August 1, 2024 Community Update: Things to Know for the 2024-2025 School Year (2024)

August 1, 2024 Community Update: Things to Know for the 2024-2025 School Year

Dear Team BCPS Families:

As the summer break winds down, here are some important dates you need to know:

• Thursday, August 22, 2024 – 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 26, 2024 – First day of school for Grades 1-12
• Wednesday, August 28, 2024 – First full day of Kindergarten

One more date to remember is Saturday, August 17, 2024. 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.

Baltimore County Public Schools

Things to know for the BCPS 2024-2025 school year

Academics

Baltimore County Public Schools (BCPS) is committed to advancing academic progress for all. This school year, BCPS continues implementing its English language arts curriculum, including a new curriculum for Multilingual Learners. Our schools are enhancing their communication with multilingual families by leveraging the Talking Points app.

Also new this year is Xello, the new BCPS college and career exploration online platform. It’s available to all high school students; learn more about it in this video and brochure.

Throughout the school year, look for announcements for BCPS Curriculum Nights. The first BCPS Curriculum Night is scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 1, at Chesapeake High School in Essex. Save the date! These special events are opportunities for families to learn more about BCPS curriculum and efforts to improve instruction in English language arts, mathematics, early childhood education, Multilingual Achievement and English Language Development (ELD), and special education. BCPS educators will discuss what families can expect to see their children learning and will provide tips and resources on how to support students at home. It’s a great opportunity to see instructional materials and ask questions, too.

Assessments

Parents can use their Schoology accounts to check their children’s grades and receive updates from teachers. Please note the following key dates:

BCPS will offer PSAT testing for Grades 10 through 11 and SAT Day in the spring for Grade 11 students.

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! New this year, some BCPS middle and high schools will pilot a new program utilizing pouches to restrict cell phone use as a way to reduce distractions and disruptions in the classroom.

For additional information and resources, visit these sites:

• For Android phone users – Family Link and Digital Ground Rules https://safety.google/families/parental-supervision/
• For iOS phone users – Parental Controls
• Cellphones and Devices: A Guide for Parents and Caregivers

Food and nutrition/ free meals

BCPS provides free breakfast and lunch meals to all students at all schools. We no longer collect Free and Reduced-Price Meal applications.

Immunizations

Does your child need immunizations for the 2024-2025 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. The Department of Health will also provide vaccinations for free at BCPSfest on Saturday, August 17. BCPS students must be fully immunized by September 16, 2024, 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. BCPS high school students (13+) may also access free virtual therapy or online support through Talkspace. In addition, students at select BCPS middle schools can access the Cigna School Support Line. This is a no-cost, confidential service for students, families, and staff. The Cigna Support Line provides support when individuals need help 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

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 – The BCPS Tuition Free Program covers tuition, fees, and books for students in 11th and 12th grades who have met College and Career Readiness Standards, as outlined in the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future. In alignment with Blueprint requirements, students who have met College and Career Readiness Standards are eligible to have up to two courses in the Fall semester and two courses in the Spring semester paid for by BCPS. The courses must be credit-bearing, in an approved program of study, or courses leading to industry credentials at CCBC or other public Maryland universities. All courses must be approved through the advisem*nt by the school counselor.
• Extracurricular activities – Every school offers a wide range of extracurricular activities to meet students’ interests. Check with your children’s schools to learn what’s available.
• Athletics – All BCPS middle schools and high schools offer interscholastic athletics for those eligible to play. Many schools provide Allied Sports options that bring students with and without disabilities together to play interscholastic soccer, bocce, and softball. This year, BCPS has made it easier to register to participate in athletic programs with a new paperless registration system. Learn how to register using the new system here.
• 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 2025-2026 school year at the Magnet EXPO!, which will be held on Saturday, September 28, from 9:30 a.m. – 12 p.m. at CCBC Essex Wellness & Athletic Center in Rossville.

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
• Talking Points
• 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 2024-2025 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

Atechnology 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.

• Student Device Repair and Replacement – This school year, students and their parents/caregivers will be financially responsible for intentional damage to or loss of any Chromebook or other devices assigned to the student. As an instructional tool, there is no initial cost for BCPS students to receive a Chromebook or other devices, but students/families will be financially responsible when there is avoidable damage to the device.

Transportation/buses

The Department 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 19, 2024. 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. BCPS also offers the BusWhere mobile app to keep you informed of your estimated bus arrival time. Bus changes and delays will continue to be published on the transportation status webpage. Also new this year are changes to transportation services for middle school students. New middle school transportation zones will go into effect with the new school year; learn about the changes here.

Back2BCPS Campaign

August 1 marks the start of this year’s Back2BCPS campaign as Baltimore County Public Schools shares important updates, information, and resources with families and students ahead of the new school year. Please follow along on social media (Facebook, Instagram, X/Twitter, and our Spanish Facebook page) or visit our Back2BCPS webpage to stay informed as we prepare for a successful 2024-2025 school year.