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Wicomico schools report nearly $35,000 in December grants; staff and construction manager receive 'Extra Mile' awards
Summary
Superintendent and school officials reported nine grants totaling nearly $35,000 in December to support safety, arts, robotics, and school programs. The board also recognized three employees for "extra mile" service and heard a blueprint/legislative update.
Wicomico County Public Schools reported Jan. 14 that the district received nine grants in December totaling nearly $35,000 to support school safety, arts residencies, classroom technology and other school programs.
Dr. Reger, who delivered the grant report, said the Maryland Center for School Safety provided more than $24,000 to enhance school safety and emergency communications across the system. The Maryland State Arts Council awarded "over $36,100" to Willards Elementary School for a visual-arts residency combining fabric-creation techniques with environmental science and American history standards, the presenter said. A local community foundation contributed $1,300 to Westside Primary School to buy programmable robots to support coding and teamwork instruction. Additionally, six schools each received up to $1,000 from the Herchick Cash for Class program for a range of projects including a food pantry and iPads for multilingual learners and science instruction.
Dr. Reger also said the district submitted a funding application (referred to in the meeting as a "grama") totaling over $918,000; district staff said they will update the board as those submissions progress.
"These grants fund projects and programs that would be difficult to support from general funds alone," Dr. Reger said.
The board also recognized three "Extra Mile" award recipients for December: Rose Blood (instructional assistant, Lehi Avenue), Kevin Simpkins (construction manager, planning and construction), and Mallory Wainwright (school counselor, Fruitland Primary). The chair and superintendent described each honoree's contributions to students, school operations and community support; Kevin Simpkins was noted for his role leading the multi‑phase renovation project at Mardela (Mardella) High School.
Dr. Briggs provided a legislative/blueprint update and said the district is monitoring the Maryland General Assembly session and will participate in a Jan. 28 joint meeting of AIB and MSDE staff to review recommended changes to the state blueprint.
No funding appropriations were voted on at the meeting; the report was informational.
