By ZEPHAN MATTESON

The Prince George’s County Planning Board unanimously approved a preliminary plan for an addition to St. Jerome Academy in Hyattsville on Thursday, July 17.

The private Catholic school, located across the street from its namesake church, has been open since 1943, and in recent years has become a model of the classical education movement among Catholic schools. 

Matthew Tedesco, the attorney representing the school, said in his statement at the meeting that the new addition will enhance the education of the students who already attend the school. Tedesco said that, currently, teachers in specialty programs like ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages), art and science have to move from classroom to classroom and set up to teach. 

“I can tell you that that’s a strain on our teachers, to have to pack up and bring their art supplies into a classroom, bring their science supplies into a classroom, and then pack up and leave because there’s not enough classrooms to serve the students,” Tedesco said. 

According to Tedesco, the new addition seeks to provide additional classrooms so that existing teachers can have their own spaces. The preliminary plan, which asks for one parcel of land for development, was approved unanimously by the planning board. 

Darryl Barnes, the board’s newly appointed chairman, made a statement before calling the vote.

“I wish you’d bring more clients like this,” Barnes told Tedesco. “This is the kind of stuff that moves me, where I just wish we had the opportunity to dive into more projects and expansion and growth like this throughout the county.”

Barnes elaborated on why projects like the addition at St. Jerome excite him so much after the meeting.

“Things like this make a greater impact on communities and families,” Barnes said. “It’s not so much about development and developers making money; this is about the education and viability of our students and our teachers. And I support that 2,000%.”

This was the first planning board meeting for Barnes, who was appointed this month by County Executive Aisha Braveboy. He replaces Peter Shapiro, who had served since April 2022.

“I’m excited to be amongst my colleagues,” Barnes said after the meeting.

Tedesco said that St. Jerome will come back before the board with a more specific site plan that will lay out what the addition will look like. He added that the detailed plan will incorporate elements from the existing school and from the historic setting and nature of Hyattsville.

At the meeting, the board also granted a final two-year extension on a plan to build a townhouse development near Oxon Hill Road.