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Prince George's County school officials are planning to make adjustments to high school boundaries, but they want to hear suggestions from the public before they settle on a strategy.

"This format is a little different, and it is different in that we are soliciting comments from the community before we move into phase three," Superintendent William Hite Jr. said Jan. 28, referring to the third and final phase of school boundary changes in the county. "Once we have all of the information, we will go back, study that and come back with a plan."

The high school review is the final phase of an adjustment to county public school boundaries. Last year, the school board closed eight elementary and middle schools in the southern portion of the county to level out enrollment. Last month, boundary changes for elementary and middle schools in the north were announced.

However, the review of high school enrollment is expected to be a larger and more time-consuming task, said Lateefah Durant, the program manager for secondary school reform in the county.

"We're not talking about a quick fix or minor repair," Durant said. "This is going to be an extreme makeover."

The high school review will consider more factors than the previous adjustments. Officials hope to provide program equity and curriculum rigor by changing boundaries in a way that provides equal access to programs — while also leveling out enrollment.

The meeting Jan. 28 at Forestville Military Academy in Upper Marlboro was attended by about 30 residents and was the first of four community forums on the proposal. The second forum, scheduled for Feb. 3, was canceled and has not yet been rescheduled. The final two, each scheduled for 6:30 p.m., will be tonight at Frederick Douglass High School in Upper Marlboro and Feb. 16 at Parkdale High School in Riverdale.

The general plan has four stages of priorities: raising expectations, providing increased course options, successfully transitioning students between grades and empowering teachers and staff.

Durant said the plan will help ensure all students graduate from high school ready for college or the workforce, she said. For example, the county currently does not require high school students to take a foreign language or Algebra 2, Durant said. However, she said both courses are needed to enroll in most four-year colleges.

"Right now of our most successful students may not meet the entry requirements to college," she said.

To increase course options, officials are considering sectioning the county into five geographical clusters, which would each provide a science and technology program, a career and technical program and an International Baccalaureate program, which is similar to the college-level courses available in the Advanced Placement program.

School officials are hoping the plan would allow students to pick from a variety of programs and schools in their cluster.

Transition success will be aided by a dropout prevention plan and creation of a tuition-based summer school for sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders.

The final priority of empowering faculty will include identifying at-risk teachers and students, and monitoring performance.

A secondary school reform team has been created with members from various school departments, including budget, curriculum and instruction, special education, accountability and students services. These members will be responsible for formulating plans in accordance with the plan outline and feedback from the community, Durant said.