The Worcester County Board of Education provided updates on the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, among several other actions, at its latest meeting on July 9.
Berlin Intermediate School students are pictured in a classroom on the first day of the 2024-25 academic year.
Photo courtesy Worcester County Public Schools
By Tara Fischer, Staff Writer
The Worcester County Board of Education provided updates on the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, approved school developments, reappointed their attorney and welcomed public comments at their July 9 meeting.
The Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, passed in 2021, includes “comprehensive changes to nearly every aspect of Maryland’s public education system. Increasing annual education funding by over $3.8 billion over the next ten years, the Blueprint will enrich student experiences, accelerate improvements to student outcomes, and improve the quality of education in Maryland.”
Per the plan’s timeline, local school systems should have begun implementing a new “career ladder system” aligned with the state’s requirements by July 2024.
Worcester County Public Schools Chief Academic Officer Denise Shorts said that the board submitted the second piece of their implementation plan to the MSDE (Maryland State Department of Education) in early May and received feedback on July 1. The document, which can be found on the system’s website, hits the five pillars that Maryland schools must aim to enhance at their facilities. These include early childhood education, high-quality and diverse teachers and leaders, college and career readiness, resources to ensure all students are successful, and governance and accountability.
For example, in their submitted plan, WCPS noted the challenges and strategies for encouraging students to enroll in non-traditional gender CTE (career and technical education) programs to foster college and career readiness.
To address the obstacle, the school system’s career coaches worked with students to explore and consider non-traditional careers through the Schoolinks platform and facilitated field trips to non-traditional gender-owned businesses.
“These efforts aimed to broaden students’ perspectives and encourage greater diversity in CTE program enrollment,” the outlined plan reads.
Shorts said the updated proposal addressing MSDE’s feedback is due by July 18. The board hopes to receive the final “check off,” which guarantees the system gets state funding, by the end of the summer.
The school system’s facilities planner, Joe Price, attended the July 9 meeting to present the Maryland Mesonet Project and seek board approval for the weather station at Stephen Decatur Middle School.
The Maryland Department of Emergency Management and the University of Maryland partnered to create a weather station network throughout the state. Price said the venture will result in 70 total stations in Maryland that will provide data to improve forecasts and severe weather warnings to the public. The Maryland Mesonet team has determined that SDMS meets the criteria as a site.
The Berlin facility was chosen because the area planned for the installation, the middle of the field at the far-left side of the Stephen Decatur property line, lacks outside forces that may impose bias or inaccurate data. The space was also determined to be a sufficient representation of the location. The board unanimously approved the project.
The Worcester County Board of Education approved the reappointment of the school system’s attorney, Heather Stansbury, of the law firm Ayres, Jenkins, Gordy, and Almand for the 2024-2025 academic year. Stansbury has served in the position since 2017.
“I have the opportunity to work with her as a board representative, and I have never been affiliated with more of a professional, a well-thought-out when it comes to responses person,” WCPS Superintendent Lou Taylor said of the reappointment. “… I want this community to know that we have one of the best board attorneys I have worked with over my many years here in Worcester County.”
The board also heard public comments. Former Stephen Decatur High School teacher Gwen Lehman went before the body to advocate for arts education. The request comes as issues over county funding plague WCPS.
“As the board of education central office and each faculty and staff of our 14 schools face the challenge of working with the current county government over issues of adequate funding, I ask that the board continue to support the arts and arts-related programs in Worcester County Public Schools,” Lehman said. “Our music, art, creative writing, and theater programs have enriched the lives of thousands of Worcester County students and given them a place to feel safe and valued.”
“These programs have led to careers in academia and the arts and entertainment industries,” she continued. “From sound technicians, theater teachers, actors, DJs, scriptwriters, location scouts, production assistants, producers, opera singers, band directors, studio musicians, college professors, and sword smiths, students graduating from Worcester County Public Schools have used their arts education to launch and secure careers in multiple fields of the entertainment and performance industries as well as in the field of education. Too often, tough choices must be made. I hope you will continue to see the academic value and personal benefits of arts education in the lives of our students.”
At the previous board of education meeting, member Katie Addis asked the body to consider extending two additional night meetings to next year’s schedule. The group still discussed the matter while Addis was absent at the July 9 gathering.
Board president Todd Ferrante said that he and his colleagues have compared attendance at evening and afternoon meetings and have found no difference.
“If there is a need or we see a push, we will certainly review it as a board,” he said. “We are inclusive, and we want to ensure everyone can contact us. We want to hear from everyone.”
The president also emphasized that meetings are live-streamed and uploaded to YouTube for individuals to view at their leisure. The board can also be contacted through email or on their website’s contact form.
“There are many ways to reach us without coming before us,” Ferrante said. “… We have many avenues to contact us. Even if you were to call the central office asking for a board member to call you, we would be happy to get back to you at any time.”
The Worcester County Board of Education meets in open session again on Tuesday, Aug. 20, at 12:30 p.m.