Salisbury, MD — Schools in Somerset, Wicomico and Worcester counties received $149,826 in grant funding through the Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore’s 2025 Education Grants Program. Funding was distributed to 28 schools across 38 school-based programs. This year, the Foundation received an exceptional number of grant requests reflecting diverse educational needs, from advancing STEM and environmental initiatives, to expanding literacy programs, social-emotional wellness, creative arts, and inclusive learning opportunities for students of all abilities.
“Students are our future. By investing in future generations now, we are building a vibrant region for tomorrow.,” says Community Foundation President Erica Joseph. ”Through these projects, our local teachers are creating unique opportunities in inspiring ways that provide students with the mental, physical, and academic building blocks they need for success.”
Education Grants are made annually through a competitive process to public and private grade schools on the Lower Eastern Shore of Maryland. Grants are made to schools that have developed innovative programs to enhance education and improve the social, emotional, and physical wellbeing of their students and communities. Educators and school districts were honored at an evening reception on November 13, 2025, at the Wicomico Youth & Civic Center in Salisbury, Md.
Calcott Award of Excellence Celebrated
The Community Foundation honored Salisbury Middle School with the Mary Gay Calcott Award of Excellence and an additional $1,000 grant from the Foundation’s Mary Gay Calcott Memorial Fund, for their innovative Math Book Club, which provides STEM students an opportunity to explore math through engaging literature and guided discussions. The award is named for the late Mary Gay Calcott, a professor of English at Salisbury University whose life embodied her ideals of teaching students to think, to express themselves with clarity and to care about the world they live in.
The following schools received Education Award Grants for the 2025/2026 school year:
Somerset County
Carter G. Woodson Elementary School will engage the student art club in creating a mural for the school.
Carter G. Woodson Elementary School will host a club where students learn gardening skills and healthy cooking habits.
Crisfield Academy & High School will purchase digital cameras to support hands-on photography instruction.
Deal Island Elementary will pilot a series of initiatives focused on improving students’ math achievement and fluency.
Greenwood Elementary School will support Greenwood GEMS, a program providing social-emotional learning and early intervention strategies for 3rd grade girls.
Somerset County Technical High School will develop a mentoring program that partners special needs students with students enrolled in the school’s Teacher Academy
Somerset Intermediate will provide gifted and talented students with advanced activities to better meet their academic needs.
Washington Academy and High School will equip students with essential life skills and college/career readiness through the Future Ready: Life Skills Through Family & Consumer Science program.
Wicomico County
Faith Baptist School will enhance the school’s incentive program to improve positive behavior and attendance.
Parkside High School (CTE) will hold a SkillsUSA Bootcamp to provide training for students with disabilities to participate.
Pemberton Elementary School will create task boxes designed to support the specific learning goals of special education students.
Pemberton Elementary School will provide students with books to foster their love of reading and improve reading proficiency.
Prince Street Elementary School will bring in a poetry-focused artist in residence.
Prince Street Elementary School will enhance the school’s Drama Club by incorporating additional technology and materials.
Salisbury Christian School will have an American Sign Language course to equip students and staff with foundational skills that foster community connections.
Salisbury Christian School will provide leveled novel sets designed to boost literacy in 4th and 5th grade.
Salisbury Middle School will pilot a Math Book Club, providing STEM students an opportunity to explore math through engaging literature and guided discussions.
Wicomico Day School, Inc. will implement the OpenSciEd program which provides a creative, hands-on approach to the science curriculum.
Wicomico Evening High School will engage students in designing school spirit items to boost school pride and promote belonging.
Wicomico High School will hold a gala designed for special education students to celebrate their achievements.
Willards Elementary School will have an artist in residence to incorporate lessons about the solar system through steel drum music.
Worcester County
Berlin Intermediate School will enhance the school’s House program by producing incentive items designed and made by students.
Berlin Intermediate School will integrate drones and Sphero robots into the 5th and 6th grade computer science and technology curriculum.
Ocean City Elementary will boost the library’s nonfiction and graphic novel collection and incorporate functional display systems.
Ocean City Elementary will purchase a kiln for the school’s Art program.
Pocomoke Elementary School will develop a Makerspace Program, designed to provide hands-on creative learning experiences.
Pocomoke Elementary School will improve student literacy by implementing the Orton-Gillingham program, a highly individualized, structured approach to teaching literacy.
Pocomoke High School will support the school’s ‘Tribes’ system, an incentive program to create a positive school climate.
Pocomoke Middle School will host math-focused parent engagement activities.
Showell Elementary School will host a Family Math Night to engage families and build connections that support math learning.
Snow Hill Elementary School will stock library stations with unique, screen-free learning materials to increase student engagement.
Snow Hill Elementary School will create a sensory hallway to assist Pre-K students with sensory regulation and social-emotional development.
Snow Hill High School will purchase cameras and audio equipment to be used in yearbook, communication arts, and other classes.
Snow Hill High School will enhance the school’s positive behavior program and implement a schoolwide mentoring program.
Snow Hill Middle School will support the Green Advocates After-School Academy which provides students with a creative, environmentally focused learning community centered on science, gardening, renewable energy, and more.
Stephen Decatur High School will integrate Climate Action and Solar Energy Kits to provide students with hands-on opportunities in environmental and computer science.
Worcester Technical High School will deepen students’ understanding of coding by incorporating drones into computer science.
Special thanks to M&T Bank for sponsoring the reception, and to the Linduska family for their generous contribution to this year’s grant funds.
The Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore awarded $149,826 in grant funding to support Somerset, Wicomico, and Worcester County schools.
Rebecca Tittermary won the Mary Gay Calcott Excellence in Education Award for her innovative plan to create a math book club providing STEM students an opportunity to explore math through engaging literature and guided discussions.
