Dorchester County Public Schools -

Rebecca Compton, Instructional Assistant – Highly Qualified at Vienna Elementary School and finalist for DE Education Support Professional of the Year, is another DCPS IA who is working to become an especially valuable teacher, gaining significant classroom experience through her job before she even gets her teaching certificate. Ms. Compton, a 2011 graduate of North Dorchester High School, is enrolled at Chesapeake College working towards her degree in Elementary Education. Originally a nursing major, during the pandemic year of virtual learning she discovered how much she enjoyed working with her own children to support their learning and decided to change her major. She first became a substitute teacher at Vienna and jumped at the opportunity to become a full-time Instructional Assistant in 2022. “One of the most rewarding things about working in the classroom is being able to see how students grow academically, socially, and emotionally throughout the school year,” says Ms. Compton. “. . . Seeing how much growth they have made brings so much joy to my heart and really makes me feel like I am making a difference in their lives.” That’s because you are making a difference, Ms. Compton, and you are appreciated! #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

Maple Elementary’s Raven Mills and North Dorchester High School’s Hayden Williams, both in the master’s degree program at Coppin State University, were recently selected to attend the Center for Inclusive Excellence Leadership Conference. They were part of over 160 preservice and current teachers in education programs at UMES, Salisbury University, and CSU, Maryland school district representatives, and higher education leaders attending the event. Also joining them was Renee Warfield, Coordinator of DCPS’ New Teacher Program. Topics explored during the conference included social emotional learning strategies, immersive learning, culturally responsive teaching, and ways of heightening student engagement, with featured speakers Wade King and Lanesha Tabb, part of the Get Your Teach On educator movement. This is our DCPS staff setting another example for our students as lifelong learners! #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

It’s appropriate today’s DE Education Support Professional of the Year finalist works in the rural setting of South Dorchester School, with his love of the outdoors and fishing, hunting, trail riding, camping, Indian crafts, and “living off the land”. Mr. Jose Barrios-Munoz is the Head Custodian at SDS and is in his happy place. Mr. Jose (as he’s known to the students) has spent his entire five years with DCPS at SDS, as Custodian for four years until promoted to Head Custodian this year, with responsibility for ensuring the building is ready for students and staff. What does he like best about his job? He especially enjoys putting things together like desks, new lockers, and chairs; preparing for special events at the school, such as concerts, dances, and art shows; and “the students telling me how happy they are to have me take care of the school.” Taking care of our buildings is a very important job, Mr. Barrios-Munoz, and we’re with the students in that we’re happy you’re doing it! #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

Good luck to the Hurlock Elementary Girls on the Run team who will be running tomorrow in a 5K race in Baltimore! Girls on the Run is a national program that helps girls build self-confidence and a sense of belonging and connection as a team, and 24 third to fifth graders at the school have been training together for several months. This week they had a surprise guest join their training session – Interim Superintendent Dr. Jymil Thompson, a seasoned runner himself, but still more than willing to take running tips from the girls as they did their warm-ups and 20 laps around the school’s bus circle! #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

You know it’s finally Friday when C-SD’s Mr. Singleton brings out the Viking horns! #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS #GoldPride

Logan Price, today’s finalist for DE Education Support Professional of the Year, came to work for Dorchester County Public Schools because she wanted to give back to her county and work with the same educators who fueled her love for education, especially Ms. Ashley Robinson and Ms. Cherie Robinson. As an Instructional Assistant – Behavioral Specialist, Ms. Price runs the Mindfulness Room at North Dorchester Middle School, providing a calming environment to help students with strategies and skills that create success in the classroom and in life. A C-SD Class of 2019 graduate, Ms. Price started with DCPS as a substitute teacher, working throughout the county, before her permanent role at NDMS. She is also currently a student at Western Governors University studying Early Childhood Education. Her favorite part of her job? “(Seeing) the growth of the students I work with daily,” she says, “. . . when a struggling learner experiences a breakthrough and understands that they are smart and capable.” Thank you, Ms. Price, for helping set our students up for success! #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

This is a reminder that tomorrow, Friday, April 26, 2024, is an Early Dismissal Day for all students! #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

TODAY’S THE DAY! It’s April 25, 2024, and online registration is OPEN to register your three-, four-, or five-year-old to attend school starting in September. Use your QR code you received on a postcard or go directly to the registration page on the DCPS website at: https://bit.ly/3J7fCOk. We look forward to welcoming your little one! #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

Today was Round Two of the Amazing Shake at Hurlock Elementary School! This round, held at Hurlock Town Hall, saw nine semi-finalists – Camden Helgason, Niemiah Hill, Amos Jones, Sailor McNeil-Truitt, Lilyannah Pedley, Hayden Powell, Karter Slacum, Annabella Slacum, and Raymar Watson – do a terrific job of answering ‘life’ questions about such matters as their personal and career goals, how they can help their community, how they handle conflict. It was a tough job for the judges to narrow the field down to two for Friday’s final, but the two who made it through to the Final Round are Camden Helgason and Karter Slacum. Congratulations! Thanks again to the judges: Dominic DeLuca of DELCO Packaging; Lamont Goodson of the Governor’s Office of Crime Prevention and Policy; Chris Honeman of Shore United Bank; Bernard Johnson of Johnson Cleaning Services; Danielle Johnson of Mirror, Mirror; Camila Lopez of Super Soda; Dr. Jymil Thompson, Interim Superintendent of Dorchester County Public Schools; and Blake Whitten of Whitten Retirement Solutions. Pictured are the judges and the nine semi-finalists, with Ms. Heather Powell, Hurlock Elementary’s School Counselor and coordinator of The Amazing Shake at the school. #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

It’s Administrative Professionals Day, and while we appreciate ALL our Admin Pros, here we give a name to and salute those with whom parents and community members interact the most – the Front Office staff at our schools! Picking a child up early or signing a child in late? This is who you see. Calling the school? This is who usually answers the phone. Dropping off a forgotten lunch? These are the people who make sure it gets to the classroom. Schools are busy places but they would be a lot more chaotic without these people taking care of business. Thank you all! C-SD: Missy Henry and Denee Sampson Choptank Elementary School: Deanna Boston and Katrina Cornish DCTC: Marianne Franklin and Donna Warren Hurlock Elementary School: Michelle Dorsey and Angela Turner Mace’s Lane Middle School: Kelsey McLaughlin and Christy Miller Maple Elementary School: Karen Hopkins and Lisa Wilson NDLA: Dymond Smith North Dorchester High School: Bridget Adshead North Dorchester Middle School: Laurie Sedgwick Sandy Hill Elementary School: Nina Baire and Shawn Jackson South Dorchester K-8: Dawn Gootee Vienna Elementary School: Katie Crucillo Warwick Elementary School: Crystal Cephas #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

Working in schools and with children demands a certain flexibility and DE Education Support Professional of the Year finalist Ms. Dianeanna Molock is proof of that. Ms. Molock, presently an Education Specialist at New Directions Learning Academy, began her DCPS career in 2005 as a PreK-3 teacher at The Judy Center, working with our littlest learners. In 2014 she moved to NDLA where she has worked with elementary, middle, and high school students, so she has pretty much covered the gamut. What’s the best thing about her job at NDLA? “Being able to show the students care and love so that they realize they do not need to continue with the behaviors that got them placed at NDLA,” she says. Whether it’s helping them complete their assignments or helping them achieve higher self-esteem, we appreciate Ms. Molock’s contributions to our students, big and little! #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

Updated information regarding the Superintendent Search: 1. Tonight (Tuesday, 4/23) is the last of the Community Visioning sessions. It runs from 6:00 to 7:30 at South Dorchester School, 3485 Golden Hill Road, Church Creek, Maryland. You do not need to be a South Dorchester resident to attend – all are welcome. 2. The community survey regarding the desirable leadership qualities and early priorities of the new Superintendent will close on Wednesday, 4/24. Please take five minutes to complete it. 3. Notes from the first Community Visioning session held on Tuesday, 4/9 at North Dorchester are available on the DCPS website: https://www.dcps.k12.md.us/o/dcps/page/superintendent-search-vi. Notes from last week’s session at C-SD will be available soon.

The Amazing Shake has returned to Hurlock Elementary School again this year! This program teaches 5th graders confidence, poise, and how to conduct themselves in a professional environment, ending with an optional competition giving them an opportunity to display their skills. Round One was this morning, with ten stations in which students had 60 seconds at each station to impress their judge. A few examples of the challenges included giving a graduation speech, being interviewed for a corporate job, selling a vacation destination, and presenting a (pretend) YouTube video selling a new energy drink that tastes great and cleans your teeth at the same time. The highest scorers will go through to Round Two, but congratulations and well done to ALL of the youngsters who pushed themselves out of their comfort zones to compete in events which would bring out nerves in even those much older and experienced: Yahiris Acosta Chavez, Nala Adams, Julievette Asencio-Garcia, Brayden Burton, Jai’A Cephas, Maddox Darpino, Lilly Hackett, Camden Helgason, Niemiah Hill, Isis Hughes-Edmonds, Muhammed Ismail, Ki’Leeha Jackson, Isaiah Jenkins, Alondra Jimenez-Morales, Amos Jones, Brandon Lawrence, Sailor McNeil-Truitt, Dariana Major, London Moore, Sarenity Payne, Caroline Peacock, Lilyannah Pedley, Noah Pickens, Hayden Powell, Kaylee Sampson, Julia Shatley, Karter Slacum, Annabella Smith, Jayden Smith, Ka’Laya Smith, Parker Spear, Diamond Thomas, Raymar Watson, and Quencia Uzzell. A big thank you, too, to today’s judges, recruited by Mr. Bill Christopher at the Chamber of Commerce: Jermain Anderson, ArtBar 2.0; Bill Christopher, Dorchester Chamber of Commerce; Candace Christopher, The Baking Mariner; Kim Cummings, Dorchester County Courts; Dominick DeLuca, DELCO Packaging; Kinley Elliott, Dorchester Chamber of Commerce; Chris Honeman, Shore United Bank; Eddie James, Koski Enterprises; Lucas Thorpe, All4Love; Blake Whitten, Whitten Retirement Solutions. #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

Support staff are important at Dorchester County Public Schools. Teachers can’t teach if there aren’t bus drivers to transport students to school, administrative professionals to run school offices, food service workers to feed everyone, classroom helpers to support the teachers, custodians to keep a clean and safe learning environment, and so much more. Thank you to Dorchester Educators for recognizing the contribution of our support staff, with one to be named DE ESP of the Year. We’ll be telling you about the seven finalists for 2024-2025 over the next couple weeks, and here’s the first! DE Education Support Professional of the Year finalist, Kara Jones, is technically an Instructional Assistant – Highly Qualified, but is so trusted and skilled that she is serving as a long-term substitute teacher in a Sandy Hill Elementary kindergarten class. This means that not only does she work on language arts/phonics, reading, math, science, and social studies with the children, it’s also her job to “diffuse tempers, treat boo-boos, celebrate goals/wins, encourage students, rub backs, and play nurse when needed”. Now in her seventh year with Dorchester County Public Schools, Ms. Jones is serious about her work as she is currently attending the University of Phoenix, working on her B.S. degree in Early Childhood Education. “The best thing about my job is building relationships with these little people I get to see every day. Making connections and sharing fun moments . . . are the best! I also love to see when a child ‘gets’ something they have struggled with and suddenly the light goes off and you hear, 'I DID IT!'” Thank you, Ms. Jones, for stepping up for our children when you’re needed! #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

Congratulations to C-SD junior Tyler Sears who this past week received the prestigious JA 18 Under 18 Award from Junior Achievement of the Eastern Shore at an event at the Perdue Henson Junior Achievement Center in Salisbury! This award recognizes 18 young people on the Eastern Shore who aren’t waiting to become adults to make a difference in the world with their leadership and service to community. Nominated by Interact Club advisor Mr. Phil Reed, Tyler is not only an active member of Interact, but is part of the National Honor Society, the National Spanish Honor Society, SkillsUSA, PBIS student representative, and an all-around positive force for good in his school and community! #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

As we approach the latter part of the school year, a sense of accomplishment and pride was the order of the day yesterday as 49 DCTC students, Project Lead The Way’s Biomedical Sciences first year cohort, received their personalized white lab coats in a ceremony attended by family and friends. Congratulations to these students, and their PLTW teachers Ms. Lauren Varner and Ms. Dawn Price. Skyla Ali; Jacob Barnes; MaKenna Blizzard; Damouri’ Brooks; Jade Bryant; Rylee Christopher; Keimoni Collins; Arabella Collison; Mariah Cook; Hanah Donald; A’Ziyah Elliott; Cerys Enders; Amirra Exume; Alex Fonseca-Gonzalez; Jacqueline Gravenor; Madelyn Hall; Kendall Harrington; Diana Hernandez-Chavez; Gabrielle Higdon; Adrianna Hudgins; A’Yanna Jackson; Avery Johnson; Alyssa Jones; Taylor Larimer; Javier Luna-Clemente; Patricia Hollerman; Max Miller; Abigail Mills; Caleb Molock; Alexus Myers; Kinsley Peters; Valeria Nieblas; Manny Reyes; Ellie Sard; Emma Sard; Shelby Seese; Syntycha Shipley; Alexander Shook; Lily Sterling; Hailey Stivers; Micah Swann; Paige Taylor; Adison Thomas; Camryn Turner; Payton Turner; Jazlyn Washington; Katie Wheatley; Evelyn Windsor; and Harmoni Wongus. #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

Yesterday Choptank Elementary School’s third grade welcomed six distinguished Maryland judges, complete with robes, who were in town for a statewide judicial meeting. The judges are members of the Harry A. Cole Judicial Council, and the visit to Choptank was part of the Council’s “Reading and Robes” program, which encourages their judges to spend time in schools. Each third-grader received a copy of a child’s biography of Maryland native Thurgood Marshall, the first African-American justice on the U.S. Supreme Court, from the judges who were also generous with their time, answering many questions about their roles . . . and maybe inspiring a few future lawyers! Our thanks to Hon. Monice Brown, Associate Judge, Charles County Circuit Court; Hon. Pamila Brown, Administrative Judge, Howard County District Court; Hon. Ada Clark-Edwards, Associate Judge, Prince George’s County District Court; Hon. Jill Cummins, Associate Judge, Montgomery County Circuit Court; Hon. Donine Carrington Martin, Associate Judge, Charles County Circuit Court; and Hon. Elizabeth Morris, Associate Judge, Anne Arundel, County Circuit Court. #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

These pre-kindergarteners are so excited to meet their new friends who will be arriving on the first day of school in September! However, before that, there is another important date: Thursday, April 25, 2024 – the date online registration opens for first-time students to reserve a place in a Dorchester County Public Schools PreK-3, PreK-4, or Kindergarten classroom for the next school year. Every postal address in Dorchester County should have received a postcard with information about registration and a QR code to get you online, or you can use this link: https://bit.ly/3J7fCOk which will become live on April 25. Pre-Kindergarten for three-year-olds will be available at Hurlock, Maple, Sandy Hill, and Vienna Elementary Schools. PreK-3 places are limited, and children must be three years old by September 1, 2024 to qualify. Questions? Contact Ms. Julie Lewis, Supervisor of Early Childhood Education at lewisju@dcpsmd.org or 410-228-4747 x1035. #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

The DCTC Chapter of SkillsUSA flexed its competitive muscles again this past weekend as students traveled to Carroll County Career and Technology Center to participate in the Maryland SkillsUSA State Championships in various categories. Congratulations to Vernon Price and Dylan Ruppert who, for the second year running, were awarded the gold medal in Robotics and Automation, qualifying them for the national competition to be held this summer in Atlanta. Last year, this dynamic duo placed 11th in the SkillsUSA national competition. Vernon and Dylan are both completers of the Project Lead the Way Engineering course at DCTC and will be graduating this year from North Dorchester High School. Two other teams from Mr. Phil Albert’s PLTW Engineering program also won state medals. Congratulations to Julianne Tobat, Andrew Albert, and their sidekick ‘Burns’ who they built from scratch, for picking up the silver medal in Urban Search and Rescue, and McKenna Parker and Hailey Mills who won bronze in Commercial sUAS Drones. Savannah Weber, of the PLTW Biomedical program, won a silver medal for her Health Occupations Portfolio. North Dorchester sophomore Zachary Bozman was elected as a SkillsUSA Maryland state officer, and the DCTC Chapter earned the Gold Chapter of Distinction designation for the seventh straight year. Also competing from DCTC in the State Championships were Zachary Adam (Residential Wiring); Zachary Bozman, Nathan Corkran, and Alexander Shook (Health Knowledge Bowl); Javier Luna Clemente (Medical Terminology); Haylie Siegel (Baking and Pastry); Taylor Larimer (Job Skill Demo); and Madison Tobat, Cristina Nuvia Lopez, and Ta’Tyana Maradiaga (Career Pathways Showcase – Health Services). Chef Charlene Zinnel is the chapter’s advisor. Great job, Skills students – we’re very proud of you! #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

Let’s start the day with a Public Service Announcement from the one-and-only Ms. Jeanell Todd of Vienna Elementary School with a reminder of the importance of careful punctuation. Thank you, Ms. Todd! (No children were harmed in the making of this post.) #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS