Back To School Facts

By now, the kids are mostly settled into their classroom routines and the parents have survived the annual form-filling-out rituals and Back to School night. We thought we'd pass along this summary of the new year issued by the public schools:

On Tuesday morning, August 25, 4563 teachers will arrive at 72 public schools across Howard County. Howard County will have hired approximately 200 new teachers for the 2009-2010 academic year when all positions are filled. Thirty-six were hired to fill new positions; the rest fill vacancies created by resignations or retirements. Nearly 25 percent of the new hires are HCPSS graduates who have chosen to return to Howard County to teach.

The average age of Howard County's teachers is 41. Sixty-one percent hold a master's degree or above. The average teacher has 12.4 years of teaching experience.

The school year begins for Howard County students on Monday, August 31. The school system expects an enrollment of 49,138 students for the coming year, an increase of 250 students since last August. The Howard County Public School System has an operating budget of $656,694,110 and will spend $13,320 per pupil this academic year.

During the 10-week summer break, the school system's Office of School Construction completed renovation and addition projects at Glenelg High School and Elkridge, Clemens Crossing, and Waterloo elementary schools. This summer also marked the completion of the final phase of building related to full-day kindergarten. Over the past six years the system added 57 classrooms to accommodate the program. This summer, additions were completed at Bellows Spring, Deep Run, Forest Ridge, Hollifield Station and St. John's Lane elementary schools. All the projects will be completed by the first day of school.

Work also began this summer on the final phase of renovations at Clarksville Middle School and the system's first "green" renovation and addition project at Northfield Elementary School. A major renovation and addition project at Mt. Hebron High School got off to a strong start this summer as well.