More than 46,000 FCPS students return for first day of school

Aug. 23—The hallways of Tuscarora High School were crowded and noisy by 7 a.m. Wednesday morning. Outside, administrators directed traffic and spoke urgently into walkie-talkies while students laughed and mingled on their way into the building.

The same scene played out at more than 60 schools around the county on Wednesday, the first day of the academic year for Frederick County Public Schools. From Catoctin to Brunswick and from Middletown to Walkersville, summer break officially ended for more than 46,000 children.

FCPS Superintendent Cheryl Dyson was among the district officials greeting students at Tuscarora as they headed to their classes. Each year, she said, the first day of school brings a particular set of emotions.

"I'm always nervous the night before," Dyson said. "Even though I work all year, it's exciting to see the children come back."

The 2023-24 school year was off to a positive start, Dyson said. Officials say the district is 95% staffed, a good sign after several years of pandemic-related employee shortages.

Major focuses for the year include implementing the Blueprint for Maryland's Future — a sweeping education reform bill that will increase school funding by billions of dollars over the next decade — and improving FCPS special education programs, Dyson said.

An independent audit of the district's services for students with disabilities is set to be presented to the Frederick County Board of Education at the end of this month.

Brooke Lieberman, the school board's student member, said Wednesday that her biggest focus for the year was promoting better mental health resources for students.

Lieberman, who is beginning her third year at Urbana High School, said she was "a bit nervous because everyone says junior year is the hardest."

Down the road at Ballenger Creek Middle School, district leaders met with Mohammed Choudhury, Maryland's state superintendent of schools.

Choudhury, along with County Executive Jessica Fitzwater, school board President Sue Johnson and others, toured the middle school and observed students getting acquainted with their new teachers.

In a science classroom, children were challenged to build free-standing towers out of a single sheet of paper. In a math classroom, students filled out a get-to-know-you worksheet by writing down numbers that were significant to them, like the number of pets or siblings they have.

Choudhury spent time chatting with the school's principal, Jay Schill, about what drew him to middle school education.

Schill said he had originally hoped to work in a high school, and was conflicted when he was first offered a middle school position. But it's been 27 years since then, he said, and he hasn't looked back.

"It takes a special person to love middle school," Choudhury replied.

He said he wanted to see an overhaul in how Maryland — and the country at large — treats middle school education. The current system isn't equipped to handle the dramatic developmental shifts that students experience during that time, Choudhury said.

As students at Tuscarora began to filter into their classrooms, Dyson said she was looking forward to seeing schools hit the ground running.

"Every year brings challenges, but it brings a lot of good, too," she said.

Follow Jillian Atelsek on Twitter: @jillian_atelsek