TCPS Blueprint Buzz

Welcome to the Fall 2025 Edition of The TCPS Blueprint Buzz!

This newsletter is your source for updates on Talbot County Public Schools’ progress in implementing the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future. We’re committed to keeping students, staff, families, and our community informed and engaged as we move this important work forward.

In this edition:

Pillar Highlights: Pre-K Mixed Delivery, Career Ladder, Flex Blocks, Community Schools Team, MSF Waivers
New TCPS Blueprint Implementation Coordinator
Resources to learn more about the Blueprint for Maryland's Future

Pillar 1: Early Childhood Education

TCPS is excited to welcome Critchlow Adkins Children's Centers (CACC) as its first Pre-K mixed-delivery private partner. We look forward to further strengthening our established partnership with CACC and expanding access to high-quality early learning opportunities for Talbot County’s youngest learners. Click here to read more about Maryland's Pre-K Mixed Delivery System.

The school year began with the exciting announcement that White Marsh Elementary School will host a new Judy Center, made possible through a highly competitive annual grant award! The school community looks forward to welcoming the new staff and developing a plan for programming during this first year. TCPS now proudly hosts four Judy Centers across the district. Click here to learn more about Judy Center Early Learning Hubs.

Pillar 2: Career Ladder

The TCPS Career Ladder went into effect on July 1, 2025. The purpose of the career ladder is to transform teaching into a high status profession and support educators by providing high-quality professional learning opportunities, compensation, and opportunities for advancement while maintaining primary responsibility for classroom instruction. Teachers are encouraged to advance through the levels of the career ladder to access these opportunities. Click here to read more about how The Blueprint for Maryland's Future is elevating the teaching profession.

Pillar 3: Academic Achievement - Flex Blocks

TCPS is excited to share a new scheduling model implemented this year at Easton High School and St. Michaels Middle High School! Both schools have successfully integrated a dedicated 30-minute "flex class" period into the daily schedule to provide students with targeted, flexible support and enrichment.

Quarter 1 Focus: Building Foundational Skills

This first quarter, all students are participating in grade-level seminar classes during the flex period. These seminars are designed to build essential non-academic skills and include:

Junior Achievement lessons focused on financial literacy and career readiness.
Workshops on goal setting and effective study skills.
Social Emotional Learning strategies.
Instruction in personal finance.

Quarters 2, 3, and 4: Personalized Academic Support

Starting in Quarter 2 and running through the end of the year, the flex classes will pivot to offer personalized academic interventions and supports to best prepare students to be College and Career Ready. These courses will offer:

Targeted interventions in Math and English Language Arts (ELA).
Support sessions for students enrolled in AP classes and Dual Enrollment.
Additional time to prepare students for Industry Recognized Credentials in Career and Technical Education pathways.

Pillar 4: Community Schools Update

Community schools promote positive, equitable outcomes by providing students and families with the physical and mental health, academic, and extracurricular supports needed to thrive.

Click here to learn more about Maryland's Community Schools.

TCPS uses the Community Schools Forward Framework and Key Practices to guide their work. This graphic provides an overview of those key practices.

Talbot County Public Schools currently has 5 community schools - 3 of which are in their first year of this transformational process. Read about our Community Schools team and where they are in the process below.

Katie Fox

"Easton Elementary is in its 4th year as a Community School. One of our implementation goals includes increasing participation in expanded learning opportunities. Over the last two years, we have expanded our before and after school programs by over 50% enabling hundreds of students to have access to an enrichment experience they may not have already had. Clubs are taught by EES staff members as well as community partners such as the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum. Our long standing partnerships with BAAM and ChesMRC continue to succesfully serve many students."

Shelby Parks

"Easton Middle School is in the second year of our community school journey, which means great things are in process! We continue to collect data to determine our greatest needs in order to drive our current and future goals. We are consistently developing new and improved partnerships within the Easton Middle School community and look forward to hosting upcoming events such as produce box distributions, an Easton Middle School Showcase Night, and other family engagement events."

Janine Puma Martinez

"As the EHS Community School Program Manager, I’m proud to support a growing team committed to fostering a supportive and inclusive environment where students, families, and staff thrive together. This year, our focus is conducting comprehensive needs assessments to hear directly from our community. The insights we gather will guide our Steering Committee in developing a strategic Community School Implementation Plan that reflects our shared priorities."

Ashley Harrison

"As the Community School Facilitator, my primary goal is to build a foundation of meaningful services and partnerships at Tilghman Elementary School, where we prove every day that we are small, but mighty! We recently marked a successful milestone with our first mini-expo at our Back-to-School Snow Cone Social, where we celebrated our initial partnership by distributing bike helmets to students and their families at no cost. This event was a great first step, and we are now focused on a critical next phase: completing our needs assessment. This thorough review is essential, as it will directly guide the development of our implementation plan, ensuring every resource and program is aligned with the specific needs of our school community."

Leslie Rose

"WMES is currently in the first year of being a Community School and our big project this year is to complete the Assets & Needs Assessment.The goal of this first year is to find out the strengths and opportunities at WMES and use that data to create our implementation plan during year two. Later this Fall, I'll be conducting surveys to get feedback from our school community. I'm really excited to be a part of our school and I'm looking forward to working with all of our school community - students, staff, families and our partners!"

Pillar 5: Minimum School Funding Waivers

The Blueprint law requires that at least 75%/100% (as applicable) of per pupil formula funding must follow students to their schools. This is called "minimum school funding" (MSF). Formula funding includes: Foundation, Compensatory, Multilingual Learners, Special Education, Concentration of Poverty, College and Career Readiness, Transitional Supplemental Instruction, and Pre-K. MSF is meant to ensure that all schools are appropriately resourced to meet the needs of each student it serves.

Based on current progress toward MSF as determined in final FY25 expenditure reports, TCPS will consider applying for waivers regarding FY26, and may need to adjust allocations in the FY27 budget to meet MSF. State policy is in place for school districts to apply for MSF waivers to request greater flexibility in meeting these fiscal requirements and to avoid withholding of state funds. Sarah Jones, TCPS Chief Financial Officer, presented this information at the October 13th Work Session. Click here to view that presentation.

AIB Waiver Policy

Blueprint Law

Hello! I'm Christine Davis, the Blueprint Implementation Coordinator for Talbot County Public Schools (TCPS). My role is to ensure successful, continued implementation of the 2024–2027 TCPS Blueprint plan initiatives in alignment with the outcomes set by Maryland’s Accountability and Implementation Board (AIB) and our district strategic plan. This includes developing clear timelines and metrics, overseeing districtwide projects, and ensuring compliance with state regulations. I collaborate with schools, community stakeholders, local education institutions, and other community partners to build understanding of Blueprint initiatives and strengthen our collective efforts to support student success.

Use the links below to learn more about TCPS and Maryland Blueprint implementation. Resources developed by our former Blueprint coordinator, Kristen Tilghman, remain in place and continue to serve as the foundation for this next phase of our work.