May is Mental Health Awareness Month and May 7 is Children’s Mental Health Matters Day.
To participate, wear something green to raise awareness of the importance of children’s mental health and if posting on social media, use the hashtag #breakthestigma.
Each week during the month, students at the elementary, middle and high school levels are able to access grade-level material to support their mental health.
Information is available online at...
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So. Md Education News
News from the local county public and private schools and colleges.
Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) is preparing to honor the Class of 2020 during virtual graduations. Graduations for the Class of 2020 will begin at 7 a.m., June 11 and air on Comcast Channel 96, Verizon FiOs 12, YouTube and Vimeo.
Superintendent Kimberly Hill announced the decision today to change graduation ceremonies from in-person events to virtual in a letter to high school seniors and their parents. “Due to the ongoing public health crisis created by COVID-19, CCPS is planning...
The Board of Education’s next monthly meeting is Tuesday, May 12. The Board is observing social distancing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and it will conduct the meeting via teleconference. There is no public access to the Jesse L. Starkey Administration Building on Radio Station Road in La Plata; however, the meeting will stream live on ccboe.com and air live on Comcast Channel 96 and Verizon FiOs Channel 12. Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) will rebroadcast the meeting as well as post...
An important element of any strong instructional program is its leader. Someone who is knowledgeable, passionate and committed to the success of both students and staff. For the Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) secondary education program, that person is Joan Withers. Withers has spent most of her career in education with CCPS, starting first as a high school English teacher and now as director of secondary education leading a team of more than 26 content specialists and staff.
Withers...
Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative, known as SMECO, recently named six Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) teachers 2020 Outstanding Teacher Honorees. The annual awards program recognizes teachers for outstanding achievements in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).
Honored for accomplishments in math are Laura Buzzell of Henry E. Lackey High School, Donna Day of Theodore G. Davis Middle School and Nicole Joly-O’Brien of J.C. Parks Elementary School. SMECO recognized them...
The Board of Education unanimously voted April 21 to accept a recommendation to suspend a number of Board policies including those related to graduation ceremonies and eligibility for fall extracurricular activities based on a student’s fourth-quarter grade point average.
The suspension of policies allows Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) staff the flexibility to make decisions in the wake of the Maryland school closure that was initially put in place March 16 in an effort to slow the...
The Board of Education at its April 21 meeting approved a change to the Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) grading policy for students. The policy addresses changes necessary due to the statewide school closure and how teachers can provide fourth-quarter grades. CCPS school buildings are currently closed through May 15; however, teachers continue to provide instruction through distance learning.
The approved grading policy gives credit to students participating in distance learning...
The College Board recently scheduled dates for online Advanced Placement (AP) exams for students. Each exam includes a primary test date in May and a make-up date for students. The schedule is posted at https://apcoronavirusupdates.collegeboard.org/students/taking-ap-exams/ap-exam-schedule. All primary exam dates fall between May 11-22 with make-up dates on June 1-5.
The schedule includes specific information about each subject exam, such as the number of questions students can expect, the...
Dr. Karen Salmon, state superintendent of Maryland public schools, announced today that schools will continue to be closed through May 15.
School systems around the state, including Charles County Public Schools (CCPS), are closed in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic. As Maryland officials report more cases of COVID-19 in the state, schools will remain closed.
“School systems have also started to develop plans for additional distance learning and the recovery of lost...
When Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) closed March 16 in an effort to slow the spread of cornonavirus (COVID-19), school nurses left behind their offices, but not their medical knowledge and drive to help people stay healthy.
Nearly 50 school nurses work in CCPS – a mix of employees of the Charles County Department of Health and agency nurses. Since schools closed in mid-March, school nurses have been staffing the COVID-19 call center for the health department from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m...
The Board of Education’s next monthly meeting is Tuesday, April 21. The Board is observing social distancing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and it will conduct the meeting entirely via teleconference. There will be no public access to the Jesse L. Starkey Administration Building on Radio Station Road in La Plata; however, the meeting will stream live on ccboe.com and air live on Comcast Channel 96 and Verizon FiOs Channel 12. Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) will rebroadcast the meeting...
The next round of learning materials and lesson plans for Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) students will be available on the school system website, www.ccboe.com, on Friday, April 17. Plans include elementary school lessons and Apex Learning materials for the two-week period of April 20 through May 1. CCPS is closed through April 24. CCPS has not received any new direction from the Maryland State Department of Education or State Superintendent of Schools as to when schools will reopen...
Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) is launching Microsoft Teams this week to aid students and parents with distance learning. This is the second part of a distance-learning plan implemented by CCPS to ensure students are learning during the school closure. Starting Wednesday, April 15 teachers will begin to use Teams, a collaborative learning tool that features a classroom set up in Microsoft Office 365.
About Teams
Teachers can use Microsoft Teams to talk with students, share...
Due to inclement weather, Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) is closing all meal distribution sites today, Monday, April 13, 2020. The closing also cancels distribution of laptops and instructional packets. Principals will reschedule laptop distribution and CCPS will reopen meal distribution sites on Tuesday, April 14, 2020. Visit the CCPS website at ccboe.com for the most up-to-date information.
Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) continues to serve thousands of meals a week to children 18 and younger as the statewide school closure stretches to April 24. The first week of the meal distribution at eight initial sites saw 11,000 meals given out over five days. By the second week of the original closure, three more meal sites were opened. The distribution numbers continue to climb, Crystal Richardson, supervisor of food and nutrition services, said. “Last week we did over 32,000...
Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) has a Spanish hotline for the community. CCPS encourages parents and students to use the hotline for questions about distance learning. Callers will reach a staff member who speaks Spanish. The hotline can accept calls, voicemail, and text messages. If callers receive a busy signal, they can leave their name, phone number, and a brief summary of their question or concern. A CCPS staff member will return the call.
The phone number for the Spanish...
The Board of Education during its April 3 WebEx meeting approved opening schools during spring break for instruction days for students. Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) will be open April 10, April 13 and April 14 for distance learning instruction for students, and work days for staff.
CCPS will have to apply for a waiver from the Maryland State Board of Education to open April 10 and April 13, which are designated state holidays. The Board approved the opening of schools to support...
Charles Co. CCPS implements protocols at distribution sites for meals and instruction packet pick up
In order to make picking up instructional packets easier at distribution sites, Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) is asking parents to follow a few protocols.
Parents must stay in their vehicle throughout the entire process.
If possible, parents should wear a mask and gloves.
Parents must physically pick packets up from the table; staff will not hand them off. Process might change if it is windy.
Help prevent delays by avoiding long discussions with staff; use the AskCCPS tab at...
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://tinyurl.com/ug38rwa. 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 academically challenging education. Located in Southern...
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...