Baltimore County may stagger school start over three days to help students adjust

Baltimore County Public Schools students may return from summer break on three different days next school year.

District officials pitched a staggered start for the 2027-28 school year during a Tuesday night school board meeting. Pending school board approval, students in grades 1-5, 6 and 9 would start on day one. The rest of the middle and high school kids would join them the following day. Like this school year, kindergarten students would begin on day three.

It mirrors the start schedule for Anne Arundel County Public Schools, where Superintendent Bill Heiser worked as the district’s chief operating officer before taking the job to lead Baltimore County Schools.

Joelle Bielski, the district’s director of staff relations and employee performance management, told board members that the goal of the proposed schedule is to make the first week of school less stressful for kids. It gives sixth and ninth graders a head start on getting familiar with their new schools.

They can practice changing classes, using lockers and learning the lunch procedures, she said.

Montgomery County Public Schools follows a similar model. This year, students in transitioning grades — kindergarten and grades 1, 6 and 9 — started school on Aug. 24. The rest of the Montgomery student body joined the next day.

Baltimore County school board members will also consider whether to start school before or after Labor Day — a vote that tends to follow party lines. Baltimore County usually starts before Labor Day.

Members of the public will have a chance to weigh in on which calendars they’d prefer during the Oct. 6 board meeting. The board will vote on the 2027-28 calendar on Nov. 4.

Although the board has heard from people in the past who are against the pre-Labor Day starts, district officials argue that starting before the holiday leads to better school performance.

About the Education Hub

This reporting is part of The Banner’s Education Hub, community-funded journalism that provides parents with resources they need to make decisions about how their children learn. Read more.