Congratulations to the PGCPS Class of 2019.
Students from more than 30 Prince George’s County high schools received their diplomas this year. Among them were the very first graduating classes from the International High Schools at Largo, Langley Park and College Park Academy.
Scholarship Winners
Charles H. Flowers High School seniors Dwalyn Bryant and Michael Akinsola are the recipients $25,000 and $10,000 scholarships respectively from the Taco Bell Foundation’s Live Más Scholarship program.
Dwalyn and Michael list among about 500 students selected out of 13,000 total applicants for this year’s scholarship. Unlike other scholarships, Live Más winners are chosen based on a short video describing their passions, rather than academic merit or athletic ability.
One of just six employees nationwide to receive the highest award of $25,000, Dwalyn will use her scholarship to study biomedical health at Penn State in hopes of becoming a surgeon.
Michael will use his $10,000 scholarship to study biomedical engineering at University of Pittsburgh while enrolling in an accelerated program to receive his juris doctorate degree.
College Prep Boot Camp
The College Preparation two-week summer bootcamp is for rising Prince George’s County High School seniors and juniors.
The sessions, held beginning July 8, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Charles H. Flowers High School, will provide students with a robust awareness of the opportunity to engage in college exploratory activities such as completing a college application, writing a personal statement, learning about the college entrance process through SAT and ACT preparation, and identifying multiple avenues to pay for college.
The College Readiness Summer Bootcamp will also consist of college tours throughout the two weeks.
AP Computer Science Students
Gwynn Park High School Advanced Placement Computer Science students are poised to be among the first graduates of the nationwide Amazon Future Engineer program.
Gwynn Park is one of about 50 high schools in the DC metro area teaching AP Computer Science via Amazon Future Engineer – a new comprehensive school-to-career program designed to inspire, educate and train students from underserved communities to pursue careers in computer science.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that by 2020 there will be 1.4 million computer-science-related jobs available and only 400,000 computer science graduates with the skills to apply for those jobs — and research shows that underrepresented students are eight to 10 times more likely to pursue college degrees in computer science if they have taken AP computer science in high school.
Also, the average computer science major makes 40 percent more in lifetime earnings than the average college graduate and nearly three times more than the average high school alumna.
At Gwynn Park, nearly all students who completed the computer science program plan to continue on that path.
Employee Recognition Dinner
PGCPS’ annual “Employee Recognition Dinner” will be held Friday, June 14 at Martin’s Crosswinds in Greenbelt.
For the past 44 years, the county has celebrated and recognized world-class educators and leaders for their contributions and commitment to our students and community.
Doors open at 5 p.m.
Honoree Photo Opportunity: 5:30 p.m. -7 p.m.
Dinner, program and dancing: 7 p.m.-9 p.m.
Attire: Semi-formal
Tickets: $50/per person (honorees receive free admission for themselves and one guest)