On Friday, December 4, 2026 at 6:00 p.m. at VFW Post 6027 in North East, MD, Cecil Classical Charter School (CCCS) is proud to present the first annual “Paint & Sip (cocoa) with Santa” fundraiser!

This fundraiser will feature fun for the whole family including painting ornaments with Rising Sun’s very own Art Den LLC., photos with Santa and his elves, cookies and hot chocolate, games, crafts, raffles, and more. Everyone is welcomed and invited to attend. Tickets are $25 if painting an ornament or $10 if not painting an ornament. All tickets include access to the event, cookies and hot chocolate, games, crafts, and a photo with Santa. DISCOUNTED presale tickets are available now, for a limited time. Presale tickets are $20 for painters and $8 for non-painters. Space is limited.

The “Paint & Sip (cocoa) with Santa” fundraiser is a chance to continue supporting the goal and mission of creating the first charter school in Cecil County. While the initial application of CCCS was denied, the effort to create this school has not stopped. Since the vote by the Cecil County Board of Education (BOE) to deny approval of the 2025 CCCS application over the summer occurred, the CCCS Board of Directors has been tirelessly at work to improve our efforts. Some of the BOE critiques have already been addressed – such as the addition of numerous professional educators on to the CCCS Board of Directors. Many of the core elements that have been part of the CCCS vision from the start – and desired by our community – have remained intact. These promised items include, but are not limited to:

• smaller class sizes
• limited daily screen-time
• classical teaching methods
• meaningful connections between parents/community, teachers/staff, and students
• values and character development
• hands-on Greenhouse and Makerspace
• transparent, consistent reporting and communication regarding IEPs, student successes and struggles, behavioral interventions, and discipline
• open to all Cecil County students who are interested in applying (as a public education choice, it is not mandated for any Cecil County student to attend CCCS instead of another Cecil County public school)

This vision to bring another education option to Cecil County has been spearheaded by an entirely volunteer group. We do this and work hard for the future of Cecil County’s children because we care and we know it matters. All Cecil County children deserve the best education possible!

While we will not stop the efforts to bring this charter school to fruition, your support – both vocally and financially – is pivotal to the success of this mission. Attending the “Paint & Sip (cocoa) with Santa” fundraiser helps CCCS fund the start-up efforts for the charter school. Our immediate needs include marketing costs and large printing fees for our application (for example, in the first round application, CCCS was required to print and bind 21 copies of the 250 page application as well as 21 copies of the 50 page prospectus). The Board of Directors has funded all of this mainly from our own pockets and with your generous donations. Any support that you are able to give toward these efforts is greatly appreciated (and tax-deductible)! Purchase a fundraiser ticket or send a donation with this link.

We look forward to seeing you at our holiday event!