July 2025

July 31 - TCPS Transportation Requests Due

August 6 - 1st Year Teachers Report

August 13 - 2nd & 3rd Year Teachers Report

August 13 - Fall Sports Begin

August 18 - All Teachers Report

August 18 - Board of Education Work Session - 5:30pm

August 18-22 - Teacher Work Days

August 20 - Board of Education Meeting - 7:00pm

August 25 - FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL - K-12
August 25 & 26 - Pre-K Staggered Start

Hello TCPS Families!

I hope you are all having a fantastic summer!

Our TCPS Leadership Team has spent this week together, learning, collaborating, and planning for another GREAT year. Our school Admin Teams and District Office Departments will be ready to welcome everyone back next month and begin Transforming and Performing, IN EVERY WAY!

The Board of Education held a work session on Monday and the regular meeting on Wednesday this week. The Board was provided an update on Advanced Placement Scores, Class of 2025 accomplishments, and a final draft of the new Strategic Plan. Policy revisions included the Acceptable Use of Technology and Internet Safety, Staff Conduct, and Personnel policy. These were presented for first reader and are now available for your review and comment on the TCPS website. An update on the TCPS Retirement Plan was also provided. The meeting recordings can be found on our website and are linked in this update.

Speaking of the website, have you noticed a new look? On July 1, we launched our new website, App, and communications platform, provided by Apptegy. This innovative tool is designed to give you easy access to school and district information and updates. Check out the brief introductory video in this update and download the app today!

Enjoy the rest of your summer, keep an eye out for our next update in August and remember - it’s always a great day for success at TCPS!

After a full school year of weekly updates, we may have collected a few outtakes… Join us for a lighthearted look behind the scenes — because sometimes the best lessons come with a laugh.

TCPS launched a new user-friendly website and mobile app on July 1, in partnership with Apptegy, an education technology company based in Little Rock, Arkansas.

The new website and app include the same information as our current website, and will also enable real-time communication. The free app for Android and iPhone sends emergency notifications directly to those who download the app and provides consistency with the website.

The technology is designed with both families and school leaders in mind and will hopefully make communication easier and faster. Check out the short video below for a quick introduction to the app that comes with the new platform. You can also find and download the new app now by searching "Talbot County Public Schools" in the app store. If you have any questions, please contact Debbie Gardner, Director of Communications at dgardner@talbotschools.org. You can find more information about Apptegy here: https://www.apptegy.com/

Our TCPS team at this summer's leadership retreat learning, collaborating, and planning for the upcoming school year!

With opportunity to ask questions regarding fears of losing coverage.

Where: Talbot County Library

When: Monday, July 21, 11am-1pm

To Register: Please call 410-200-5027

Coffee and donuts will be provided.

Giant Food is, once again, partnering with our district on a program to help support our children facing food insecurity. Please feel free to communicate this message to your school community and encourage them to participate in this effort.

From June 27 to July 31, 2025, everyone who shops at any Giant Food Store will be invited to “ROUND UP AT THE REGISTER” and donate the round-up amount of their bill to support Nourishing Our Youth.

Registration is open for Talbot County Parks and Recreation summer programs, camps and FREE swimming lessons! TCPR offers scholarships for sport clinics and camps as well. Here is the link to register for camps! Talbot County Parks & Recreation: Summer Camp 2025. Click here to register for Summer Programs and clinics: https://talbotcountymd.myrec.com/info/default.aspx. Swim lesson information can be found here: https://sossinkorswim.org/register

Eligible children receive $40 in June, July and August for a total of $120 per child for the summer.

Summer meal pick-up for students and non-school-aged continues children once a week through August 11, 2025. The meal packets will contain a week's worth of breakfast and lunch. Pick-up days are on Thursdays at Easton Elementary from 3:00 - 6:00 pm.

There will be a checklist for those who registered, and meals will be reserved for those families. There will be a separate sign-in sheet for those who did not register. You will need to provide your child's name, age, and school for those who are school-aged. You will also be required to sign a document confirming that you are picking up only for children in your care. Please understand that if you did not register, we cannot guarantee that we will not run out of meals.

Remaining pick-up dates are as follows:

July 24

July 31

August 7

August 14

Easton Middle School is an open site for Summer Meals through August 7, 2025. We are serving breakfast and lunch for the YMCA camps, 6th grade academy, and the band camp. Any person 18 or under can come in and get breakfast or lunch there. Breakfast is served from 8:30 am - 9:00 am, and lunch from 11:00 am - 12:30 pm Monday through Thursday each week.

USDA Non-Discrimination Statement

Dear TCPS Families:

Talbot County Public Schools has transitioned to a new procedure for planning school bus routes. In the past, students were automatically assigned to buses based on their home address. For the 2025-2026 school year, bus routes will be assigned BY REQUEST ONLY. The process for this will be as follows:

• During the first week of June, parents/guardians should have received an email from noreply@transfinder.com requesting that you complete an opt-in/opt-out form pertaining to your child’s transportation for the upcoming school year.

• The form will need to be completed by the deadline of July 31, 2025.

• You may have received more than one email if you have more than one student enrolled in TCPS.

• Please fill out a form for each of your children who attend TCPS to either opt out, if your child does NOT need bus transportation, or opt in if your child DOES need Bus Transportation for the 25-26 school year.

We have implemented this process for several reasons:

• Bus Routing Efficiency - With a transportation “opt-in,” we can more efficiently route students across the county. When families opt out, the Transportation department can remove unneeded stops from routes, which will help support reduced ride times for all students.

• Driver Shortages - There continues to be a national shortage of school bus drivers. An additional benefit to completing the opt-in/opt-out form is that the information will allow for the potential consolidation of bus routes, which may reduce the number of drivers needed.

If you did not receive the opt-in/opt-out email for your child, please call the school to ensure that your contact information is correct in PowerSchool. For families who do not have an email address, it is important that you make your school aware of this so that information can be distributed through alternative means.

Thank you in advance for your help with this initiative.

Sincerely,

TCPS Transportation Department

Registration is still underway for students living in Talbot County not currently enrolled in TCPS.

Please call the school to schedule an appointment during school hours.

Easton Elementary: 410-822-0550

Chapel District Elementary: 410-822-2391

St. Michaels Elementary: 410-745-2882

Tilghman Elementary: 410-886-2391

White Marsh Elementary: 410-476-3144

Easton Middle: 410-822-2910

Easton High: 410-822-4180

St. Michaels Middle High: 410-745-2852

For information about needed documents and other requirements for registering, click on the link below.

Free Sports Physical Appointments are being offered at the following Choptank Community School Based Health Center this Summer:

Please call to schedule - 443-496-3201

Easton High - July 2 & August 11 - 8am - 3pm; August 12 8am - 1pm

St. Michaels Middle High - August 12 - 3-5pm

Easton Elementary - Mondays and Wednesdays (June/July/August)

For more information about Choptank's SBHC services or for questions about sports physicals please call 410-479-5772.

Join the TCPS Team! We have many certificated and support positions available! Use the link below for more information and to apply!

This guide provides a comprehensive list of behavioral health resources across Queen Anne's, Kent, Caroline, Talbot, and Dorchester counties.

This year TCPS is going “cashless” for tickets for all of our athletic events using GoFan. You can purchase tickets ahead of time online or at the gate using a credit or debit card. GoFan accepts Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover. Tickets can also be purchased at the gate using Apple Pay and Google Pay. Admission to all events at the Easton High and St. Michaels High Stadiums and Gymnasiums is $6 (children 6 and under are free). Cash payment will not be accepted at the gate.

Tickets can be purchased using the following links:

Easton High

St. Michaels Middle High

Join the parents, teachers, and students who have already made the important decision to enroll in SafeTime. The app is designed to both empower us all with a super easy social media integrated tool to alert the proper authorities if we see something suspicious, AND to raise student self-esteem via the creation and exposure to fun, positive messaging.

Safe Schools Maryland - an ANONYMOUS and FREE reporting system available to students, teachers, school staff members, parents, and the general public to report any school or student safety ​concerns, including mental health concerns. Safe Schools Maryland operates twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, and 365 days a year. Your anonymous report can be submitted by calling the tip line (1-833-MD-B-SAFE / 1-833-632-7233), completing an online form (below), or downloading the free Safe Schools Maryland app from the App Store or Google Play.​

Shore Legal Access connects Eastern Shore individuals and families in need of legal representation with volunteer attorneys to ensure that justice truly is for all.