Students in Calvert and Anne Arundel Counties are the latest Marylanders tossing their backpacks on and heading to their first day of classes on Tuesday.
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The first day of school can bring anticipation and anxiety to students, parents and school staff. Here’s what you need to know.
Anne Arundel County
Some went back to classes in Anne Arundel County on Monday while other students return Tuesday as part of the system’s opening plan. Now, summer is over for the county’s 84,000 students.
Hopefully, teens will get a bit more sleep as start times shift this year. Elementary schools begin between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m.; middle schools between 8:30 a.m. and 9:15 a.m.; and high schools at 8:30 a.m.
The new “healthier school hours” are meant to help students mental and physical health.
It’s not just the start of something new for students — Superintendent Mark Bedell started his first year leading the school system on Monday. He previously worked as the superintendent of Kansas City Public Schools in Missouri.
What does a new Superintendent see on the first school day of his first year? Take a look. @AACPSSupt #AACPSAwesomehttps://t.co/od7AJ6UKdd pic.twitter.com/3JZENjNief
— AACPS (@AACountySchools) August 30, 2022
Also new this year, school buses are equipped with cameras that can detect cars that illegally passed school buses and snap photos of their license plates. Drivers caught by the footage could face a $250 fine.
The county’s employing nearly 6,000 teachers this year as it grapples with the effects of a nationwide shortage of teachers, bus drivers and other staff.
We have quite a #AACPSAwesome crew joining us this year!!! https://t.co/tkn715kgQ5
— Hilltop Stars (@HilltopESAACPS) August 29, 2022
The county 216 vacant classroom positions, according to the Capital Gazette.
Early Tuesday morning, some parents received notifications about interruptions to bus routes. A tweet from the school system said its working to onboard more drivers.
Like school systems around the state and country, we are impacted by a nationwide shortage of bus drivers. We continue to work hard with our contractors to bring more drivers on Board; have 71 in the licensing/certification pipeline now. We are far from the only system impacted.
— AACPS (@AACountySchools) August 30, 2022
Calvert County
The county is welcoming more than 15,500 students back to school on Tuesday.
Superintendent Andraé Townsel encouraged students ahead of the start of classes with a tweeted video.
STOP 🛑 Before you go back to school, LISTEN to this‼️#leading4excellence #setthebarmeetthebarexceedthebarraisethebar
📶 #calvertshines ☀️ pic.twitter.com/F0EM8RknkD— Dr. Andraé Townsel (@draetown) August 26, 2022
Amid the teacher shortage, the county has around 992 teachers, providing a student-to-teacher ratio of 15:1, according to data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Masks are optional, except in cases of COVID-19 exposure or illness and visitors are allowed in schools.
WTOP’s Scott Gelman contributed to this report.
