The Board of Education at its Jan. 14 meeting presented four resolutions to Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) students and staff. The Board votes annually to accept resolutions. The following resolutions were presented. Black History Month; Career and Technology Education (CTE) Month; Gifted and Talented Education Month; and National School Counseling Week. The school system celebrates Black History Month annually in February. The 2020 theme is African Americans and the Vote. Throughout the school year, as well as Black History Month, CCPS works to improve minority achievement in schools with a goal of eliminating achievement gaps. Black History Month activities Read more…

The Board of Education of Charles County today elected Virginia McGraw as its chairman and Latina Wilson as its vice chairman at the start of the Jan. 14 meeting. The Board votes annually in January to elect a chairman and vice chairman. Both the chairman and vice chairman serve a one-year term. The current Board was elected to office in November 2018 and elected McGraw and Wilson as chair and vice chairman in January 2019. This is the fourth term for McGraw as chairman. McGraw was first elected to the Board in 2014 and is serving her second term on Read more…

Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) is accepting applications for additional members to serve on its Safety and Security Advisory Council. Members are volunteers with diverse backgrounds with expertise in security, law enforcement, mental health and other areas. The council meets quarterly and provides suggestions and recommendations to the Superintendent and staff. Superintendent Kimberly Hill started the advisory council at the end of the 2017-18 school year. Members are divided into four subgroups. Most recently, the facilities subgroup conducted site visits/threat assessments at a number of schools. During the school visits, the group focused on entrance points, arrival and dismissal procedures, Read more…

Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) students come from five high schools to make up a team for winter guard, an indoor activity that combines choreography and props to tell a story or convey a theme. Simply put, “You have probably seen a color guard perform with a marching band before, winter guard is the same, just without the band,” said Alyssa Engle, a computer science and engineering Project Lead the Way teacher at Westlake and artistic director of the winter guard. Sixteen high school students — eight from La Plata, two from Maurice J. McDonough, two from North Point, one Read more…

Eligible Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) sophomores, juniors and seniors can take financial literacy for original credit this spring at the Robert D. Stethem Educational Center. The course is a mix of online material and in-person requirements for completion. The course begins Feb. 11 and ends May 26. Cost is $300 and payment is non-refundable. The blended online Apex course requires students to complete online course work as well as turn in assignments and complete course tests at the Stethem Center on Tuesdays and/or Thursdays from 3 to 6 p.m. Parents must provide transportation for students. Students who do not Read more…

Due to inclement weather conditions, all Charles County public schools will open two-hours late today, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020. There is a code two, which is a two-hour delay, for staff who follow the code system. The AlphaBest program at county elementary schools will open at 8 a.m. today and all morning prekindergarten classes are canceled. Visit ccboe.com for the latest information. 

Mary Anne Onianwah has always been interested in how people connect, it could be why she enrolled in North Point High School’s Cisco Networking Academy Career and Technical Education (CTE) program. “My parents come from a third world country and I see how technology connects people around the world,” said Onianwah, a senior who would like to study information science or human-computer interaction in college. At one time she wanted to major in medical information technology, but over the years, Onianwah has found herself drawn to the “why.” Why do people use technology the way they do? Continued questioning is Read more…

The Board of Education’s next monthly meeting is Tuesday, Jan. 14, at the Jesse L. Starkey Administration Building on Radio Station Road in La Plata. The public portion of the meeting begins at 1 p.m. and recognition starts at 4:30 p.m. The meeting is televised live on Comcast Channel 96 and Verizon FiOS Channel 12, and rebroadcast throughout the week. Board meetings are streamed live on the school system website www.ccboe.com. Select the graphic on the center of the home page to launch the meeting. The following is a tentative meeting agenda and is subject to change. Executive session – Read more…

Registration for the Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) annual winter chess tournament, set for 9 a.m., Saturday, Feb. 22 at Henry E. Lackey High School, is now open for students. The tournament is for students in kindergarten through Grade 12. Interested participants must register online at https://ccpsregistration.wufoo.com/forms/2020-ccps-winter-chess-tournament/ by Wednesday, Feb. 19. The registration window closes after Feb. 19 and walk-in registrations are not accepted. The tournament features a four round Swiss-style format. Students compete in eight divisions of play, depending on their grade level of enrollment: kindergarten through first grade, second grade, third grade, fourth grade, fifth grade, sixth grade, Read more…

Free breakfast is being offered to all students in Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) through Jan. 10. Some CCPS students — those who attend a Title I school or a school that participates in the Maryland Meals for Achievement (MMFA) in-classroom breakfast program — get free breakfast throughout the year. Title I schools in Charles County are C. Paul Barnhart, Dr. Gustavus Brown, Indian Head, Mt. Hope/Nanjemoy, Dr. Samuel A. Mudd, J.P. Ryon and Eva Turner elementary schools. MMFA provides state funding to supplement federal meal reimbursements allowing select schools to offer breakfast for all students at no charge to Read more…