Project As A Component Of A Comprehensive Plan: The Comprehensive Partnerships for Minority Student Achievement (CPMSA) Project has been designed to complement the extensive reform efforts in place throughout the school district and state. It reflects the objectives of federal and state Goals 2000 initiatives. Through a new restructuring plan within the school system that encompasses "clusters" of school communities, direct services will be provided that reflect the needs of each community and include parents and school improvement teams as part of the decision-making process. A Structure Designed To Deliver Excellence: The new Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Jerome Clark, has implemented a restructuring plan that affects how the school system operates across every department and division. The new organization, "Communities Committed to Children," provides the infrastructure for a natural pipeline for students in science and mathematics K-12, with a goal of significantly increasing the number of African American students graduating from the school district prepared to pursue careers or advanced studies in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology (SMET). Communities Committed to Children consists of 20 school communities or clusters that take ownership for the schooling of thousands of students enrolled in a feeder pattern of elementary, middle, and high schools. Each cluster is directed by a Chief Educational Administrator (CEA) who is responsible for ensuring the quality of programming, K-12. Each cluster also includes a designated school, or Oasis Site, which provides instructional and support services after school hours and during weekends to students, parents, and the general community. It is within this framework, a framework designed for success, that the components of the Comprehensive Partnerships for Minority Student Achievement (CPMSA) proposal would be implemented. A Program Designed To Achieve Excellence: Communities Committed to Children works to achieve its goals of increasing the number of students from underrepresented populations who leave the school district prepared to pursue careers or advanced studies in SMET courses. A number of coordinated, comprehensive, and innovative strategies and partnerships are offered through this CPMSA project to attain this goal. Extent Of Need For The Project: The Board of Education of Prince George's County is a multiculturally diverse school system in Maryland, located east of Washington, D.C., and serves 120,000 students. This large school system mirrors many of its urban counterparts in racial gender, and ethnic composition, as well as size. A number of initiatives have been implemented, and while the performance gap in the school system between African American and Caucasian students has been narrowed dramatically it has not been eliminated. The diversity of the school system reinforces the need for attention to systemwide reform by: (1) increasing numbers of students in science and math classes, (2) increasing student academic performance, (3) improving career and technical education training opportunities, and (4) enhancing staff development. This project strives to improve learning and teaching by providing a framework for educational reform and accountability. It promotes research, consensus building, and systemic changes needed to ensure equitable educational opportunities for all students, especially students who are economically disadvantaged, limited English proficient, and/or multiculturally diverse. ***
