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Charles County schools detail steps for resolving family concerns; chief of schools cites 48‑hour response standard
Summary
At a Feb. 4 virtual town hall, Charles County Public Schools outlined a recommended chain of contact for families with school concerns and said the district’s standard is to respond within 48 hours.
CHARLES COUNTY, Md. — During a Feb. 4 virtual town hall, Charles County Public Schools staff walked families through the district’s recommended steps for resolving school-level concerns, described a standard 48‑hour response window for school staff, and said the district is developing a “code of parent conduct.”
Tracy Chapmanware Thomas of the Department of Community Engagement and Equity presented a stepwise contact path parents should follow: begin with the student’s teacher; if needed, consult the school counselor; then the assistant principal and principal; escalate to the office of school administration and leadership (executive directors Jamie Whitfield Coffin, Erica Williams and Richard Connolly were named as school executive directors); then the chief of schools, Dr. Marva Jones; then the superintendent, Dr. Maria Navarro; and finally the Board of Education if prior steps do not resolve the issue. Thomas said the office of school administration and leadership can be reached at 301-934-7365.
Dr. Marva Jones, identified at the meeting as chief of schools, said consistent practice in CCPS is to acknowledge and respond to family inquiries within 48 hours. “Responses are provided to all families within a 48 hour period,” Jones said, adding that staff should at minimum send an interim message if a full resolution requires more time. Jones also warned that skipping steps and escalating immediately to the board or superintendent is likely to produce a referral back to the school level; staff encouraged families to follow the chain so issues can be handled with the staff closest to the student.
Jones and other speakers said the district is working on a “code of parent conduct” intended to outline expectations for adults and to provide clarity about how schools will request family cooperation. Jones described the code as a work in progress and said district staff aim to have it in place for the next school year.
The town hall also addressed operational concerns parents raised: school response times that vary in practice; the timing of attendance-notification calls (district staff said calls are sent late in the day to capture full-day attendance, though the district may test alternate timing); car-rider drop-off and pickup challenges at older campuses (district and transportation staff said each school’s layout drives its process and that staff will review problematic sites); and a recent vendor change — district tutoring provider FBV Tutoring notified CCPS it would no longer provide services, staff said, and principals vary in the additional supports they can offer.
On student safety and behavior, staff described the district’s bullying complaint system and pointed families to an online "See Something, Say Something" tool that includes a bullying and harassment complaint form. Staff also noted that CCPS has updated its student code of conduct this school year after multi‑stakeholder review and that the district enforces accountability measures for employees under the employee manual and related policies.
Ending: District leaders encouraged parents to use posted contact links on the CCPS website for specific issues and said staff will follow up on operational concerns raised during the town hall.
