Montgomery Community Media

The Maryland Board of Education unanimously approved Mohammed Choudhury as the state’s next Superintendent of Schools on Thursday. Currently, Choudhury is Associate Superintendent and Chief Strategy, Talent and Innovation Officer for the San Antonio Independent School District in Texas. His new role is effective July 1. Current State Superintendent Dr. Karen Salmon will retire June […]

Montgomery County Public Schools’ (MCPS) Student Member of the Board of Education (SMOB) Nick Asante held an end-of-year townhall for students on Saturday. The discussion centered on “Recapping the Year of Resilience.” Keynote speaker Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md. 8) acknowledged that the past year has been traumatic considering the devastation of almost 600,000 American lives […]

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich joined local leaders Friday to announce the interagency “Reimagining School Safety and Students’ Well-Being Initiative,” which aims to reshape public safety in Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) and provides social and mental support to students. A steering committee will lead discussion and implementation of recommendations for reimagining safety and mental […]

All Marylanders ages 16 and older are eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. During a county council meeting Tuesday, Health Officer Dr. Travis Gayles said the county is looking at strategies to engage younger people and encourage them to pre-register and get vaccinated. On Wednesday, Gov. Larry Hogan announced that the state is launching an […]

As of April 12, 42% of Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) have no waitlist for returning to in-person learning, Superintendent Dr. Jack Smith said during a school board meeting Tuesday. Smith said another 38% of schools have a waitlist of nine or fewer students. “And that means some of them have come into the waitlist […]

The Montgomery County Council voted unanimously Tuesday to limit school graduation ceremonies to 50% of venue capacity for outdoor ceremonies; capacity is limited to 25% for indoor ceremonies or 250 people, whichever is fewer people. Read the regulation detailing new graduation guidance.  Schools that want to have an indoor graduation must obtain a letter of […]

Montgomery County Councilmembers Will Jawando and Craig Rice announced they will convene a task force to grow mental health professionals and other support services in Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS), with the intention that police officers will not be in schools everyday. “We know that our current systems are not working, particularly for our Black […]

The Montgomery County Council will hold a discussion Tuesday afternoon regarding Montgomery County Police Department’s (MCPD) response to a 2020 incident — in which body camera footage shows officers screaming at and handcuffing a kindergartner who left his school. The council will hold the discussion at 2:30 p.m. as part of its Tuesday session. MCPD […]

At home, digital Advanced Placement (AP) exams will be, when possible, the default option for Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) students this semester, school officials discussed during a meeting last week. This strategy accommodates distancing, supports operational needs during reopening and builds on “lessons learned last year,” said Scott Murphy, director of MCPS College and […]

Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) is recommending that senior graduation ceremonies be held outdoors at students’ home high school stadiums, officials said during a school board meeting Tuesday. MCPS considered three plans for high school graduation ceremonies in 2021, explained James Koutsos, Area Associate Superintendent of Teaching, Learning and Schools. Plan A is a traditional, […]