About Us 

Honors - School System Honors - Blue Ribbon Schools - Individual School Honors - Teacher and Staff Honors - Student Honors Alumni Achievements Quote...Unquote Flash Lights 2006 Annual Report – Forward Thinking

For Baltimore County Public Schools, always learning more means continuing to look for ways to succeed, always strivingto be more effective in instruction and operations. We have created a culture of high expectations, rigorous instruction, and broader opportunities for all; we expect more from our students and from everyone who serves them. We strive to introduce students to more of the world each day.

For our students and our community, always learning more means looking to the future rather than the past. Rather than simply teaching students about what has happened, we are using proven strategies and technology to develop the next generation of innovators and leaders.

Our diversity is a powerful gift. Baltimore County Public Schools mirrors the state and the nation. With schools in rural, suburban, and urban settings, students and staff reflect the experiences, cultures, languages, and abilities known to every community. Size and diversity enable the school system to offer a wide range of academic and enrichment opportunities and allow students to better understand their world.

Peter DeMuth Winner of the 2008 University Medal, presented to the most outstanding graduate of the University of Maryland College Park; now a doctoral bioengineering student at MIT; a 2004 graduate of Loch Raven High School who began his freshman year with 30 college credits because of his AP coursework at Loch Raven High Photo courtesy of University of Maryland

Finding ways to be successful is the basic tenet of our Blueprint for Progress, thefoundational document developed by Superintendent Dr. Joe A. Hairston, which unites staff and stakeholders with common beliefs, priorities, and goals. Primary among these is the principle that all means all – every student, every classroom, every school.

As a result, Baltimore County Public Schools continues to achieve what all school systems strive for – consistent progress in raising student achievement.

Recent Accomplishments

Academic

• 10 high schools (40% of all BCPS high schools) named among the top five percent in the nation by Newsweek; two schools also recognized as among the nation’s best by U.S. News & World Report.
• Recognized by Education Week for having the fourth highest graduation rate among the nation’s largest school districts.
• Recognized by the Schott Foundation for having a higher graduation rate for African American males than any other large school district in the nation.
• 10 schools named National No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon Schools, by the U.S. Department of Education, 13 schools recognized as Maryland Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence.
• Recognized by American Music Conference as one of the “Best 100 Communities for Music Education in America” in 2004, 2006, 2007, and 2008.
• More students taking AP and SAT exams than ever before in BCPS history, with scores remaining strong.

Technology

• Two Outstanding Leadership Awards from the International Society for Technology in Education.
• ET3 Technology to Empower Community (TEC) Champion Leadership Award, a national honor.
• eSchool News Top 10 Tech-Savvy Superintendents Award, a national honor.
• Established partnership with Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, Johns Hopkins University, UMBC, and others to develop a “learning through virtual environments” program.

“Quality schools are central to the identity, health, and wealth of their communities. Perhaps even more important, communities rely on schools to prepare children to accomplish all that we as adults have yet to accomplish.” Superintendent Dr. Joe A. Hairston

Management

• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s 2007 Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools National Excellence Award – one of only three school districts in the nation to receive this honor.
• The Achievement of Excellence in Procurement Award from the National Purchasing Institute – every year, 2005 to 2008.
• The Meritorious Budget Award from the Association of School Business Officials International – for every budget since FY 2005.
• Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Association of School Business Officials International – for 12 consecutive years.
• The Government Finance Officers Association’s Distinguished Budget Presentation Award – for every budget since FY 2005.
• The Government Finance Officers Association’s Award of Financial Reporting Achievement – for 12 consecutive years.

“We are much more targeted toward examining achievement child by child, using data and observations to better understand each student’s strengths and weaknesses. We are always looking to challenge students and raise the bar, but we understand that instruction is not a one-size-fits-all process…For a time, Baltimore County was a system of schools, with little consistency among the schools…We have become reunited as a school system under Dr. Hairston’s leadership.” Kathy East Principal of Victory Villa Elementary School, and a Baltimore County principal for more than 25 years, discussing how the school system has changed

By The Numbers

• 26th largest school system in U.S., 3rd largest in Maryland.
• $1.5 billion budget, FY 2009.
• 103,643 students.
  • 37.1% eligible for free/reduced priced meals.
  • 50.2% minority enrollment.
  • 3.2% English Language Learner enrollment.
• 172 schools, programs, and centers.
• 17,000 employees, including 8,850 classroom teachers.
• More than 7,400 graduates annually.
  • 63% of graduates immediately pursue higher education.
• Average of 16 Advanced Placement courses at each high school, one-quarter of the high schools offer 20 or more AP courses.
• International Baccalaureate at two high schools.
• 70,000 bus riders daily, 15 million miles logged each year.
• 11.3 million nutritious meals served in schools annually.

“We came to Dumbarton because of what’s happening here, how this really is a model for the rest of the country. It’s amazing to see this place; it’s like a miniature United Nations…We had heard that a mantra of Superintendent Hairston was that ‘all means all,’ that every child deserves a good education. You see that here.” Joo Lee A producer with “NBC Nightly News,” who coordinated an October 2008 story about Dumbarton Middle School

Student Achievement Highlights
(2006 – 2007 results)

• Notable increases in student performance have been achieved on the Maryland School Assessments (MSA). Elementary reading and mathematics MSA scores have risen for the past five years.
  
  
• The percentage of diploma-bound students achieving proficient/advanced on the MSA in reading during the 2006-2007 school year continued to exceed the percentage proficient/advanced from 2002-2003. At both the elementary and middle school levels, all student subgroups have evidenced improvement on MSA reading from 2002-2003 to 2006-2007.
  
  
• The percentage of diploma-bound students achieving proficient/advanced on the MSA in mathematics in grades 3-8 during the 2006-2007 school year continued to exceed the percentage proficient/advanced from 2002-2003. At both the elementary and middle school levels, all student subgroups have evidenced improvement on the MSA mathematics from 2002-2003 to 2006-2007.
  
  

• “We used the tools and ideas that professional engineers and designers have been using for thousands of years. Maybe someday other students will be learning about my inventions.” Elijah Hawkes Grade 9 student at Kenwood High School describing a course he took at Deep Creek Magnet Middle School

  A high percentage of students taking the Alt-MSA continued to score in the proficient or advanced category in both reading and mathematics. In reading, 91.2% of students taking the Alt-MSA scored in the proficient or advanced category in 2006-2007, and 91.8% scored in the proficient or advanced category in mathematics in 2006-2007. These percentages remained well above the state standard of 70.0%.
  
  
• The percentage of students passing the Algebra High School Assessment (HSA) by the end of ninth grade increased from 56.8% in 2002-2003 to 69.4% in 2006-2007, an increase of 12.6 percentage points. All student groups evidenced improvement in their performance, with the exception of the special education group, which stayed the same.
  
  
• AP test participation has continued to increase from a baseline of 8.6% in 2002-2003 to 11.5% in 2006-2007. During this period of dramatic increase in participation, pass rates have remained above the global pass rate of 60% and near the BCPS pass rate goal of 70%. The systemwide pass rate for 2006-2007 was 68.7%. Determined efforts to support improvement in the AP participation and pass rate will continue.
  
  

• “The Student Advisory Board is important because of what Dr. Hairston makes of it. The Board is his creation, and he uses it to gain a different perspective of Baltimore County [Public Schools]. We told him what was really going on in our schools, and he responded to the issues we brought up.” Stacy Siegel 2007 graduate of Pikesville High School, now a student at Georgetown University; former member of the Superintendent’s Student Advisory Board—a group Dr. Hairston meets with monthly

  The rate of student participation in the SAT test has risen for the past five years. For the class of 2007, 70.8% of BCPS high schools met or exceeded the national SAT participation rate, as compared with 47.8% for the class of 2003, an increase of 23.0 percentage points. SAT data for 2005-2006 indicated an increase in the percent of high schools that met or exceeded the national SAT combined average of 1021. Overall, SAT combined scores decreased slightly as participation increased (a national trend); however, SAT combined scores increased for some student groups such as White and special education students.
  
  
• The rate of English Language Learners scoring in the proficient or advanced category on MSA reading improved 31.8 percentage points from 25.4% in 2002-2003 to 57.2% in 2006-2007. This includes students who have been receiving ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) services for one to three years.
  
  
• The percentage of highly qualified teachers increased from 90.4% in 2002-2003 to 95.2% in 2006-2007. The percentage of highly qualified paraprofessionals has more than doubled from 45.1% in 2002-2003 to 92.3% in 2006-2007. The percentage of highly qualified middle school mathematics teachers rose from 31.9% in 2002-2003 to 94.4% in 2006-2007. The percentage of newly-hired highly qualified teachers in Title I schools was 71.6% in 2002-2003 and increased to 97.0% in 2006-2007.
  
  
• The BCPS standard of providing one computer per five students was exceeded in 2006-2007, with a student to computer ratio of 3.3 to 1

John Billingslea, BCPS 2008-2009 Teacher of the Year