Dorchester County Public Schools -

Say hello to our painting, assembling, hanging, desk-moving, laminating, cutting, stapling, sign-making, organizing crew! It’s been a busy week for our teachers, with professional development sessions interspersed with classroom preparation. It’s all getting ready for the arrival of next week’s VIPs – Very Important Pupils! #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

There will be a Special Closed Meeting of the Board of Education to be held on Thursday, August 31, 2023, at the Board of Education building, 700 Glasgow St., in Cambridge. This Closed Session will begin at 3:00 pm, with the purpose of discussing personnel. Because this meeting consists only of a Closed Session, there will be no livestreaming.

TONIGHT! You are invited to join a Back to School virtual community conversation from 6:00 to 7:30, organized by Moving Dorchester Forward. Join in on Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84382756732.... Meeting ID: 843 8275 6732; Passcode: 941780; If dialing in: +1 301 715 8592. Join leaders from Dorchester County Public Schools as well as Community Partners who provide supports for our students before and after school, as well as key tools and resources for parents and caregivers. Learn more about: • Early Learning resources – The Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, Early Childhood Advisory Council. • New resources and connections to the business community – Community Liaisons, Career Coaches, Maryland Youth Apprenticeship Program, Chamber Education Committee. • Parent resources and supports – Parents Empowering Parents (PEP) • Ways that ALL can get involved – Mentoring and tutoring programs, Volunteer opportunities. • Discussion of what else is needed. #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

Here at DCPS, we love the First Day of School so much, we have three of them! But there’s a good reason for this. A phased start to the school year helps those in transition years. Sixth graders new to middle school and 9th graders new to high school have a day at their new school without the older students, to start to find their way around, learn a new system, and generally become familiar and more comfortable with a new environment. The later start for PreK and Kindergarten allows parent/teacher meetings to take place the previous two days so PreK and Kindergarten teachers can learn more about the little ones soon to be in their care, from the folks who know them best. It all helps get the school year off to a smooth start! This year’s starting schedule is: Tuesday, September 5: Grades 1-5, 6, and 9 report. Grades 1-8 report at South Dorchester School only. Wednesday, September 6: Grades 1-12 report. Thursday, September 7: PreK and Kindergarten report. #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

Don’t forget your child’s Back-to-School Open House, this Friday, September 1! This is an opportunity to meet the teachers and see the classrooms! Times are as follows: C-SD 2-4 pm Choptank Elementary 3-5 pm Hurlock Elementary 3-6 pm Mace’s Lane Middle School 2-4 pm Maple Elementary 3-5 pm North Dorchester High 2-4 pm North Dorchester Middle 2-4 pm Sandy Hill Elementary 3-5 pm South Dorchester School 2-4 pm Warwick Elementary 3-5 pm Vienna Elementary 3-5 pm

This is just a reminder that clear backpacks are mandatory this year for DCPS students! Schools will be distributing them to all students. Here’s a swaggle of backpacks in their natural habitat, patiently awaiting their new 3rd grade owners at Sandy Hill Elementary. See you next week!

Congratulations and a BIG thank you to staff who were recognized for their service to Dorchester County Public Schools at our recent Kick-Off event for the new school year! 35 years: Reginald Thomas III 30 years: Thomas Cleary, Jennifer Green, William Horsey III, Peter Piatras, Henry Rosario, and Tonya Thompson 25 years: Daniel Catron, Jodi Colman, Renee Harding, Chris Hauge, Sandy Shaw, Holly Spicer, and Katherine Willoughby 20 years: Gloria James, Rhonda Robertson, Jennifer Bailey, Laurie Barnes, Meloney Desire, Karen McGowan, and Michael Overton 15 years: Stacey Brown, Alleen Messick, Megan Daniels, Ashley Eberspacher, Dawn Gootee, Katie Holbrook, Kelly Hornsby, Stephany Perry, John Prekrel #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

Yesterday we were delighted to welcome Mark McCauley, General Manager of Hertrich Kia in Easton, to our Kick-Off event at Dorchester County Public Schools to present our 2023-2024 Teacher of the Year Briana Buelah with a brand new Kia Seltos for her use during her reign. Ms. Beulah is pictured with Superintendent of Schools Mr. Bromwell, her daughter, 4th grade Hurlock Elementary student Milan, Mr. McCauley, and Ms. Beulah’s new set of wheels! We thank Hertrich Family of Automobile Dealerships for being a long-time supporter of Teacher of the Year programs throughout the area.

All aboard! Today was the annual Staff Kick-Off when we welcomed back our veteran teachers and other school staff – a Kick-Off that at least one participant, our Teacher of the Year Briana Beulah, seemed to take literally! Hurlock Elementary’s Amazing Shake participants welcomed staff back, student dancers performed, long-term staff were recognized, and everyone had an opportunity to sport their new school shirts and reconnect with friends. The entire Dorchester County Public… See more

Our recently-hired staff were introduced to ALICE yesterday – no, ALICE is not another colleague, but an important protocol used by Dorchester County Public Schools to help keep our schools and their occupants safe. The ALICE program “empowers individuals to participate in their own survival using proactive response strategies in the face of violence,” with the letters standing for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate. The program was delivered by Schools Safety and Emergency Preparedness Coordinator Mike Richardson and Student Services Administrative Secretary Kathy Yorton and will be followed up with drills in the schools throughout the year. Learn more about ALICE at alicetraining.com. #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS See less

When the grass is too long and the blind’s hanging wrong and the lights won’t turn on, who do you call? If you’re Dorchester County Public Schools, you call the Maintenance Team, who add the perfect combination of brawn and brains to take care of any problem. They’ve been working hard this summer to ensure everything is in order for the start of the school year – thanks, guys! #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

Introducing the team of mentors responsible for making our new teachers feel ready to not only face but embrace the new school year! Led by New Teacher Coordinator Renee Warfield, this group of experienced educators delivered the DCPS New Teacher Orientation program our newbies have been enjoying this week. But support for new teachers doesn’t end there! Mentors work closely with the new teachers throughout the year through classroom visits, one-to-one meetings, monthly group meetings, professional development sessions, and doing whatever necessary to ensure our new teachers find success in the classroom. Thank you, Ms. Evelyn Renkwitz, Ms. Cheryl Vauls, Dr. Emma Pinkett, Ms. Melissa Dodd, Ms. Warfield, and Ms. Cindee Wong, for all you do to make our new teachers feel at home here in DCPS! #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

Before they are teachers, they need to be students! A big part of our new teacher orientation involves spending time in the classroom getting up to speed on our curriculum, learning about expectations in classroom management, being introduced to resources and supports available, while getting to know new colleagues. Only the best for Dorchester County kiddos! #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

Thank you to the Dorchester Chamber of Commerce and those Chamber members who helped put together ‘welcome’ bags for our new teachers! They were distributed yesterday, and it was like Christmas morning as our new hires enthusiastically dove into the big bags! This was a terrific way to make our new hires feel welcome and raise awareness of the great businesses and other organizations in the county. Big thanks to: Attraction Magazine BesTemps/Blue Hen Staffing Inc. Benson & Mangold Cambridge Lions Club Cambridge Waterfront Development, Inc. Channel Marker Charles C. Powell, Inc. REALTORS Craig's Drug Store Crossroads Community Dorchester Center for the Arts Dorchester Chamber of Commerce Dorchester County Health Department Dorchester County Public Library Dorchester County Tourism For All Seasons, Inc. Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay Resort & Spa Johnson's Cleaning Services Koski Enterprises, Inc. Layton's Chance Vineyard & Winery Marshall Properties Management Merry Maids #462 Mid-Shore Graphics Mid-Shore Meals til Monday Mike Adams General Contractor Pauline F & W David Robbins Family YMCA Rotary Club of Cambridge Shore United Bank State Farm Insurance - Karen Davis, Agent The Baking Mariner Town of Hurlock United Way of the Lower Eastern Shore University of MD Center for Environmental Science Zion United Methodist Church #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

Today is one of our favorite days, when we welcome our new teachers, school counselors, and school social workers to Dorchester County Public Schools. Some are from out-of-state, some are our own graduates returning, some are experienced, some are newbies, but all are united in their commitment to our young people. They have a full two weeks of orientation in front of them, so stay tuned – you’ll be seeing more of them. Thank you all for choosing to join us in Dorchester County, our own beautiful corner of the world! #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

Our Custodial teams are too busy to get the summertime blues! It’s full speed ahead in our schools to take advantage of the few weeks with no kiddos and fewer staff to make sure the jobs get done that are tricky to do during the academic year. With only three weeks until schools are humming, the clock is ticking! Thank you, Custodians, for ensuring our students and staff will be greeted with a clean and safe place to teach and learn! #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

The regular monthly meeting of the Board of Education will be held on Thursday, August 17, 2023, at the Dorchester Career and Technology Center, 2465 Cambridge Bypass in Cambridge, with the open session beginning 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. The public is welcome to attend. If you are unable to attend but would like to submit comments electronically to be included in the minutes, email them to comments@dcpsmd.org by 2:00 pm on the date of the meeting. The meeting will be livestreamed at https://townhallstreams.com/towns/dorchesterboe.

June 14 is Flag Day, and we hope you’re celebrating the beautiful Stars-and-Stripes! Here are Mrs. Dechert’s Vienna Elementary kindergarteners during the last week of school, proudly showing how well they can recite the Pledge of Allegiance to our flag before going on to 1st grade, an important ritual learned by all our little ones. Hooray for the Red, White, and Blue! #WeAreOneDCPS