Category: School Notebook

BCPS Secondary Students Approved to Vote for School Board Representation


For the first time, all BCPS middle and high school students will be eligible to cast votes in March 2020 for the next student member of the Board of Education of Baltimore County.

That change is thanks to a new process designed to increase student involvement in choosing who will represent them. The process, spearheaded by current Baltimore County Student Councils President Angela Qian and current Board Student Member Omer Reshid, will enable eligible students to cast ballots in all-day (7 a.m. – 8 p.m.) voting on Thursday, March 12, 2020.

“The Student Member of the Board used to be selected in a room with a bunch of adults,” Qian said. “Then, it was selected through student voting at a live forum with around 200 participants. This was a start, but it was not enough.”
Qian added,

“We’re making voting not only more accessible but more democratic by allowing every secondary student an online vote for the Student Member on the Board. That person represents every student in BCPS, so why not allow as many of them to vote as we can? We have the technology that can make it possible, so it’s our responsibility to turn it into reality.”

In the new process, student candidates can appeal directly to students through speeches that will be taped in February and available for viewing in English language arts and social studies classes as well as on the BCPS One online platform. Students also may submit questions in February for consideration during a question-and-answer forum, which students will be able to view March 10-11 prior to the March 12 online voting.

“Our student leaders have been committed to opening up the selection process to have as many students participate as possible,” said Nora Murray, BCPS advisor to Baltimore County Student Councils. “This school year, there will be more information available about candidates to more students than ever, who will have more opportunity than ever to let their voices be heard.”
The online period to apply for the student board member position opens Monday, Dec. 2, and will close at 11:59 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 10.

Applications for the position will be located on the Student Member of the Board online page.
Much of the selection process will remain the same. Finalists for the position will continue to be selected by a panel consisting of student leaders and BCPS personnel. The individual who wins the student election will still require approval from Maryland’s governor.

Prior to 2016, student members had been chosen and recommended to the governor by a committee of BCPS educators, staff, and student leaders. But for the past four school years, BCPS students and student leaders from middle and high schools across the county have met in a convention to select their recommendation for student Board member.

Eastside BCPS Students Selected for All-County Honors Dance Ensembles


BCPS announced that 12 dance students from six eastside Baltimore County public schools are leaping with joy over their latest honor – being named to the BCPS High School and Middle School All-County Honors Dance Ensembles for the 2019-2020 school year.

“We are thrilled to see our All-County ensembles continue to grow and strengthen with the addition of more dance programs in our middle and high schools,” said Sonia Synkowski, BCPS dance resource teacher. “Our teachers and students are truly raising the bar when it comes to high quality arts instruction in our dance programs.”

Both ensembles will be led by Artistic Director Stephanie Powell and will rehearse from January to June 2020 at George Washington Carver Center for Arts and Technology. Throughout the season, they will perform at school system and community events, including the BCPS State of the Schools luncheon at SECU Arena on March 18; the countywide dance festivals at Perry Hall High School on March 27 and at Sudbrook Magnet Middle School at April 2; and a gala concert at Carver Center on June 15.

The ensemble members are:

Middle School All-County Honors Dance Ensemble, 2019 – 2020

Deep Creek Middle School
AaShyah deVries

Golden Ring Middle School
Madison Cosden

Middle River Middle School
Riley Herold

High School All-County Honors Dance Ensemble, 2019 – 2020

Parkville High School
Melody Cole

Patapsco High School and Center for the Arts
Deon Cox
Morgan Strebeck
Justus VanPelt
Armani Woods

Perry Hall High School
Kristine Mae Escoto
Kamryn Evans
Francheska Querol
Tabitha Tamulevich
BCPS offers elementary dance integration programs at eight schools, and dance education programs at the following secondary schools:

Middle Schools
Deep Creek Middle School
Deer Park Middle Magnet School
Dundalk Middle School
Golden Ring Middle School
Franklin Middle School
Middle River Middle School
Pikesville Middle School
Southwest Academy
Stemmers Run Middle School
Sudbrook Magnet Middle School
Windsor Mill Middle School

High Schools
Dulaney High School
Dundalk High School
Franklin High School
George Washington Carver Center for Arts and Technology
Hereford High School
Lansdowne High School
Milford Mill Academy
New Town High School
Overlea High School
Owings Mills High School
Parkville High School
Patapsco High School and Center for the Arts
Perry Hall High School
Pikesville High School

The mission of the BCPS dance education program is to provide quality performance-based instruction with experiences that include perception and response activities with movement, historical, social, and cultural dance forms, creative expression and production, aesthetics, and personal development for a successful lifetime.

Eight Local BCPS schools Earn Instructional Initiative Grants from Education Foundation of BCPS


The Education Foundation of Baltimore County Public Schools has announced its newest 21st Century Instructional Initiative Grant recipients.

Fifteen schools and one office earned 17 grants (most around $2,000 each). The total value of the grants is more than $32,500. Grants were awarded in the categories of Arts & Culture, Civic Literacy, Environmental Literacy, Global Awareness and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics).

A list of the local recipients and their projects follows:

•Battle Grove Elementary School – Arts on Stage: Stone Soup & Other Stories

•Dundalk High School – Spring Arts Festival

•Dundalk Middle School – Get Me to the Water

•Middle River Middle School –Grade 6 Camp Puh’Tok Environmental Investigations Field Study

•Perry Hall Elementary School – Full STEAM Ahead: Designing a Maker Space

•Perry Hall Middle School – MWEE Independent Research Project

•Stemmers Run Middle School – The Mean Green Stream Cleaning Team

•Sussex Elementary School – Sussex Save the Bay

Each year, The Education Foundation provides schools and offices/departments with an opportunity to apply for instructional initiative grants to fund innovative projects not funded in the school budget. Projects must address an identified need that is aligned with Baltimore County Public Schools’ goals for academics and the school progress plans.The project must have clear measurable objectives, and overall impact and potential for successful implementation.

Kingsville Elementary Teacher Named Best by Baltimore Style magazine Readers


Amy DeNike, a Grade 3 teacher at Kingsville Elementary, was voted 2019 best public-school teacher at the elementary-middle level by the readers of Baltimore Style magazine.

Kingsville Elementary Principal Carol Ferris said her teacher was well deserving.
“It is a well-deserved recognition for an outstanding teacher who provides high-quality instruction for her students every day and always goes above and beyond,” Ferris said about DeNike’s award.

DeNike, a Dulaney High School graduate, has been teaching at Kingsville Elementary for 35 years. She has earned a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education and a master’s degree in reading education, both from Towson University. She became a National Board-Certified teacher in November 2007 in Literacy: Reading – Language Arts/ Early and Middle Childhood.

Her previous honors include Who’s Who Among American Teachers (1996, 2000, and 2004-5); Essex – Middle River – White Marsh Outstanding Educator Award (2005); Baltimore County Chamber of Commerce Northeast Area Elementary Teacher of the Year (2009); and Chesapeake Gateway Chamber of Commerce Excellence in Education – Outstanding Educator Award finalist (2018).

Beyond the classroom, DeNike has contributed to the success of the school’s Safe Racer and Odyssey of the Mind teams. In 2016, Kingsville’s Safe Racer Team, coached by DeNike, became the Northeast Area Champions and BCPS Safe Racer Champions. DeNike was a longtime coach of Odyssey of the Mind teams at Kingsville, and, under her leadership, Kingsville’s team won the World Finals in 1999.

“I love teaching, and it definitely is my life’s passion,” said DeNike. “I feel lucky to be spending my career doing what I love at an awesome school!”

Chapel Hill Student Wins Peabody’s Young Artists Concerto Competition


Taeyeon (Sophia) Park, a third grade student at Chapel Hill Elementary in Perry Hall, earned first place in the Peabody Young Artist Concerto competition.

As part of the Preparatory’s Concerto Competition Day, held on Nov. 17, the Young Artists Concerto Competition provides intermediate and advanced students, who are aged 14 and under, the opportunity to compete for a solo performance with the Preparatory’s Young Artists Orchestra. As the winner, Park will rehearse and perform one movement of a Baroque concerto with the Young Artists Orchestra on the Peabody Preparatory Concerto Concert on Feb. 15, 2020.

Park has been playing the violin for five years and practices every day. In the competition, she performed the Bach Violin Concerto No.1 in A minor, 1st movement.

Seven Local BCPS students to serve on County ’s Youth Climate Working Group


Seven students from eastern Baltimore County are among 17 Baltimore County Public Schools students that been appointed to the new Baltimore County Youth Climate Working Group, which held its first meeting, Monday, Nov. 18.

The first-of-its-kind workgroup is designed to ensure that youth voices, concerns, and recommendations are included in the county’s Climate Action Plan and other sustainability efforts.

The local BCPS students who will serve on the workgroup are:

• Luis Cervantes, Sparrows Point High School
• Owen Fahey, Parkville High School
• Melanie Flores, Dundalk High School
• Gurkamal Kaur, Dundalk High School
• Chahat Kumari, Dundalk High School
• Nadia Nazar, Eastern Technical High School
• Asa Seay, Sparrows Point High School

Through the working group, students will have opportunities to meet with Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski, Chief Sustainability Officer Steve Lafferty, and other members of the administration to share their perspectives on climate change, discuss how it impacts their communities, and to develop potential solutions. Recommendations and feedback from the Youth Climate Working Group will be incorporated in the county’s final Climate Action Plan.

Dundalk Middle Physical Education Teacher to be Honored


Brian Bandurchin of Dundalk Middle School is one of four Baltimore County Public Schools teachers who will be honored with Simon A. McNeely awards from the Maryland Society of Health and Physical Educators (SHAPE). The awards will be presented at the SHAPE Maryland Awards Banquet on this Saturday, Nov. 16, at the Clarion Resort Fontainebleau Hotel in Ocean City.

Bandurchin is a physical education teacher at Dundalk Middle.

Bandurchin will be honored along with fellow health and physical education teachers John Bruns of Lutherville Laboratory; Christal Higgins of Pikesville High and Ryan Scarfile of Timonium Elementary.

Simon A. McNeely Awards are presented to educators with at least five years professional experience who demonstrate excellence and innovation in teaching and service in health, physical education, recreation, or dance. Recipients must be current members of SHAPE Maryland or a relevant professional organization and have presented or actively participated in Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (HPERD) workshops and conferences in the past three years.

Eastern Tech Named One of Best Schools by Newsweek


Eastern Technical High School and has been named among the nation’s 500 best high schools for STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) by Newsweek magazine and STEM.org.

Eastern Tech was ranked 240. Towson High School was ranked in the top 500 best high schools at 310.

Six other BCPS high schools appeared on Newsweek’s longer Top 5000 STEM High Schools list. Those schools are: Dulaney (1309), Hereford (1717), Western Tech (2559), George Washington Carver Center (2649), Catonsville (3112) and Pikesville (4243).

The rankings were based on qualitative and quantitative data collected from 2015 – 2019 along with additional considerations such as median household income.

BCPS Approves Post Labor Day Start for 2020-21 School Year


The BCPS Board of Education approved a modified version of Option B which will have schools opening on the Tuesday after Labor Day on Sept. 8.

The school year would end on June 18, 2021 if there are no weather-related closures.

Spring break is scheduled for a 10 day vacation under this model from March 27 to April 5, 2021, and schools will reopen April 6 2021.

BCPS must meet the state requirement of 1176.5 hours for elementary schools and 1183 hours for middle and high schools.

County Seeks Bids to Develop Long-Term School Construction Plan


Ten-Year Improvement Plan for All Schools
Baltimore County and Baltimore County Public Schools (BCPS) today issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) (PDF) for an independent consultant to assist in the development of a long-range plan for identifying and prioritizing capital improvements to Baltimore County’s school buildings. The plan will prioritize needs based on enrollment projections and capacity, educational equity and adequacy, and the conditions of facilities.

“Every student and educator deserves a safe, modern school where they can learn and grow. While Baltimore County has made significant progress, we still have a number of aging facilities and a growing student population which leads to unacceptable learning conditions for many of our students,” said County Executive Johnny Olszewski. “Providing a world-class education for our children is and will always be the number one priority of my administration. This long-term plan will outline a clear roadmap to ensure we can best serve all our children and communities.”

“Building on the substantial progress made during the past decade to modernize our schools, this plan will allow us to comfortably accommodate our growing enrollment into the next decade,” said Superintendent Dr. Darryl L. Williams. “I deeply appreciate the support and partnership from state and County elected officials.”

Equitable and Effective Allocation of School Construction Funds
The RFP issued today anticipates identifying a consultant to develop a High School Master Plan by September 2020, followed by a plan for all remaining schools, centers and programs by May 2021. Baltimore County has significant school construction needs, including eight remaining projects under the Schools for Our Future program. In addition, the County is projected to have 1,700 more students than seats in its high schools over the next decade.

In response to these challenges, Olszewski has made support for public education his administration’s top priority. Recognizing the need for a long-term plan to ensure the County has a roadmap for equitable and effective allocation of school construction dollars, County Executive Olszewski included funds for the development of a 10-year capital plan in his Fiscal Year 2020 budget.

Olszewski also provided funds in the current budget for all remaining Schools for Our Future projects and has allocated $15 million for planning and design at Lansdowne High School. He also recently committed planning funds for both Towson and Dulaney High Schools.

Support for Public Education a Top Priority
All of these projects are unable to move forward without the State of Maryland’s remaining portion of funding. County Executive Olszewski has consistently called on the state to increase its commitment to help the County meet the needs of its growing student population. Earlier this year, Olszewski called on Governor Hogan to release $127 million in currently withheld school construction funding approved by the legislature in the 2019 legislative session.

Maryland House of Delegates Speaker Adrienne Jones has indicated that she intends to make school construction a top priority for the state in the upcoming legislative session and Olszewski has committed to advocating on behalf of Baltimore County students in Annapolis.