Baltimore County Public Schools hosted a Southwest area forum Tuesday evening to solicit feedback from our community about school facilities. Representatives from Westowne PTA were there to gather information and share concerns. Dr. Dance began the meeting with a brief overview of some of BCPS’s new initiatives:
* STAT – the digital curriculum that is currently being piloted in grades 1-3 in Edmondson Heights and Lansdowne as well as other schools outside of the SW area.
* Passports – The foreign language program that is being piloted at Johnnycake Elementary and other schools outside of the SW area. In three to four years this program will be in all elementary schools.
* Schools for our Future – This is the capital improvement plan that maps out the building and remodeling projects for the next five to ten years. The facilities assessment and a magnet school audit will be presented to the Board of Education in December 2014.
The SW area will be receiving 1000 new seats (at the new schools at Relay, Westowne and Bloomsbury as well as an addition at Westchester). Afterwards there will be an additional 120 seats added to Lansdowne.
Dr. Dance explicitly said that there will be no redistricting for middle school or for high school in the SW area within the next five years. The only redistricting that will occur within that timeframe is for elementary schools. Boundary change consideration will start in August 2015 and will involved input from community members within the affected districts. By April 2016, the final boundaries will be announced.
For communities that will be affected by boundary changes, students in their final two years of elementary school can remain at their previously zoned school. Siblings who are entering elementary as of the fall of 2016 can also attend the previously zoned school.
Kevin Smith, BCPS Chief Administrative and Operations Officer, explained the public participation period, which involved small group discussions of questions regarding facilities and presentations of the group’s two top priorities. Groups identified the following priorities:
*Lack of air conditioning at Arbutus MS and Sudbrooke Magnet Middle
*Ageing facilities at Hillcrest
*Plans for repairs and upgrades for Westowne prior to the new construction of the new building
*Internet access and connectivity, especially in older facilities
*Safety of school buildings
*Lack of textbooks in the elementary, middle and high school levels
BCPS will review and respond to the groups additional questions.
* STAT – the digital curriculum that is currently being piloted in grades 1-3 in Edmondson Heights and Lansdowne as well as other schools outside of the SW area.
* Passports – The foreign language program that is being piloted at Johnnycake Elementary and other schools outside of the SW area. In three to four years this program will be in all elementary schools.
* Schools for our Future – This is the capital improvement plan that maps out the building and remodeling projects for the next five to ten years. The facilities assessment and a magnet school audit will be presented to the Board of Education in December 2014.
The SW area will be receiving 1000 new seats (at the new schools at Relay, Westowne and Bloomsbury as well as an addition at Westchester). Afterwards there will be an additional 120 seats added to Lansdowne.
Dr. Dance explicitly said that there will be no redistricting for middle school or for high school in the SW area within the next five years. The only redistricting that will occur within that timeframe is for elementary schools. Boundary change consideration will start in August 2015 and will involved input from community members within the affected districts. By April 2016, the final boundaries will be announced.
For communities that will be affected by boundary changes, students in their final two years of elementary school can remain at their previously zoned school. Siblings who are entering elementary as of the fall of 2016 can also attend the previously zoned school.
Kevin Smith, BCPS Chief Administrative and Operations Officer, explained the public participation period, which involved small group discussions of questions regarding facilities and presentations of the group’s two top priorities. Groups identified the following priorities:
*Lack of air conditioning at Arbutus MS and Sudbrooke Magnet Middle
*Ageing facilities at Hillcrest
*Plans for repairs and upgrades for Westowne prior to the new construction of the new building
*Internet access and connectivity, especially in older facilities
*Safety of school buildings
*Lack of textbooks in the elementary, middle and high school levels
BCPS will review and respond to the groups additional questions.
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