BCPS Partnership Spotlight Newsletter, March 2023

March 2023

2023 State of the Schools: Moving Forward, Together Again!

State of the Schools 2023, presented in partnership with The Education Foundation of Baltimore County Public Schools, Inc., was a tremendous success! The program featured remarks from foundation and board leadership and award-winning educators and included student-created performances, artwork, and even donuts.

This year's event was held on March 22 on the campus of Dundalk High School and Sollers Point Technical High School. Many thanks to the staff and students whose hard work and dedication contributed to the incredible event as well as Chick-fil-A Eastpoint, Flowers and Fancies, Media Star Promotions, and VPC, Inc., for their generous in-kind donations.

Before the program's conclusion, Superintendent Dr. Darryl L. Williams delivered the annual State of the Schools address. During his speech, Dr. Williams highlighted BCPS staff and student accomplishments, underscored the importance of partnerships, and explained how the school system is well-poised for continued success as it moves forward, together again. Finally, Dr. Williams thanked his family and friends, as well as the entire Team BCPS community, for their support throughout his tenure as BCPS superintendent.

A recording of the full program is available for viewing online. Photos from the event are available in a BCPS Flickr album.

Loch Raven High School students benefit from work-based learning opportunities

This year, 23 Loch Raven High School students are interning for various businesses and organizations across the county and in Baltimore City.

“I am proud of all our interns this year," said Jennifer Madrid, the program's coordinator. "Many have started getting paid at their placements, and I know every one of them has learned so much more about their career field of interest. They have all grown in confidence and maturity.... I really want to see the program grow and grow at Loch Raven. I hope we can find more business partners and interested students.”

A new blog post, written by Ashley Lazo, a senior at Loch Raven High and an intern in the BCPS Department of Communications and Community Outreach, includes interviews with students interning with BCPS Information Technology, the Ethiopian Outreach Ministry, the Law Offices of Spence | Brierley PC, the Maryland School for the Blind, Towson University Public Safety, and WPG Financial Group.

Intern Ashley Lazo with BCPS Communications Specialist Sam Lister interviewing Tirah Harris, Milford Mill Academy cosmetology instructor

Intern Destiny Keene at her Towson University Public Safety internship placement

Western Tech grads launch SYP Foundation to support student success

Ten young professionals, all of them former BCPS students, nine of them graduates of Western School of Technology, have established the SYP Foundation.

While they are busy building their own careers, these young men are also working to help the next generation avoid some of the struggles they faced.

The SYP Foundation engages in community service activities, especially related to food and housing, but its focus is on offering scholarships to students in Baltimore City and Baltimore County public schools and Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

A new blog post introduces the founders and further explores the mission of the foundation.

Local children's book author speaks to Chadwick Elementary School students

Children's book author Kenji Lawrence Jackson was a featured presenter during Chadwick Elementary School's Black History Month celebration. He spoke about the students' potential to succeed and about the everyday "superheroes" in the community.

Eastern Tech teams earn 1st and 3rd places at the Lockheed Martin CYBERQUEST competition

Teams from Eastern Technical High School earned first and third places at the CYBERQUEST® competition held in Hanover, Md. on March 4.

CYBERQUEST® is Lockheed Martin's annual high school cyber competition held at locations across the nation as well as in Australia and the United Kingdom. The goal of the competition is to encourage high school students to pursue careers in cybersecurity. During the three-hour competition, student teams solve challenges created by Lockheed Martin cybersecurity engineers.

Almost all the students on the winning teams are in the information technology/networking magnet program at Eastern Tech.

In recognition of their achievements, the Eastern Tech students on the winning teams are now eligible for internships at Lockheed Martin as well as the Lockheed Martin STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) scholarship, which pays $10,000 per year for four years.

1st place: The Neckbeards Team

3rd place: The Aantavirus Team

BCPS students gather for Educators Rising Conference

BCPS-TV was there when 300 BCPS students – all aspiring educators – gathered for the Educators Rising conference held at the Community College of Baltimore County/Essex. The students, in Grades 6–12, could choose from among 19 breakout sessions to learn more about working in education and could meet with representatives of various area teacher education programs.

BCPS student art exhibit at Baltimore Museum of Art attracts nearly 4,000 visitors

In its five days at the Baltimore Museum of Art, the annual countywide student exhibition, “Art is for Everyone," attracted 3,966 visitors – its largest turnout ever. The previous record was set in 2022 with 2,656 visitors over the course of 10 days. This is the 35th time the museum has displayed artwork by BCPS students.

The enduring partnership between BCPS and the Baltimore Museum of Art allows students to see themselves as valued artists in the community and introduces many families to the museum’s many treasures. In addition to parents, students, and area residents, exhibit visitors included School Board Chair Jane Lichter, BCPS Superintendent Dr. Darryl L. Williams, and Keith Franz from AFSLS (another BCPS partner, a law firm that annually hosts an exhibition of BCPS high school art).

Located next to the museum's prized Cone Collection, the show featured 248 artworks by BCPS students from PreKindergarten through Grade 12 from 129 schools.

FedEx Cares donates new shoes to 250 Sandalwood Elementary School students

During the 50 days leading up to its 50th anniversary, FedEx is encouraging its employees to engage in community service activities. For one of those activities, FedEx Cares collaborated with Operation Warm to surprise 250 students at Sandalwood Elementary School with new shoes.

Quoted in a Baltimore Fishbowl story, FedEx Communications Advisor Chelsea Satkowiak said, “Through our FedEx Cares program, we’re committed to giving back to the communities we serve every day. Our team members who live and work in these communities are excellent resources for identifying schools with students who would benefit most from receiving new shoes through our collaboration with Operation Warm, which is how Sandalwood Elementary was selected as a recipient.”

First Lady of Maryland joins Maryland State Education Association as it donates books to Logan Elementary School

State and local leaders gathered at Logan Elementary School on March 21 to celebrate a Read Across America book donation from the Maryland State Education Association. During the visit, Grade 3 students enjoyed book readings by First Lady of Maryland Dawn Moore and Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski. More photos can be found on Flickr.

Dundalk Renaissance Corporation hosted photo contest

Dundalk Middle School student earned 1st place

Kyrstin Mann, a Grade 6 student at Dundalk Middle School, earned first place in the Dundalk Renaissance Corporation’s "My Dundalk" photo contest. Her photo is on display at The Forge (11 Center Place Suite 201, Dundalk 21222) in the Dundalk Shopping Center.

Teacher Academy of Maryland students at Woodlawn High read to young children

On Read Across America Day (March 2), 30 students enrolled in the Teacher Academy of Maryland program at Woodlawn High School spent time reading to, engaging with, and giving books to the school's "Littlest Warriors" (children ages 1–4 related to school students and staff). BCPS-TV was there to capture the activity.

The Education Foundation seeks sponsors for Let's Play Ball! event

Let’s Play Ball! is a free community event to celebrate BCPS. Held at George Washington Carver Center for Arts and Technology, 938 York Rd., Towson 21204, on Saturday, May 13, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., the event will include a BCPS Allied Sports Clinic, vendor village, live music, food trucks, a home run derby, and softball game.

The sponsorship portal for Let’s Play Ball! 2023 is now open and offers a variety of sponsorship levels and benefits. All proceeds from this event will provide post-secondary scholarship opportunities, 21st Century Instructional Grants, and other initiatives that directly align with our mission to support improved outcomes for our community.

Deep Creek Elementary, a Community School, partners with The Y in Central Maryland and Amazon

submitted by Tracey Collins, community school facilitator at Deep Creek Elementary School

Deep Creek Elementary is one of 38 Community Schools in BCPS. Each Community School is committed to “establishing a set of strategic partnerships between the school and other community resources.”

The Y in Central Maryland is an example of one such partnership. Staff from The Y joined Deep Creek Elementary students, staff, families, and community members for the school's "Ingredients for Success Reading Night." The Y provided a variety of healthy recipes that families could make at home. In addition, The Y staff led families through making a healthy snack during the reading night.

Volunteers from Amazon and the community volunteer monthly to assist in the organization and distribution of food from the Deep Creek Elementary Food Bank.

Message from Dr. Williams

Dear BCPS Partners,

Finding highly qualified professionals is challenging in most industries. Our Department of Human Resources continually seeks new and better ways to find prospective employees. One method we find effective is welcoming student interns from area colleges and then recruiting them to apply for positions; another effective strategy for us is nurturing our students to become future employees through internships, scholarships, and more.

If your business or organization can, we encourage you to consider offering our students internship opportunities. It's a win-win proposition! You can help identify talent, strengthen the future workforce, and build relationships with potential employees. Our students can gain workplace skills, explore career interests, and meet potential mentors.

To learn more, please complete our Community Partnership Form, and we will reach out to facilitate internship arrangements.

We look forward to placing more students in internships where they can showcase their knowledge, enthusiasm, and professionalism, and prepare for the future.

Sincerely,

Darryl L. Williams, Ed.D.

Superintendent

Baltimore County Public Schools

Dr. Williams at the BCPS Job Fair 2023 where representatives of all 176 schools, centers, and programs met with prospective staff members.

PTA Council of Baltimore County

Dear Reader:

Beautiful pieces of art and the strong BCPS-PTA partnership were on display on Sunday, March 19, during the PTA Council of Baltimore County’s 2022-23 Reflections Open House Art Exhibit and Awards Ceremony. For more than 50 years, the National PTA’s annual Reflections arts program has allowed hundreds of thousands of students in Grades PreK though 12 nationwide to create original works of art responding to a student-selected theme in six categories – Dance Choreography, Film Production, Literature, Music Composition, Photography, and Visual Arts.

In BCPS, local PTA unit Presidents identify Reflections Committee Chairs, who run the program at the school level. Entries are submitted to PTA Council for judging, then PTA Council forwards winning entries to Free State PTA for another round of judging. Winners at the state level move on to the National PTA level.

We’re excited to announce that out of the nine participating PTAs (elementary and middle schools), the work of 10 talented students won awards at the Free State PTA level. Of those 10, six were awarded “Outstanding Interpretation,” which means that their work will advance to the National PTA level. Two of the “Outstanding Interpretations” winners were Special Artists, one an elementary student and one a middle school student. We’re so proud of them and all the winners!

Thank you to Cockeysville Middle School for hosting the event, to principals and art teachers for attending the event and supporting the program in their schools, to Reflections Chairs and PTA Presidents, and to PTA Council Reflections Committee Chair Hope Metzler for expending untold hours throughout the school year making it all happen!

Leslie Weber

BCPTA Council President