The HCPS Parent Academy and the HCPS Office of Safety and Security, together with law enforcement partners around the county, are pleased to present an HCPS Safety & Security Virtual Town Hall. The event will be live streamed via the HarfordTV Facebook page on Wednesday, August 17, 2022, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. The event will also be recorded and made available for viewing at a later date. This is an opportunity for parents and community members to be part of a discussion about the school system’s safety and security efforts.

The virtual event includes a panel of experts from the school system and local law enforcement agencies who will share information about safety and security, mental health, bullying prevention, and School Resource Officers (SROs).  In addition, there will be time reserved for Q&A. 

Community members are invited to send their questions related to this topic prior to and during the event to ParentAcademy@hcps.org to be addressed during the Q&A portion of the event. Questions that are not answered during the event will be in a follow up communication from the HCPS Parent Academy.  

We want to thank our friends at HarfordTV for partnering with us to livestream this event on their Facebook page.  If you do not already do so, we encourage you to follow HarfordTV on Facebook so you will receive a notification when they go live at the event.  (Please note:  You do NOT need a Facebook page to view this event; when prompted to sign into your account, select ‘Not Now’ to continue to the video feed.)

We hope you will join us online for the Safety & Security Virtual Town Hall on Wednesday, August 17, at 6:00 p.m. on the HarfordTV’s Facebook page.

Welcome to the 2022-2023 HCPS School Year! We are excited to see most of you September 6, 2022, for the first day of school. Prekindergarten students will join us September 8, 2022. Please review the HCPS 2022-2023 Handbook/Calendar prior to the start of the school year.

We encourage parents and guardians to visit our Back to School information available on hcps.org. In addition to providing links to required, and optional forms, the Back to School webpage includes the attached checklist and provides links to important systemwide information like the calendar (new this year- a Student Calendar!), permission forms, payment options like MySchoolBucks for school meals, GoFan for athletic event tickets, and new this year, School Cash Online for all other payments can be found on hcps.org. Bus stops and routes are scheduled to be released August 15, 2022 and will be available here. 

If you haven’t completed the application to determine eligibility for free and reduced-cost meals, you can find the link on the Back to School webpage. A copy of the application is also attached and is required to qualify for free and reduced-cost meals. *Eligible students may also be eligible for a free device protection plan, which covers damage to devices and chargers, and free credit bearing courses at Harford Community College.* In addition, this year will see the return of "declining balance" notifications from the Food and Nutrition office. We are required by law to notify parents and guardians when your child's food balance is getting low in MySchoolBucks. You can also set your own notification directly in MySchoolBucks to be notified if your child's account balance for the cafeteria is getting low. This, and other important information from the Food and Nutrition office can be found throughout the school year via the "Menus" button on hcps.org.

We hope you’ll follow HCPS and your individual school on social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube) for updates throughout the year. After you review the Back to School information on hcps.org, use our new email, AskHCPS@hcps.org for any questions. This email will be available for any other questions throughout the school year. *Stay tuned for information on how to download the new HCPS app this year and get notices and information directly through notifications on your phone!*

We know it can be overwhelming to prepare to return to school. We’ll share systemwide information on HCPS social media channels and send more information via our mass communication system phone and email. Details on school supply lists, and any events to welcome students to each school will come from your home school so be sure to tune into school communications, too.

We look forward to partnering with you and your student for a successful school year!
 

The following message is being sent to all contacts in our mass communication system Monday, August 8, 2022 at 5:00 p.m. 

Good evening. This is Jillian Lader, Manager of Communications for Harford County Public Schools calling to welcome you to the 2022-2023 School Year! We are excited to see most of you September 6 on the first day of school. Prek students will join us September 8. We encourage parents and guardians to visit hcps.org and click the link to additional Back to School information. Links to important information like the calendar, permission forms, payment options like MySchoolBucks for school meals, GoFan for athletic event tickets, and new this year, School Cash Online for all other payments can be found on hcps.org. In addition, if you haven’t completed the application to determine eligibility for free and reduced-cost meals, you can find the link on the website. Eligible students may also be eligible for a free device protection plan, which covers damage to devices and chargers, and free credit bearing courses at Harford Community College. Be sure to stay tuned for information on how to download the new HCPS app this year and get notices and information directly sent through notifications on your phone! We hope you’ll follow HCPS and your individual school on social media for updates throughout the year and after you review all the Back to School information on hcps.org, use our new email, AskHCPS@hcps.org for any additional information throughout the school year. We know it can be overwhelming to prepare to return to school. We’ll share systemwide information on HCPS social media channels and send more information via our mass communication system phone and email. Details on school supply lists, and any events to welcome students to each school will come from your home school so be sure to tune into school communications, too. We look forward to partnering with you and your student for a successful school year! 

The following will be shared with families and staff April 28, 2022 at 5:00 p.m. via our mass communication system phone, email, and text message:

Harford County Public Schools prekindergarten applications, kindergarten registration, kindergarten early entrance applications, and advanced placement to first grade applications will be available Friday, May 6, 2022. Kindergarten registration will be available to complete online on May 6. Prekindergarten applications, kindergarten early entrance applications and advanced placement to first grade applications will be available to view and print at Registering for School, on the Parents tab on hcps.org. To submit your application, follow the directions on the cover sheet of the printed copy. Printed copies will be available at each elementary school on May 6.

Please note that prekindergarten and kindergarten registration is not available at Swan Creek School. This is a result of the Maryland legislature passing House Bill 1163. The bill says we cannot offer prekindergarten or kindergarten instruction as part of our virtual instruction.

Please share this information in your community as we try to ensure families who may not be connected to HCPS are aware that applications and registrations will be available May 6, 2022.
 
Additional information will be available on hcps.org by May 6.