[{"_1":2,"_112":-5,"_113":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88,100],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6609991,"mediaKeyId","2905134-1db4894d5b07aa4ed071446ee8c9b7ba","parentId",2905134,"title","Board approves March meeting minutes and personnel actions","audioSeconds",40,"startMs",12454000,"endMs",12494000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2905134-1db4894d5b07aa4ed071446ee8c9b7ba&start=12454&end=12494","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2905134-1db4894d5b07aa4ed071446ee8c9b7ba/thumbnail_12454000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6609991/Maryland/Board-approves-March-meeting-minutes-and-personnel-actions","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6609991-7fe550035cf3dd5411a8806f46100d61/orig.mp4?Expires=1770442640&Signature=JMQbHR5muq9Y~kmAujExv0Fiv7q7YHdXgtSt4acjn8oB9C~RXHkne1pRBXZIsoQLr36Rkqu3tHOfMiLM3x2u4Xo1g6gi9vcc99Is~5-BNsKG8ZIPM6TluMB2HxN74SnmpKLSnDs3sZuFdRP0ItI7ARmbfv-Kh7rxradY3fMntT0Cg5DaMAlgyc88LqLxbOX8XfEeqYyoC3rqsoUgWJouMa~w5bzkj3XrwqFy16mp1LovNAuNZEZ4GiFCWDaQdxUn57rLzYpqGOrIK-lEiGk8oQ2zZDRqpF~wcwRf8q55X7s~e1P-AthoUqXEQ~VrLKUfa~oeE5AP7Gg1rfSL-fwsxA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Charles County Public Schools","date","2025-04-08T23:23:26.267Z","article","The Charles County Board of Education approved the March 11 regular meeting minutes and a set of personnel actions during a brief business session at its April 8 meeting.

Board member Toni Boyer moved to accept the March 11 regular meeting minutes; the motion was seconded, and trustees voted \"Aye\" unanimously to approve the record.

The board then took action on the personnel agenda. A motion was offered and seconded to approve the personnel matters on the posted agenda; the board voted unanimously to approve the personnel actions.

The meeting record shows the motions carried without recorded dissent. The board's personnel agenda and the minutes will be posted to the board record according to usual practice.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Board Meeting - April 11, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","At the April 8 meeting trustees approved the March 11 regular meeting minutes and a set of personnel actions; motions passed unanimously, according to the meeting record.","taxTitle","Charles County Public Schools, School Boards, Maryland","taxId",14205,"location","Maryland","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6609996,"Board reviews three calendar models including post-Labor Day start; staff to survey community",375,5787000,6162000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2905134-1db4894d5b07aa4ed071446ee8c9b7ba&start=5787&end=6162","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2905134-1db4894d5b07aa4ed071446ee8c9b7ba/thumbnail_5787000.jpg","/articles/6609996/Maryland/Board-reviews-three-calendar-models-including-post-Labor-Day-start-staff-to-survey-community","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6609996-9e0a7327a8227874962a24c0197891a4/orig.mp4?Expires=1770442640&Signature=byrokTH~Fbw7roMTCkYoBJ5H9v4jOxTkEDOVjPOEMgRsyBCDOPNT6r8D6RYHV~bC2h34Ijg8ElI9XrZFMP2uBDV2JcqSBr0AtqKF7QXuR~83GRMweruCQiYLnDu2U-JXAK1HUt-xpx~YIvNFwJitoktAWhIcpwFw57gi3r1tcMTz545cWqa3UfGfKoqlmRAVe4wAU7o6T3c5oyiwixB07LhwqrDiWUGcKNNS7gQKp2kK8fISpb8N1B7Q12bbI-PS7dEFd8Nrkadwcn1hHev4cBZxZI46b4e988Fu1zGBBg0Jy4u-8S39TPrHQ7~vTpQdcEzPQdijYf55qXsEksoSxQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Charles County Public Schools staff presented three draft calendar models for the 2026'17 school year on April 8 and said the district will publish the models for public comment and return to the board with survey results before a June action.

Miss Mackey, the district calendar lead, described the three models: a traditional calendar with school starting the fourth Monday in August and two-hour early-dismissal buildups before breaks; a \"midweek start\" model that would back teachers' start dates up three days so students would begin on a Wednesday; and a post-Labor Day start that would push the student start to the Tuesday after Labor Day and shorten winter break slightly, with the last student day in late June.

Mackey said the calendar committee included parents, teachers, administrators, support staff and union leaders, and worked from parameters set by the board. She outlined trade-offs discussed by the group, including aligning with neighboring counties, preserving two-week winter breaks, and the operational cost to close buildings for election day.

\"If we looked at adding another holiday for election day into the negotiated agreement, we'd be looking at an additional holiday where the system would have to pay about, I think Miss Acton quoted me, an average...about $300,000,\" Mackey told the board, explaining that some calendar models avoid closing facilities fully on election day to limit those costs and to avoid school buildings serving as active polling sites with students present.

Board members and the public asked for more student voice in the committee and for clarity about which federal and negotiated holidays would be observed. Several trustees said they favored the traditional model or the midweek variant and that a post-Labor Day start would run the school year too late into June. Trustees asked staff to add a public survey and to solicit student input via the Student Member of the Board (SMOB) advisory group.

Mackey said the models are posted on BoardDocs and that staff will add a community survey next week; the board indicated it would consider calendar action at the June meeting. She cautioned that some negotiated-holiday designations (for AFSCME and other employees) affect whether certain days can be added or shifted and that those labor and operational implications factor into final decisions.

The board did not vote on the calendars on April 8; staff will collect survey results and return to the board before a final vote in June.","A calendar committee presented three draft 2026'27 school-year models at the April 8 meeting — a traditional schedule, a midweek start model and a post-Labor Day start — and staff will post models online and survey the community before the board votes in June.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6610001,"Board hears recommendation to adopt English 3D curriculum for English learners",528,4473000,5001000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2905134-1db4894d5b07aa4ed071446ee8c9b7ba&start=4473&end=5001","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2905134-1db4894d5b07aa4ed071446ee8c9b7ba/thumbnail_4473000.jpg","/articles/6610001/Maryland/Board-hears-recommendation-to-adopt-English-3D-curriculum-for-English-learners","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6610001-3f836a7f6170ed8cfbbfc96b20dadab5/orig.mp4?Expires=1770442640&Signature=dHd6DU80~gJvtDL2QrtJWVDwLrcm-Q-i5Y0X7STgrhdk1uJ3oEOwv7JS2VsNwAzg73jStxRgQ~S3yEeAXr5BjCD7ewcLGDz8pfRr7LZdKS9SZ0F7n5OoZnLcaMMySBADu2w1VIGqqXpQgd5jkPgPlgsC422rkJVotvsW72P-DRzD-n2VisT081n5iGXwqf3JEEivhqbSqOv09d8pIBlpWdtarEIc0-msZVo2v2Vv1Wc5BcmMEoTUrs-5ztBF51c6VwCvq3Nn~t07w~dRLTHuYvwlp4ewGbEJ051Zdfifojd8N9yt~LQtmCo~Php9SxPvgEmtXvdCdwAjMZNQffAWAA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Charles County Public Schools staff asked the Board of Education on April 8 to approve purchase of English 3D, a K'12 English language development (ELD) curriculum from HMH, after a structured review and pilot by English learner teachers and community reviewers.

Autumn Hoffman and Kevin Lowndes explained the selection process, saying ELD materials must support multiple proficiency levels within each grade and align to WIDA and Maryland standards. Hoffman, ELD lead, said the district piloted three vendors and evaluated them on a rubric that included alignment to standards, multiple entry points and supports for newcomers and students with interrupted formal education.

\"The program that we selected through that process is English 3D, which is through HMH,\" Hoffman said. \"It is based on the standards, the WIDA standards. It does span all grades K through 12 and all of the proficiency levels. It does have specific elements for our 3 subgroups, newcomers, long term MLs and students with limited or interrupted formal education.\" She said the selected program offers both print and digital resources so recently arrived students who lack experience with devices can begin on printed materials and transition to online tools.

Staff told trustees that 22 ELD teachers piloted materials and more than 20 students provided survey feedback; a single parent representative also participated in the review because district staff said many families of multilingual students need language access to review materials. Hoffman said teacher and student reviewers praised the program''teachers noted the range of proficiencies covered and families described lessons as well structured.

Board members asked about parent engagement and safeguards for students with disabilities. Vice Chair Kramer and others urged the district to provide translated review materials and to include special education staff in curriculum review. Hoffman said the district will post materials for a 30-day public review and will solicit feedback from bilingual parent groups and special education stakeholders.

Superintendent Navarro clarified the curriculum would be a supplement for students' ELD instruction while students continue to receive grade-level core instruction in their content classrooms. \"These materials are just for the time the students are with their ESOL ELD teacher, not something that they will be doing instead of the content in the classroom,\" Navarro said.

The board did not take a purchase vote at the April 8 meeting; staff said they will proceed with the public review period and return with a recommendation for formal approval after the public comment window.

Sources: Presentation by ELD instructional staff and question-and-answer session at the April 8, 2025 Charles County Board of Education meeting.","Charles County Public Schools staff recommended buying English 3D (HMH) as the district'wide English language development curriculum, citing alignment to WIDA standards and resources for newcomers, long-term multilingual learners and students with interrupted formal education.",{"_33":101,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":102,"_41":103,"_43":104,"_45":105,"_47":106,"_49":107,"_51":108,"_53":109,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":110,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":111,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6610006,"Charles County Public Schools presents results and classroom uses for district common assessments",1234,838000,2072000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2905134-1db4894d5b07aa4ed071446ee8c9b7ba&start=838&end=2072","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2905134-1db4894d5b07aa4ed071446ee8c9b7ba/thumbnail_838000.jpg","/articles/6610006/Maryland/Charles-County-Public-Schools-presents-results-and-classroom-uses-for-district-common-assessments","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6610006-b69bc6863d24a472679b9ad6a708bd45/orig.mp4?Expires=1770442640&Signature=bk6nx2lOhdBaEfB2x65LKJmqYi2frN6JrFhUDhjPUeRUeGplMTFkb~a5G9wP2qXrinHZyTS2kopotgBzvRpmmndT7m1gJ8NDGWs6MUO-tK-aV5fD7lJQznL12mISsY4wutS8XV8uQgWZgq-nH32drGIABZ~zByNi~fVJufn4SLgz8AHvRdssq8X1iV5OfQwgiy74JpdCz8CYdp6kRRLhVqr-8yE9M6Sx-SE44jq8R6xJIs6-WawNn1weIGjrw1bXUtOlfLBdISuiuMaWqCemcpnqhNEwNuapTH1FhlWny-PcNIG9OThDYb3Xmd73al4pk84qERwz3zisIYTMaTIruw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Charles County Public Schools officials reviewed the district'wide common assessment program and winter results at the April 8 Board of Education meeting, saying the assessments are intended as formative, point-in-time measures to guide instruction and pacing.

School leaders said the common assessments are meant to \"look at instructional implications\" and help teachers \"circle back\" to standards students have not mastered, not to replace state tests, Superintendent Maria Navarro and assessment staff said.

Kevin Lowndes, chief of teaching and learning, told the board the assessments exist to \"monitor the curriculum\" and \"to get our students to understand the type of test, questions that are gonna be on the state test.\" He said the district uses the assessments to check pacing, depth of student knowledge and to expose students to technology used on state tests. \"The common assessments are a formative assessment, and they are measuring in that point in time a standard that's being taught within their curriculum,\" Lowndes told the board.

Lowndes and content specialists outlined how the data are used at each level. Kim Huddler, elementary reading content specialist, said coaches and teachers drill into standards monthly to determine which standards need extra attention. She pointed to one fifth-grade informational-reading standard where 74% of students answered correctly and another skill where only 46% did, and said the district used a January in-service to focus on rigor and instructional implications.

Erica Boardley, a teacher at Brown Elementary, described how her school reviews common-assessment items in class: teachers use quick warm-ups to revisit questions most students missed, then reteach and give practice. \"We have this flex time... 30 minutes, 5 days a week, grades 1 through 5, and it's really intended to be flexible to meet the needs of the students,\" Boardley said.

Secondary staff described similar processes adapted for class periods and larger assessments, including item-analysis by standard and use of protocols to examine student work. Jack Tuttle, social studies content specialist, said the work emphasizes skills such as sourcing and contextualization that recur across assessments and grades.

Board members pressed staff on participation rates, family communication and whether the fall and winter common assessments were comparable. Steve Roberts, director of accountability, said roughly 95% of students completed the assessments this year and that absent students are required to make them up. \"So this is, yeah, pretty good indication,\" Roberts said of the participation data.

Parents and board members asked how the district communicates results to families and how students with IEPs receive accommodations. Lowndes and content staff said the district is working on clearer family reports and noted accommodations that are part of students'
IEPs apply to common assessments as well. \"If a student has accommodations, the accommodations should be with whatever test and whatever thing that they have. So that would be included in the common assessment as well,\" content staff member Joanna (first name only in transcript) said.

Teachers and board members also discussed how to help students transfer work they do on paper to online testing formats; secondary staff said students sometimes show more of their mathematical reasoning on paper than they type into computers, and the district is training teachers and students on how to put their reasoning into the digital tool.

Board members urged the district to expand family-facing messaging, including examples of what parents can do at home to support standards. Lowndes said the district has been piloting family letters and unit videos in some subjects and hopes to replicate stronger family communications widely.

District staff said they will continue to use the assessments as a diagnostic and instructional tool while respecting state limitations on assessment time. The presentation included requests from the board for clearer parent reports, continued training on digital test tools, and follow-up data showing year-to-year cohort comparisons.

The board did not take a formal vote on the assessment program at the April 8 meeting; the presentation was informational and staff said they would return with additional communications and data next year.

Sources: Presentation and question-and-answer session with Charles County Public Schools instructional leadership and content specialists at the April 8, 2025 Board of Education meeting.","District staff told the Board of Education on April 8 that countywide ‘common assessments’ are yielding usable formative data and have reached high participation this year, while teachers and principals asked for clearer family-facing reports and more time to use results.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Board approves March meeting minutes and personnel actions

Board reviews three calendar models including post-Labor Day start; staff to survey community

Board hears recommendation to adopt English 3D curriculum for English learners

Charles County Public Schools presents results and classroom uses for district common assessments