August 1, 2023, Community Update: Gearing Up for the 2023-2024 School Year
August 2023
Dear Team BCPS Families:
As the summer break winds down, here are some important dates you need to know:
- Thursday, August 24, 2023 – Early Entry Day for Grades 6 and 9
Students will tour their new schools and meet teachers and administrators. If your child is entering Grade 6 or 9, expect to receive more information soon from your child's school.
- Monday, August 28, 2023 – First day of school for Grades 1-12
- Wednesday, August 30, 2023 – First full day of Kindergarten
One more date to remember is Saturday, August 19, 2023. On that date, from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. at George Washington Carver Center for Arts and Technology, 938 York Road, Towson, 21204, we will hold BCPSfest, our annual, systemwide back-to-school festival. We hope you and your family will join us for free, family-friendly fun, resources, and information.
Sincerely,
Baltimore County Public Schools
Things to know for the BCPS 2023-2024 school year
Academics
Baltimore County Public Schools (BCPS) is committed to advancing academic progress for all. The biggest new initiative for 2023-2024 is the implementation of the new English language arts curriculum. Watch this video to learn more about HMH Into Reading and hear from staff and students.
Students are responsible for attending classes on time every day, participating in discussions and activities, and completing all assignments. Students needing additional support can ask their teachers and school counselors about tutoring and other available services.
Assessments
Parents can use their Schoology accounts to check their children’s grades and receive updates from teachers. Please note the following key dates:
| Marking period |
Period ends |
Report cards distributed |
|
First
|
Friday, November 3, 2023
|
Tuesday, November 14, 2023
|
|
Second
|
Friday, January 19, 2024
|
Monday, January 29, 2024
|
|
Third
|
Friday, April 5, 2024
|
Tuesday, April 16, 2024
|
|
Fourth
|
Friday, June 14, 2024
|
Friday, June 14, 2024
|
BCPS will offer PSAT testing in October for Grades 9 through 11 and SAT Day in the spring for Grade 11. Also, for the first time this year, BCPS will pay for high school students to take the ACT exam, if requested.
Cell phones and social media
While students may bring personal phones to school, the phones should not be used during class time or used inappropriately at any time during the school day. Failure to follow these rules may result in disciplinary actions against your child. Please let your child know that smart phones and school time don’t mix!
Food and nutrition/ free meals
Beginning this school year, BCPS will provide free breakfast and lunch meals to all students at all schools. We will no longer collect Free and Reduced-Price Meal applications.
Immunizations
Does your child need immunizations for the 2023-2024 school year? Check with your child’s physician or call 410-887-2705 for an appointment at a community health center. More information is available online. BCPS students must be fully immunized by September 15, 2023, to remain in school.
Mental health services
BCPS is committed to the mental health and emotional well-being of its students. In their schools, students can receive services from school counselors, school nurses, school psychologists, school social workers, and pupil personnel workers. In addition, BCPS partners connects families to nearly two dozen community mental health providers. Visit our social-emotional webpage to learn more about the various resources available to students and families to support well-being.
Options and opportunities
- Career and Technical Education (CTE) – CTE provides students an opportunity to pursue a program of study leading to advancement in a career field. High school CTE programs give students the opportunity to transition into postsecondary education and to earn college credit and/or industry credentials in a career field of interest.
- Tuition-Free Program– Through the BCPS/CCBC Tuition Free Program, all high school students (regardless of their grade point averages) can take an unlimited number of CCBC courses. The program covers the costs of tuition, fees, and books. Students are only responsible for the cost of supplies (if needed). (Students, however, must take CCBC’s placement exams to take credit-bearing courses.)
- Extracurricular activities and athletics – Every school offers a wide range of extracurricular activities to meet students’ interests, and middle schools and high schools offer interscholastic athletics. Many schools provide Allied Sports options that bring students with and without disabilities together to play interscholastic soccer, bocce, and softball. Check with your children’s schools to learn what’s available.
- Magnet programs– Thirty-two BCPS elementary, middle, and high schools offer magnet programs to provide educational options aligned with students’ interests, talents, and abilities. Families can learn more about the programs offered and application process for the 2024-2025 school year at the Magnet EXPO!, which will be held on Saturday, September 30, from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. at Delta Hotel Hunt Valley, 245 Shawan Rd., Hunt Valley 21031.
Parent information systems
You now have more ways than ever of learning about and understanding your child’s progress, classroom, school, and system information. Please register for or consult these tools throughout the school year:
- Schoology
- FOCUS
- School announcements or news
- School delays or closings
Parent involvement
We encourage you and all our parents and guardians to connect to their children’s schools. Joining the parent teacher student association, volunteering, and/or attending school events are just some of the many ways you can participate. To make a difference at the community level, please consider attending area educational advisory council meetings or joining a council. There are also councils or committees focused on career and technology education, gifted and talented education, and special education.
In addition, we invite parents to learn more about BCPS Parent University. In collaboration with many partners, Parent University offers online resources, in-person and online workshops, and a mobile parent resource center to support parents in nurturing their children’s success. Follow Parent University at @BCPSParentU on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
For a weekly school systemwide update, please sign up for our community newsletter issued every Monday morning.
BCPS is also active on social media. Find us on Twitter and Facebook as @BaltCoPS and on Instagram as @teambcps. Still more information about BCPS is available on our Vimeo, YouTube, Flickr, and Exposure accounts.
Resolving issues
Parents who have questions or may need to resolve an issue should seek help first from their child’s teacher or school counselor. If they need more assistance, their next contact should be a school assistant principal or principal. The next step is to reach out to the appropriate executive directors, who oversee groups of schools.
School safety
Our first responsibility as a school system is to ensure the safety of staff and students.To this end, BCPS follows a comprehensive safety plan, which includes placing school resource officers at each middle and high school and assigning rotating school resource officers at elementary schools. Our school resource officers maintain safety and serve as mentors and role models. Beginning last school year, BCPS added 150 school safety assistants to focus on relationship-building and help mediate conflicts. Students and staff engage in drills to practice emergency responses, and BCPS uses technology to enhance safety.
But school safety is a shared responsibility as well. Talk with your child about appropriate behavior and review the BCPS Student Code of Conduct with them before school begins. Look for information from your child’s school about incidents rather than relying on often incomplete or inaccurate social media or media accounts. Make sure your child knows to report suspicious or threatening information to a teacher, school resource officer, or school administrator.
Special education services
BCPS is dedicated to the success of students with disabilities and their families. We provide a full continuum of special education services and related supports for eligible students from birth to age 21. The local school Individualized Education Plan (IEP) team is the first point of contact for special education support for your child. Families and caregivers may also initiate services through the Child Find process. The Department of Special Education is available for both families and schools and can be contacted at 443-809-3660.
Student expectations
“The 2023-2024 Student Handbook,” “The BCPS Code of Conduct At-A-Glance,” and “The Transportation Handbook” outline student expectations, rights, and responsibilities. We encourage BCPS families to review these guides with their children. Students will also review them in school.
Technology support
A technology support request form is available for BCPS students having issues with their devices. For help completing the form, please refer to the “Creating a Service Ticket” one-pager.
Transportation/buses
The Office of Transportation is looking forward to welcoming students back for the new school year. Student transportation assignments will be available in Focus beginning Monday, August 21, 2023. Please remind your children to be at their assigned bus stops at least 10 minutes prior to their scheduled time, and to always follow the posted bus rules. New this year, BCPS will launch a mobile app keeping you informed of your estimated bus arrival time. Additional information, including directions to register, will be sent to parents in September. Bus changes and delays will continue to be published on the transportation status webpage through the fall of 2023.