The Board of Education of Charles County held two meetings last month, a regular meeting on Tuesday, April 11, and a work session on Monday, April 24. Agendas for both meetings are posted to BoardDocs. All Board meetings are streamed live at www.ccboe.com and archived on the Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) YouTube page at https://www.youtube.com/c/ccpsmd.

The following are important updates from the Board’s April 11 meeting.

Recognition of student state winners

The Board recognized the student state winners from Henry E. Lackey High School’s girls basketball team. Watch the recognition portion of the YouTube recording here.

Superintendent’s update

Superintendent Maria Navarro, Ed.D., in her report to the Board highlighted upcoming events including high school graduations, and a change in the last day of school for students and teachers. She also highlighted the Board of Commissioners’ upcoming release of the General Fund budget for fiscal year 2024, the CCPS budget and an update on the recent CCPS Town Hall meeting. Find the full report at the beginning of the meeting here.

School climate update

Marvin Jones, Ed.D., chief of schools, Kathy Kiessling, director of student services, Westlake High School Principal Diane Roberts, Benjamin Stoddert Middle School Principal Erica Williams, and Mt. Hope/Nanjemoy Elementary School Principal Michael Hoffman shared a PowerPoint on the school climate in CCPS. The presentation included how school climate is measured, current data, student violations to date, and data on the percentage of students committing violations in a three-year comparison. Dr. Jones also shared an update on the CCPS Code of Student Conduct and revision plans to align it with Maryland State codes. The update can be found on YouTube here. View the full report on BoardDocs.

Blueprint oral update

Christina Miller, coordinator of district innovation, shared an update on the status of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future implementation. The Board asked Miller questions on the process after submitting the draft implementation plan to the Maryland State Department of Education. View the full report on BoardDocs. The update can be found on YouTube here.

Legislative update

Eric Schwartz, staff attorney, updated the Board on various House and Senate bills that passed and/or failed during the recent legislative session. A full list can be found on BoardDocs. The full update can be found on YouTube here.

Recognition of resolutions, North Point Mock Trial team, students and employees

During the recognition portion of the meeting, the Board presented resolutions for May. The resolutions included Teacher Appreciation Week, Administrative Professionals Week, Child Nutrition Employee Appreciation Week, National Physical Education and Sport Week, and Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Watch the resolution portion of the meeting here.

The North Point Mock Trial team was also recognized for their achievements for winning first place in the circuit championship, making it to the state regional level championship in the final four and being one of the first CCPS teams to be named finalists at the state regional level.

The Board also recognized exemplary students and staff members from La Plata High School, Piccowaxen Middle School, Berry, Dr. Thomas L. Higdon and Eva Turner elementary schools. Find the start of the recognition portion of the meeting here.

Read about the recognized students.

Read about the recognized staff.

Calendar SY2024-2025

Linda Gill, Ed.D., executive director of schools, and Shelley Mackey, director of communications, shared a detailed PowerPoint on the CCPS 2024-2025 calendar planning process. Highlights included three different calendar proposals, committee recommendations and the Board’s review and approval process. View the full presentation on BoardDocs. Watch this portion of the meeting here.

Project status update

Michael Heim, chief of operations and supporting services, shared an oral update on projects underway throughout the school system such as upgrading HVAC systems, and plans for the groundbreaking ceremony for Elementary #23. Watch the full report on YouTube here. View the report on BoardDocs.

Action items

On the action item portion of the agenda, the Board approved minutes, personnel recommendations, Board work session minutes, Town Hall minutes and Board retreat minutes.

The following are important updates from the Board’s April 24 work session.

Equity taskforce workgroup update

Sylvia Royster, director of community engagement and equity, and Christine Paul, community engagement and equity specialist, shared a PowerPoint highlighting the scope, vision, mission, objectives and various work group presentations. Other presenters were Lora Bennett, executive director of IT Strategy, Michelle Reeves, science teacher at Milton M. Somers Middle School, Tangie Scales, principal at Gale-Bailey Elementary School, Tavon Myers, assistant principal at Malcolm Elementary School, Lewan Jones, CCPS director for compliance, Phil Jones, assistant principal at John Hanson Middle School, Doria Fleisher, community engagement coordinator with the Charles County Government, and community member, Pascale Small. The full report can be found on BoardDocs. Watch the full update on YouTube here.

Textbooks: Heritage Speaker course (Spanish) Part II and History

Kevin Lowndes, chief of teaching and learning, Jack Tuttle, social studies content specialist, and Linda McLaughlin, world language lead teacher, shared PowerPoint highlighting feedback from the community on the “U.S. History Interactive” textbook and the “En Voz Alta” textbook. Watch the full update on YouTube here. View the full report on BoardDocs here.

Action items

On the action item portion of the agenda, the Board approved personnel items.

About CCPS

Charles County Public Schools provides 27,598 students in grades prekindergarten through 12 with an academically challenging education. Located in Southern Maryland, Charles County Public Schools has 37 schools that offer a technologically advanced, progressive and high quality education that builds character, equips for leadership and prepares students for life, careers and higher education.

The Charles County public school system does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age or disability in its programs, activities or employment practices. For inquiries, please contact Kathy Kiessling, Title IX/ADA/Section 504 Coordinator (students) or Nikial M. Majors, Title IX/ADA/Section 504 Coordinator (employees/ adults), at Charles County Public Schools, Jesse L. Starkey Administration Building, P.O. Box 2770, La Plata, MD 20646; 301-932-6610/301-870-3814. For special accommodations call 301-934-7230 or TDD 1-800-735-2258 two weeks prior to the event.

CCPS provides nondiscriminatory equal access to school facilities in accordance with its Use of Facilities rules to designated youth groups (including, but not limited to, the Boy Scouts).