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Apalachee High School, Wednesday, Sept. 4 and Joppatowne High School, Friday, Sept. 6. with hearts over maps of Georgia and Maryland

As we celebrated the start of the school year last week, two other school communities were struck by tragedy. Our hearts and prayers go out to everyone touched by the shootings Wednesday, Sept. 4 at Apalachee High School in Winder, Ga. and Friday, Sept. 6 at Joppatowne High School in Harford County, Md. Our staff, including our school counselors and social workers, will be available to talk to students here if they need support. Maintaining safe schools is a community-wide effort. If you see something, say something. Tips can be reported anonymously through Kent County Public Schools’ mobile app. The app also sends out push notifications to provide information and instructions should there be an incident. Our app is available for free on the Apple App Store and Google Play; search “Kent County Public Schools.”
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Pillar 3: College and Career Readiness

An overview from Kent County Public Schools with photo of rolled up blueprints

Pillar 3
College and Career Readiness
 
Goal: To ensure all students meet the College and Career Readiness (CCR) Standard before the end of 10th grade and then pursue pathways that align to their college and/or career aspirations.

Historic Implementation
• Reimbursed students and families for the cost of tuition for dual enrollment courses at Washington College and Chesapeake College.
• Provided tutoring to students in grades K-3 through the Transitional Supplemental Instruction aid.
• Provided training to elementary teachers on the Science of Reading (SOR).

Current Implementation
• Covering costs associated with post-CCR pathways including dual enrollment tuition, books and fees; Advanced Placement (AP) and Career and Technical Education (CTE) tests.
• Expanding the Youth Apprenticeship of Maryland Program.
• Providing career counseling to students in grades 6-12.
• Enhancing math and English Language Arts (ELA) proficiency through a year-long Algebra 1 course, after-school tutoring and Professional Learning Communities (PLCs).

Future Implementation
• Monitor student progress toward CCR and provide supports tailored to student needs.
• Expand dual enrollment offerings including using Kent County Public Schools staff as adjuncts and offering an early college pathway for up to 60 credits.
• Partner with community businesses to provide career exploration opportunities for students.




English Language Arts and Mathematics

In January 2024, the Maryland State Department of Education adopted the following CCR standard:

Option 1
Students can meet the CCR standard by demonstrating both Academic Success and Math Mastery. Academic success is achieved by earning a High School Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.00 or higher. Math Mastery may be achieved by earning 
either a final course grade of A, B or C in Algebra I or alternatively by scoring Proficient or above on the Algebra I Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program (MCAP) exam.
 
Option 2
Students can meet the CCR standard by scoring Proficient or above on both the English 10 MCAP assessment and the Algebra I MCAP assessment. 
 
To promote proficiency in ELA and math, KCPS is developing a K-5 Comprehensive Literacy Plan and a Comprehensive Mathematics Plan.




Supporting College and Career Readiness

Students throw their caps in the air at graduation

9th Grade Tracker System
This tracker system provides data on student progress in math, ELA, science, social studies and world language, including credit attainment and whether the student has taken Algebra I and/or Spanish I in eighth grade. The tracker provides data on student attendance, service learning hours and student disciplinary data.

Kent County Public Schools considers a student to be on track to graduate if, by the end of 9th grade, they have earned at least five credits, failed no more than one semester of a core course and attended school more than 90% of the time.  
 
The rate of students on track to graduate rose from 82.3% in 2022 to 85.5% in 2023, an increase of 3.2%.

Student Support Pathway
In the 2023 Blueprint Implementation Plan, Kent County Public Schools detailed a plan to provide a support pathway for students who are not college and career ready by the end of 10th grade. This proposed support pathway includes a summer immersion program, after-school tutoring, a remedial course for English or math and the use of a school-day intervention period for academic interventions. 
 
Additionally, we described our plan for creating individual CCR plans for students that would allow for parent, student and teacher feedback and routine progress monitoring toward readiness.



 

Post-College and Career Readiness Pathways

Once a student meets the CCR standard, they may enter an instructional pathway that builds on their strengths. The Post-CCR Pathways allow students to develop in-depth specialization and/or earn a recognized credential. These include the AP program, dual enrollment program, and CTE programs. 
 
AP Pathway
In our 2023 Blueprint Implementation Plan, Kent County Public Schools addressed our initial approach to developing an Advanced Placement pathway. This response included a list of the 13 AP courses available to students, challenges associated with developing the AP pathway and strategies for addressing those challenges.

Our AP course offerings are:
• Biology 
• World History
• Calculus
• Psychology
• Computer Science Principles
• Computer Science Programming
• Environmental Science
• Chemistry
• Language
• Literature
• Spanish
• U.S. History
• Studio Art
 
Dual Enrollment Pathway
To meet the requirements of the Blueprint, Kent County Public Schools has expanded its dual enrollment program. Students who are college and career ready may take up to two dual enrollment courses per semester at no cost. Students may elect to take approved courses in-person through Washington College or virtually or in-person through Chesapeake College. Kent County High School works to ensure that students have the opportunity to take college courses on their high school campus.
 
CTE Pathways
In our 2023 Blueprint Implementation Plan, we discussed our approach to providing CTE pathways at our comprehensive high school.

Career and Technical Education logo, Find your pathway
• Academy of Health Professions*
• Apprenticeship Maryland
• Automotive Technology*
• Construction Trades*
• Fire and Rescue*
• FM Broadcasting
• Food and Beverage Management*
• Pre-Engineering
• Teacher Academy of Maryland*
• Curriculum for Agricultural Science Education
* Notes the six CTE pathways that offer an industry recognized credential (IRC). 

At the conclusion of the 2022-23 school year, 50 of he 138 graduating seniors earned an IRC through their CTE program. As 36% of graduating seniors earned an IRC, we are confident that we will meet the statewide goal of 45% by the 2031-32 school year. 
 
Kent County Public Schools is continually looking for ways to expand CTE offerings and to enhance the quality of its current offerings. These efforts have resulted in the creation of a new CTE pathway, Information Technology – Computer Science, which will lead to an IRC, and increased focus on strategic planning to expand the Apprenticeship Maryland program. 

In the 2022-23 school year, we increased enrollment in Apprenticeship Maryland by 200% (from zero to two students) and added four new apprenticeship sites for a total of 10. We have established a goal of adding four additional sites by the fall of 2024 (for a total of 14) and of enrolling at least seven students in the Apprenticeship Maryland program.
 
For more information, visit the Career and Technical Education Pathways page here: https://www.kent.k12.md.us/CTEProgram.aspx.




Career Counseling

Brett KingBrett King
Career Counselor
As of Spring 2024, the Kent County Public Schools career counselor has met individually with nearly 100% of students in grades 6-10. In meeting with students, the career counselor uses a push-in model to administer career clusters and interest surveys using Pathful Explore. He also meets individually with ninth-graders to review the assessment results and to discuss their post-CCR pathway options. The career counselor works in tandem with the high school counselors to make schedules to align to the results of the assessments administered through Pathful Explore.