WORCESTER COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS -

In Worcester, we are proud to roll out the red carpet to welcome our new teachers! #WelcomeToWorcester #HiringClassOf2023 #WeAreWorcester

Big thanks to New Macedonia Baptist Church for inviting Pocomoke's Worcester on Wheels to its event Saturday afternoon. It was a great event filled with family engagement, food, books, and school supplies!

Congratulations to @WorcesterSystem students and staff recognized today by our @WorcesterCounty Commissioners for their excellence at the #SkillsUSA National competition this summer! - LT #WeAreWorcester

We'd like to extend a huge thank you to Bunk Mann for donating his third book, "Ocean City Chronicles", to our schools! This generous donation will provide our students with additional learning materials about local history. #WeAreWorcester

Thank you so much @CoastLife for coming to visit our STATT Camp at WTHS! STATT is doing great things to increase capacity in our Worcester Co. Workforce! Thanks to Rural Maryland Council, Economic Dev. Office, and our County Commissioners for funding this great summer program!

The Pocomoke Judy Center will visit each of its apartment complexes on Lynnhaven Drive, handing out brochures, books, bubbles, and free ice cream for all! See the flyer below for details.

WCPS students, have you signed up for the WCPS Summer Reading Challenge? Sign up at https://tinyurl.com/WCPSCLEVER and click the Beanstack logo! Challenge your friends and earn fun prizes. #WeAreWorcester

Thanks to Worcester County Economic Development, BOE & community members who visited STATT Camp today at WTHS. We are grateful to be able to offer this valuable program to our students! [Not pictured: BOE member Bill Buchanan, County Admin Weston Young & WCPS CFO Vince Tolbert]

We are so proud to celebrate our Adult Education program graduates at tonight's Board of Education Meeting! Check out the full album of graduate photos at https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/ovacv0le2zc1ci6kuj2wz/h?rlkey=k3b6ahj3t50s4n17k9fm2663r&dl=0. #WorcesterProud #CongratsGrads

Here Comes the Sun! Join WCPS School Librarians in a Summer Reading Challenge! Sign up today by going to https://tinyurl.com/WCPSCLEVER and clicking the Beanstack logo! Challenge your friends and earn fun prizes. #WeAreWorcester

Hey Worcester, spread the word! Our Summer Meal Program locations are now open for students in need of a nutritious meal. Check out the flyer for more details. #WeAreWorcester

We are so excited to announce our new website and app are now LIVE 🎉! Take a look at our new website (www.worcesterk12.org) and download our new mobile app (Worcester County Schools)

BIG NEWS: Our brand-new website and mobile app are launching on June 26, and we couldn't be more excited! 🙌 We are hard at work to ensure our website and app give you a seamless and efficient experience!

We are proud to welcome the 2023-2024 student representatives to the Worcester County Board of Education! From left: Deliyah Holland (Stephen Decatur High School), Catelina Luzader (Snow Hill High School) & Treston Melvin (Pocomoke High School) #WCPSBoardMeeting #WeAreWorcester

Thank you to the Joshua M. Freeman Foundation for your partnership in bringing arts to the students of Worcester County! #WCPSBoardMeeting #WeAreWorcester

In response to an upcoming story on 47 ABC - WMDT, Worcester County Public Schools MD Board of Education President Todd Ferrante has issued the following statement: "In response to Mr. Fiori’s comments to WMDT, I want to remind our school system community that we as a Board did not wish to make any of the cuts decided on last week. We believe our teachers and staff are deserving of the salary increases originally agreed upon, and the young people in our community deserve the very best student experience. Unfortunately, due to the Commissioners funding the local share of the school system budget at Maintenance of Effort, difficult decisions had to be made to close the $4.5 million shortfall we face. It is now clear that the Commissioners’ intent from the start of this process was to exert control over the Board of Education budget, and their insinuation that increases in state funding could cover the costs of the Commissioners’ funding decision is both inaccurate and disappointing. A large portion of the $2.8 million increase in state aid for the upcoming year is already allocated to fund health insurance increases ($1.1 million), Blueprint implementation requirements ($500,000), and the Apple technology lease ($94,000). The remaining $1.1 million does not begin to fulfill the one salary step for our 1,200 employees ($1.2 million) or cost of living adjustments (over $3 million) previously negotiated with our associations. It’s also important to mention that increases are required to fixed charges, and the above does not include any increases for our bus contractors. While it is unfortunate that Commissioners feel that we are “punishing” them with the tough choices they set before us, the truth is that our students and staff are the ones being punished by the Commissioners’ decision to fund the school system’s local share at Maintenance of Effort."

It's the last day of school! Eighth graders at Pocomoke Middle School celebrated this morning during their Promotion Ceremony. We wish them and all of our students a happy, healthy summer!

Congratulations to Stephen Decatur High School senior Jessica Beck, who was honored last week at Ravens Stadium in Baltimore as MPSSAA's Minds in Motion scholarship recipient!

Important Advisory: Advisory for All WCPS Schools In light of current forecasts indicating poor air quality due to smoke from wildfires in Canada, all Worcester County Schools have been advised to take the following steps to reduce exposure for young students and any staff with respiratory issues: • Avoid strenuous outdoor activities. • Keep outdoor activities short. • Consider moving physical activities indoors or rescheduling them. All students and staff should take these steps to reduce exposure: • Choose less strenuous activities (like walking instead of running) so you don't breathe as hard. • Shorten the amount of time you are active outdoors. • Be active outdoors when air quality is better.

Congratulations to the Worcester Technical High School SkillsUSA teams for their recognition at today’s Worcester County Commissioners’ meeting! #WeAreWorcester #WorcesterProud