With a unanimous vote at the May 18, 2022 meeting, the Talbot County Board of Education  appointed Dr. Sharon Pepukayi as the new Talbot County Superintendent of Schools, effective July 1, 2022, pending finalization of the contract and approval of the Maryland State Superintendent of Schools, Mr. Mohammed Choudhury.  

“The Board was very pleased with the high quality of the 18 applicants for the position of Superintendent of Talbot County Public Schools,” said Susan Delean-Botkin, Board President. 

“Dr. Pepukayi stood out with her excellent credentials, outstanding leadership, stakeholder support and local knowledge.  The Board is very pleased to welcome Dr. Pepukayi to Talbot County Public Schools. 

Dr. Pepukayi is currently an assistant superintendent for the Appoquinimink School District. As an educator for 30 years, Dr. Pepukayi has served in numerous roles including student advisor, mentor, reading coach, teacher, assistant principal, and principal prior to moving to district administration. It is while spending time in classrooms, that she recognized the need to keep students at the forefront of her decision making. Her passion for students is undeniable and she loves to talk with them about their educational journeys. 

Dr. Pepukayi is a collaborator and believes in unleashing the talents of others. She has worked tirelessly to develop leaders and promote equity and diversity efforts in her district. In addition, she helped with the expansion efforts as the district enrollment increased to over 3,000 during her tenure. This included opening new educational facilities, expansion of preschool and bilingual programming, and promoting student excellence within the community. 

Being no stranger to Maryland’s Eastern Shore, Dr. Pepukayi graduated from St. Michaels High School, then pursued her post-secondary education in North Carolina, Ohio, and Delaware. She credits her parents for instilling her love of teaching and learning. Her mother is a retired teacher, and her father is a retired waterman, businessman, and former school board member. Dr. Pepukayi earned her Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education from Bennett College, Master of Arts in Early and Middle Childhood Education from Ohio State University, and a Doctor of Education in Innovation and Leadership from Wilmington University. She is a member of many educational organizations, and a charter member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. She has also provided training and presented at several national conferences. 

In her free time, Dr. Pepukayi enjoys being around the water, traveling, and spending time with family and friends. She is the proud parent of two sons.

The Talbot County Board of Education has identified finalists for the Talbot County Superintendent of Schools.  The four finalists, in alphabetical order are:

James C. Bell, Jr., Ed.D., Director of Student Services and Secondary Leadership for the Seaford School District, Seaford, Delaware.  

Dr. Bell earned a Bachelor of Education in Secondary Mathematics from Southern University A & M,  and a Master of Education in School Leadership and a Doctor of Education in Innovation and Leadership from Wilmington University in Georgetown, Delaware.  He began his career as a mathematics teacher in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and was recruited by Talbot County Public Schools to teach at Easton High School, where he was later promoted to Assistant Principal.  Dr. Bell has also served as Principal of Maces Lane Middle School and Supervisor of Student Services for Dorchester County Public Schools.  

Carol E. Flenard, Ed.D., Interim Superintendent, Spotsylvania County Public Schools, Virginia. 

Dr. Flenard earned a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from Penn State University, and a Master of Education in Administration and Supervision and Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership from Virginia Commonwealth University.  She began her career as an elementary teacher, and has served as an assistant principal, principal, director of education, executive director of instruction, deputy superintendent-chief academic officer and interim superintendent.   

LeTrecia M. Gloster, Ed.D., Assistant Superintendent of Schools, The School District of the City of York, Pennsylvania.   

Dr. Gloster earned a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics Education from Bowie State University, a Master of Science in Administration from Trinity University, and a Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership from Bowie State University.  She taught secondary mathematics in Talbot and Prince George’s County, Maryland and Charlotte, North Carolina, before returning to Maryland and serving as a middle school principal in Caroline and Prince George’s counties. She has also been Executive Director of School Support and Improvement for Metro Nashville Public Schools, Tennessee, and Director of Learning for the District of Columbia Public Schools Leadership Development Division, Washington DC.  

Sharon Pepukayi, Ed.D., Assistant Superintendent of PreK-5 Schools, Appoquinimink School District, New Castle County, Delaware. 

Dr. Pepukayi earned a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education, from Bennett College, a Master of Arts in Early and Middle Childhood Education from Ohio State University, and a Doctor of Education in Innovation and School Leadership from Wilmington University.  She previously served as Assistant Superintendent of PreK-12 Schools, principal, and assistant principal in the Appoquinimink School District.   She also taught in the Dublin School District and was a teacher and an administrator in the Red Clay Consolidated School District in Delaware.  

The four finalists will participate in interviews with the Talbot County Board of Education and with stakeholders to include members of the community, staff, students, and parents. 

The Board has been working with the Maryland Association of Boards of Education  (MABE) to conduct the superintendent search. 

Any questions regarding the search process should be directed to William Middleton, search consultant at MABE at 410-841-5414, or at wmiddleton@mabe.org.  

 

A mentoring program launched in the fall at Kent County High School is already expanding to bring in more students and more community members who want make an impact on a child’s life.

The program was organized by Dr. Angela Holocker, coordinator of student services for Kent County Public Schools and interim principal at Kent County Middle School.

The mentoring program here is a pilot for the state as part of a targeted effort to improve the school experience and educational outcomes of Black boys in Maryland.

Expanding on previous studies and efforts, the Maryland State Board of Education formed the Task Force on Achieving Equity and Excellence for Black Boys in 2020. It issued a resource guide for educators, “Transforming the Culture of Maryland’s Schools for Black Boys,” last year.

Dr. Vermelle D. Greene, who spent her career as an educator in Prince George’s County Public Schools, chaired the task force.

“Our Black boys are intelligent and capable. Like all other children, they want to learn and be successful. Yet this will not happen if as a state education system we — either through ignorance or neglect — fail to educate them in ways that affirm their learning differences, attend to their social-emotional needs, appreciate their culture, set high expectations and respect them as unique individuals,” Greene wrote in the resource guide. 

Upon the task force’s report being issued, Dr. Holocker jumped at the opportunity to incorporate some of its recommendations into Kent County Public Schools. In doing so, the state provided the school system here with $76,000 to get started.

First came de-escalation training for teachers and staff.

In reviewing discipline figures, Dr. Holocker found that Kent County Public Schools did not follow the state and national trends showing Black boys being disproportionately suspended from schools. What the numbers here did show, though, was that Black boys were being sent to the principal or having parent conferences called at higher rates than other groups.

“We saw that teachers needed strategies,” Dr. Holocker said.

Those de-escalation training sessions were held last August.

In addition, Dr. Holocker got the greenlight to launch a mentoring program. Pairing Black men in the community with Black boys, the program aims to help students with their school work and their emotional growth and development.

It started at the high school and expanded to the middle school.

“We have mentors who are coming in the middle school and the high school, visiting the lunchroom, walking the halls and being a presence for our young men,” Dr. Holocker said.

The task force guide suggests partnering with existing mentoring programs, bringing those community leaders into the school system.

For Kent County, one of those programs is Rising Sons and one of those leaders is co-founder Harold Somerville. The father of two is a parole and probation officer and also a longtime youth sports coach.

Somerville and a team of mentors started coming into the high school several times a week in the fall to meet with students, talking to them, helping them with school work and maybe playing a game of basketball.

“We do a lot of one on one with them, mostly during lunch shifts.” Somerville said. “We come in and just sit with them and see how they’re doing, if they need help with anything.”

Antoine Reid Sr. has twin boys who are seniors at the high school, where he can often be found in the hallway talking to students as part of his mentoring visits.

Like Somerville, Reid also has a degree in criminal justice and has been active in the community and coached youth sports. 

Both men know the power positive influence can have on a child’s life. And they know that some of the children do not have a strong male role model to guide them.

“We try to fill that void,” Reid said.

Tyray Johnson is another mentor. He has four children, three who have graduated from Kent County Public Schools and one still in middle school. His oldest is the performer known as Yvng Swag.

It was Johnson’s experiences as a parent on the outside of the school system looking in that led him to retire young from an engineering career and sign up first as a substitute teacher and then as an instructional assistant at Kent County Middle School.

Johnson is passionate about being a mentor.

“It’s about being able to make a difference, to make an impact on someone’s life and to leave a legacy,” Johnson said. “Because at the end of the day, the kids are our future. They’re going to be the future leaders of this country.”

Monday mornings have become a special time for the mentoring program at the middle school. Nearly 30 students from all three grades get together for breakfast at the school.

“We’re calling them Mindful Mornings,” Dr. Holocker said. “The students are really enjoying it. It sets those boys in a frame of mind to start the day so they’re ready to go.”

Mentoring activities also extend well beyond the walls of the middle and high schools. 

In January, a group of mentors and students traveled to Wilmington, Del. to see Trojan basketball star Manny Camper play for the Grand Rapids Gold of the NBA’s G League. Students got to meet Camper and take photos with him.

“That was fun,” Johnson said. “Seeing Manny come up from here and now he’s playing in the G League — it was awesome.”

Plans are in the works for a trip to the Smithsonian Institute’s National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.

While the mentoring program is focused on providing support for Black boys, the mentors themselves are happy talking to any students who come up to them.

“We’re always here to help,” Somerville said. “We want any kid to feel welcome and invited when they see us.”

The program is looking for mentors.

“You’ve got to have a love for kids and a passion for kids. And you’ve got to have patience, because you’re dealing with individuals with different personalities and different backgrounds,” Johnson said. “But it’s so rewarding to be able to see the impact that you can make on a person in a positive light.”

Those interested in signing up should contact Dr. Holocker at aholocker@kent.k12.md.us.

 

Last week at a special assembly, kids at Galena Elementary were treated to the magic of books and reading as magician Brian Curry showcased his favorite children’s books while performing magic tricks to engage the students.

The Book Club: The Magic Assembly was sponsored by Chestertown Rotary Club supporting Galena Elementary School One School One Book program, a national nonprofit whose mission is to “create a culture of literacy in every home.”

Curry, who travels from Florida to Vermont with his magic show promoting reading, says that each school engagement is unique and always satisfying. The contagious excitement in the room spoke for itself. Teachers and staff were not immune to being called to the stage to help perform some of Curry’s illusions, and there was a certain glee when physical education teacher Jillian Kinnamon got sprayed with silly string by one of the students.

Each of the four books covered during the Magic Assembly were donated to the school, along with copies of The Mouse and the Motorcycle for each student.

This video is approximately three minutes in length. For more information about the One School One Book Program, go here.