Terence J. Clegg, Sr.
Running for school board in Prince George's County District 2
Email: cleggforpgcps@gmail.com
Website: www.cleggforpgcps.com
How old will you be on Election Day (Nov. 3)?
44
Are you currently employed? If so, where, and what is your job title?
I am the founder and principal mediator of Pathway Resolutions Services. For the past seven years, I have also served as a senior administrator with the Maryland Department of Human Services, leading operations, public safety and organizational initiatives.
What is the highest level of education that you completed, and where did you get that degree?
Juris Doctor (J.D.), Howard University School of Law, 2008
Why are you running for the school board?
I am running because, while I bring a law degree, years of government leadership, and experience in operations, policy and implementation, my strongest reason is personal: my three children, ages 11, 9 and 5, all attend Prince George’s County Public Schools.
For seven years, I have experienced our school system as a parent. I have seen the ups and downs, but I also see what makes Prince George’s County Public Schools worth fighting for. I see teachers who work hard every day, students excited to learn and principals who put in extra hours and care to create safe, nurturing schools.
I believe in our school system, and I want District 2 to have a strong parent and father’s voice on the board. We are making major investments in public education, and I want to ensure those investments reach the classroom and translate into stronger academic outcomes, safer schools, reliable services and meaningful opportunities for every student.
My goal is simple: make sure every child, regardless of learning style, background or neighborhood, receives the support and education needed to become a leader, pursue college or a career, start a business, learn a trade and take on the world with confidence.
What makes you a good candidate for the board?
As an active Prince George’s County Public Schools father and community member, I bring both lived experience and professional experience to this role. I have lived in Prince George’s County since 2009, have family roots here, and have built relationships across District 2, including Greenbelt, New Carrollton, College Park, Riverdale Park, Berwyn Heights and Lanham.
Professionally, I bring legal training and years of senior government experience in operations, policy, public safety, contract oversight and implementation. Those experiences taught me how to analyze complicated problems, ask difficult questions, manage public resources and turn policy into measurable action. My mediation work has also strengthened my ability to listen, bring people together and work toward practical solutions.
Most importantly, I show up. I am present in our schools and communities, listening to parents, educators, students and neighbors. I believe deeply in Prince George’s County and in the potential of our public schools. I would bring that same combination of preparation, accountability, collaboration and hands-on involvement to the Board of Education.
What is the most important issue facing your school board and what would you do about it if elected?
The most important issue is that our education system is not yet working equally well for every student. Recent Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program results show encouraging gains in Prince George’s County Public Schools, including progress among multilingual learners and students with disabilities, but they also show that significant academic work remains.
Every child learns differently. As the father of two special education learners, I see firsthand that students can need different interventions, instructional strategies and supports to reach the same high expectations.
If elected, I would focus on strong literacy and mathematics instruction, early identification of learning gaps, evidence-based interventions, small-group and differentiated instruction, and adequate staffing for special education and multilingual learners. I also want parents at the table as true partners. Families know their children, and their voices should help shape the supports students receive.
Our goal should not be a one-size-fits-all system. It should be a system that meets students where they are, gives educators the tools to respond to individual needs, measures whether interventions are working and ensures every student has a genuine pathway to success.
Please name a public leader you admire and explain why.
Thurgood Marshall. As a Maryland native and Howard University School of Law graduate, Justice Marshall combined legal excellence with a lifelong commitment to equal opportunity in education. His work challenging school segregation helped transform American public education. Marshall states that "Where you see wrong or inequality or injustice, speak out, beacause this is your country. This is your democracy. Make it. Protect it. Pass it on."
That spirit speaks directly to why I am running. As a parent, I believe advocacy means stepping forward when students are not receiving an equitable opportunity to succeed. Whether a student’s path leads to college, entrepreneurship, a skilled trade or another career, I want every Prince George’s County Public Schools learner to have the resources, expectations and support necessary to become the best version of themselves.
The Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, passed by the General Assembly in 2021, is a 10-year plan that includes increased funding to support early childhood education, higher teacher starting pay, college/career-readiness standards for high school graduates, and expanded services to multilingual and impoverished families, among other goals. Since the Blueprint's implementation, test scores have increased modestly in many parts of the state, but some school officials complain about the costs and administrative burdens placed on them by the Blueprint. Please tell us your views on the Blueprint and how it is affecting your school district.
I strongly support the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future and believe we should stay the course while making implementation efficient, transparent and focused on student outcomes. In District 2 and across Prince George’s County Public Schools, the Blueprint is expanding early childhood education, strengthening college and career readiness, directing additional resources toward students with greater needs and supporting better educator compensation and a career ladder designed to recruit and retain excellent teachers.
I also want to recognize the efforts of our State Sen. Alonzo Washington, who served on the Commission on Innovation and Excellence in Education, commonly known as the Kirwan Commission, that helped shape the Blueprint. I count Sen. Washington as a supporter and advisor on this campaign.
We have seen encouraging academic progress, but there is still substantial work ahead. I also recognize the district’s concern that Blueprint mandates can create funding and implementation pressures. Those concerns should lead us to improve execution, not retreat from the goals.
My priority would be to protect the Blueprint’s classroom impact: strong teachers, expanded early learning, targeted supports and real college and career pathways. We should continually evaluate what is working, reduce unnecessary administrative burden and ensure that every dollar produces meaningful opportunities and measurable outcomes for students.
Chronic absenteeism has been a problem in many schools since the Covid-19 pandemic. How big of a problem is absenteeism in your school district, and what if anything can the Board of Education do about it?
Chronic absenteeism remains a serious issue. Prince George’s County Public Schools reported that the districtwide rate fell from 30% to 27.4%, which is progress, but it still means too many students are missing significant instructional time. District 2 schools have identified the issue directly: Greenbelt Middle has a goal to reduce chronic absenteeism, and William Wirt Middle reported that 25% of students were chronically absent last school year.
The board should treat attendance as both an academic issue and a family-support issue. Reliable transportation is essential, but we also need early intervention, consistent communication, attendance teams and stronger partnerships with families. For multilingual families, that means translated communication, interpreters and in-person outreach.
We should identify why individual students are missing school, whether transportation, health, housing, family obligations or disengagement, and connect families with appropriate support. Students cannot benefit from great instruction if they are not consistently in the classroom, and students are more engaged and have better outcomes when parents are actively involved.
Are you satisfied with your school district's policy on AI use by students? If so, why? If not, what would you suggest to improve the AI policy?
Prince George’s County Public Schools has a thoughtful starting framework for artificial intelligence, but I believe we need to go further in teaching AI literacy. Current policy recognizes AI as a supplemental instructional tool, requires approved platforms and emphasizes privacy, bias, academic integrity and human oversight.
Students should learn to use AI as a tool, not as a substitute for thinking. That means teaching them how to write effective prompts, verify information, recognize bias and errors, cite AI use appropriately,and understand when its use crosses into academic dishonesty.
At the same time, foundational skills must remain nonnegotiable. Students still need to read, write, calculate, research, reason and communicate independently. AI will be part of the world our students enter, so simply banning it would not prepare them. Our responsibility is to teach students to use it ethically, safely and effectively while ensuring technology strengthens, rather than replaces, genuine learning.
Youth mental health has been a growing concern for years now. Do you think your school district has the resources and personnel in place to deal with this issue adequately? If not, what would you suggest to improve the situation?
Prince George’s County Public Schools has important mental health resources in place, including school counselors, psychologists and clinicians, community partners, teletherapy through Hazel Health, and programs such as the R.E.S.E.T Program. I believe we have many of the right people and ideas, but we need more boots on the ground and easier access to care.
Students face stressors that were far less pervasive for previous generations, including cyberbullying, constant social media exposure and other technology-related pressures. A mental health crisis can be debilitating and directly affect learning, attendance and behavior.
I would prioritize more counselors and mental health professionals, stronger school-based partnerships with community providers, culturally and linguistically accessible services and a multi-tiered approach that includes prevention, early intervention and intensive support when needed. Services must also be easy for students and families to understand and use.
Students must be supported in both body and mind to be ready to learn.
Do you think there are circumstances when books should be removed from school libraries? If so, what kind of books should be removed, and who should make those decisions?
No. I believe our students need more access to books, not less. I have personally partnered with fraternity brothers to donate books in New Carrollton, to Dora Kennedy French Immersion and to the Greenbelt Elementary School book sale because I believe books are pathways to knowledge.
Prince George’s County Public Schools already has a process for professionally selecting library materials and reviewing objections to particular books. I support that kind of transparent, case-by-case process rather than broad removal based simply on disagreement with an idea or viewpoint.
School libraries should offer age-appropriate, high-quality materials that support literacy, vocabulary, critical thinking, imagination and independent learning. Parents should have a meaningful voice regarding materials for their own children, while decisions affecting an entire school community should follow established professional standards and a fair review process.
Technology literacy matters, but books remain essential for helping children explore ideas, strengthen reading skills and develop a lifelong love of learning.
