Back-to-school blues

OPINION:

ANALYSIS/OPINION:

The first day of the 2018-19 school year in Prince George’s County isn’t until Sept. 4, and for parents, there’s good news and bad news.

The bad news is that The Capital Gazette newspaper reported a major head’s up to parents and teachers in the Bowie area that seven public schools tested high for lead concentrations in drinking water from fountains and in food-prep areas. County officials already have begun to make corrective actions.

All of the affected schools had majority-black student populations, and with the county’s fearless leader, County Executive Rushern L. Baker III, on his way out, parents, teachers and students would be better off putting the pedal to the metal now.

They must not only mind county efforts to correct the water problem but also ensure their children are armed with bottled water during school hours.

In that vein, comes the good news: Schools don’t open until after Labor Day, which means there’s plenty of lead time for schools and families to stock up, and for parents to have their kids’ tested for lead. Better safe than sorry.

Big-time kudos to the newsroom at The Capital for that major head’s up regarding our children. Recall that The Capital lost five employees and two others were injured in a mass shooting in June.

Health and safety are also on the minds youngsters and faculty at Parkland, Florida’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where a teen sprayed bullets and killed 17 people on Valentine’s Day.

Students and faculty jump-started their school on Wednesday with a single entrance and visible school IDs, and visitors are screened via a new $6.2. million video surveillance system.

New fences and gates are watched by not only school resource officers but also campus monitors and security specialists. And Broward County schools chief Robert W. Runcie said in a statement: “Securing the primary access points for staff into the building ensures these entrance points can remain locked at all times and prevent unauthorized access on campus through the main building.”

The gunman simply walked into the school.

Now back to reality in good ol’ D.C., where city officials announced Wednesday that they have yet to learn from past academic and spending decisions.

Scores on the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) scores from tests administered in the 2017-18 school year are, well, disappointing.

Said an elected who shall deliberately remain nameless: “The PARCC results released today demonstrate that the District of Columbia continues to improve educational outcomes for its students. Year after year we have seen incremental gains in nearly every group of students, something unheard of in other states that administer this assessment. However, the results also illuminate that work remains. Though racial groups and at-risk students saw gains overall, the gap between their achievement and that of their peers continues. Closing that gap will continue to remain our education system’s greatest challenge and will need to be a major focus of the education leaders the mayor will nominate in the coming months.”

There are no guarantees with political appointments, as the fishbowl that is Washington, D.C., proves daily.

It’s surprising that the education gap hasn’t been plopped in Donald Trump’s lap, especially since it’s the black kids in Bowie and D.C. who are being directly shortchanged with Democrats’ so-called “school investments.”

Makes you wonder. What would happen if Democrats began disinvesting in public schools — not public education, but public schools.

• Deborah Simmons can be contacted at dsimmons@washingtontimes.com.