Dorchester County Public Schools -

Summertime, and the living is easy, unless you’re a custodian with Dorchester County Public Schools! Our school custodial teams are working under a deadline to do the big jobs involved with a deep clean to ensure our schools are in their best shape for the return of staff and students. Here are just a few of them doing their thing! Thank you to all our custodians! #DCPS23NoMore

Say hello to both new faces and familiar faces now in new places! During this summer, DCPS has welcomed new administrators and supervisors through promotions and new hires as well as movement between schools. Mace’s Lane Middle School: Mr. Charles Treft has joined the school as Principal and Ms. Tana Ellis is the new Assistant Principal. Sandy Hill Elementary School: Dr. Amie Macbeth has joined the school as Assistant Principal. Choptank Elementary School: Mr. Brian Morley, formerly a teacher at Maple Elementary School, is now Assistant Principal with the Hummingbirds. Maple Elementary School: Ms. Kesha Cook, previously Assistant Principal at Choptank Elementary, has moved to the role of Assistant Principal at Maple Elementary. South Dorchester School: The school’s new principal is Ms. Patricia Prosser, most recently principal at Mace’s Lane Middle School. Central Office: Dr. Donald Boyd, formerly Supervisor of Strategic Initiatives (Blueprint) is now Director of Teaching and Learning. The new Supervisor of Finance is Ms. Tykeia Palmore, formerly Grants Administrator. Ms. Laurie Dale has been promoted to Chief Financial Officer. Ms. Kelsey Riordan has joined DCPS as Elementary Special Education Coordinator. Ms. Regenna Jalon (not pictured), formerly Supervisor of Student Services has been appointed Interim Director of Student Services. #DCPS23NoMore

Congratulations to Mr. Vaughn Evans for being named Best School Administrator in Dorchester/Talbot County by readers of Coastal Style magazine! Mr. Evans is currently principal of North Dorchester Middle School, but in his almost quarter century as an educator in Dorchester County he has been principal of Mace’s Lane Middle School (twice), New Directions Learning Academy, North Dorchester High School, Sandy Hill Elementary School, and Warwick Elementary School (twice). A graduate of North Dorchester High School, Mr. Evans earned B.S. and M.S. degrees from Bowie State University and has remained a loyal Bulldog as a Past President and Life Member of BSU National Alumni Association, as well as lending his leadership skills to various community organizations. Join us in three cheers for Mr. Evans! #DCPS23NoMore

Announcing the new opening and closing times for the 2024-25 school year! Please pay close attention as there are changes in most schools’ timings as we work towards consistency and equitable instruction time for all our students in all our schools. C-SDHS earliest drop-off 7:30, school begins 7:45, school ends 2:45, ½ day dismissal 11:45. DCTC earliest drop-off 7:30, school begins 7:45, school ends 2:35, ½ day dismissal 11:35. Mace’s Lane Middle School earliest drop-off 7:20, school begins 7:35, school ends 2:35, ½ day early dismissal 11:35. Maple Elementary School earliest drop-off 8:30, school begins 8:45, school ends 3:45, ½ day early dismissal 12:45. Sandy Hill Elementary School earliest drop-off 8:30, school begins 8:45, school ends 3:45, ½ day early dismissal 12:45. Choptank Elementary School earliest drop-off 8:30, school begins 8:45, school ends 3:45, ½ day early dismissal 12:45. South Dorchester School earliest drop-off 8:30, school begins 8:45, school ends 3:45, ½ day early dismissal 12:45. North Dorchester High School earliest drop-off 7:30, school begins 7:45, school ends 2:45, ½ day dismissal 11:45. North Dorchester Middle School earliest drop-off 7:25, school begins 7:40, school ends 2:40, ½ day dismissal 11:40. Hurlock Elementary School earliest drop-off 8:30, school begins 8:45, school ends 3:45, ½ day dismissal 12:45. Vienna Elementary School earliest drop-off 8:30, school begins 8:45, school ends 3:45, ½ day dismissal 12:45. Warwick Elementary School earliest drop-off 8:30, school begins 8:45, school ends 3:45, ½ day dismissal 12:45. #DCPS23NoMore

Twenty high school students from C-SD and North Dorchester had the fantastic opportunity this week to take part in a Shock Trauma field trip to the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore, thanks to the support of the Eastern Shore Area Health Education Center (ESAHEC). The students, who all have an interest in a healthcare career, spent time in the Anatomy Lab, had a tour of the Shock Trauma unit at work, visited the Dr. Samuel D. Harris National Museum of Dentistry, and each gained a certificate by completing a Stop the Bleed training. But equally important were their opportunities to ask questions and have informal chats with Shock Trauma clinicians about their work and University of Maryland medical students about their courses and ambitions, all of whom were generous with their time. Accompanying the group were C-SD Career Coach Sandy Shaw, C-SD Community Liaison Tina Morris, and Caitlin Donahue-Vega and Damaris Bourland of the Eastern Shore Area Health Education Center. Thank you to ESAHEC Executive Director Lisa Widmaier and all involved in this wonderful hands-on opportunity! #DCPS23NoMore

Attention dual enrollment students! If you’re one of the 115 Dorchester County Public Schools 11th and 12th graders getting a head start on earning college credits at Chesapeake College for no charge (yay!), be sure to sign up for a New Student Orientation session! Sessions will be held: Wednesday, August 7, 6 pm, at Wye Mills Thursday, August 8, 6 pm, at the Cambridge Center Monday, August 12, 6 pm, via Zoom RSVP to save your place (or to get your Zoom link) at www.chesapeake.edu/de-nso. #DCPS23NoMore

Congratulations to Dorchester County Public Schools’ two new apprentices and thank you to Mr. Leon Shockley of GKD Metal Fabrics for making it happen! Yesterday JB Bell and Dallas Bumgarner, two North Dorchester High School seniors and students in the Dorchester Career and Technology Center’s welding program, signed their apprenticeship papers and will start their 450 hours of paid employment with GKD next week. On hand to cheer on the students were Mr. Shockley from GKD, DCTC welding program instructor Mr. Chris Baker, DCTC principal Ms. Ashley Robinson, DCPS CTE supervisor Ms. Anna Howie, JB’s dad Mr. Jeff Bell, and Ms. Shay Lewis-Sisco, DCPS Career Coach and coordinator of DCPS’ Apprenticeship Maryland program. Do you know a DCPS student who might want to earn money while learning a marketable skill? Contact Ms. Lewis-Sisco at lewiss@dcpsmd.org to find out more! #DCPS23NoMore

Welcome to the new members of the Board of Education of Dorchester County, who were sworn in during this past Thursday evening’s regular monthly meeting! District 3’s new member, Ms. Christine LaMonica, brings wide experience in law enforcement as well as real estate and finance to her new role on the Board. Ms. LaMonica holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice with a minor in psychology and is pursuing a master’s degree in social work at Salisbury University. She has seven children, four of whom are or have been students in DCPS, and one grandson. Passionate about endurance events, Ms. LaMonica has completed both Ironman Maryland Eagleman 70.3 and Ironman Maryland 140.6. She also volunteers with CASA of the Mid-Shore and One Mission Cambridge. Dr. Brandy Cumberland now represents District 1 on the Board. A 2001 graduate of Cambridge-South Dorchester High School, Dr. Cumberland holds nursing degrees from Chesapeake College, the University of Maryland, and Frontier Nursing University where she most recently earned her Doctor of Nursing Practice. Dr. Cumberland is a Nurse Practitioner in the field of mental health, and lives in South Dorchester with her husband and four children who will all be students in Dorchester County Public Schools when the youngest joins PreK-4 in September. #DCPS23NoMore

What are our kiddos doing this summer? Those attending the Empowerment Center’s summer program are relaxing, recharging, and READING! Literacy activities – reading and/or listening to stories – are part of the schedule every day. #RelaxRechargeReadDCPS #DCPS23NoMore

At the Thursday, July 11, 2024, Special Meeting of the Board of Education of Dorchester County election of officers was held due to the resignation from the Board by the President and Vice President. Ms. Sheri Hubbard (District 4) was chosen by the Board as its President; and Ms. Talibah Chikwendu (District 2) was elected Vice President of the Board until December 2024 when the annual elections will be held.

The regular monthly meeting of the Board of Education will be held on Thursday, July 18, 2024, at the Central Office of the Board of Education, 700 Glasgow St., Cambridge, with the swearing in of the new members of the Board of Education at 5:00 pm. This will be open to the public. The Board will then go into closed session and reconvene in open session at 6:00 pm. The agenda and related documents will be found online via Board Docs on the Dorchester County Public Schools website at www.dcps.k12.md.us. Anyone who would like to submit public comments electronically, to be included in the minutes, should email them to comments@dcpsmd.org by 2:00 pm Wednesday, July 17, 2024. The open sessions of the meeting will be livestreamed at https://townhallstreams.com/towns/dorchesterboe.

You never know what surprise you might find in DCPS Summer Meal bags – this past week it was fresh, local corn on the cob! Thank you, Chelsea’s Produce! Bags containing five breakfasts and five lunches plus a half gallon of fresh, cold milk can be picked up for youngsters aged 18 and under at C-SD every Thursday morning from 10 to 11 a.m. up to and including August 22. Enter the parking lot via Maple Dam Road and swing around close to the cafeteria entrance to pick up bags from the Lunch Legends! #DCPS23NoMore

Attention, DCPS high school students who may be interested in a career in health care! Here is a terrific opportunity to learn more about a health care career: a trip to the University of Maryland Medical Center’s Shock Trauma Unit in Baltimore on Tuesday, July 23. Highlights include Stop the Bleed training, an Anatomy Lab tour, a tour of the Shock Trauma unit, and a visit to the Dental Museum. Motivated early risers only, as the bus will leave from the C-SD flagpole at 6:45 am, returning at 5:00 pm. Lunch will be provided by the University of Maryland. This trip is sponsored by the Eastern Shore Area Health Education Center and C-SD Career and Community program and will be accompanied by C-SD Career Coach Ms. Sandy Shaw and School-Community Liaison Ms. Tina Morris. There are still a few seats available, but there is a strict limit of 20 students, although there will also be a waiting list. Sign up at https://tinyurl.com/csdshocktraumatrip. For more information, contact Ms. Shaw at shaws@dcpsmd.org. #DCPS23NoMore.

There’s a whole lot of learning going on at Hurlock Elementary as Warwick Huskies and Vienna Terrapins have joined the Mighty Eagles for Summer School! We love to see our kiddos racing ahead! #DCPS23NoMore

Want to earn money while learning a marketable skill? The Maryland Youth Apprenticeship Program allows students to gain exposure to their career interests, receive mentorship from industry leaders, all while getting paid. Interested? Complete this form: https://forms.office.com/r/aCFz1ZANne. Questions? DCPS Career Coach Shay Lewis-Sisco can help. Reach her at lewiss@dcpsmd.org. #DCPS23NoMore

It’s Technology Tuesday, and C-SD's Tour of the Shore is off across the Choptank River Bridge to learn about careers involving technology! Today they are stopping at The Hub (formerly Choptank Transport) to learn about the role of technology in supply chain and logistics management. They will then continue to The Whelan Company, an international supplier of industrial air conditioning units. Tomorrow the Career Bus's first stop is at the Robbins Family YMCA in Cambridge for a tour and overview of careers available and continuing to the Dorchester County Visitor Center and the Dorchester Historical Society to learn about careers in those fields – after a free lunch at Cambridge’s new Chipotle! Thursday promises to be a new Ag-xperience, with students enjoying a career exploration in agriculture at the Thendara 4-H Center in Hurlock, and an afternoon at Purdue, finding out about the poultry industry and the careers on offer. There are still a few seats available for rising 10th, 11th, and 12th grade C-SD students for tomorrow and Thursday’s trips, July 10 and 11. The bus leaves the school at 9 am and will return by 4 pm. If interested, email organizers Ms. Sandy Shaw, C-SD Career Coach at shaws@dcpsmd.org or Ms. Tina Morris, School-Community Liaison at morrist@dcpsmd.org today! #DCPS23NoMore

Our ambitious students hit the ground running today, the first day of Summer School! Here are a few scenes from Sandy Hill Elementary School this morning, with kiddos getting down to the serious fun of learning! #DCPS23NoMore

There will be a Special Meeting of the Board of Education to be held on Thursday, July 11, 2024, at the Board of Education building, 700 Glasgow St., in Cambridge. The Open Session will begin at 5:45 pm. The agenda can be found online via Board Docs on the Dorchester County Public Schools website at www.dcps.k12.md.us. The Open Session will be livestreamed at https://townhallstreams.com/towns/dorchesterboe.

School offices and the Central Office of Dorchester County Public Schools are closed on Thursday, July 4, 2024, in celebration of Independence Day. Happy birthday, America!

Summer is a good time to RElax, REcharge, and READ! Be like our friend Amyri, a soon-to-be 2nd grader at Maple Elementary School, who is taking advantage of the FREE books at the Book Nook. The Book Nook is the Dorchester Retired School Personnel Association’s effort to encourage reading by all ages, and is housed at Vintage Venue, 415 Race St., in Cambridge Both big and little people can pick up something to read and keep, all at no charge. It’s open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 to 6, Sunday 12 to 6, closed on Mondays. #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS #RelaxRechargeReadDCPS