Results of Friday's Worcester Board of Ed Closed Meeting

 

Cuts and reductions required due to the recent County Commissioners budget action.  

(View Board of Ed's full statement:)

Board of Education Approves Changes to the FY24 Budget - Worcester County Public Schools (worcesterk12.org)

Special meeting of Worcester Board of Ed 6/9

 
(View calendar info:)

Calendar - Worcester County Public Schools (worcesterk12.org)

State Board of Ed has great report for Worcester County schools

 

In Worcester County, ninety percent of eligible schools earned a rating of four or five stars. For comparison, only 48% of all school types in Maryland reached four- or five-star status. 

(Read more about it:)

WCPS Shines in latest MD School Report Card - Worcester County Public Schools (worcesterk12.org)

Worcester County student performance was tops in Maryland

 

LATEST DATA RELEASE PLACES SPOTLIGHT ON WORCESTER COUNTY STUDENT PERFORMANCE 

Newark, MD, January 26, 2023– The Maryland State Department of Education recently released statewide performance data with Worcester County Public Schools outperforming the majority of school systems in the State across content areas. 

During the State Board of Education meeting on January 24, 2023, State Superintendent Mohammed Choudhury and staff provided an update on student performance on state assessments administered in spring 2022 in English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics. These results reflect the new assessment and standard setting that the state has completed over the past year.

Statewide, student performance in ELA demonstrated a return to pre-pandemic performance. In Worcester County, student performance on the spring ELA assessments in grades 3-8 topped all other school systems in Maryland with 64 percent of students scoring as proficient or higher, 20 percentage points above the state average. (See figure below.) A particular highlight in the early grades is Ocean City Elementary School, at which 94 percent of third graders scored proficient or higher, a whopping 74.8 percentage points above the state average, and 87.6 percent of fourth graders reached proficiency, nearly 79 percentage points above the state average. 

Worcester school safety

 (WBOC)

"The School Safety Committee for Worcester County Schools is picking up where they left off. One of the first items on their agenda will be exploring weapon detection systems in schools."

(View news story:)

Worcester County Public Schools Exploring Weapon Detection Systems | Latest News | wboc.com

(Here's how to make a nomination:)

Teacher of the Year - Worcester County Public Schools (worcesterk12.org)

Exciting day for Worcester teachers

 (WMDT)

This is the biggest event the Worcester County school system holds every year. It’s a time to celebrate a new chapter, while also showing appreciation for teachers and unity.

(View news story:)

Worcester County Public Schools kick off the new school year with an air of excitement - 47abc (wmdt.com)

 

Dear Worcester County families and community,

I want to begin by extending my sincerest thanks to you for the incredible patience, understanding, and support you have shown us as we navigated very difficult circumstances amid what felt like a never-ending crisis. As we look ahead to the 2022 - 2023 school year, I am happy that our schools will once again resemble the places of learning our students and you - our families - have longed for.

While the pandemic has ended, we have learned valuable lessons from this time. These lessons are woven through both this plan as well as established best practices for general health and safety, instruction, and technology integration.

With that in mind, I want you to know that this plan looks very different from previous years as our focus shifts to recovery of learning. Notably, you'll see the removal of our stages of learning. In Worcester, we have consistently advocated for students' safe return to the classroom early in this pandemic. We led the way in designing strategies and protocols that did just that.

Once again, we anticipate leading the way as we continue our work to close those learning gaps that either appeared or widened as a result of these tumultuous years. We look forward to your partnership in this endeavor.

Sincerely,

Louis H. Taylor

Superintendent of Schools

View details:

Responsible Return 3.0 - Worcester County Public Schools (worcesterk12.org)

Our Worcester County schools

 

At a recent meeting of the Worcester County Board of Education a number of transfers and administrative appointments were announced effective July 1, 2022

Pocomoke Middle School Assistant Principal Joseph Stigler will transfer to Pocomoke High School, following the retirement of Bryan Perry. 

Pocomoke Middle School’s Reading and Math Interventionist Danielle Jackson was appointed to be the school’s Assistant Principal. 

View the other transfers and appointments:

 Administrative Changes Headline Board Meeting - Worcester County Public Schools (worcesterk12.org)

 

Effective Tuesday 4/19 at Worcester County Public Schools

 
(Superintendent of Schools Lou Taylor:)

"As we continue to see positive progress through the pandemic, our schools will now be allowed to host events for families within our schools, like awards assemblies, concerts, and more. While we will still encourage our schools to hold these events outdoors when the weather allows, we know that this may not always be possible. Additionally, adult seating for events will no longer be restricted by COVID-19 physical distancing guidelines. In addition to events, parents will now be allowed to enter our schools for volunteering, meetings, and conferences.

I want to reassure our families that in our school settings, students will continue to observe physical distancing to the greatest extent possible. 

Lastly, I am very excited to share that beginning on Tuesday, in partnership with the Maryland Department of Health, our health suites will now be able to provide free at-home COVID-19 tests to students or staff who are demonstrating COVID-19 symptoms, to students in a classroom or cohort in a qualified outbreak, and for household contacts of students or staff members who have tested positive for COVID-19."

 

Read about it:

Kristin Cashman named 2022 Teacher of the Year - Worcester County Public Schools (worcesterk12.org)

Important announcement from Worcester County Public Schools

 

View announcement details:

January 11, 2022 - Important Changes to Responsible Return 2.0 - Worcester County Public Schools (worcesterk12.org)

Worcester County Public Schools 1/5

 
Due to inclement weather conditions, Worcester County Public Schools will be opening two-hours late on Wednesday, January 5, 2022.  Due to the two-hour delay, there will be no AM half-day Pre-Kindergarten classes. Busses will operate accordingly.

Worcester County Public Schools-

 

Due to continued inclement weather conditions, Worcester County Public Schools will be closed Tuesday, January 4, 2022.  All after school, evening and Adult Education classes are also cancelled.

1/1/22 annoucement from Worcester County Public Schools

     

Worcester County Public Schools is excited to welcome back students to full in-person learning on Monday, January 3, 2022. We want to reassure families that we are keeping a close eye on current trends in our community's COVID-19 metrics. However, to make our return from Winter Break successful, we need your help!

View full announcement:

January 1, 2022 - WCPS Return from Winter Break - Worcester County Public Schools (worcesterk12.org)

School calendar updates announced for Worcester County

 

View transcript of Superintendent Lou Taylor's announcement:

November 16, 2021 - Important Calendar Updates - Worcester County Public Schools (worcesterk12.org)

Worcester ranks in top three school districts in Maryland

 

Read more about it:

WCPS Ranked Third Best School District in MD - Worcester County Public Schools (worcesterk12.org)

New COVID-19 dashboard for Worcester public schools

 

(Worcester County Public Schools website)

WCPS Launches New COVID-19 Dashboard

Posted on 10/11/2021

As a part of Worcester County Public Schools’ continued efforts to be transparent with our families and the Worcester County community, a new COVID-19 dashboard has been established. The dashboard is integrated into the Responsible Return 2.0 hub here on our website. 

The new COVID-19 dashboard now provides weekly data on the number of new COVID-19 cases both countywide and in each of our schools. In a marked improvement from the School Status webpage previously provided with the original Responsible Return plan, the new tool now shows whether a school has been identified by the Maryland Department of Health as having a cohort/classroom outbreak or a schoolwide outbreak as well as any closure information. 

To make the information clear for viewers, a key is available with descriptions of the color levels as well as explanations of what constitutes an outbreak as well as direct links to resources from the Maryland Department of Health.

To view the dashboard, please visit https://tinyurl.com/WCPSCOVIDDashboard. 

New Worcester Board of Ed member

 

Commissioners Appoint Nathaniel Passwaters to Fill Board of Education Vacancy

More info:

Nate Passwaters Appointed to Board of Education - Worcester County Public Schools (worcesterk12.org)