Prince George's County Literacy Commission Meeting - October 22, 2026

The Prince George's County Literacy Commission convened to review its high-leverage recommendations for improving literacy outcomes across the county. The meeting included an update on the MSDE Pre-K-through-12 literacy policy, feedback from the council's EWD committee, and a deep-dive discussion on eight draft recommendations spanning early childhood through adult workforce literacy. Note: The meeting transcription begins with the Chair calling the meeting to order on "Wednesday, October 21st, 2026, 2:00 PM", but the official metadata provided for this record dates the session as October 22, 2026.

Consent Calendar

• The September 16th, 2026 meeting minutes were approved by unanimous consent without objection.

Discussion Items

1. MSDE Literacy Policy & Council Feedback Caleb Callender provided a follow-up on the state's updated literacy policy, including the approval of universal screeners (Amira ISIP, Amplified mClass, Renaissance Star Reading) and the creation of a K-3 student reading improvement plan. Dr. Parakin then shared feedback from Council Chair Adam Stafford emphasizing literacy incentives (award ceremonies, partnerships with local businesses). Chair Dr. Moss voiced strong support for creating a culture of reading through community-based rewards, sharing a personal example of earning pizzas for AR reading points. Candace Perkins suggested using council-member district funding to support these incentives equitably across the county.

2. Preliminary Recommendations Overview Dr. Parakin presented eight recommendations derived from the commission's prior work, structured around five themes: instructional coherence, consistent implementation, coordination among literacy organizations, access and equity, and accountability. The recommendations are:

• Strengthen evidence-based core instruction, target intervention, and educator capacity.
• Strengthen the birth-to-third-grade literacy continuum (including establishing a Maryland Book Bank in Prince George's County and a five-year goal of two-thirds of third graders reading at grade level).
• Develop a coordinated family and community literacy strategy.
• Establish a sustained countywide literacy coordination framework (permanent literacy steering committee).
• Create a centralized literacy resource and navigation system.
• Map existing literacy programs and participation.
• Build a continuous literacy pathway from adolescence to adulthood and workforce preparation.
• Establish shared measures, implementation accountability, and public transparency.

3. Commission Feedback on Draft Recommendations

• Dr. Collins praised the ecosystem approach but cautioned against overloading the school system with new initiatives. She requested a crosswalk with current PGCPS work and state mandates to avoid duplication.
• Dr. Bulger supported a full crosswalk with the MSDE Pre-K-12 policy and the Blueprint for Maryland's Future. He suggested refining metrics from "percentage of classrooms implementing with fidelity" to "effectiveness" to reflect genuine instructional impact.
• Pastor Clarence Crawford stressed that the Board of Education and Superintendent must take a visible leadership role to drive culture change. He strongly advocated for standard, periodic public reporting to ensure accountability and allow the community to celebrate progress.
• Allie Krueger emphasized the need for clear communication throughout the literacy ecosystem and for partners in the nonprofit and faith-based sectors to be invited to training to align their practices with the commission's goals.
• Ellen O'Neill noted the county's existing data capacities (student reading improvement plans, dashboard, end-of-year testing) and posed the question of how to use this data to plan out-of-school-time interventions—for example, if a school has 14% ELA proficiency, how do districts plan for 70% of students needing interventions?
• Candace Perkins requested that the recommendations be cross-referenced with the PGCPS strategic plan and suggested that council members allocate their district funding toward literacy incentives to ensure equitable access.
• Chair Dr. Moss argued for elevating the recommendation to establish a permanent literacy steering committee as a top priority. He requested that the recommendations be ordered by priority (first, next, last) with target dates to aid implementation.
• Simone (PGCPS) cautioned that the new draft Pre-K-through-12 state policy will add additional reporting requirements, reinforcing the need for a crosswalk.

Key Outcomes

• Vote: No formal vote was taken on the recommendations. The commission provided substantive feedback to refine them further.
• Action Items:
  • Staff will create a crosswalk aligning the recommendations with PGCPS strategic plans, MSDE's Pre-K-12 policy, the Ready to Read Act, and Blueprint requirements.
  • The recommendations will be refined to be more action-oriented (ownership, metrics, timeline, priority order).
  • Members were asked to submit quotes for the final report and to send additional comments or materials to staff.
• Next Meeting: November 18th, 2026, at 2:00 PM (virtual).
• Future Steps: Chair Moss and Dr. Parakin will discuss whether additional meetings beyond the two remaining sessions are needed to finalize the recommendations for a formal vote. The final report will be submitted to the Prince George's County Council.
• Closing: Chair Moss highlighted the upcoming PGCPS Board of Education meeting for literacy updates and encouraged members to attend. The meeting adjourned at 2:50 PM.