Amber Waller Knows Her Audience

The county board of education member from Landover meets with her constituents monthly.

If you told Amber Waller 10 years ago she would one day be a member of the county board of education, she would have said you were crazy. “I never thought of myself as a political person… but apparently I was and I just didn’t know it,” she said with a laugh. Waller has lived in Chillum for 15 years and served on the Prince George’s County Board of Education for five of them. The board appointed Waller a member at-large—overseeing the entire county—in 2007. She was elected to represent District 3 in 2008 and again in 2010. Her district includes schools in Hyattsville and surrounding towns, such as Mount Rainier and University Park. Raised in Roanoke, VA, Waller has been involved in education reform from the start. “My sister and I were two…

• Photos (1)

Meeting The Parents: New Northwestern Principal Shares Some Goals For Hyattsville's High School

After a five-year stint working in Howard County schools, Edgar Batenga returned to the school that was once the rival of his own alma mater.

Edgar Batenga, Northwestern High School’s new principal, met the parents of some of the students he will be overseeing starting later this month. He offered them hope tempered with truth: it’s going to be a challenging year. “My desire is to open up more programs and dance is one of them,” Batenga said during a meeting held Wednesday evening at Nicholas Orem Middle School. “One of my biggest priorities is to get more money from our … delegates. Some academic classes this year will have 30-some students, while some electives likely will have more than 40. “It’s a strain,” he said. “I’m squeezing. I’m squeezing all the resources.” Batenga, a graduate of High Point High School in Beltsville, replaces Jerome Thomas, who left earlier this …

• Photos (6)

Five Things You Need To Know Today (the Hy-Five)

About dogs, schools and Cafritz.

Got the mid-week blues, Hyattsville? Don’t get too droopy! There are at least five things you need to know today:   1. It’s open! Big Bad Woof has officially left its mark on Hyattsville with a new shop at EYA’s arts district. Patch is going to swing by tomorrow and get some photos. Beware: more adorable dog photos are on the way! 2. The latest details about the Cafritz property are right here, courtesy of Hyattsville Patch’s sister site, Riverdale Park-University Park Patch. 3. Have you dined on the outdoor patio at Busboys and Poets? Looks like some people were really taking advantage of the cooler climes last night, including Hyattsville Patch editor Sarah Nemeth, who walked past these folks right before this photo was snapped.   4. …

• Photos (1)

Amber Waller to Host District 3 Meet-and-Greet

Parents of schools in Hyattsville, University Park and Lewisdale can meet with Dist. 3 School Board Member Amber Waller before the start of the school year.

Parents can meet District 3 School Board Member Amber Waller at a meet-and-greet event on Aug. 10 to voice concerns and get answers to questions about the school year. Waller will host the event at Orem Middle School off East-West Highway in Hyattsville at 7:30 p.m. Principals from district 3 schools will be on hand as well as the instructional directors. Interested members of the community should call 301-952-6239 by Monday, August 8, to RSVP to attend the event. For information on Board District 3, visit the website at www1.pgcps.org/board/waller/

• Photos (1)

PHOTO OF THE DAY: Scholastic Smile

Here's a photo of county school board member Amber Waller (Dist. 3) outside Northwestern High School.

• Photos (1)

Photo Gallery: Northwestern High Student Among Those Recognized With County Scholar Dollar Awards

Twenty Prince George's County students received American Express gift certificates, with four lucky students getting free roundtrip airline tickets, under the Scholar Dollar Family Program to honor academic achievement.

In an effort to embrace student achievement in Prince George's County, the county executive's office and the Prince George's County Public Schools rewarded several students today for their academic excellence through the Scholar Dollar Family Program. The ceremony, which took place at The Mall at Prince George's, awarded several students who earned a 3.0 GPA, made honor roll, or achieved some other significant status with special discounts, incentives and prizes. In addition to American Express gift certificates, four of the 20 students received a grand prize of four round-trip tickets each from Southwest Airlines. The Northwestern High School Jazz Band opened the ceremony with several tunes under the direction of Anthony Townes. Amber …

• Photos (26)

Video: Hyattsville Police Officer in Final Round of AMW Contest

Sgt. Suzie Johnson has been nominated for an award through America's Most Wanted.

Stephanie Kidwell nominated Sgt. Suzie Johnson for the title of America’s Most Wanted All-Star because of how the Hyattsville police officer has supported the community she has known her whole life. “She always goes out of her way to help others and unlike most other officers her job doesn't stop when she's off duty,” Kidwell said. “She remembers everyone … she gives this city and its people 100 percent. She is an amazing woman and a great officer.” The winner of the All-Star award receives $10,000 and a trip to the NASCAR Sprint Cup All-Star Race. Nominations and discussion about Johnson can be found on the AMW website. Johnson is now in the final round of the contest, along with seven other contestants. The final day to vote is Sunday.

• Videos (1)

Shivering Around the Polls

More voters turn out than expected, one judge said.

Update, 7:35: I went out to Hyattsville Middle School and spoke with Gloria Rodriguez, the chief election judge there. She was really stoked about the turnout of voters. "It was really surprising," she said, adding that the lines of people had been steady all day. At 6 p.m. 1,125 people had voted there. Rodriguez reported no voting glitches and said the only anomaly was that no one asked for papers verifying to employers that they had been away from work because they were voting. Resident Mark Graham noted that all elections are important. "Really, the local elections are pretty important too," he said. "Even our city council elections." That was about the time Hyattsville Mayor William Gardiner walked in to place his vote. Outside, a …

• Photos (2)

School Board Cries Foul Over Low Test Scores, Absenteeism

An Oct. 14 meeting of the Board of Education had parents and school board members expressing concerns over student performance and the state of Talented and Gifted programs.

Parents and school board officials' frustrations boiled over during a four-hour Oct. 14 Board of Education meeting. Schools Superintendent William Hite restated his goal to have every student in Prince George's County Public Schools career- and college-ready by 2017, but the attendees' consensus was that the school system has a long way to go. "We're spending so much money targeting here and there, and I'm trying to see what we're getting out of it. Where are the trends trending positive?" said board member Rosalind Johnson. Johnson's statement followed a PowerPoint presentation by Dwayne Arbogast, chief education officer, on student academic performance. Arbogast noted a slight dip in overall SAT scores: 22.7 percent of county students …

• Photos (4)