Wicomico, Queen Anne’s County Schools reach agreement on Plan of Action

SALISBURY, Md. – An agreement has been reached between the superintendents of Wicomico and Queen Anne’s County public schools following allegations of racial taunts during a boys basketball playoff game between Kent Island and Parkside in February.

This Plan of Action Agreement was sent out by Wicomico County schools Tuesday evening. The superintendents from the two school systems signed the agreement on Friday.

Competition will resume between Wicomico County schools and Kent Island this week, and continue next year. Wicomico County schools had been taking forfeits against Kent Island while an investigation was being performed, and this action plan was being crafted.

Here is the full text of the signed agreement:

Wicomico County Public Schools and Queen Anne’s County Public Schools believe that the ultimate indicator of the value of school athletic programs must be the level of citizenship displayed by those who participate. This agreement focuses on the importance of all individuals associated with education-based athletics doing their part to promote good sportsmanship. Continuous and intentional actions by all members ofthe education-based athletic community must be taken to preserve and protect the competitive opportunities of each generation of student participants. Collectively, we believe that taking a more proactive approach and stronger stance on sportsmanship is critical for the future operations and sustainability of interscholastic athletics between our two counties.

High school athletics are 100% optional extracurricular activities, and the privilege to participate or attend may be taken away from those who cannot demonstrate proper sportsmanship and/or basic civility on the field or in the stands. In full support of the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association (MPSSAA) and its Respect the Game initiative, the following outlines the points that are adopted by both Wicomico County high schools and Queen Anne’s County high schools as competitive interscholastic athletics resume for student athletes, coaches, and spectators.

• Prior to competitive contests resuming in the Spring of 2023, both school systems will communicate to all stakeholders the expectations of attending an athletic contest. Communication should occur through social media and school messaging. Positive sporting behavior will be expected and there will be zero tolerance for any behavior that is derogatory, inflammatory, or shows poor sportsmanship. • Once competitive contests resume, Wicomico school administrators, or their designees, will accompany teams to away sites to provide additional coverage, support student athletes and coaches, and ensure spectator conduct is appropriate and without incident. Administrative support should begin prior to the contest beginning and should last until all student athletes leave the game site.

• If an incident of violence or racism has been reported to have occurred before, during, or after an athletic contest, both schools should work with one another to collaboratively discuss steps to communicate with their respective counties and school communities. A joint statement will be
considered. The statement would indicate that neither county tolerates this type of behavior. A joint statement would include the steps that are being taken and the status of the situation.

• Prior to each sports season, both Wicomico high schools and Queen Anne’s high schools agree to provide regular and ongoing sportsmanship, diversity, and cultural competency training for student athletes and coaches with proper documentation that this is occurring. Representatives from both Wicomico County and Queen Anne’s County will work to collaboratively develop this training prior to the 2023-2024 school year. Both counties recognize that MPSSAA is in the process of developing statewide sportsmanship expectations which both counties will align with to continue to ensure sportsmanship best practices are followed.

• Game protocol training will be provided to coaches from both counties so that if an incident does occur or is reported before, during, or after an athletic contest, the proper steps can be taken by coaches. Representatives from both Wicomico County and Queen Anne’s County will work to collaboratively develop this training prior to the 2023-2024 school year.

• Signage, social media, and GoFan digital ticketing will promote appropriate behavior and expectations for all fans and parents that attend any athletic contest. In addition, expectations and requirements for student fan sections will be made clear prior to each sports season and will be consistently enforced by the administrators of both counties that are assigned to each respective athletic contest. Representatives from both Wicomico County and Queen Anne’s County will work to collaboratively develop these expectations prior to the 2023-2024 school year.

• Expectations for student-athlete and fan behavior will be made available to Bayside officials to make them aware of what to look for, enforce, and not tolerate during athletic contests between Wicomico high schools and Queen Anne’s County high schools.

• Coach-player agreements will include language that clearly states there will be no tolerance for inflammatory social media posts or any other inflammatory behavior by players as well as the consequences for incidents that do occur.

• There will be a zero-tolerance approach taken from both Wicomico County high schools and Queen Anne’s County high schools to student-athletes, coaches, or fans who display actions or make comments that are racially derogatory toward others during an athletic contest.

• Wicomico and Queen Anne’s administrators see the value in behavior and sportsmanship norming so that administrators are clear about what is appropriate behavior and what is not. This will occur through the collaboration of administrators from both counties during the first athletic contest between the counties of each sports season in the 2023-2024 school year.

• Student representatives from Wicomico high schools and Queen Anne’s County high schools will collaboratively develop a student leadership initiative that promotes good sportsmanship between the student-athletes and fans from both counties. This initiative will start during the 2023-2024 school year.

The contents of this agreement will be enforced by the superintendents from both Wicomico County and Queen Anne’s County.