How two-dozen Prince George’s County schools drastically improved English test scores

As a way to boost her students’ vocabulary, LaTanya Sothern introduced a “word bank graveyard” at Excel Academy Public Charter School. It’s a figurative cemetery where basic words like “good,” “bad” and “nice” are laid to rest and replaced with multisyllabic words like “excellent,” “fabulous” and “incomparable.” It’s one of the methods the Prince George’s County principal says contributed to her school’s huge improvement in English Language Arts achievement since the pandemic.