Tuesday, February 18, 2025 | |
Registration now open for BCPS summer fine arts camps | |
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Registration for Baltimore County Public Schools’ summer arts camps in visual arts, dance, instrumental music, and musical theatre is now open (as of 7:30 a.m. this morning).
New this year, all camps will feature a focus on introducing students to creative careers; a new counselor-in-training option for students entering Grades 11-12 next school year; and limited funding to support camp costs for students who attend Community Schools. All camps will cost $182 per student.
The programs are open to students entering Grades 5-12 in the 2025-2026 school year, except for the visual arts summer program, which will accept students entering Grades 3-12. All camps, except for the BCPS Broadway Theatre Connection, will be held at Nottingham Middle School, 5210 King Ave., Rosedale 21237. The musical theatre camp will be held at George Washington Carver Center for Arts & Technology, 938 York Rd., Towson 21204.
Registration for the camps usually fills quickly. Bus transportation is available. Fee waivers are available for students who do not have permanent or adequate housing.
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Summer Art Enrichment Camp
Monday, June 30, through Thursday, July 3, and Monday, July 7, through Thursday, July 10
from 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
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Summer Dance Intensive
Wednesday, June 25, Thursday, June 26, and Monday, June 30, through Thursday, July 3
from 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
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Summer Music Camp
The six-day Summer Music Camp will be held on Wednesday, June 25, Thursday, June 26, and Monday, June 30, through Thursday, July 3
from 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
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BCPS Broadway Theatre Connection
Monday, July 28, through Thursday, July 31
from 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m., except on July 31 when camp will be extended to 6:30 p.m.
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Foresight Ogungbe of Eastern Tech and Sophie Vijayan of Towson High named finalists for Student Member of the Board | |
Two juniors – Foresight Ogungbe of Eastern Technical High School and Sophie Vijayan of Towson High School – are the final candidates for student member of the Board of Education of Baltimore County (SMOB) for the 2025-26 school year. After numerous opportunities to learn more about the candidates, BCPS middle and high school students will cast online ballots on Thursday, April 24. | |
Foresight Ogungbe is a student in Eastern Tech’s Academy of Health Professions magnet program. At her school, she is president of the Class of 2026, vice president of the African Student Association, and vice president of the Black Student Union. Her countywide activities include serving as vice president of Baltimore County Student Councils and chair of the Board of Selected Students. At the statewide level, she is the only student member on the School Safety Subcabinet of the Maryland Center for School Safety and serves as a liaison between MCSS and the Maryland Association of Student Councils. In 2024, the speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates appointed Ogungbe to the 24-member Maryland Youth Advisory Council. | |
Sophie Vijayan is enrolled in the Law and Public Policy magnet program at Towson High and was named a finalist for Law Day Student of the Year at her school in 2023. She is a member of the Towson High Student Council, vice president of its Model Congress, and secretary of its Speech and Debate team. She belongs to the National Honor Society, Science Honor Society, and Rho Kappa. In the community, Vijayan is vice president of the Dear Asian Youth Baltimore Chapter and legislative affairs coordinator of Baltimore County Student Councils. Last school year, she participated in a Social Justice Teen Fellowship with the Elijah Cummings Youth Program and created a podcast centered on issues of social justice. | |
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New Town High School hosts 6th Annual African American Read-In and Open Mic
As part of its Black History Month celebration, New Town High School hosted its Sixth Annual African American Read-In and Open Mic featuring special guest Black Chakra, a national champion in spoken word.
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Celebrate students' hard work at Black Excellence Program systemwide celebration | |
Images from the 2024 Black Excellence Program systemwide celebration | |
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Please join us for the Black Excellence Program's systemwide celebration on Saturday, February 22, from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. (Snow date: Saturday, March 1) at Loch Raven High School, cafeteria, 1212 Cowpens Ave., Baltimore 21286.
The BCPS Black Excellence program supports students over the course of several months as they learn about the people, places, and events throughout the Black experience. The program includes three components: a book study, a school-based competition, and an independent research project. During the systemwide celebration, students will display presentations they developed in response to the research prompt or the books they read. Community members, families, and other students will have the opportunity to ask students about their presentations.
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Carver Center student Bakari Lyons named 2025 BCPS Young Soloist
Bakari Lyons, a violinist and a Grade 10 student at George Washington Carver Center for Arts and Technology, has been selected as the 2025 Baltimore County Public Schools Young Soloist by the BCPS Office of Performing Arts.
As the Young Soloist, Lyons will be a featured performer at the BCPS Side by Side Concert on Friday, March 21, at Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in Baltimore. He will perform the first movement of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s “Violin Concerto in G Minor,” accompanied by members of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.
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Owings Mills High School senior Tremen McBridge named one of 24 Maryland Emerging Scholars
The Maryland Business Roundtable for Education (MBRT) selected Tremen McBride, a Grade 12 student at Owings Mills High School, as a 2025 recipient of "The 24: Maryland’s Emerging Scholars" award.
McBride has been a MBRT Student Ambassador since 2022. At his school, McBride has served as captain of his school’s VEX Robotics Team and a band member. He has also served as a leader at the Tower of Power competition at Johns Hopkins University and a member of Baltimore County Student Councils. He aspires to a career that merges his interests in technology and the arts and that advances education and equitable representation.
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Have you taken the annual Climate Survey?
We want to hear from you!
The annual BCPS Climate Survey is open through Friday, February 28. The survey focuses on school climate and engagement and all BCPS students in Grades 3–12, parents/caregivers, community members, and staff are encouraged to participate. The survey takes three minutes or less to complete and is anonymous.
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Coming soon: 2025 BCPS Job Fairs
Join our team!
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for parents
from BCPS Parent University
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Watch the newest episode of the Parent University show
The newest episode of the BCPS Parent University show explores the role of school counselors and features Jasmine Brown, a school counselor at Milford Mill Academy; visits the new student-run Reaching Higher Grounds coffee shop; introduces Michele Hackshaw, a multilingual family school liaison; and includes a reminder to complete the 2025 BCPS Climate Survey.
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Parent University Dine & Learn workshop: "How to Save for Higher Education with the Maryland College Investment Plan"
Wednesday, February 19, at 6:30 p.m.
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A representative from the Maryland State Treasurer's Office - Maryland 529 Program will give a presentation on the Maryland College Investment Plan. Registration is required. Contact Karen Wise (kwise3@bcps.org) with any questions.
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for your viewing pleasure | |
"Self Portrait (TBD)" by Skylah Smith, Grade 11, Woodlawn High School. This artwork was featured in the 2024-25 Winter Art Exhibition at THE AVENUE at White Marsh. | |
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mission moment
from The Education Foundation of BCPS
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New Reaching Higher Grounds coffee shop empowers students | |
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The BCPS Post Secondary Functional Academic Learning Support (PSFALS) program is brewing up student success at the Reaching Higher Grounds Coffee Shop.
Reaching Higher Grounds is open Monday through Thursday from 8-10 a.m. at the BCPS Employee Development Center at 2034 Greenspring Dr. in Timonium 21093. It is an meaningful way for students to serve the community while honing their work skills.
“PSFALS serves students with special needs who are at least 19 years of age and is designed to help them build skills and transition successfully to adulthood,” says Bernadette Fotopoulos, PSFALS liaison.
The Education Foundation provided a $1,000 Fast Funds grant to help get the coffee shop up and running. A new Mission Moment blog post tells more of the story and seeks additional support for the program. Additional photos can also be found in a Flickr album.
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February 18, 2025
Dear Reader:
Last week, the Board of Education held its second work session on the proposed Fiscal Year 2026 Operating Budget. During the session, board members continued their detailed review of the proposed budget and asked thoughtful questions. Responses to board member questions from both work sessions are available on the budget webpage. The Board is scheduled to vote on the budget request at its February 25 meeting. I want to thank board members for their work to review and adopt a budget request that commits resources to benefit our diverse student population.
As I shared with Team BCPS in January, I know this is a significant budget ask. However, I believe that every dollar we are requesting is needed to sustain our forward progress and improve student outcomes. In less than two years, BCPS has demonstrated that resources invested in people with a clear, well-executed plan produce positive outcomes. We can’t afford to disrupt our progress. This budget request focuses on the essentials and keeps our resources directly aligned to schools. We have identified more than $130 million in savings over the past two years and will continue to evaluate our work to ensure all efforts align with our strategic system priorities. Our students and families are counting on all of us to do what is right and that requires continued investment in our system.
I look forward to collaborating with the Board of Education, County Executive Katherine Klausmeier, and members of the County Council to develop innovative solutions to ensure maximum funding for our students and our 176 schools, programs, and centers.
Regards,
Myriam Rogers, Ed.D.
Superintendent
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Upcoming Board and community advisory group meetings
All are welcome to attend
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Southeast Area Education Advisory Council meeting
Monday, February 24, at 7 p.m.
Edgemere Elementary School, 7201 North Point Rd., Baltimore 21219
Topic: Blueprint update
Board of Education meeting
Tuesday, February 25, at 6:30 p.m.
BCPS headquarters/Greenwood, 6901 N. Charles St., Building E, Towson 21204
Northwest Elementary School Boundary Study #2, Board Public Hearing
Wednesday, February 26, at 6:30 p.m.
Milford Mill Academy, auditorium, 3800 Washington Ave., Windsor Mill 21244
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