By Tara Fischer

Staff Writer

Worcester County Public Schools’ summer academy and out-of-session programs continue to succeed.

At its Tuesday, Oct. 15 meeting, the Worcester County Board of Education heard a presentation from WCPS Coordinator of Instruction Tamara Mills on the system’s most recent summer academy and STATT (Skilled Trades, Agriculture, Tourism, and Technology) program.

The summer academy initiative services elementary, middle, and high school students, bridging the gap for kids who may need or desire supplemental help and getting them ready for the year ahead. Mills said that last summer, while there was a decline in the number of white and African American participants, special needs and multilingual attendance increased.

“That is awesome because those are our main target groups, and we need to get those kids ready for the next grade,” she said.

In addition to the standard reading, math, and science curriculum, the students were exposed to physical education, music, and/ or art elements to break up the academia. Through a partnership with the Worcester County Arts Council, WCPS brought artists into the elementary schools to provide creative lessons. Farming and agricultural education was this year’s theme and was also weaved into the summer academy as a primary component. For instance, Cross Farms, based in Berlin, partnered with the WCPS program.

“We know that agriculture is a big part of this area,” Mills said. “We know that, ultimately, we need more students going into agriculture, farming, and aquaculture, so we did embed that.”

The high school summer academy differs from the lower levels. Mills noted that ninth, 10th, 11th, and 12th graders in the program attend for only half a day. Additionally, SAT prep and driver’s ed are offered.

According to Mills, the summer academy was funded last year through the local operating budget, the remaining grant amount from the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund, 21st Century Community Learning grants, leftovers from the PreK Expansion Grant, and the early childhood Judy Center Grant.

“We are looking forward to searching for more grants and figuring out how we can fund next summer,” the coordinator of instruction added.

Mills also presented to the board a recap of last summer’s four-week STATT program, which is offered to rising students in grades eight through 12.

The initiative, funded by the Worcester County Commissioners, allows participants to explore pathways not offered in a typical school day. These include aquaculture, carpentry, plumbing, welding, culinary, 3D printing, masonry, robotics, digital art, laser cutting, fire science, and environmental/ agricultural science.

STATT was launched in 2022. Mills said that in its inaugural year, it had five pathways and approximately 60 attendees. Since then, it has grown to include 12 pathways and over 120 participants.

Mills said the program’s mission was for 100% of the students to score 80% or higher in the STATTS skills assessments. This year, however, the goal was narrowly missed, as only 90% hit that mark.

Mills maintained that she was still satisfied with the exam scores.

“Even though we did not meet that goal, I am excited and happy about 90% of our students having the skills necessary to progress in that profession,” she said.

The STATT camp also included a “Lunch and Learn.” Mills said that during an hour block, students spent 30 minutes eating and 30 minutes learning about a local business or trade. Representatives from Lower Shore Land Trust, Pocomoke River State Park, Marshall Creek Farms, the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore, and others were among this year’s partners.

While student and parent satisfaction was high, with the young participants’ average overall experience rating at 4.38/5 and guardians’ reporting 4.74/5, camp organizers intend to rework the “Lunch and Learn” segment.

“Some kids really loved them, but some kids are just not responding to that quite as well as we hoped, so we want to continue improving and working on that,” Mills said.

The STATT presentation and the plethora of pathways offered within the program were well-received by the board of education.

“I wish STATT camp had existed long ago when I was in high school,” board member Dr. Jon Andes said.