The Board of Education’s next regular meeting is 1 p.m. on Tuesday, April 20. The Board will meet in person at the Jesse L. Starkey Administration Building. The Starkey Building is located at 5980 Radio Station Road in La Plata. The meeting will stream live on the Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) website, www.ccboe.com. CCPS also will post the meeting on CCPSTV under the Board meeting menu at ccboe.com.
Public forum for this meeting will be held in a hybrid format of both in-person and...
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
So. Md Education News
News from the local county public and private schools and colleges.
Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) begins Phase 4 of its reopening plan on Monday, April 19. To accommodate additional students at schools and centers, CCPS is updating curbside meal distribution site operating hours and ending its mobile meal bus services.
Effective April 19, curbside meal sites will operate 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at all 16 locations. The final day for the mobile meal bus service is Friday, April 16. Resources used to support the mobile meals bus program, such as...
Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) held its annual Mathematics, Engineering and Science Achievement (MESA) event in a virtual format this school year. Teams worked together for the past several months to solve real-world problems in different challenge areas. Students compete and are judged in three levels: elementary, middle and high school.
Projects were submitted electronically this year, and judges scored projects remotely. Teams that won first-place awards in their respective...
Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) recently honored its Teacher of the Year nominees in a virtual recognition video. The recognition featured nominees for the 2021 Washington Post Teacher of the Year and Charles County Teacher of the Year award programs. The Charles County Teacher of the Year, Dr. James Craik Elementary School fourth-grade teacher Alexis Eaton, was announced during the recognition. The recipient of the Charles County Washington Post finalist recognition will be announced...
Ninety percent of respondents to a recent survey about the School Resource Officer (SRO) program in Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) indicate having SROs assigned to schools is extremely important or important to them.
CCPS conducted a 2021 School Resource Officer (SRO) survey March 17 through 23. The online survey asked Charles County students, parents, school system staff and community members to weigh in on the program, which started in 1999. There were 5,627 respondents.
The survey...
In a world of hybrid teaching, Alexis Eaton is rocking it with her fourth graders. Like most Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) teachers, Eaton has some students in-person at school and some in the online virtual classroom. Eaton is almost always on her feet, navigating her desk and camera set up, moving around her classroom and making sure her students are having fun while learning. She challenges them to take ownership of their success while encouraging them to put forth their best...
Lolita Cariaso Kiorpes, a science teacher at North Point High School, was recently named a 2020 Outstanding Educator by the Maryland Association of Science Teachers. The award program honors educators for excellence in science teaching, administration and outreach. Kiorpes helped lead North Point to being the first Maryland school named a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Ocean Guardian School.
Students in North Point’s Ocean Guardian Club work together to support the...
Five Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) art teachers were recently recognized by the Maryland Art Education Association (MAEA) as outstanding educators.
The association named three teachers as CCPS Career Art Educators of the Year. They are Kristina Blakeslee of Maurice J. McDonough High School; Christine Chinault of Malcolm Elementary School; and Gayle Krauss of Piccowaxen Middle School.
Christin Downie of the Robert D. Stethem Educational Center and Caroline Metcalfe of Indian Head...
John Childers, a history teacher at La Plata High School, has been named the 2019-20 Mideast Section Boys Baseball Coach of the Year by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS). The Mideast section includes Delaware, Washington, D.C., Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.
Childers has been the head varsity baseball coach at La Plata for more than a decade, and has been playing the sport most of his life.
The recent honor came as a...
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) will not hold traditional high school proms or senior formals this school year.
High school prom dates are identified annually in the Parent Handbook/Calendar, but are subject to change. A committee of CCPS staff and administrators considered ways to alter the traditional prom to meet COVID guidelines, but after consulting with district and health department leaders, it was determined that CCPS is not able to safely host an...
Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) has partnered with Independent Electrical Contractors (IEC) Chesapeake to provide rising seniors with an opportunity to complete an electrical apprenticeship program. The program begins for accepted students this summer with on-the-job training, and a split training and class schedule for the 2021-22 school year.
The program includes 450 paid on-the-job training hours, 165 hours of classroom instruction, plus two national program certifications. The...
Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) will celebrate the Class of 2021 during in-person graduation ceremonies at Regency Furniture Stadium this spring. Set for May 28 through June 3, CCPS has partnered with Regency Furniture Stadium and the Charles County Government to provide the nearly 2,100 graduating seniors with the ability to celebrate in person. Last week, Gov. Larry Hogan announced the expansion of capacity for outdoor venues such as Regency Furniture Stadium to 50 percent.
COVID-19...
The Board of Education of Charles County and Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) are hosting a School Resource Officer (SRO) Town Hall on Monday, March 29. The Town Hall starts at 5 p.m. in the boardroom at the Jesse L. Starkey Administration Building at 5980 Radio Station Road in La Plata. The event will stream live starting at 5 p.m. at ccboe.com, and on Comcast Channel 96/Verizon Fios Channel 12.
At the start of the Town Hall, CCPS staff will provide an overview of the SRO program and...
Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) held the science and history fair portion of its HITS Expo virtually this year for students. The HITS, or History, Industry, Technology and Science, Expo is an annual CCPS event that combines the display of science and history fair projects with hands-on demonstration and live activities. Due to COVID-19, the in-person portion of the HITS Expo was canceled, but students were still encouraged to enter a science or history fair project for judging.
More...
The Board of Education at its March 9 meeting recognized two annual Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) resolutions. The resolutions highlight Month of the Young Child and National Student Leadership Week. The Board votes annually to accept resolutions.
CCPS celebrates Month of the Young Child annually in April. The national theme is Celebrating Our Youngest Learners. Month of the Young Child theme emphasizes that all children, regardless of their background, should be prepared and ready...
Phase 2 school bus routes for Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) students returning to in-person instruction on Monday, March 22, will be updated in ParentVue later today. This includes bus numbers, bus stop information as well as estimated pick-up and drop-off times for students. Transportation routes have only been established and assigned to Phase 2 students whose parents requested bus transportation for their child to and from school.
Parents can locate this information in ParentVue...
Student actors at some of Charles County’s high schools are performing this spring in virtual/outdoor theatre productions.
La Plata High School is offering several productions. Student actors will present a virtual one-act show, “The Radio Play Disaster,” starting March 26. The production will be available on demand for 24 hours through the Broadway on Demand platform. Interested viewers can contact Jennifer Joyner, La Plata theatre director, at jjoyner@ccboe.com for more information.
Next...
Registration for Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) kindergarten begins Monday, March 29. Maryland law requires students entering kindergarten to be five years old by Sept. 1 in the school year in which the child is registered. To register a child for kindergarten for the 2021-2022 school year, a child must be five years old on or before Sept. 1, 2021. All registrations must be completed through the CCPS online registration system.
At the time of registration, parents will need to know...
The application window for the Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) 2021-2022 school year prekindergarten program opens Monday, March 29. Students must be four years old on or before Sept. 1, 2021, to be eligible for prekindergarten. Admission is based on criteria and guidelines set by the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE). Admission to the prekindergarten program is not guaranteed.
To complete the prekindergarten application, parents will need to know what elementary school...
Five Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) students were recently named 2021 Carson Scholars. The Carson Scholars program recognizes students for high academic achievement, humanitarian qualities and community service.
Honored this year as new Carson Scholars are Keith Battle, fifth grade, William A. Diggs Elementary School; Grant Cooper, fifth grade, Dr. James Craik Elementary School; Liliana Gordon, junior, North Point High School; Makenna Harrington, fourth grade, Dr. Thomas L. Higdon...