Meet and Greet Greenbelt Elementary's New Principal

A small gathering of parents, teachers, students and fellow education professionals came to on Wednesday to meet the new principal, Monica Gaines.

Peggy Higgins, Prince George's School Board member (District 2), came out to Greenbelt for the occasion. Higgins expressed confidence in Gaines, saying "She's so warm and open. I think she's going to fit right in."

Gaines has plans for the school and told Patch, the new theme for the year is: Growing Young Minds to New Heights. The school is already doing well and the theme reflects that, she explained.

Although she feels the school is in good shape, Gaines wants to allow teachers more time for collaborative talks and looking at lessons, she said.

One idea Gaines discussed for making this possible was by placing physical education and music back to back. She is also considering getting special teachers and some substitute teachers to spend time with the students and free up teacher time. Gaines is in the planning stages, so she is still determining which route to choose. However she goes about it, she wants to give teachers more time to plan and collaborate, she explained.

In her most recent work, before coming to coming to Greenbelt Elementary, Gaines served six years as an instructional specialist at Prince George's County Public Schools. 

Gaines replaces Kimberly Seidel, who is now the new principal at Rockledge Elementary School in Bowie.