact that they needed from employee labor relations, wasoo long. so i wanted to be able to

provide someone who could help expedite, who could p informatn that they needed so our employees feel comfortable entailedt th process and so that our labor partners her roles pretty important to you. >> yes, it's very important to me. she's overlyfi qua for the position and we're glad to have her on our team. >>or the second time the state is investigating inflated graduati rates. >> i yes. prince george's county. how do you plan to address that? >> actually, i look at the audit a little different than most people. pleased to have them back because they're going to be ablp tove that we took the audit seriously, that o actions are going to be reflected in the work that we've done in just a short period ofme they brought their findings to us at this end of october. we began an action plan in january, and we made a lot of strides and changes. and i want to make sure that our staff who worked hard and diligently to show our community that we're commit today get thingght, will see that. of course, with any audit, i expect that there will be some

areas that the recommend that we improve on. as i shared with the auditor, they will he to give the recommenon because if they didn't, they wouldt have a job. but i'll take those recommens make sure that we create some actions to improve that, w too. t's important during that audit is that there was no question about the teaching that took place in the classroom. it was about the proce after th. ko i don't want our teachers to feel that the what they have been doing was devalued, and so this will provide an opportunitigo shine a on that. >> so, who do you blame for thatda for sc >> yeah, there were so many areas that we needed to improve. one of thoses what even on the implemen and delivery of our administrative procedur. , i did some research and found that we had some recommens or strategies in our administrative procedures that dated back to 2009, that many of our staff h not even been following because they did not necessarily feel that their voice was vested in th decision at that central office had made. this ti what we did do was employeesk and ask

how they thought procedures shoulde writt so it will be easier for them to implement. what i do knos it is a whole lot easier to figure out who to blame than to do the work, to come with the resolution. so i committed our staff to stop pointing fingers and let's figure out howe to sois s at t our children walk across that and hadey fe honor valued and they know the diploma e getting is worthy. >> when i comes to classroom attendan and getting the diplomas for performance that it takes, one of the things you say you want to do is to listen and learn. d you're plag a tour. tell us about that. >> yes. so theek first full in october we're going to start the process of going out into the community and listening parents and getting recommens from those parents, community members and our students. i've gotten input from teachers, parents, students on the very first day that i arrived. no matter where ihego, is somee who wants to tell me either what great things we're doing or things that we need to improve on. so this provides thatit

opport to do that. their voice is valued and heard. when they see the efforts, they back into themen school system which they're participg in or graduated from. >> you als said it is important neighborho sch are importt to you. how do you define neighborhoodo sc so, neighborhood school is a school that's literally right around the corner from your hom or within a two-mile radi in some cases. it's a school that the child goes to because they did not participe in our lottery system and get involved in one of our specialty nprograms. matter what school you go to, we have 209 schools, every last one oho schools has something special to offer. we have to do is do a better job in branding those schools and telling their we have parents commit today those schools who vol grt day was just recent and grandparents were in schools d helping out. those schools offer the same ouremic support many of specialty schools offer. >> we're talking with dr. monica goldson, priy schools, and we'

co.

i put criminals in prison during the day i'm jennifer wexton, and as a prosecutor, and changed diapers at night. later, when i had a law practice, i volunteered to help moms collect child support. then, as state senator, i worked across party lines to target sexual offenders and take guns away from domestic abusers. in congress, i'll stand up to president trump.

i approve this message because, like every working mom, what's ahead is as important as what's in the rearview mirror. and we continue our discuss now with dr. monica goldson, the interim ceo of prince gty many schools are tightening security and considering ways to improve security and to make schools a place it ought to be, where ki to classes and learn and they don't have to worry about their safety and parents don't have to worry. you have include a focus in your overall comprehensive plan to address safety and security. tell us about it. >> yeha i . so what we did was we did an analysis of every last one of our schoo facilities to determine what they currently have and what they need to make sure that every school site has the same level of safety and security acrossl the sch district.d f that analysis, we'e

able to begin to financially fill those gaps. so tt could be additional cameras in our facilities. it could be a different lock system fornur teachers their classrooms. currently have a buzzer system so that when visitors come to the building they have to be buzzed into the facility. they go into our main office where their i.d. is then swiped to make sure that they're not part of a national database that could be identified as pdrple who ch. student safety is important. parent i want to be able to drop my child off evy day, do the work i have to do and know he'll be safe day. and i want to make sure that level of comfort i fl every pare feels. >> what about metal detectors, more metal detectors? o in new building facility, we have secure vestibuleo you have an opportuni to make sure you're checking who comes in. we don't feel need to have the, the metal detectors. but what's important that places that is the relationsh tha our teachers

and our school security have with our students. having been a former principal, what i can tell you is that when you know your children and you know your staff and they feel comfortabl they're the first line to tell you if something is out of whack, if they've heard something, ov we do it in such a way that they provide the information as confidenti, but then we're table to getthe student or the situation resolved before any situation takes place. >> armed resource officers? >> we actually have retired police offs w our investige counselors in all of our higsc ols. wee security assistance at the high school and middle scho levelnd they' trained every year on what to do with ur students and to make sure that they can identify signs as well. so we have a staff that's trained for that. we alsory to equip our students with wt they need to do so in case they're bullied om that they havene they can go to and talk to. that they can go online aco lete a form if they didn't feel like they could talk to an adult about it. d and just need elg ov

someone to tal t professional counselor, or school teachers. even though they're not equipped to deal with at, we have an amazin our children who a wil to go the extra mile to be sure ourre students prepared and protected both emotionally and physical. >> majority -- well, many prince geory stus as we know get to schoo on buses. you developed a new app to help them catch their bus. >> yes, it's called "here comes bus." we purchased the technology app that students and parents can use to really actually see where their bus is on the route. >> is this just for prince we did the research and shere are othte that use it. but yes, in prince george's in the state of maryland the one jurisdiction using it. and it helps parents so if the child, you know, says, hey, the bus nevercame. the parent c say, no, the bus was there, you missed it. >>nd ah. >> work to make sure that student gets to school. >> many of our kids will go to

college and a lot every child is not going to go to college, but we all want theh e the best possibilities for a career and success after high hool. you have a youth apprenticeship program designed to help keep and to get students c ready. yo making some changes there. yes. so, we say to all of oud ts we want them to be college and careerdy r and r pie we're doing a pre-apprenticesh prm sotudents have access to careers in plumbing, masonry, carpentry, andur making that they work aligned with other industry partns to even practice on the job. we have a student-built house we e and help build and studen decorate. then provides oppurtunities fortudents to get that hands-on experience. we're partnering with prince george's communi college. what people don't realize is in order to those areas, you do have to have a technic

assistan exam to pass. they are partnering to p that support so students can get their license and become their own business owners and entrepreur hiring to help to fix and repair our homes. >> youeld to get students on a dual track with princ gey when yo were working as a principal? yes. when i was a priipal at frederick douglas high school, i felt it was important that our studen begin to experience college even while they were in high school. and so i worked with our parents to make sure that weot students from frederick douglas high school to the community urg the day. they would take classes at the school for half a day. i'd use the school bus and get them to the community college and the parents were responsible for picking them up at the end of the day. >> all right. dr. monica goldson, we will continue talking to her about her pla ges system ince in this coming -- in this current sch

continuing now our talk wh dr. monica goldson. dr. goldson, you said transpar and accountability are very importantwho you. do you feel are the most significt ste tu need to take to achieve, achieve those? h it's my job to make sure that when a situation happens, that get in front of it, that we tell them the facts. if we've made mistakes, we own it and te'k about what going to do to improve. part of that accountability and transpar fm holding ourselves accountable. so we're creating a quarterly monitori system that allows us to look a see what we're doing target.sure we hit our e goal d our students get a report card every quarter. it allows them to chang their practices or to continue on the great momentum that they're going, and this will allow u to do the same. i'm a firm believer that what gets monited gets don

>> so, you're going to grade yourself. yes, we're going to grade ourselves. actually grade myself everyhe nighti get home and i'm a reflecti i want to get up the next day and get it right the e reflective practice i do for myself is what i need all do.ur employees to >> is this what you think it will take to rebuild the public trust in the prince george>> sy? think there are so many areas, but this is just the start of it. us having open, honest communicn wit our s, making sure we give 110% each to ery day when we com work, and more importantly, that we always go back and focus on our children. i think what you'll find is that in each of the scandals that we've had over the pacht dcouple of years, we did not identif our n to come back and focus on the children. i want to make sure we do that his time. >> w all of the scandals, if you will, and the negative press and publicity, many residents think the county school system

need a newimage. do you agree with that? >> i do. i do think we need a new and that image needs to be our children because we have 134,000 ch who all believe in themselv and they have parents who believe in them. and if we begin to focus on wt ey look like and what their dreams are, then i think we can begin to rebrand. every day i meet people who have prince orge's public schools. it.and i want to make sure we are all public school proud. >> it must be a tremendous relief to you to know you come into this job with a reservoir of good will. the students love you. staff lov you. people love working with you. they feel they know you.. >>immigrateful. m very grateful for that. what i have done is begun to reach out to our elected official met with them recently so that we are all on the same page because we all wanes what's for our children.

el you ask anyone who has known me, they'll you that i have a passion for children, that i to be doneneeds and make sure that they have the ist education experience save the opportunity to see many of my children nowwn w are g adults, but i enjoy seeing them and seeing the fruits of labor that all of our to help build their lives. >> all right. monicagoldson, the interim ceof prince george'sy public schools. good luck on your job and enjoy the work you're doinot you have ao do. >> thank you, i'm honored to be able to be here today and continue to promote prince ge c public schools. >> thank you, dr. goldson. " programs log on to ws 4 your nbcwashim andearch community. i'm pat lawson muse. and . at children's national,

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