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A cohort of four Caroline County Public School rising seniors signed Youth Apprenticeship Agreements with Chesapeake Caregivers Management, the company that operates assisted living facility The Residence at Eden Green (Eden Green) in Denton.
Marcella Cordrey, Shari Macario-De Leon, and Madison Nicholson will participate in the CNA/GNA Apprenticeship program, and Carlens Jean Baptiste will participate in the Building Maintenance Repairer Apprenticeship.
The students will gain some of their required on-the-job training work hours during the summer. When school resumes in September, they will have the related instruction through the relevant schools CCPS, Chesapeake College, or Penn Foster educational service, and continue acquiring work hours. All four students will roll over to their respective Registered Apprenticeship, commonly known as adult apprenticeship, upon graduation in May 2026.
At the agreements signing on June 30, Dr. Derek Simmons, Superintendent CCPS, addressed the group of students, family, and Eden Green staff. He said, “thank you for taking advantage of the opportunity. Thank you to the parents for being here to support your students, and thank you to Residence at Eden Green for partnering with CCPS to provide these opportunities to students.”
Eric Cook, Coordinator of Career Readiness with Caroline County Public Schools, said that signing day was a culmination of a “perfect rollout” of the Youth Apprenticeship program. “This is … a game changer for the Youth Apprenticeship program,” because multiple students in varying disciplines are joining the business at the same time.
The partnership between CCPS and Eden Green began with a referral from Bob Zimberoff, Director of Caroline County Economic Development and Tourism. From that introduction, Eden Green management and staff spoke to a large group of 75 to 80 students, and from that guest speaking engagement, 30 students were interested in taking the next steps. CCPS provided transportation in its workforce van for those students to visit the facility at 410 Colonial Drive in Denton. Interviews were conducted with 24 students over two days, and those interviews resulted in Carlens, Marcella, Shari, and Madison being offered their respective apprenticeship opportunities.
“You are with a business that wants to invest in you,” Cook told the students at the signing. Andrew Teeters, CEO, Chesapeake Caregivers Management, said that he is pleased with the selection of the four CCPS students, and that he “would have taken the 24 students.”
Each student was joined by family to sign the agreements that formally start their young adult career paths. Staff from Eden Green presented each with a welcome gift – floral bouquet for Shari, Marcella, and Madison – and an 11-in-1 screwdriver for Carlens. Teeters noted that the work at the facility is based on having a “heart for service,” and that is a quality evident in all four of the young people joining the Eden Green team.
The partnership between CCPS and Eden Green is essential for mutual success, noted Cook, because the facility provides multiple disciplines: caregiving, maintenance, food and beverage service, cosmetology, biomed, and activities programming. The CCPS career connected learning goal can help meet Eden Green’s workforce needs through multiple apprenticeships, field visits, paid and unpaid internships, job fairs, and guest speaking.
Cook said that he’s learned that one solution isn’t enough to connect businesses and young workers; to be successful, engagement and awareness building needs multiple avenues for connections.
The Caroline County Public School Apprenticeship Program (#EarnandLearn) provides students with paid, mentored, real-world learning opportunities. The program is open to Juniors and Seniors ages 16+.
The Apprenticeship Program includes one credit of relevant classroom education and a minimum of 450 hours of PAID work experience. The sponsoring business works with the school system to match qualifying students with work experiences, and agrees to terms of the Youth Apprenticeship program.
