Dorchester County Public Schools -

C-SD Career Coach Ms. Sandy Shaw, along with School-Community Liaison Ms. Tina Morris, are organizing a C-SD Career and Community Tour of the Shore by bus to familiarize incoming 10th, 11th, and 12th grade C-SD students with various job and career opportunities. This tour is taking place Monday July 8 through Thursday, July 11, with a different destination each day. On Monday, July 8 the bus will visit Chesapeake College Health Programs and Dorchester Emergency Services. On Tuesday, July 9, the stops include The Whalen Company in Easton and The Hub. Wednesday’s stops include the YMCA, the Cambridge Visitor Center, and the Dorchester County Historical Society. A local poultry plant, a farm and nursery are the stops on Thursday, July 11. Students can sign up for as many days as they want, with the bus leaving C-SD each day at 9 am and returning by 4 pm, but the tour is limited to 20 C-SD students. For more information, reach out to Ms. Shaw at shaws@dcpsmd.org or Ms. Morris at morrist@dcpsmd.org, or by phone at 410-228-9224, ext. 1778. #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

We all get by with a little help from our friends! DCPS partner organization Midshore Meals til Monday starts its summer food program TODAY, Monday June 24. Beginning today, and every Monday and Thursday through August 15, free summer food bags will be available at the Prospect Heights Apartment Complex in Hurlock from 12 to 12:30 and South Dorchester School from 1:30 to 2:00 for youngsters 18 and under. Just look for the white van, courtesy of the community-minded folks at Preston Automotive Group! #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

Parents, here’s a summer treat! Dorchester County Public Schools Food and Nutrition Services will be distributing summer meal bags every Thursday starting this coming week, Thursday, June 27, 2024, and running through Thursday, August 22, 2024. Bags will be available for pick up at the C-SD cafeteria entrance between 10 and 11 am only, and contain five breakfasts and five lunches each week. Can’t get to C-SD? Check out this website to find out if there are free summer meals for children closer to you: www.mdsummermeals.org. These bags are available for youngsters age 18 and under. #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

Attention North Dorchester High School students! NDHS Career Coach Ms. Audrey Roberts will be holding an open drop-in session on Wednesdays this summer at Hurlock Library. The first session will be this coming Wednesday, June 26, 2024, from 12 to 4 pm. She looks forward to giving help with completing job applications, giving advice on professionalism and careers, developing a cursive signature (very important!), and more. Stop by and say hi and see how Ms. Roberts can help you! #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

The Class of 2038 had its first taste of academic success when PreK-4 students were promoted to kindergarten at the end of their school year. Here are South Dorchester School kiddos with teachers Ms. Jessica Brown and Ms. Stacy Brooks celebrating their big day last week! #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

Graduation may be the biggest milestone in a young person’s education, but it isn’t the only one. Most of our schools mark the promotion of students from PreK-4 to kindergarten, 5th grade to middle school, and 8th grade to high school. Last week the 8th graders of North Dorchester Middle School and their families celebrated the passage from middle to high school with awards recognizing outstanding achievement in academics and other elements of school life. WBOC reporter/anchor and NDMS (and NDHS) alumnus Hunter Landon spoke to the students, pointing out that he had been sitting where they were now sitting only a decade ago. Here are a few glimpses of the Class of 2028! #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

School offices and the Central Office of Dorchester County Public Schools are closed on Wednesday, June 19, 2024, in celebration of Juneteenth, commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States.

When the Class of 2024 walked across the stage, they picked up numerous honors, awards, and scholarships. There’s a listing on the DCPS website of recognitions and their recipients from each high school. C-SD recognitions can be found here: https://www.dcps.k12.md.us/article/1646434 and North Dorchester High School recognitions are here: https://www.dcps.k12.md.us/article/1646419. Congratulations to all Eagle and Viking 2024 graduates! #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

Dorchester County Public Schools are operating on Summer Hours from today, June 17, 2024, through August 9, 2024. The Central Office will be open Monday through Thursday 7:00 am to 4:00 pm. Office hours at schools will vary; if you need to visit a school, please call first to confirm hours. Note that all schools and offices will be closed on Wednesday, June 19 in observance of Juneteenth and Thursday, July 4 in observance of Independence Day. #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

SPACES STILL AVAILABLE! DCPS students can take the MVA Learner's Permit Test at Dorchester Career and Technology Center this Thursday, June 20 during either Session 1 at 10:00 am or Session 2 at 2:00 pm. Tests in Spanish are available upon request. This is for DCPS students ONLY who are at least 15 years and nine months old. Pick up a permission slip TODAY (Monday 6/17/24) or TOMORROW (Tuesday 6/18/24) at the front desk at DCTC. Questions? Contact Shay Lewis-Sisco at 443-440-5370 or lewiss@dcpsmd.org for answers! #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

With the close of the 2023-2024 school year, Dorchester County Public Schools says a big “Thank you!” who all who do so much to support our work and our students. Stay with us, friends – the best is yet to come! #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS #23NoMoreDCPS

Tomorrow (Friday, June 14, 2024) is the last day of the 2023-2024 school year, and an early dismissal day! Have a great break, and don’t forget the three R’s of summer: Relax, Recharge, and READ! #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

Following a national search, The Board of Education of Dorchester County has announced the selection of Dr. Jymil Thompson as Superintendent of Dorchester County Public Schools. Dr. Thompson has been serving as Interim Superintendent since March 2. Board President Mr. Mike Diaz said, “We were fortunate in attracting very well-qualified candidates, but Dr. Thompson stood out as the best fit for Dorchester County Public Schools. The entire Board looks forward to working alongside Dr. Thompson to ensure that all Dorchester County children have the opportunity to reach their full potential.” Prior to his appointment as Interim Superintendent, Dr. Thompson was Assistant Superintendent at Dorchester County Public Schools. He has also served the district as Assistant Principal and Principal of Mace’s Lane Middle School. Dr. Thompson began his education career as a Special Education teacher and held posts of increasing responsibility in the field of Special Education before becoming a school administrator. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Pennsylvania State University, a Master of Arts from Trinity University, Certificate of Advanced Studies from Howard University, and a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Indiana Wesleyan University. The Board will formally approve Dr. Thompson’s contract at its meeting on June 13, and his appointment as Superintendent begins officially on July 1.

If hosting a very special occasion, it's nice to spiff up your environment for your guests, and the same was true at Cambridge-South Dorchester High School for Graduation Day thanks to the school’s Interact Club. Twenty members of the Club rolled up their sleeves and got to work cleaning up the outside of the school’s campus to look tidy and welcoming for the VIP’s of the day: graduates, their families, and friends. Thank you to Interact Club members Tyler Sears (Vice-President), Christina Hyde (Secretary), Kimora Stanley-Guzman, Faith Lyles, Gabby Blake, Landon Ludolph, Madison Jackson, Amanda Holotik, Arabella Collison, Evelyn Windsor, Ay’Liya Taylor, London Boyd, Katie Wheatley, Ni’Joya Davis, Zynir Henry, Christian Thomas, Azeyera Johnson, Trynaty Johnson, Emily Parrone, and Bre’Airah Fassett, and advisor Mr. Michael Tremper. #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

The regular monthly meeting of the Board of Education will be held on Thursday, June 13, 2024, at the Central Office of the Board of Education, 700 Glasgow St., 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.

Today was “Orange Out”, honoring Miss Lizzi Cockey, Special Education teacher at Sandy Hill Elementary School, whose life was tragically cut short last month in a road traffic accident. Miss Cockey was a proud member of the Orange Hive at Sandy Hill, and Sandy Hill colleagues and students dressed in orange today to celebrate her life and contributions to the school. Thank you, too, to staff and students in other Dorchester County schools who also wore orange today in support of Sandy Hill. Mr. Fenstermaker, former Sandy Hill teacher, kindly returned to the school today with his drone to capture photos of all the Sandy Hill Bees remembering Miss Cockey by working together to create her name - “LIZZI”. #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

The Dorchester County School Board is pleased to announce ongoing progress in our Superintendent Search process. Our partnership with HYA Search Associates has been fruitful as we received 37 qualified applications from around the country, with the largest number coming from right here in Maryland. Using the leadership profile that we constructed from the voice of the community that we received from over 900 county residents via the online survey and community visioning meetings, HYA presented a slate of 10 top candidates. The Board worked collaboratively to refine that list down to the top 4 and conducted in depth interviews with each of them. From those interviews, the Board made the difficult decision to refine it down to a final two candidates for more in-depth interviews and presentations to the Board. Once we reach a final consensus of the Board, we will make an offer to the top candidate and look to make an announcement of our new Superintendent in early June, with an official start date of July 1. The Board opted to make this a confidential search to ensure that we get the very best candidates, with no impact on their current roles. The Board wants to express our appreciation again to the community for their engagement and voice in this process. The criteria that we have used through this entire process has come directly from that voice of the community. We look forward to our final selection to represent the entire community and lead DCPS into the future that our Students, Parents, Educators, and Community deserve.

There was laughter, hugs, and a few tears as our Seniors returned to their elementary schools one last time shortly before their graduation this past week. Both C-SD and North Dorchester High School have the tradition of offering the graduating Seniors an opportunity to return to their elementary school to revisit old times and just-a-tiny-bit-older teachers, as well as inspire the elementary kiddos. This is what the visit looked like for NDHS soon-to-be-grads who had attended Vienna Elementary School; for many it was their first time back since leaving 5th grade in 2017. And to think, this is where it all began for the Class of 2024 . . . #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS

There will be a Special Meeting of the Board of Education to be held on Monday, June 3, 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.

Who are these people, celebrating their excitement for (the last day of) state testing? These are just a few of our School Testing Coordinators (STCs), members of the school staff who have a particular expertise in the many, many, many rules and instructions governing the admission of school tests to ensure the validity of the data – all while still discharging their other school responsibilities. Testing is now over for the spring, and we would like to thank students for their participation, families for ensuring their kiddos were well rested and punctual to school on testing days, and the STCs and their fearless leader, Supervisor of Accountability and Assessment Erin Fitzgerald, for working to make testing season run as smoothly as possible: C-SD: Nichole Horton and Lauren Blades Choptank Elementary: Chelsea Cathcart and Aimee Cammarata Hurlock Elementary: Phylicia Smith and Opie Marshall Mace’s Lane Middle School: Jessica Dulin and Samantha Moulton Maple Elementary: Ashley Jones and Chloe Hackett North Dorchester High School: Erin Moore and Jackie Bennett North Dorchester Middle School: Adam Wilson and Linda Barnes Sandy Hill Elementary: Mary Silva and Angel Greene South Dorchester School: Jamie Willey and Diana Robbins Vienna Elementary: Shane Abbott and Renee LeMire Warwick Elementary: Amanda Hubbert and Janelle Koski #AllHandsOnDeckDCPS