So. Md Education News

News from the local county public and private schools and colleges.
Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) today launched the online Apex Learning program for all middle and high school students. All secondary students have an assigned mentor teacher who will monitor progress. Mentor teachers are contacting students to provide expectations and assistance. Included in the first lesson for April 3 is a video tutorial each student needs to watch to learn how to navigate Apex. The video is located in the Apex program, but traffic to the website is causing the...
Distance learning for all Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) students begins Friday, April 3. The system is using two different methods to deliver instruction – paper-based packets with lesson plans focused on reading, math, science and social studies for elementary school students, and online content through the Apex Learning program for all middle and high school students. All distance learning lessons and activities are reviewed by CCPS content specialists. Distance learning materials...
The Board of Education of Charles County is hosting a virtual meeting at 1:30 p.m. Friday, April 3 through WebEx. The public can watch the meeting at https://ccboe.webex.com/ccboe/onstage/g.php?MTID=e3831ee46db511c73f541c375c50322e7. The agenda is as follows and is subject to change. Call to order – 1:30 p.m. Agenda – Discussion of 2019-2020 school calendar Adjournment About CCPS Charles County Public Schools provides 27,521 students in grades prekindergarten through 12 with an...
Dr. J. Scott Smith, Superintendent of Schools, 301-475-5511, ext. 32178 Dr. Jeff Walker, Assistant Superintendent of Supporting Services, 301-475-4256, ext. 7 LEONARDTOWN, MD – St. Mary’s County Public Schools will provide a drive-up lunch service from April 6-17, 2020, Monday-Friday, at the locations listed below from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. daily. Please note there will be no school site meal distribution on the designated holidays of Friday, April 10, 2020, and Monday, April 13, 2020...
The Board of Education of Charles County and Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) are evaluating ways to provide instructional time for students. Per Maryland law, CCPS is required to provide 180 days of instructional time for students. Due to the school closure in place by Governor Hogan and the Maryland State Superintendent of Schools, schools are closed for students through April 24. Any waiver to the 180-day requirement would be determined by the Maryland State Board of Education. The...
With the Maryland school closure extending through April 24, Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) technology staff is preparing to distribute laptops to students who need them to complete distance learning assignments. Some laptops will be distributed later this week, others will be ready next week. On March 13, the last day students and staff were in schools before the closure, students took a two-question survey, answering if they have internet at home and if they have a device to...
CSM Foundation Initiates CSM Hawks Student Emergency Fund The College of Southern Maryland (CSM) announces that it will maintain a virtual learning environment through April 30. Access to CSM’s campuses remains restricted to pre-approved and authorized personnel and all CSM work functions will continue to operate remotely through April 24. These dates may be extended as CSM joins its fellow Marylanders in the battle against the spread of the COVID-19 virus. “Because there remains a great...
The application process begins today for the Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) prekindergarten program for the 2020-21 school year. Students must be 4 years old by Sept. 1 to be eligible for prekindergarten. Admission is based on criteria and guidelines set by the Maryland State Department of Education and is not guaranteed. Due to the school closure mandate in place, CCPS is currently closed through April 24. During the closure, all prekindergarten applications for new families, as well...
Registration begins online today for Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) students entering kindergarten at the start of the 2020-21 school year. State law requires students entering kindergarten to be 5 years old by Sept. 1 in the school year in which the child is registered. Parents can find out what school their child is zoned to attend by entering their home address in School Locator, a mapping system available at https://www.ccboe.com/index.php/school-locator. Due to the school closure...
SMCM Student Dillon Waters Awarded Funds from Cove Point National Heritage to Support St. Mary’s Project Aileen Bailey March 30, 2020 - 10:40 am March 30, 2020 Dillon Waters, senior biology major, was recently awarded funds ($1,020) from Cove Point National Heritage to support his St. Mary’s Project titled, “Comparison of Traditional Freshwater Sampling Methods versus eDNA Water Sampling to Assess Aquatic Biodiversity in Maryland Streams.” Dillon’s St. Mary’s Project under the mentorship...
Effective Tuesday, March 31, staff at the 11 Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) meal distribution sites can provide parents food without their child being present. However, the pick-up person must be a child’s parent or guardian. Parents/guardians must show staff their child’s CCPS student identification (ID) badge or report card copy showing their student ID number. Parents with children not yet enrolled in school should attempt to bring some type of age verification to show to site...
Professor of History Christine Adams’ New Book Now Available Michael Bruckler March 27, 2020 - 3:43 pm March 27, 2020 Professor of History Christine Adams’ new book, “The Creation of the French Royal Mistress: From Agnès Sorel to Madame Du Barry,” (2020, Penn State University Press) is now available. The description: “Kings throughout medieval and early modern Europe had extraconjugal sexual partners. Only in France, however, did the royal mistress become a quasi-institutionalized...
As the school closure has been extended to April 24 in an effort to slow the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19), Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) classroom and special education teachers are preparing to deliver distance learning assignments. Teachers will also establish “office hours” that will allow them to communicate with students and answer questions through email. When Maryland State Superintendent Karen Salmon initially closed Maryland public schools from March 16 to 27, the third...
St. Mary’s College of Maryland Partners with St. Mary’s County Health Department on Science of COVID-19 Michael Bruckler March 27, 2020 - 11:07 am March 27, 2020 St. Mary’s College of Maryland (SMCM) and St. Mary’s County Health Department (SMCHD) are coordinating efforts to launch a COVID-19 Scientific Advisory Group. A thorough understanding of the rapidly evolving science of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is critical to the public health and medical management of the pandemic. The...
Dr. J. Scott Smith, Superintendent of Schools, 301-475-5511, ext. 32178 Dr. Jeff Walker, Assistant Superintendent of Supporting Services, 301-475-4256, ext. 7 LEONARDTOWN, MD – With increased flexibility to the guideline of the Summer Meals Program, St. Mary’s County Public Schools will be offering breakfast, lunch, supper and snack at 4 locations. Community members will drive up and receive all meals for the day conveniently packed in one grab and go bag for children 18 years and younger...
Cellular hotspots are now available to the public in parking lots at four Charles County public schools. Charles County Public Schools (CCPS), in partnership with AT&T FirstNet, has purchased and placed public access WiFi cellular hotspots at Piccowaxen Middle School, Matthew Henson Middle School, Mt. Hope Nanjemoy Elementary School and T.C. Martin Elementary School. CCPS chose the hotspot locations using information from its recent student technology survey, Comcast and Verizon hotspot...
Assistant Professor Malisch Gives Invited Talk at Williams College Aileen Bailey March 26, 2020 - 11:52 am March 26, 2020 Jessica Malisch, assistant professor of biology, recently gave an invited talk at Williams College titled, “Should I Stay Or Should I Go Now? Predictors of Facultative Altitudinal Migration in Mountain White-crowned Sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys oriantha).” In this presentation, Malisch discussed notable declines in bird population density over the last 40 year...
Dr. Karen Salmon, state superintendent of Maryland public schools, announced today that schools will continue to be closed through April 24. School systems around the state, including Charles County Public Schools (CCPS), are closed in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan issued an executive order earlier this week closing all nonessential businesses to slow the transmission of coronavirus (COVID-19). As Maryland officials report more cases of COVID-19 in...
Professor Todd Eberly Latest Book Published Michael Bruckler March 24, 2020 - 12:09 pm March 24, 2020 If you are spending your days at home and need a good book to read, Todd Eberly, professor of political science and public policy at St. Mary’s College, recently had his latest book published. “How Trump Happened: A System Shock Decades in the Making” (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, March 2020), focuses on the 2016 election of President Donald Trump, but is also relevant to the...
The College Board last week announced a change to the 2019-20 Advanced Placement (AP) testing season in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19). Due to nationwide school closures, the College Board is offering students access to remote-learning activities and the option to take a 45-minute exam online. According to the College Board, students who are already registered for an exam can choose to cancel at no charge. The College Board will provide two dates for each AP subject exam – the dates...
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