BCPS Issues More Guidance On School Events, Closure

BALTIMORE COUNTY, MD — Baltimore County Public Schools will be closed, by state mandate, from Monday, March 16, through Friday, March 27. School officials provided guidance for how to handle nutrition, instruction and events during that time.

Meals

Starting Monday, meals for children 18 and younger will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. weekdays from March 16 to March 27 in parking lots at these locations:

Northeast/Central

• Elmwood ES
• Halstead Academy
• Middle River MS
• Oakleigh ES
• Padonia ES
• Parkville HS
• Pleasant Plains ES

Northwest

• Featherbed ES
• Glyndon ES
• Owings Mills ES
• Scotts Branch ES
• Woodlawn MS

Southeast

• Battle Grove ES
• Chesapeake HS
• Deep Creek MS
• Dundalk ES
• Dundalk HS
• Hawthorne ES
• Logan ES
• Sandy Plains ES
• Stemmers Run MS
• Sussex ES

Southwest

• Arbutus ES
• Baltimore Highlands ES
• Deer Park MS
• Milbrook ES
• Johnnycake ES
• Lansdowne HS
• New Town HS
• Riverview ES
• Westchester ES
• Winfield ES

There will be a limited number of meals, which will be take-away, so children do not eat there.

Instruction

"Due to the closure of schools, Student Learning Resources are being provided for students to access for additional practice during their time off," according to a statement from Baltimore County Public Schools. "These items will not be graded but can be submitted to teachers upon schools re-opening. In addition, students will be coming home with self-selected books for their reading pleasure, which is another wonderful way for students to practice this lifelong skill."

Here are the student learning resources.

"Students are not required to do schoolwork during the break,"according to a statement from the school system. "However, BCPS encourages parents to continue learning by accessing online supplemental resources prepared by BCPS leaders."

Canceled Events

All athletic events and field trips will be canceled starting Friday, March 13, according to Baltimore County Public Schools. A list of events that have been canceled for the weekend and beyond is below.

Officials from the school system issued the guidance Thursday night, hours after the governor prohibited gatherings of more than 250 people — including social, community, spiritual, religious, recreational, leisure and sporting gatherings — at all locations and venues.

School officials listed these cancellations:

• SAT testing (scheduled for March 14)
• Loch Raven High School’s Community Day (scheduled for March 14)
• Athletic competitions
• Area Advisory Educational Council meetings (including the March 16 Southeast Area Education Advisory Council meeting and March 18 Northwest Area Education Advisory Council meeting)
• Owings Mills High Schools’s Community Health Fair (which was scheduled for March 17)
• Parkville High School’s National Honor Society Palooza (which was scheduled for March 17)
• The Battle for the Bell/Jimmy V Foundation Fundraiser (which was scheduled for March 18 at Franklin High School)
• Family Support Meeting: Potty Training (which was scheduled for March 18 at the Cockeysville library)
• Red House Run Elementary’s Family Reading Night (which was scheduled for March 19)
• The General Assembly meeting of Baltimore County Student Councils (which was scheduled for March 19)
• Maryland 529 Parent Information Session (which was scheduled for March 23 at Perry Hall Middle School)
• Teacher Job Fair (scheduled for March 28)

Baltimore County Public Schools has set up a coronavirus page where officials say they will post information as well as on the BCPS website.

Related:

• Baltimore Co. Opens Coronavirus Hotline, Closing Senior Centers
• MD Coronavirus: Public Schools To Close, Spring Break Changes