Where's My Class?
Montgomery County Public School students went back to class on Monday, Aug. 30. During the last three weeks, The Almanac interviewed principals at Potomac's schools. Several interviews have been published in previous issues. A few more will be published in an upcoming edition.
Potomac Elementary
10311 River Road
Potomac, MD 20854
Phone: 301-469-1042
Grades: K-5
Principal: Linda Z. Goldberg
PTA president: Julie Dobson
Special Programs
Partial Chinese Immersion
Arts Integrated School
The Partial Chinese Immersion Program at Potomac Elementary, continuing into Hoover Middle School, teaches students one-half of their core subjects in English and the other half in Chinese. MCPS has found that these students demonstrate high levels of academic success in both languages.
Racial/Ethnic Composition
African American: 3.7 percent
American Indian: 0.8 percent
Asian: 18.2 percent
Hispanic: 3.2 percent
White: 74.1 percent
School Information
Receiving special education: 5.7 percent
ESOL: 1.7 percent
FARMS: 2.5 percent
Student/instructional staff ratio: 13.4
Average class size (Grades 1-2): 19.8
Average class size (Grades 3-5): 23.4
Average class size (Kindergarten): 22.7
Projected enrollment/capacity: 562/488*
Linda Goldberg begins her third year as principal of Potomac Elementary. She talked about the upcoming year.
What will be the biggest challenges facing Potomac this year?
"The biggest challenge is making a great school even greater," said Linda Goldberg, Potomac principal. She would like to take the students from the proficient level to the advanced level. "Every school can grow. When you look closely, there are children who can do better."
Is there anything you wish parents would do more?
"Just continue doing the wonderful things they are doing," Goldberg said. She would also like to encourage parents to read to their children every day. "Look at the positive side of what they are doing. Celebrate their successes," she said.
Is there anything you wish parents would do less?
Goldberg would like parents to take their children out of schools less. She understands that it is sometimes unavoidable to remove students from school, she said, but she would like parents to minimize their children's absences. "Honor the school day. Make sure their children are here on time and are here throughout the day as much as possible."
What is your favorite thing about Potomac?
"I'm really excited about the teachers working as a team and how everyone really works together as a community."
What will be the biggest differences from last year to this year?
*A new format for student pickups at the end of the day.
*The new countywide grading and reporting policy.
*The new curriculum, but the implementation of that began last year.
New teachers
*Audra Fladung — assistant principal
*Tova Irving — reading
*Dot Cooper — fourth grade
*Evan Howard — fifth grade
*Jessica Stewart — fifth grade
*Kimberly Pitts — fifth grade
*Angela Piwowarczyk — third- and fifth-grade language arts
*Shelley Johnson — arts focus coordinator