By Melissa J. Brachfeld

Sentinel Staff Writer

In a meet and greet style press conference in Upper Marlboro Friday morning, new CEO of Prince George's County Public Schools, Dr. John Deasy, introduced himself to the press and to the public.

Deasy, who was appointed to the top spot by the Board of Education in February, will formally take over the position from interim CEO Howard Burnett on May 1, but he said he wanted to take the time to meet the community first.

Deasy started out by quoting Frederick Douglass, a man that he said he holds in high esteem.

"If there is no struggle, there is no progress," Deasy said.

He noted that his goals include strengthening partnerships between teachers, the school system and the community to ensure that each student receives the same "high quality" education, regardless of ethnic or economic background.

"Smart is something you become, not what you are," Deasy said. "All means all and it will mean all."

He said that he has crafted a timeline in order to ultimately develop what he has nicknamed "the roadmap to success," which is broken down into three phases. Deasy noted that he is currently in the pre-entry phase, meaning he is still in the process of getting acclimated to the county. From May 1 to Aug. 15, he said he will be stepping into the CEO position and that he will be using this time to get to know the school system and to meet with constituent groups. In the final phase, from Aug. 16 to Dec. 15, Deasy said he plans to begin crafting his roadmap to success.

"The roadmap will be an explicit set of guidelines to bring the best to every student," he said.

Deasy went on to say that he is not afraid to get his hands dirty, and that he will be relying on receiving "hard feedback" from principals, teachers and, of course, students. He said he believes teachers are already doing the best they can do, but that he believes things need to be kicked up a notch.

Deasy also highlighted the need to attract and retain the best teachers.

"It's about getting teachers to say to themselves 'how can I get myself into Prince George's County,'" Deasy said.

He said plans to turn Prince George's County into a "world class school system" where all students are prepared to access higher education following the completion of high school. In order to do this, Deasy said all achievement gaps need to be closed and that he wants all county schools to exceed local, state and national standards.

"Results are important and results matter," he said.

Ultimately, Deasy said the entire process of turning the county's school system around will take eight to 10 years, but that he believes in taking small steps first.

"The tall order in front of us is doable," he said.

He ended by saying that through partnerships and cooperation, Prince George's County schools are capable of achieving greatness.

"Si, se puede," Deasy said, quoting Cesar Chavez. "Yes, we can and yes, we can as a team."

Photo by Marketa Ebert