The first bells are set to sound Tuesday, Aug. 27, in Calvert public schools. At several schools students arriving by bus, car or on foot will have a new leader greeting them.
Since late May, Superintendent Andraé Townsel has recommended several administrative changes, all approved unanimously by the county school board. Those appointments have included four new principals.
A fifth new principal, Jason Patton, transferred from Dowell Elementary to Mount Harmony Elementary. The post at the Owings elementary school became vacant at the end of the school year when longtime principal Charles Treft resigned. Treft is now the principal at Mace’s Lane Middle School in Dorchester County.
Two of the appointees have prior experience as principals.
“I’m very excited. Looking forward to it,” Kelly Cleland, the new Plum Point Middle School principal, told Southern Maryland News this week. “I see a lot of familiar faces.”
Cleland, who served as principal of Windy Hill Elementary for eight years, was serving as a support and improvement specialist in the school system’s department of instruction when she received the appointment to Plum Point Middle’s principalship.
Acknowledging that there are concerns about safety and discipline within the walls of the middle school, Cleland said, “If we are consistent and communicate, we can get through our challenges.”
For Ryan Crowley, after holding several posts in Calvert and Charles county schools — teaching and administrating — he took the state assessment for qualifying to serve as a principal and one month later was appointed principal at Southern Middle. Crowley had previously taught special education at the Lusby school.
He is also prepared to offer leadership at a crucial stage in an individual student’s life.
“I think I have an advantage there,” Crowley said, explaining that the edge comes from his previous assignment as an assistant principal at Patuxent-Appeal Campus Elementary.
“About half of the students at Patuxent-Appeal will be exiting to Southern Middle,” Crowley told Southern Maryland News. “A majority I have known since kindergarten. I have been working with those families for nine years. I already know about 200 students.”
Crowley conceded it was hard leaving Patuxent-Appeal but is ready to tackle the challenges being principal of Southern Middle poses.
“Increasing achievement, improving school climate,” are among the challenges Crowley cited.
As Crowley returns to Southern Middle, Jamie Smith exits after serving as an assistant principal there for five years. Her new post is just four miles south to Dowell Elementary, where she was appointed principal in June.
Smith told Southern Maryland News her aim is “continuing to lead in southern Calvert. I am excited to be a part of a school in the community where I live.”
During the summer, Smith said she “reached out to and met with parents.”
Since Dowell was a summer school site she was able to interact with parents and students. Beyond the principal’s office, Smith mingled with the community at events that included a local church’s vacation bible school.
She also attended “PAWS” meetings. The Parents and Guardians Active With Schools (PAWS, appropriate since the Husky is the school mascot) is Dowell’s equivalent to a PTA.
Smith said her goals for the 2024-2025 school year include “working with the school improvement team, working with the communities, working with students who are struggling and working on getting kids to attend school when they’re not sick.”
In May, Joe Sampson III was appointed principal of Mill Creek Middle School. Sampson has been serving as the school system’s coordinator of Maryland Leads Grant and Blueprint for Maryland’s Future.
Sampson did not respond this week to a request for comment.
Before the year beginsCalvert’s middle schools are holding sixth grade orientations Monday, Aug. 26. The orientations will be held from 8:10 to 11:10 a.m.
Calvert’s high schools are holding ninth grade orientations Monday, Aug. 26. The orientations will be held from 7:15 to 10:15 a.m.
Changes for students for the start of the new school year include modifications to the system’s dress code and cellphone policy.
Hoods are not allowed to be worn on the heads while a student is in school.
Students are not permitted to use cellphones or smartwatches during the school day. Those devices must be powered completely off.
The Calvert County Sheriff’s Office reminds motorists do not pass a school bus that is stopped to load or unload children. Drivers must stop at least 20 feet from school buses when their red flashing lights are activated and stop signs are extended regardless of which direction you’re approaching from.
Failure to stop carries a fine close to $600 or three points on a driver’s license and other penalties for drivers or, even worse, cause a serious accident. Traffic in both directions on undivided highways must stop when students are entering or exiting a school bus. The red flashing lights and extended stop sign arms are your cue to stop. On a divided roadway, all traffic behind the school bus must stop.
Prior to the end of the previous school year, the Calvert County commissioners voted to establish a “Student Safety and Well-Being Advisory Committee.” To date, that committee has yet to be appointed.
In an email to Southern Maryland News in late July, Linda Turner, deputy county administrator, stated, “We received applications from individuals interested in serving as the committee representatives for districts 1, 2 and 3. These applications are currently under review. Our goal will be to bring the recommendations to the board of county commissioners in August, which will be prior to the start of school. In addition, we are working to finalize nominations from the additional organizations who are required to serve as members of this committee.”
On Tuesday, Calvert County Public Schools announced the establishment of a joint “Family Life Committee” of educators who work in the school system and community representatives who reside in the county for the purpose of reviewing, commenting on and, where appropriate, recommending instructional materials.
Anyone interested in serving on the Family Life Committee should complete a survey by going to https://forms.office.com/r/t5g5KLbvuN.
The school system has also established “Library Reconsideration Committees.” To obtain a survey form for this new committee go to https://forms.office.com/r/DBa5b0Jzgg.
The deadline for signing up for either committee is Aug. 30.
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