In February of 2025, work began on creating a new Strategic Plan to guide Caroline County Public Schools through purposeful, continuous improvement that would serve our students through 2031. Given that the current Strategic Plan priorities remain overarching and essential to student success, they will continue to be at the forefront of the plan.

To date:

• Four separate committees wrote new objectives for each goal.

• A draft plan was reviewed and revised by the CCPS Administrators and Supervisors group.

• A revised draft was then reviewed and feedback provided by the Citizens Advisory Committee and the School System Improvement Council. That feedback was incorporated into the draft plan.

• At this point, staff and families are asked to review the plan below and provide feedback through a brief one-question survey.

Goal 1: Provide equitable access to relevant, engaging curriculum and experiences that develop the knowledge and skills needed for college, career, and life readiness.

Objective 1: Implement a rigorous and authentic curriculum across all grade levels and courses, ensuring alignment with standards. Utilize High-Quality Instructional Materials (HQIM) to create engaging, challenging learning experiences for all students.

• Deploy and oversee the use of high-quality instructional materials (HQIM) as outlined by MSDE

• Utilize student achievement data to identify curriculum gaps and prioritize key standards

• Assess and design school schedules that optimize student learning, preparing them for college and career success.

Objective 2: Implement and monitor the comprehensive system of formative and summative assessments across all content areas, which will inform instructional decisions, guide targeted interventions and enrichment activities, and ensure ongoing monitoring of student progress.

•  Review and track changes to the summative and formative assessment systems.

• Introduce targeted, evidence based, interventions and enrichment by integrated multi-tiered systems of support

• Integrate dynamic professional learning that addresses the needs of all educators and enhances high-quality Tier 1 instruction

• Conduct an inventory of current practices, assess them to identify gaps in interventions and enrichment, explore additional opportunities for intervention and enrichment, and implement these as necessary

 Objective 3:  Integrate Career Connected Learning for students at all levels, for all courses and all students

• Implement and monitor the use of resources and strategies for students to explore their strengths, interests, and values, while creating a clearly articulated plan for career awareness, exploration, and pursuit from elementary to secondary levels to support their post-CCR pathway selection.

• Connect employers and students to enhance students’ understanding of and interest in career options, while empowering them to develop and advance along their 6-year plan and future beyond high school graduation.

Goal 2: Foster an environment that supports the social, emotional and physical well-being of students.

Objective 1: Maintain and strengthen School-Based Wellness Teams with stakeholders from staff, leadership, and community partners.

• Form a cross-section of CCPS Social-Emotional and  Physical Wellness Teams.

• Identify a data-collection tool for comprehensive screening of mental and physical health supports.

• Utilize data collection tool for comprehensive screening.

• Identify strengths and gaps in current model.

• Develop draft Wellness Plan for 2025 and beyond.

Objective 2: Develop policy, practice and programs to identify, triage and comprehensively support students’ wellness needs.

• Develop and implement a tiered response to presented concerns.

• Develop and implement a referral process for presented concerns.

 Objective 3: Implement a comprehensive social and emotional wellness system across the District.

• Utilize Panorama survey data to identify self-reported student needs.

• Develop a repository of strategies and intervention.

• Develop a directory for contact/resources, and progression.

Goal 3: Create equitable opportunities to learn by providing resources and experiences according to each student's unique needs.

Objective 1: Recruit and retain effective and diverse educators and staff.

• Develop and implement pathways to teacher licensure such as the CCPS Grow Your Own program, internships, and apprenticeship programs.

• Develop a comprehensive induction program that includes mentoring and coaching of pre-service teacher candidates as well as non-tenured teachers.

• Continually review and expand recruiting efforts and opportunities, including building relationships with out of state schools and HBCUs.

• Engage with current staff at regular intervals to gather feedback around retention.

Objective 2: Identify areas of disproportionality, and identify causes and actionable steps to address them.

• Utilize the school improvement process to review, analyze and develop strategies to address academic, discipline and attendance data disparities through the ITSS (Integrated Tiered Systems of Support)  framework.

• Access multiple district level stakeholder committees to collaborate for input, develop solutions and  inform families and community stakeholders of district academic, discipline and equity data.

• Develop a district stakeholder committee that will gather input from families, students, and staff to guide the development of school-based goals aimed at improving student achievement, encompassing academics, well-being, and college and career readiness.

Objective 3: Promote positive student outcomes through the integration of cultural responsiveness and restorative approaches.

• Provide robust professional learning opportunities around cultural responsiveness, restorative approaches and elevating student outcomes for all students including diverse populations.

• Incorporate student committees to access student voice that informs Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) and the School Improvement Process.

Goal 4: Ensure meaningful avenues of communication with and among students, staff, families and community.

Objective 1: Increase engagement through communication that is timely, transparent, and readily accessible to all stakeholders. 

• Document CCPS / school communication channels and duties that stress expectations and consistency, and fosters among staff a shared sense of responsibility.

• Assess current and research potential two way communication between districts, schools, and stakeholder groups.

• Assess and enhance tools and resources for consistent user-friendly accessibility.

• Increase data reporting to stakeholders, providing appropriate staff with guidance, templates, and examples for sharing information.

Objective 2: Strengthen the sense of community among staff, students, and families by promoting the Caroline Family identity and the unique identities of each individual school community.

• Provide training and resources that connect school identity to climate and culture.

• Develop processes that enable staff to share stories and experiences from the classroom and school to the community.

Objective 3: Increase staff and stakeholder understanding and use of communication tools and resources.

• Organize and distribute information so staff, students, and families are aware of available supports and resources.

• Strengthen promotion of current communication channels.

• Assess effectiveness of communication tools on a regular basis.

In January 2019, the Strategic Planning Committee came together to engage in frank conversations, thought-provoking work sessions, and careful research and assessment of the current state and future direction of Caroline County Public Schools. We are proud to share the results of those efforts in the 2020-2025 Strategic Plan.