The Board president will call the meeting to order and note Board member attendance.
In partnership with families and community, we prepare all students to achieve college, career, and life readiness through a challenging and progressive educational experience.
The members of the Caroline County Board of Education desire to hear the views and have the advice of interested citizens. The public comment session is held at each Board meeting for that purpose.
In-Person Public Comment - The time allotted for the Public Comment portion of the agenda is no more than 30 minutes total. The Board of Education does not engage in a discussion of the matter being brought to it but will, if appropriate, direct the Superintendent to respond at a later time.
Individuals interested in participating during the Public Comment portion may sign up in advance by emailing publiccomment@ccpsstaff.org or by signing in at the podium prior to the beginning of the meeting. Individuals will be called to the podium in the order in which they registered by email or sign-in.
Individuals will be advised that:
Written Public Comment emailed to publiccomment@ccpsstaff.org – Emails must be received no later than noon one day prior to the Board meeting, and must clearly state in the subject line or body of the email 'For Public Comment.' Emails will be provided to Board members prior to the start of the meeting and attached to the agenda. Written comments will not be read aloud during the meeting.
The students report on activities from their respective schools.
Director of Administrative Services Dr. Rob Willoughby will present the following personnel items to the Board for approval:
The district instructional staff, district college and career planning committee, school administrators, CCPS computer science teachers, and parents were involved in the discussion to switch Computer Science Essentials to CS Discoveries as an approved course for the MSDE Technology Education credit. With minimal cost, no impact to the schedule and more opportunities for students to become CCR, it is beneficial to CCPS students to offer CS Discoveries as a Tech Ed credit option.
PLTW Computer Science Essentials (CSE) is currently offered at both high schools as an option for the MSDE required Technology education credit. Data has shown that students not in the CS Pathway are struggling to understand the content, and even pass the course. The current PLTW course (CSE) is most appropriate for students in the Computer Science Pathway. CS Discoveries is Code.org's most flexible course, allowing each unit to be taught alone, combined into collections that focus on specific areas, or as a full year course. The free curriculum introduces students to building their own websites, apps, animations, games, and physical computing systems. It is an introductory computer science course that empowers students to create authentic artifacts and engage with computer science as a medium for creativity, communication, problem solving, and fun. In addition, Code.org has extensive resources designed to support educators, even those without prior CS teaching experience. CS Discoveries was written using both the K-12 Framework for Computer Science and the 2017 CSTA standards as guidance. Currently, every lesson in CS Discoveries contains mappings to the relevant 2017 CSTA standards.
Blueprint legislation requires each school district to examine the avenues students can take to become College and Career Ready (CCR). Providing students with more opportunities to earn HS credit in Middle School can help students on their journey to becoming CCR and allows for more opportunities in their POst-CCR Pathways. In addition, those students taking this course in High School will have a better opportunity to understand the content, pass the course and in turn, improve their GPA towards the 3.0 necessary to become CCR.
Action/Recommendation: Approval of CS Discoveries course offering
Staff Member: Lindsey McCormick
Fiscal Impact: None
This policy (written in 1990) is a single line that states that a student who leaves school for a private music lesson will not be excused from school. This is part of our attendance policy and a stand-alone policy for music lessons is redundant.
That the two policies above be introduced for First Reading and potential approval. These policies have been revised and reformatted. The revisions are deemed minor and were made to keep our policies current with state and federal law and regulations and with current practice in our schools.
II.21.20 – Selection of Textbooks and Techbooks
II.22.10 – Instructional Programs in Music
The development of the 2025-2026 school calendar was accomplished through the efforts of the School System Improvement Council and Citizens Advisory Council. Two draft calendars were developed for consideration. Those calendar options were shared with the school community and a survey was deployed to solicit feedback to inform the board's decision.
Tara Downes, Ed.D. Assistant Superintendent of Instruction |
Director of Administrative Services Dr. Rob Willoughby will review the most up-to-date recruitment schedule.
Date | College or University |
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October 18 | Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania |
November 7 | Wilmington University |
November 8 | Old Dominion University |
November 14 | Kutztown University |
February 4 | Washington College |
February 7 | University of Virginia |
February 9 | University of Maryland |
February 18 | Liberty University |
February 21 | Radford University |
February 24 | Frostburg State University |
March 11 | Millersville University |
March 17 | Kutztown University |
March 18 | George Mason University |
March 19 | PERC Regional Job Fair (Pittsburgh) |
March 20 | West Virginia State University |
March 21 | Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania |
March 26 | East Carolina University |
March 28 | Appalachian State University |
April 9 | Kean University |
April 10 | Rider University |
April 16 | Indiana University of Pennsylvania |
*Salisbury University / UMES Fair Date Not Yet Announced
Superintendent of Schools Dr. Simmons will review the FY26 budget development.
Chief Financial Officer Jill Hignutt will review the most recent finance report as of January 31, 2025.
Dr. Simmons will report out on activities / highlights from the last month.
The next work session is on February 18, 2025.
The next regular meeting is on March 4, 2025.