Newark, MD, April 22, 2025– Worcester County Public Schools (WCPS) was recently notified that it has been awarded a $200,000 grant award from the Donnie Williams Foundation to help fund critical summer academy programs at select schools for the upcoming summer.
As the Board of Education awaits decisions from the county regarding its funding request for the upcoming 2025-2026 school year, the school system has been diligently pursuing grants to help support key programs to provide remediation and prevent summer slide for targeted students across the county.
“We know how critical our summer programs are to supporting student success,” said Superintendent of Schools Lou Taylor. “While we have included funding for these programs within our operating budget request, we are so grateful to the Donnie Williams Foundation for its continued support of these vital programs for our students.”
The foundation, founded by Maryland native Donnie Williams, is committed to giving back to the communities that provided to him the benefits of a structured, traditional education program in his youth, leading to the foundation’s purpose of ensuring other students had the same opportunities Williams was afforded.
As the school system’s funding requests were reduced over the past two budget cycles, summer academies were significantly scaled down. Through the Donnie Williams Foundation grant, Ocean City Elementary, Showell Elementary, and Stephen Decatur High Schools will be able to provide these programs for students who will benefit from them.
The school system’s 2025-2026 proposed operating budget request includes $654,162 in local funding to provide afterschool and summer programming for all schools in the county. The budget presentation to the County Commissioners on April 8, noted how the request will be adjusted down to account for the Donnie Williams Foundation grant award.