BoardNotes: November 2022

Caroline County Board of Education meetings are livestreamed and may also be viewed after the meeting has concluded. For information about the Board of Education, including agendas and meeting schedules, please visit the Leadership page of our website.

The Board and those in attendance at the meeting observed a moment of silence for Hannah Gowe Gevauden, a Federalsburg Elementary School teacher who passed away in August.

At the start of each meeting, the board of education president reads the Mission Statement, "In partnership with families and community, we prepare all students to achieve college, career, and life readiness through a challenging and progressive educational experience."

Ms. Elizabeth Pinkett and Ms. Carol Seward, representing the Caroline County Retired School Personnel Association, accepted the appreciation of the Board and Dr. Simmons for their recent donations to each school for Back to School supplies.

• Mr. Barton highlighted the excellent work accomplished during the August Board Retreat, All Staff Kickoff, New Teacher events and the first day of school.
• Mr. Jones expressed excitement and gratitude for all the events leading up the first day of school with new teachers, the teachers' Kickoff event, and the first day of school.
• Ms. Wayman highlighted the excellent attendance at Lockerman Middle & Preston Elementary Back to School Nights. Ms. Wayman also attended two MABE workshops.
• Mr. Plutschak highlighted the MABE New Board Member Orientation and the first day of school. He visited both Colonels and noted the students were excited and happy.
• Ms. DiGiacomo highlighted visiting with staff at the New Teacher Breakfast, as well as the LMS and CCTC Luncheons.

Superintendent's Report

Dr. Simmons highlighted a very successful first day of school. He shared that CCPS welcomed 5,133 students, which was an increase of 95 students from last year. He applauded all the planning and dedication of staff and families. Dr. Simmons also met with State Superintendent Mohammed Choudhury and State Board Member Warner Sumpter at Federalsburg Elementary for a walk-through.

Student Reports

North Caroline High School Student Board Representative Leslie Monter Casio highlighted events and information for the schools in the north county including: dedication of staff to get the schools ready, successful Back to School/Meet the Teacher nights, new teacher events, and new principals.

Colonel Richardson High School Student Board Representative Levi Divjak highlighted events and information for the schools in the south county including: successful Back to School/Meet the Teacher nights, new teacher events, school supply drive and giveaways, upcoming dances and homecoming spirit week. He gave a big shout out to the Colonel High new principal, Mr. Sherman for starting the school year off strong with high expectations for all students.

The Board approved personnel items as presented by Dr. Robert Willoughby, Supervisor of Human Resources. They also approved the minutes from the August board of education meetings.

The Board approved the designation of the following employees involved in negotiations as “exempt administrators” and made appointments to Negotiations Teams representing the Board.

CCBOE accepted the recommendation to designate the following as Exempt Administrators for FY24:

• Dr. Tara A. Downes, Assistant Superintendent of Instruction
• Lindsey M. McCormick, Director of College and Career Readiness
• William J. Mengel, Director of Operations
• Erin B. Thornton, CPA, Chief Financial Officer
• Dr. Robert W. Willoughby, Supervisor of Human Resources
• Deborah E. Siachos, Coordinator of Human Resources
• Charles E. Ackerson, Data Systems Manager
• Jennifer W. Yost, Supervisor of Health Services
• E. Neil Lambert, Assistant Principal, Colonel Richardson Middle School
• Amanda B. Brewster, Supervisor of Food Services

The Board accepted the recommendation for the following persons as the Negotiating Team to conduct negotiations with the Caroline County Educators’ Association (Teachers):

• Dr. Robert W. Willoughby, Chief Negotiator
• Deborah E. Siachos
• Erin B. Thornton
• Charles E. Ackerson

The Board accepted the recommendation for the following persons to compose the Negotiating Team to conduct negotiations with the Caroline County Educators’ Association (ESP):

• Dr. Robert W. Willoughby, Chief Negotiator
• Erin B. Thornton
• Deborah E. Siachos
• William J. Mengel
• Jennifer W. Yost
• Amanda B. Brewster
• E. Neil Lambert

The Board approved the FY25 Capital Improvement Program.

A Capital Improvement Program (CIP) is required by the Interagency Committee for School Construction (IAC) to be updated and approved annually by all local boards of education. Following the Board of Education’s acceptance and approval, the CIP is also submitted to the County Commissioners for its acceptance.

The proposed FY25 CIP reflects the Board’s priorities as shown in the previously approved Educational Facilities Master Plan. A summary of all current and future years’ projects is included on Form 102.4, and can be found on page 2 of this document. This document outlines future roof projects to include Phase 2 of the North Caroline High School roof project. The partial roof replacement at Preston Elementary School would be funded by Healthy School Facility Fund through the IAC.

Summer Programs Update

Director of CCR Lindsey McCormick provided an update on Summer Programming for students. She informed the Board that attendance at the elementary level increased by 50% in all schools. Ms. McCormick reported the positive feedback on changes made to the middle school programming this year as they offered career exploration in addition to reading and math skills. She also noted a decrease in students needing credit recovery this year.

Services were also provided for students with disabilities and MLL learners to participate in whole class and small group work in reading and math curriculum. Ms. McCormick closed out her presentation by mentioning the support the Operations Department and Support Staff provided to make summer programming a success.

Capital Projects Update

Director of Operations Bill Mengel presented a summary of the work completed over the summer by all the Operations staff. Projects included installing ADA compliant ramps to portables, refinishing 3 of 4 gym floors, deep cleaning, waxed floors, installed vape sensors, cafe upgrades including wall murals and new kitchen equipment. Significant landscaping and concrete work was done to improve safety, and there were various unexpected projects like rebuilding bleachers, HVAC repairs, and fixing leaky pipes.

Staffing Update

Supervisor of Human Resources Rob Willoughby informed the board regarding current staffing levels. He compared new hire metrics by school, race/ethnicity and gender, where new employees came from (1 out of 5 were from Caroline County), what they were doing last year, and the total number of positions processed.

Board Member Ms. Wayman asked the Board to consider developing an education foundation. Dr. Simmons informed the Board that there had been one in the past, and Mr. Tolbert Rowe had recently started working with Mid-Shore Community Foundation to get the Charter started again. Dr. Simmons clarified that CCPS would provide support but would not run the Foundation and noted that Caroline County is the only district on the shore without a foundation.

Spring 2023 MCAP Results

Supervisor of Data & Research Melissa Mulligan presented the most recent test scores received from Spring MCAP. There was lengthy discussion around the learning loss related to COVID-19 closures and the different effects on all contents.

The data compared student proficiency in Caroline County to other counties across the state in Science, Math and ELA. Ms. Mulligan compared CCPS data in 2022 to the data for 2023.

Science:

Supervisor of Instruction for Science Amy Towers explained to the Board that during COVID-19 closures, science was a subject that students did not get due to a lack of specific supplies and equipment resulting in some cohorts being further behind than others. She also noted that CCPS is moving toward a phenomena-based curriculum with more application versus memorization and regurgitation.

Math:

Supervisor of Instruction for Math Nicole VonDenBosch noted that with the implementation of the new math curriculum, more gains are expected next year. One significant accomplishment she pointed out were the gains in Algebra I. She also informed the Board that they are putting in more interventions in the middle school, and Multilingual teachers are providing support in math classes and attending specific professional development around this subject for MLL students.

English Language Arts (ELA):

Supervisor of Instruction for ELA Katey Allis-Fisher noted significant increases in grades 3 and 6 but also the struggles in grades 4 and 5 due to COVID-19 closures. She also discussed the in-depth LETRS training that all elementary teachers and co-teachers are now finishing up.

The group discussed the value of testing as the results are used to determine interventions and supports needed for each individual student. They also discussed the importance of the CUSP data as it shows the impact just one question can have on whether a student is designated proficient. The group also had a lengthy discussion around testing stamina and testing anxiety in students.

Presentation

Dr. Willoughby reviewed current recruiting practices including staff involvement and recruiting trips, follow-up practices with applicants, as well as collecting and analyzing data. He reviewed places they recruited this year with an emphasis on HBCUs and efforts to expand to new locations. The recruiting teams weighed the benefits and challenges of traveling farther south to begin building relationships with new institutions and the plan to continue that expansion.

Dr. Willoughby informed the Board of next year's plan to host a training session for internal recruiters, and the potential benefits of assigning 3-5 people to recruiting teams to allow for more on-site interviewing and hiring. The department plans to focus on attending only education career fairs, strengthening relationships with local campuses, Grow Your Own strategies such as scholarship recipients, student teachers, supporting support personnel to continue their education, and implementing best practices for more diverse hiring. The group also discussed the national shortage and the effects of Blueprint for Maryland’s Future on recruiting and hiring.

#OneCaroline #CarolineFamily

Email: pio@ccpsstaff.org
Website: carolineschools.org
Location: Caroline County, Maryland
Phone: 410.479.1460
Facebook: facebook.com/carolineschools.org
Twitter: @CarolineCoPS

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