As summer winds down, Harford County Public Schools' teachers and faculty are ramping up for the next school year. 

Superintendent Dr. Sean Bulson is preparing for his eighth year of leading the district. 

Staffing for the upcoming school year

Dr. Bulson said he has been preparing for the 2025-26 school year since before the previous year ended. 

"We want people excited, we want them ready to go," he said. 

Last year, the district made the difficult decision to cut 160 positions in order to fit a tight budget. 

"There's a million drivers to the budget, and you always have to make hard decisions," Dr. Buslon said. 

For the upcoming school year, average class sizes are expected to increase by 1 to 2 students. 

"We do still have some positions we've held in reserve to ensure if we see places where enrollment is changing and classes are getting bigger, we can make some adjustments," Dr. Bulson said. 

Career prep for students 

While he admits a slimmer staff is not ideal, some of the other changes for this year will put Harford County students at an advantage. This year, the district will start preparing kids for potential careers as early as middle school. 

"In middle school, what we're doing a lot of is we're rolling out project-based learning," Dr. Bulson said. "We've been piloting it, but that's ready to go full scale at our schools this year."

In past years, the focus has been on career preparedness for high school students. More than 300 students participated in apprenticeships last year. 

Dr. Bulson said, project-based learning combines subject matter from several different areas into one hands-on project, different from a typical lesson. It allows middle school students to be exposed to several topics in a more interactive setting. 

"Students really are pressed to make hard decisions early, and in Hartford, we offer a wide range of magnet programs," Dr. Bulson said. "But students in eighth grade have to choose which one to apply to, so they need to have a sense in middle school of the types of things they might be interested in." 

Changes to snow days 

Also on the docket for this upcoming year, a potential new approach to snow days. 

"Every time I think about whether it's safe to get to school, we also have to think about those 16- and 17-year-olds with brand new licenses who we're putting on the roads," Dr. Bulson said. 

This is why Harford County Public Schools typically builds six snow days into the schedule to allow for wiggle room, instead of the three days that are required by the state. 

This past year, because of snow days, school did not end until June 18. This year, the district might only include three snow days due to the option of virtual learning. 

"Statewide, there's been a discussion of being allowed to use virtual instruction days in lieu of taking an actual snow day, but you had to use that after you exhausted the days you have built into your calendar for traditional snow days," Dr. Bulson said. "In other words, they're not the first thing you do; they come at the end." 

Both the board and the school community would have to vote on this, but Dr. Bulson said it's a strong possibility for the upcoming year. 

For now, minds are still on summer, which is why Dr. Bulson said it's better for students to prepare sooner rather than later for the first day of school. 

"We want them coming back ready to learn," Dr. Bulson said. "We're planning to start teaching on the first day. There's no ease period for school, so they need to come back ready for that. So, if they have things they need to get done, particularly things like summer assignments and summer reading, we want to make sure they're fully prepared to engage in that instruction on day one."