Celebrating Achievements at Tangier Combined School

Tangier Combined School has been the heart of the Island for many decades.

The school teaches students at all grade levels, K-12, maybe about 40 or more students, with a very good student-teacher ratio of around 5:1. Teachers know their students on a first-name basis, parents too.

“The student-teacher ratio is like no other school,” said Loni Renee Charnock, a longtime teacher and administrator, in a previous interview. “It is really like the students are getting a private school education. Teachers have a deep connection with their students because they not only work with them all day in school, but are with them in church and at community events. Some of your students are cousins, nieces or nephews, or your friends’ children.”

Throughout the year, the students are taught in-person or via zoom meetings with other teachers on the mainland, and sometimes they learn on field trips such as visiting Washington, DC.

When the seniors graduate, their senior photos are turned into banners that are placed on utility poles by the school for all to see.

Yes, there is a lot of school pride.

Most recently, Charnock’s first day as principal was Tuesday — congrats!

“My first day — it was fabulous! Honestly, when I walked in this morning (Tuesday) I thought someone was going to send me back home,” she joked. “I’m just glad that all the hard work has paid off. I am nervous and excited at the same time.”

Charnock was born and raised in Tangier, TCS Class of 2000. She started teaching at TCS fresh out of college in the fall of 2005. Worth noting, Charnock’s daughter Alona was valedictorian, TCS Class of 2024.

“I am both excited and nervous to take this next step,” she said. “I feel like I am well-prepared, but I also know that there will be super high expectations. I want to ensure that we keep up the momentum academically while also keeping our traditions and special events and activities alive.” 

Principal Charnock — thanks for your help in providing the material from the school’s newsletter. Folks, if you have news tips and such, send them to mileslayton1969@gmail.com  

Meet Mrs. Charlene Crockett

Charlene will be celebrating her 45th anniversary in August with her high school sweetheart, Jamie. They share two daughters, Nicole and Marissa. Both of her daughters are registered nurses and work at Riverside Shore Memorial. Nicole lives in Maryland with her boyfriend Paul. She has two children, Addison (11) and Cayson (6). Marissa lives in Eastville, VA, with her fiancé, Jose. She has two children as well, Sullivan (4) and Everly (1). Thanks, Charlene, for all your hard work and dedication.

Congrats to Lukas, Class of 2025!

Lukas Thomas graduated from Tangier Combined School on Friday, June 13. His plans include working for a tugboat company and saving enough money to purchase his own truck. He would eventually like to move to a beautiful place in West Virginia or even somewhere deeper in Appalachia. Lukas plans to work on perfecting the art of bass playing and possibly even make a career out of it. We wish Lukas the best of luck in the future and we will miss his dry humor and love for learning. It has been a pleasure watching him blossom into the fine young man that he is.

DARE Graduation

A few weeks ago, 5th grade students graduated from DARE. A special thanks to the ACPD and Corporal Jason Campbell for providing this opportunity for our students. From here on out Rahab, Jacob, and Mya will be exposed to more and more each and every year and learning to say “NO” to drugs and to handle stress in a productive manner will be such a benefit to them as they grow and mature and become adults. These same students also won the trophy for collecting the most canned goods for the Food Bank of the Eastern Shore. Mrs. Kelly was diligent in making sure her students went door to door collecting after school.

ANEC Field Trip

TCS students learned all about the roles and responsibilities of ANEC linemen. Tangier’s own Denny Crockett explained everything so well to our students. This is such a great career opportunity. A couple of our high school students are now interested in this line of work. We would like to give a  special thanks to Norwood Evans and the other members of ANEC who made this special day possible.

Field Day

Students at TCS participated in a school-wide Field Day. Four teams had mixed age levels. Our elementary students were cheered on by their middle and high teammates.