In a reversal of an earlier decision, the Prince George’s County school superintendent announced on June 4 that the Chinese immersion programs at Paint Branch Elementary School in College Park, Greenbelt Middle School and Largo High School will continue with full funding for another year.
Earlier this year, the county proposed to close the all-student immersion program at Paint Branch, which costs approximately $1.2 million a year to operate with 12 to 15 bilingual teachers and a dedicated dean. In addition, county officials said they intended to phase out the smaller programs at Greenbelt Middle and Largo High by denying admission to new sixth- and ninth-graders but allowing students already enrolled to continue in immersion until they graduated.
“I’m celebrating today,” Paint Branch PTA member Alexandra “Sasha” Tyukavina said. “There was so much concern. … This year, we’re taking the win because it’s been such a long and uncertain process.”
The turnabout took Paint Branch’s principal, faculty and parents by surprise after they had orchestrated a way to keep half of the school’s students on a schedule in which they learned Mandarin, math and science from a teacher who conducted the classes in Chinese, and English, social studies and health in English.
Hendershot said he did not expect the about-face from the county, but noted, “At this point, nothing really surprises me. Throughout the whole process, anything could happen and I was prepared to make it kind of happen with whatever decision was made.”
In fact, Hendershot and his staff, believing the county had canceled the school’s immersion curriculum, had devised a strategy to make immersion—now required for all students from kindergarten through fifth grade—optional and would lower enrollment in the program to approximately half of the school’s 500 pupils.
Under that plan, which Hendershot announced in April, parents could opt into the program through a lottery until the designated seats were filled.
Parents who chose to opt out of immersion for their children would have been able to do so.
Then, in a message to parents and school administrators on June 4—three days after County Executive Aisha Braveboy announced the appointment of Shawn Joseph as permanent superintendent, Joseph said administrators had found a way to pay for the immersion tracks by “strategically realigning funds across our planned AI, professional development and innovation work,” according to a statement released by Prince George’s County Public Schools.
“We have found a way to bridge the gap,” the statement continued. “Thanks to system-wide efficiency efforts already underway, the district will still move forward with key technology and innovation priorities while fully preserving language immersion programs.”
Board of Education member Jonathan Briggs, whose district includes College Park, said he was unaware of Joseph’s decision until he received the June 4 statement.
“This is great news,” he said. “This is exactly what everybody wants to hear, but it’s also surprising because we didn’t have the money at one point, and now we do have the money but it’s not coming from additional funding from the [Prince George’s] County Council.”
The council approved a $2.97 billion budget for public schools that did not include an additional $50 million requested by the superintendent and board. That extra allocation would have partially funded immersion programs.
“The mechanics of how that is going to happen is not clear right now,” Briggs, who did not run for re-election and will leave the board in December, said. “Right now, we have gotten confirmation from the superintendent, but the board has not had an opportunity discuss” where the money is coming from.
The board will finalize its budget for fiscal year 2027, which begins on July 1, at its June 25 meeting.
Hendershot credited Paint Branch parents and community members who aggressively advocated for the continuation of the school’s immersion program.
“It certainly brought attention to the issue and it certainly made our parents’ voices be heard,” Hendershot said, adding that many city, county and state officials supported the program.
“They listened to it,” he said. “At least they began the conversation because of that, and in those discussions, they decided that there would be a benefit to continue immersion.”
Those advocates also pressed for the Greenbelt Middle School and Largo High School programs to continue. Paint Branch graduates may choose to transfer to Greenbelt Middle’s Chinese immersion program, and Greenbelt graduates may move to Largo High’s track.
Paint Branch’s 2026 graduates received letters during the first week of June asking if they would be transferring to Greenbelt Middle. Buck Lodge Middle School, which does not have immersion, is the usual destination for College Park students.
Tyukavina said parents and other advocates are prepared to start a campaign for permanent funding.
“The programs are at least preserved for the next year,” Tyukavina said, noting, “I hope it’s not a fire drill next year. [We’re going to] reach out to the school board proactively. … We’re happy to be involved in any further conversations.”