BCPS to Honor 75 Summer School Graduates in Ceremony

Baltimore County Public Schools is set to honor 75 students who completed summer courses at its first summer school graduation ceremony on Saturday, Aug. 17, at 10 a.m. at Loch Raven High School on 1212 Cowpens Ave. in Towson.

Roger Plunkett, assistant superintendent and director of the Department of Alternative Education and School Support Programs, said he wants the students to experience a ceremony that will be a replica of a traditional graduation.

"Our focus is really honoring the students for going the extra mile, the students that we brought back to school who had dropped out. ... And we've already seen progress," Plunkett said.

Wearing caps and gowns in their respective schools' colors, the 40 graduates attending the ceremony represent all 29 high school-level schools, centers and programs, according to a press release.

"[These students] have done the hard work to complete their requirements," BCPS communications officer Diana Spencer said, "and we want to honor and recognize them just like the students who take the more usual route to get their grades."

Twenty-two of the 40 graduates completed graduation requirements online through the alternative education program, AdvancePath, for at-risk and accelerated students, according to the release. The credit recovery program primarily uses technology and has expanded to four schools since the program began in 2008 at Chesapeake High School, Spencer said.

Superintendent S. Dallas Dance, Baltimore County Board of Education Vice President David Uhlfelder and Board members George J. Moniodis and Romaine N. Williams, Esq. plan to attend.