FCPS awarded $40K grant for environmental literacy and sustainability plan
Frederick County Public Schools was awarded a $40,000 grant to create a comprehensive environmental literacy and sustainability plan.
The Chesapeake Bay Trust awarded the money last month to the school district.
Colleen Beall, secondary science curriculum specialist for FCPS, said in an interview on Thursday that the district has been trying to refocus on environmental literacy and sustainability over the past year.
She said the goal of the plan is to increase educators' ability to teach environmental education, and to standardize sustainability efforts districtwide.
"We've really grown to make sure that curriculum and facilities are working together to support our schools and teachers," Beall said.
She added that another goal is to increase the number of Maryland Green Certified schools in FCPS.
The Maryland Green School Program recognizes schools across the state that include environmental education in their curricula.
FCPS currently has 13 Green Certified schools
* Butterfly Ridge Elementary
* Carroll Creek Montessori Public Charter
* Catoctin High
* Frederick High
* Lincoln Elementary
* Middletown High
* Myersville Elementary
* Oakdale High
* Sabillasville Environmental
* Sugarloaf Elementary
* Urbana High
* Windsor Knolls Middle
* Wolfsville Elementary
Beall said the grant program runs through December 2026, and the school district will have a comprehensive plan created before then.
"We also want to just formalize our procedures for engaging with all of our community partners because we have some amazing community partners who want to support us," she said. "We just want to make sure that we're all communicating. So, it's just very exciting and helps us keep our momentum going."
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After months of discussion, the Frederick County Board of Education in a split vote approved a districtwide cellphone usage policy for students. The school board began drafting Policy 118 in September 2024. Frederick County Public Schools Superintendent Cheryl Dyson at the beginning of this school year added new regulations in the Student Code of Conduct for device use in school. She has said the guidelines intended to build a foundation for the policy. The school board voted 4-3 on May 21 to approve the policy. School board members Rae Gallagher, Dean Rose, Karen Yoho and Janie Inglis Monier voted in favor of the policy. Colt Black, Jaime Brennan and Nancy Allen voted against the policy. Although expectations for device usage in school was outlined in the Student Code of Conduct, consequences for violating the policy were not enforced in Term 1, which began Aug. 21, 2024, and ended Oct. 29, 2024. 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