WASHINGTON POST: As 1,200 students poured out of buses and cars and into the new Hyattsville Middle School on Monday morning, they were full of questions: Where could they pick up their schedules? Which hallway was the fastest route to their first class? What does it mean to have “first lunch” or “third lunch”?
Teachers and administrators, sometimes just learning the answers themselves, called out to each other to troubleshoot and make sure they were all on the same page.
“Can they have their cellphones out?” one teacher shouted over a crowd of young people. Some were using their phones to map out class schedules, and she wanted to make sure they wouldn’t get into trouble. Another teacher called back that the students needed to stow their phones.
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As students ate breakfast in the cafeteria, five seventh-grade boys stood together, catching up and joking about the horde of news reporters there for the first day. The boys agreed that their new building is “way better” because of updated bathrooms, more natural light and a bigger cafeteria. All five attended Thomas Stone Elementary School in Mount Rainier as sixth-graders while they were waiting for their new school to be built.
“It has better air,” one of the boys said. The other four laughed.
“It’s not, like, squished together,” added another.
The middle school is one of six debuting this academic year in Prince George’s County. Five of them opened Monday. Another, Colin Powell Academy, will open in a few months. (Powell students are attending Potomac Landing Elementary and Isaac J. Gourdine Middle School in Fort Washington. The schools will combine and move into their new building in November.)
The school system — Maryland’s second largest, with about 131,000 students — tried something new with these six campuses. It opened them through a public-private partnership designed to accelerate construction and reduce costs. County officials began the procurement process in 2019 and chose a contractor in 2020; the schools were built within 2½ years.
The partnership, which county officials call the “P3,” is one of the first of its kind in the country. Jason Washington, the district’s director of alternative infrastructure planning and development, said the schools opened quickly because the typical bureaucratic hurdles weren’t there: The school district would normally start with its five-year projected capital improvement plan, seek approval in segments and then wait until funding was available. Through the P3 process, Washington said, a developer handles the designs and finances the construction costs. Once the schools open, the district begins paying the developer back.
County council and board of education members pursued the public-private partnership amid growing complaints from parents about aging buildings, overcrowded classrooms and learning environments that weren’t fully accessible to students with disabilities.
Parts of the former Hyattsville Middle were more than 80 years old, and it had pest problems, mold and things “that were falling apart,” said school board member Pamela Boozer-Strother (District 3).
“Parents were really upset, and it was impacting the reputation of the school system,” said Boozer-Strother, whose eighth-grade son attends the new Hyattsville Middle.
Four sixth-graders having breakfast in one of the cafeteria booths agreed that the building was cleaner. One girl said she was more comfortable entering the bathroom because it had no graffiti.
Principal Chanita Stamper said she was “feeling fabulous” Monday because it was the first time students and staff were united in the same building in about three years. Students and staff had been attending and working at different schools during the Hyattsville Middle construction.
“I’m just grateful we’re back together under one roof,” Stamper said.
Lorraine Foster, who teaches English learners, said teachers were able to enter the building for the first time about two weeks ago, and many of them were stunned by the new cabinetry and furniture. She said she loved her classroom’s large windows, which made it seem inviting. And the computer system audio could actually be heard throughout the room.
“It’s clean, it’s new, [the students] want to be here,” Foster said Monday. “It’s just really, really nice.”
Gretchen Williams, who teaches chorus and piano, was finishing setting up her classroom Monday. She said she was thrilled to have a room with the space and equipment she needed. Then she spotted two seventh-graders wandering the hallway with yellow schedules in hand.
“Do you know where you’re supposed to be going?” Williams called out.
No, the teens answered. They were trying to get to the third floor, but they knew of only one staircase to get them there. Here, Williams said, was another amenity to discover: Another staircase directly behind them.
