Prince George's County Public Schools (PGCPS) is a public school district that serves Prince George's County, Maryland. During the 2024–25 academic year, the district enrolled around 133,000 students and operated over 200 schools. PGCPS is the second-largest school district in Maryland, the third-largest district in the Washington-Baltimore metropolitan area, the 18th-largest in the United States, and the nation's largest school district with a majority-black student population.

Headquartered in Upper Marlboro, - The school headquarters are in the Upper Marlboro limits. PGCPS is the county's sole school district. - Text list The Prince George's County Board of Education comprises 14 members who oversee the Superintendent.

On June 13, 2025, Dr. Shawn Joseph was named as interim Superintendent for the district. On June 1, 2026, the appointment of Dr. Joseph to the Superintendent role was made permanent.

History

Early years of PGCPS (1899–1974) In 1899, Laurel High was founded as the first high school in Prince George's County. Situated at Montgomery and Eighth Streets in Downtown Laurel, it began with nine teachers and 59 students, with the 1900 graduating class being all women. The school's roof served as a Civil Defense aircraft spotting station during World War II. By 1965, the school relocated to a more expansive campus. The original building, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, now functions as a community center.

In 1952, the school district permitted black students to attend grades 1–12. Before this, black students in the county were limited to the 11th grade, while only white students could progress to the 12th grade.

PGCPS ran three high schools exclusively for black students before desegregation: Marlboro Colored High (now Frederick Douglass High School) in Upper Marlboro, Lakeland High School in College Park and Fairmont Heights High School.

Desegregation (1974–2009)

In 1974, Prince George's County became the nation's largest school district mandated to implement a busing plan to address segregation. Despite the county's over 80% white demographic at the time, specific communities near Washington, D.C. had denser black populations. Although school boundaries were based on communities, the NAACP contended they mirrored segregated housing patterns. Consequently, a federal court mandated a school busing plan. A 1974 Gallup poll indicated that 75% of the county opposed forced busing, with just 32% of black respondents in favor.

The court-mandated busing commenced abruptly mid-school year, excluding final-year high school students. This swift transition disturbed regular school activities and affected family life due to altered schedules, transportation challenges, and disrupted extracurriculars.

By 2001, the court concluded that segregation had been sufficiently addressed. The busing order ended, and neighborhood-centric school boundaries were reinstated.

School mergers and consolidation (2009–2020) In 2009, the Prince George's County Public Schools Board voted to merge eight under-enrolled schools and bolster its magnet program offerings. This decision was informed by community consultations, public hearings, and over 2,500 survey responses.

Key aspects of the 2009 consolidation:

Eight schools, including Berkshire, John Carroll, and John E. Howard Elementaries, were permanently closed for the 2009-2010 academic year. Five schools, like Andrew Jackson Middle and Samuel P. Massie Elementary, transitioned to K-8 programs. Benjamin D. Foulois Elementary was converted into a K-8 Creative & Performing Arts magnet center. Concord, Dodge Park, District Heights, and Oakcrest elementary schools remained open despite potential closure considerations.

By 2016, additional school consolidations occurred due to changing student populations, particularly in the southern parts of the county. Conversely, northern regions, including Beltsville and Hyattsville, saw increased enrollment and overcrowding.

Data breaches and COVID-19 impact (2020–present) Because of the COVID-19 impact, PGCPS schools went through lockdown after March 13, 2020. The 2020–21 school year was online during the year until April 2021 with hybrid learning. The 2021–22 was virtual for some and in-person for some. Because of COVID-19 cases increasing during late 2021, PGCPS went through online school mode again until January 18, 2022 for in-person students and January 31, 2022 for virtual students to go to in-person school.

On August 14, 2023, PGCPS experienced a data breach which caused all students and staff to be locked out of their accounts. Students had to reset their password during the week of August 28, while staff had to reset it immediately. PGCPS were able to regain control of their systems within 12 hours, and sent a message to every student in the district about the cyber attack.

Starting from the 2023–24 school year, clear backpacks are required for high school students and Non Traditional Program North, South and Middle and optional for middle school students to combat shooting in the district.

Demographics For the 2024–25 academic year, PGCPS boasts an enrollment of over 132,000 students. In the DC area, only neighboring Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland and Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia surpass this number.

Based on September 2024 demographic data, the racial and ethnic composition of PGCPS students is as follows: +Student demographicsRace / EthnicityEnrollment (2024)% (2024)Black or African American67,39751.3%Hispanic or Latino (any race)52,60840.1%White5,1583.9%Asian3,6002.7%Two or more races1,7651.3%American Indian/Alaska Native5270.4%Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander2700.2%Total131,325100.0% Further, 60.4% of students participate in the federal Free and Reduced Lunch program, 11% are enrolled in special education courses, and over 20% of PGCPS students are English language learners.

Superintendent/CEO In 2013, a governance reorganization led by then-County Executive Rushern Baker renamed the superintendent position to chief executive officer of PGCPS. Dubbed a 'takeover' of the county's school system, this shift increased the operational control for the CEO while limiting the school board's powers. Dr. Kevin Maxwell was the inaugural CEO of Prince George's County Public Schools, serving until 2018. He was succeeded by Dr. Monica Goldson, who remained in the position through the 2022–23 school year.

After a rigorous 6-month nationwide search, the district shortlisted three candidates. Following an interview with County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, Millard House II, former Superintendent of the Houston Independent School District, was chosen to succeed Dr. Goldson. With House's appointment as Superintendent in June 2023, the district ceased referring to its head as CEO. Dr. Shawn Joseph was appointed interim superintendent for the 2025–2026 school year. On June 1, 2026, the appointment of Dr. Joseph to the Superintendent role was made permanent.

List of superintendents Shawn Joseph (interim 2025–2026; 2026-present) Millard House II (2023–2025) Monica Goldson, CEO (interim 2018–2019; 2019–2023) Kevin M. Maxwell, CEO (2013–2018) Alvin Crawley (interim 2012–2013) William R. Hite, Jr. (interim 2008–2009; 2009–2012) John E. Deasy (2006–2008) Howard A. Burnett (interim 2005–2006) André J. Hornsby (2003–2005) Iris T. Metts (1999–2003) Jerome Clark (1995–1999) Edward M. Felegy (1991–1995) John A. Murphy (1984–1991) Edward J. Feeney (1976–1984) Carl W. Hassel (1970–1976) William S. Schmidt (1951–1970) G. Gardner Shugart (1944–1951) Nicholas Orem Sr. (1921–1943) E.S. Burroughs (1915–1921) Frederick Sasscer Jr. (1902–1914)

Transportation

Prince George's County Public Schools operates its bus system, providing student transportation. The fleet comprises various school bus models from Blue Bird Corporation, IC Bus, and Thomas Built Buses, all running on diesel. Accessible buses are available for special-needs children. All buses bear the Prince George's County Public Schools inscription.

With 12 bus lots, the transportation department dispatches over 1,900 drivers and 1,200 buses on more than 5,000 routes. Annually, at least 83,000 students utilize these services. Routes are labeled with three-digit numbers like 615 or a combination of letters and numbers such as B12.

Besides daily commuting, buses also serve school field trips, athletic events, and other sanctioned activities within Maryland and the region. Bus ridership is contingent on the student's distance from school, generally around two miles for intermediate/secondary schools and one and a half miles for primary institutions.

Notably, the district offers students in magnet programs bus service throughout the county, with ridership not contingent on the student's proximity to school.Prince George's County Public Schools. (2013). Administrative procedure (3541). https://www.pgcps.org/globalassets/offices/general-counsel/docs---general-counsel/administrative-procedures/3000/administrative-procedure-3541---student-transportation.pdf

List of schools High schools

All high schools in Prince George's County operate with a "comprehensive" model as their base, with the exception of the Academy of Health Sciences at Prince George's Community College, which is a middle college program. All students are assigned to a high school based on an attendance area.

Magnet Programs operate as a "School-Within-A-School" model, where the magnet serves as an alternative program---in addition to the main comprehensive program---and students from outside the regular attendance area of the high school are enrolled and accepted into the magnet, either through continuity (automatic continuation from a middle school magnet program to the high school level equivalent) or more commonly, through a Magnet Lottery, in which students apply for a magnet program and are granted acceptance through a random drawing. Enrollment into the Center for the Visual and Performing Arts is through audition only.

Several high schools have also implemented a Smaller Learning Community model, where they offer anywhere from two or more Academy Programs, which effectively breaks a school down into several smaller schools within the school, by allowing students to essentially declare a major (such as a student attending a college or university) through career academies such as "Arts, Media, and Communication" or the "National Academy of Finance," for example.

All high schools within PGCPS operate on a staggered school day schedule, where some high schools start as early as 7:45am and end as early as 2:25pm, and other high schools start as late as 9:30am and end as late as 4:10pm. All high schools operate on an alternating A/B-day block scheduling system, where one group of classes are taken on "A-Days" and a different group of classes are taken on "B-Days," and the cycle repeats. Most high schools have between three and four lunch shifts, depending on enrollment and eating accommodations. The only exceptions are Eleanor Roosevelt High School — which has adopted a modified hybrid block schedule in which both traditional single period courses and double period (block schedule) courses are integrated — and the Academy of Health Science at Prince George's Community College.