"CTE Show" highlights electrical careers and homeland security programs -- This Week in BCPS

Monday, June 3, 2024

New episodes of "CTE Show" highlight electrical career program at Lansdowne High School and homeland security program at Dundalk High School

Electrical careers program at Lansdowne High School

Homeland security program at Dundalk High School

This June for national Pride Month, the Mind Over Matters campaign offers a variety of activities, resources, and tools for the theme “Pride Matters.”

Recent honors for Team BCPS

Hereford Middle School teacher Christopher Putnam receives Inspiration All Star award at international robotics event

Christopher Putnam, Hereford Middle School’s technology education teacher, was one of only six individuals named an Inspiration All Star at the 2024 VEX Robotics Championship.

The Championship, held in late April in Dallas, Tx., involved more than 4,000 teams from more than 70 countries.

The Hereford Zone Robotics club Putnam leads with co-coach Shane Stoe includes 13 teams. In addition, Putnam annually hosts multiple VEX competitions and multiple levels of the Maryland State Competition.

In nominating Putnam, Sparks Elementary School teacher Jill Crowley praised him for leading a “student-centered” program that builds skills and knowledge and empowers students to problem-solve, innovate, and collaborate.

BCPS Food and Nutrition Services honored with a Cornerstone Award from University of Maryland

Jaime Hetzler, director of BCPS Food and Nutrition Services, and her team were recognized with a Cornerstone Award from University of Maryland's College of Agriculture and Natural Resources' Health Food System, Global Food, and Nutritional Security Committee. The award was presented at a May 8 ceremony and was awarded for the BCPS team's success in improving student nutrition through access, quality improvement, and partnership.

Hetzler was hired in late 2021 in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. School food service operators were experiencing challenges due to labor and product shortages. In spite of the challenges, Hetzler brought a vision to BCPS nutrition programs that included improving meal quality, expanding access, and reducing waste. Since then, Hetzler's impact has continued to grow.

Baltimore County Association for Counseling and Development presents its annual honors

2024 School Counselors of the Year

Carrie Schiavone, Cromwell Valley Elementary School

Lilly Richardson, Hereford Middle School

Kelsey Bardoff, Parkville High School

2024 Rookie School Counselors of the Year

C.C. Braun, Johnnycake Elementary School

Damon Chalk, Arbutus Middle School

Lauren DiFatta, Owings Mills High School

The Baltimore County Association for Counseling and Development recognized a new class of outstanding school counselors for the 2023-24 school year.

The organization named School Counselors of the Year, Rookie School Counselors of the Year (with fewer than five years' experience), and a School Counselor Advocate of the Year. This final award honors a BCPS administrator, teacher, support staff, parent, or community member who consistently advocates for and supports the critical work school counselors do for all children.

School Counselor Advocate of the Year

Robert Covert, principal, Hereford High School

Pikesville High graduate Hannah Swird heads to UVA as a Walentas Scholar

Hannah Swird, who graduated from Pikesville High School on May 31, has been awarded a Walentas Scholarship from the Jefferson Scholars Foundation.

Swird will attend the University of Virginia in the fall and plans to earn a degree in education, focused on youth and social innovation. In addition to receiving the full cost of attending the University for four years, Walentas Scholars benefit from several enrichment programs sponsored by the Foundation, including travel abroad, career networking activities, and a leadership speaker series.

Pinning ceremony highlights rise in Board certified BCPS educators

A pinning ceremony, co-hosted by the BCPS Office of Workforce Development and the BCPS Office of Office of Teacher Leadership, recognized BCPS educators who achieved National Board Certification in 2022 and 2023. The event, sponsored by First Federal Financial Credit Union, was held on May 29 at George Washington Carver Center for Arts and Technology.

More than a third of BCPS Board certified teachers earned their certification in 2022 and 2023. This rapid rise in Board-certification reflects the additional supports BCPS now offers to assist teachers who undertake the arduous process.

Certified in 2023

Becca Alvarado

Carrie Barrett,

Cristina Bernoni

Erica Blouin

Leigh Caputo

Kirsten Chalk

Sara Cox

Mary Crowe

Margaret Deighton

Paul Diem

Allyson Eisenberg

Elizabeth Fair

Jennifer Felter

Anna Gavin

Jennifer Gish

Meryl Hawkins

Bridget Jordan

Brittany Kolb

Casey Markilinski

Kristin Novak

Susannah Ray

James Roeder

Dawn Shuster

Amanda Slonaker

Kristen Spaulding

Aaron Sporik

Carrie Sprucebank

Caitlin Walther

Natalie Zinkham

Certified in 2022

Lauren Beck

Rachel Ezell

Theresa Iacarino

Carrie Keeney

Abigail Lofredo

Tatiana Lowers

Amy Parlette

Kimberly Peck

Aiden Piper

Jessica Ruppert

Kaitlynn Welly

Jennifer Wisnom

Heather Young

Recognizing our spring 2024 state athletic champions

BCPS is celebrating its high school athletic teams and student-athletes recognized as state champions for the 2024 spring season. The Girls Track & Field teams at Hereford and Woodlawn high schools saw continued success this spring, earning state championships after recently being crowned champions for the 2023-2024 indoor season. A list of individual and relay state champions can be found in a recent news release.

Team State Champions

Girls Track & Field Class 2A – Hereford High School

Coaches John Roemer IV and Adam Hittner

Team State Champions

Girls Track & Field Class 4A – Woodlawn High School

Coach Joey Young

BCPS honors School Resource Officers of the Year

Last week, BCPS celebrated its 2024 School Resource Officers of the Year during a series of surprise ceremonies. Officer Kevin Gilbert, assigned to10 northwest-area elementary schools, was named Elementary School Resource Officer of the Year; Officer Kenneth Pitts, assigned to Cockeysville Middle School, was named Middle School Resource Officer of the Year; and Officer Steven Long, assigned to Rosedale Center, was named High School Resource Officer of the Year. The officers were recognized for their exemplary efforts to maintain school safety and for serving as mentors, role models, and resources for students.

Officer Kevin Gilbert

Elementary School Resource Officer of the Year

Officer Kenneth Pitts

Middle School Resource Officer of the Year

Officer Steven Long

High School Resource Officer of the Year.

MSDE highlights BCPS attendance campaign

In a recent presentation on attendance trends and best practices, the Maryland State Department of Education shared a "Tier 1 Spotlight" on the BCPS "Here for It!" attendance campaign. The state noted that the five pillars of the BCPS campaign are: publicity, collaboration, professional learning, ongoing support, and resources.

Principals and schools are encouraged to utilize the Here for It tools and resources throughout the year to promote a culture of attendance and to support efforts to decrease the percentage of chronically absent students. All staff are encouraged to promote a culture of daily on-time attendance and can tweet their school-wide participation using #HereForItBCPS.

High school commencement exercises continue this week

Over the next few weeks, more than 7,000 students will become 2024 BCPS graduates. All graduations will be held at Towson University’s TU Arena, unless otherwise noted. While in-person seating will be limited, friends, extended family, and community members are invited to witness these milestone events via livestream. The graduation schedule webpage includes links to the livestreams. Photos from each graduation will be posted on the BCPS Flickr account.

Additionally, students, families, and staff are invited to submit their favorite 2024 commencement snapshots on social media using #bcpsgrad. Photos can also be submitted via email to communications@bcps.org

Enjoy the 2024 Elementary Choral and Recorder Festival

The annual BCPS Elementary Choral and Recorder Festival was held this year on April 27 at George Washington Carver Center for Arts and Technology.

for parents

from BCPS Parent University

Do you know any recent high school graduates looking for an opportunity to serve and grow?

The Maryland Department of Service & Civic Innovation is accepting applications for the new Service Year Option Program beginning Wednesday, September 11. Upcoming or recent high school graduates (Classes of 2024, 2023, 2022, and 2021) must apply by June 15.

Major benefits offered:

Full-time service opportunity for at least nine months.
Earn at least $15/hour.
Receive $6,000 completion award at the end of the program.
Matched with host site employer in field of interest.
Gain on the job training, mentoring, professional development, and exposure to employers and colleges across Maryland.
Opportunity to enroll in a federally recognized registered apprenticeship pathway.

Looking for more ideas and information? Please sign up for the Parent University newsletter! It is designed specifically for parents and caregivers and offers ideas, information, resources, and opportunities.

for your viewing pleasure

"V Is for Violin" by Aung Thang, Grade 9, Catonsville High School. Work featured in The Superintendent's Gallery: West Zone School Exhibition.

Artist's Statement:

My artwork is a hand morphing into a violin from the American Sign Language pose for V. For this artwork, I used graphite on white paper. When drawing, I broke the hand and the violin into less complex shapes and then found similarities between them to "invent" a morph phase in the middle. When shading, I did the same thing but with shadows and highlights.

To see more artwork by BCPS students, teachers, and other members of the BCPS community, please visit the Office of Visual Arts gallery webpage.

mission moment

from The Education Foundation of BCPS

Good things come in threes! A week of honors and celebrations for The Education Foundation

On May 6, Debbie Phelps, the foundation's executive director, was inducted into The Daily Record's Circle of Excellence for the Top 100 Women in Maryland.

Three days later, a pitch from Dr. Heather Wooldridge, the foundation's associate director, earned the foundation a $15,000 grant from United Way of Central Maryland to bring a yoga for social-emotional learning program to BCPS.

The week ended with the inaugural BCPS Inspiring Hope Gala, which celebrated the achievement of BCPS students and leaders and raised funds to support the foundation's initiatives for the school system.

More about these exciting honors and celebrations can be found in a new Mission Moment blog post.

A word from Dr. Rogers

June 3, 2024

Dear Reader:

As we begin the last two weeks of the 2023-2024 school year, it is difficult to feel anything other than grateful.

I am so proud of our extraordinary team of educators and professionals for giving their all each day to support student academic progress and personal growth.

I am equally grateful for our incredibly diverse and hardworking students and thankful for the families, volunteers, and community partners who champion our students and our schools.

Working together, we have already begun to fast forward student achievement. I look forward to the successful conclusion of this school year and to making the 2024-2025 school year even better.

Regards,

Myriam Rogers, Ed.D.

Superintendent