Monday, August 28, 2023

New state assessment data highlights small student performance gains

Last week, the Maryland State Department of Education released final data from the 2023 administration of the Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program in English language arts (ELA), mathematics, and science. The data show that BCPS students made small gains in performance from 2022 to 2023.

In a new community message (issued on August 22), BCPS Superintendent Dr. Myriam Rogers (Yarbrough) writes, "While these small gains in student performance are encouraging, far too many of our students are still not meeting proficiency levels, and we have significant performance gaps compared to the state. We know more must be done to ensure our students are meeting or surpassing state expectations, and have the access, opportunity, and support they need to be successful."

The community message (available in English and Spanish) outlines several strategies to be employed this school year to accelerate student academic achievement.

New BCPS-TV video celebrates the school year start

Summer Stories: Eastern Technical High School senior interns at Port Discovery as a Bank of America Student Leader

In the latest Summer Stories post, Chiemela Nwokoro, a Grade 12 student at Eastern Technical High School, shares her experiences as a Bank of America Student Leader.

Being selected for this prestigious program enabled Chiemela to serve as an intern at Port Discovery Children's Museum in downtown Baltimore and to participate in a national summit in Washington, D.C.

Chiemela shares lessons learned and even how a craft she developed with the Education Department at Port Discovery will soon be piloted on the museum floor!

A look back at BCPSfest from BCPS-TV

Attendance tips for parents of PreSchool-3, PreKindergarten and Kindergarten students, elementary school students, and middle and high school students can be found online.

This school year, BCPS is using new safety tools as part of its comprehensive approach to enhance school safety. Omnilert is a weapons detection system that will use existing internal and external cameras to spot firearms.

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.

"Cups" by Angely Rivas-Cardona, Grade 6, Holabird Middle/STEM School. Work featured in the 2023 Middle School Juried Art Exhibition.

mission moment

from The Education Foundation of BCPS

One wonderful week for BCPS: 3 successful events!

The newest Mission Moment blog post describes The Education Foundation's involvement in three exciting events to mark the start of the 2023-2024 school year.

The Administrative and Supervisory Meeting

The foundation shared 22 baskets of gratitude to selected attendees at the annual meeting for BCPS leaders.

Stuff the Bus

Thanks to community contributions, the foundation stuffed two school buses with nearly $15,000 worth of school supplies.

BCPSfest

The foundation distributed nearly 2,000 free books to BCPS students during the annual back-to-school festival.

A word from Dr. Rogers (Yarbrough)

August 28, 2023

Dear Reader:

This is it! Today, across the county, students will begin new grades and enter new schools. Some teachers and principals will begin their first year of service; others will begin their 10th or 20th. And I will experience my first school year as superintendent.

I feel, for all of us, that the start of a new school year is always a great opportunity for change. I look forward to working closely with the stakeholders of Team BCPS to make 2023-2024 the best school year ever.

I encourage you to contribute to the success of BCPS in whatever way you can –whether that is joining a parent-teacher-student association; mentoring a child; volunteering at a school; taking a Parent University workshop; applying for a job with BCPS; learning more about the programs and services BCPS offers; becoming a business partner to a school; or speaking up at school board meeting.

The most important thing we can do as parents and community members is to educate our youth. Let's work together to make sure all BCPS students receive the same level of excellent education and support, no matter what school they attend or neighborhood they live in.

In partnership,

Myriam Rogers, Ed.D.

Superintendent

A back-to-school message from Superintendent Dr. Myriam Rogers (Yarbrough) and Board Vice Chair Robin Harvey