Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) is a public

school district A school district is a special-purpose district that operates local public primary and secondary schools in various nations. North America United States In the U.S, most K–12 public schools function as units of local school districts, wh ...

that serves Montgomery County, Maryland. With 210 schools, it is the largest school district in the state of

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. For the 2022–2023 school year, the district has 13,994 teachers, 86.4 percent of whom had a master’s degree or equivalent, serving 160,554 students at its 210 schools. In 2010, MCPS was awarded a

Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recognizes U.S. organizations in the business, health care, education, and nonprofit sectors for performance excellence. The Baldrige Award is the highest formal recognition of the performance excellen ...

. As of 2022, the county spends approximately half of its annual budget(46%) on its public school system. The Board of Education includes a student member, elected by all secondary students, who has full voting rights, except for negative personnel action. The current SMOB is Arvin Kim. The superintendent of schools is Dr. Monifa McKnight.

History

1800s–1940s

Until 1860, only private schools existed in Montgomery County for those who could afford an education. Montgomery County Public Schools was established in 1860 for white children. The school system got off to a shaky start when the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

caused local schools to be disabled, vandalized and closed. Depredations by both

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

and Confederate armies caused schools to close in 1862 and they didn't reopen until 1864. In 1872, the

Maryland General Assembly The Maryland General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland that convenes within the State House in Annapolis. It is a bicameral body: the upper chamber, the Maryland Senate, has 47 representatives and the lower chamber ...

appropriated state money so there could be schools for children of color and the county established a segregated school system. In 1892, Rockville High School opened. A second Rockville Colored High School opened in 1927, thus prompting the whites only school to change its name to

Richard Montgomery High School Richard Montgomery High School (RMHS) (#201) is a secondary public school located in Rockville, Maryland. Academics The school houses Montgomery County's first International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IB). This competitive-entry magnet pro ...

in order to avoid confusion. The high school is the oldest in the county. The first class of 12 seniors graduated in 1897. Gaithersburg High School, the second high school to serve the county, was established in 1904. In the 1900s, the school budget started to see the effects of

suburbanization Suburbanization is a population shift from central urban areas into suburbs, resulting in the formation of (sub)urban sprawl. As a consequence of the movement of households and businesses out of the city centers, low-density, peripheral urba ...

. In 1908, there were 6,483 students and a budget of . The school system saw even more growth in 1912 after the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

passed a "non-resident" law that excluded Montgomery County school children from enrolling in

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, schools, which were known for their higher quality. By 1921, the school budget had grown to more than . The county's first Board of Education was named by legislative enactments in 1817; the first Board consisted of nine men. A woman was appointed to the board in 1920: Mrs. A. Dawson Trumble, who served a five-year term that led to a steady succession of female members. Edwin W. Broome, who was superintendent during 1916–1953, combined

one-room schoolhouses One-room schools, or schoolhouses, were commonplace throughout rural portions of various countries, including Prussia, Norway, Sweden, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Spain. In most rural and s ...

into multi-room operations at the beginning of his tenure, reducing the number of schools from 108 to 66 by 1949. At that point, school enrollment was over 22,000. When Broome took the job, there were five high schools, all in the northern portion of the county. He built two secondary schools for Silver Spring and two for Bethesda, and also pushed high schools to add the

12th grade Twelfth grade, 12th grade, senior year, or grade 12 is the final year of secondary school in most of North America. In other regions, it may also be referred to as class 12 or Year 13. In most countries, students are usually between the ages of 17 ...

1950s–present

In the early 1950s, elementary students of color attended one of four elementary schoolsLinden, Ken-Gar, Takoma Park, and River Roadall of which were considered substandard. Older students of color attended Lincoln Junior High School and George Washington Carver High School in Rockville. Montgomery County was the one of the first seven counties in Maryland to start to

desegregate Desegregation is the process of ending the separation of two groups, usually referring to races. Desegregation is typically measured by the index of dissimilarity, allowing researchers to determine whether desegregation efforts are having impact o ...

its public schools, which it began in September 1955, following the ''

Brown v. Board of Education ''Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka'', 347 U.S. 483 (1954), was a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the segrega ...

'' ruling by the Supreme Court of the United States that ordered the desegregation of all schools nationwide. Montgomery County completed the integration of its schools in 1960–1961. In 1961, the school system had 85,000 students and a budget, having become the largest system in the Washington suburbs. Prior to 1961, separate schools were maintained for black children. At that time, students from Rockville's George Washington Carver High School were rezoned to the previously all-white schools across the county. MCPS saw enrollment numbers peak in 1972 when they reached 127,912. However, as a result of the that followed, enrollement decrease the next ten years, hitting a low of 91,030 in 1983. This prompted the closure of 60 schools. However, with more than 96,000 students and 13,000 staff members in 155 schools in 1986, the school system was still one of the 20 largest in the nation. Enrollment was back over 100,000 by 1990. Dr. Paul L. Vance became the county's first black superintendent in 1991, when there were 107,000 students and 174 schools. When he left in 1999, MCPS had 129,000 students in 185 schools. Over the next 10 years, enrollment grew to more than 150,000. In 2014, the Board modified the school calendar to remove all references to the Christian and

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

religious holidays of

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...

Yom Kippur Yom Kippur (; he, יוֹם כִּפּוּר, , , ) is the holiest day in Judaism and Samaritanism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, the first month of the Hebrew calendar. Primarily centered on atonement and repentance, the day' ...

, and Rosh Hashanah. The amendment was in response to a campaign by the initiative “Equality for Eid” (E4E), which sought for Montgomery County Public School closures on the Muslim holidays of Eid al-Fitr and

Eid al-Adha Eid al-Adha () is the second and the larger of the two main holidays celebrated in Islam (the other being Eid al-Fitr). It honours the willingness of Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his son Ismail (Ishmael) as an act of obedience to Allah's com ...

. The amendment received some media attention. Criticism of the amendment came from a variety of sources, including Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett and Congressman John Delaney. For the 2022–2023 school year, the district has 210 schools and an enrollment of 160,554 students.

Governance and budget

MCPS, which covers the entire county as its

, is governed by a Board of Education that provides leadership and oversight for MCPS by setting goals, establishing policies, and committing resources to benefit its student population. The board’s work is guided by its vision, mission, core purpose, and core values. In 1977 the

amended Section 3-901 of the Education Article of the Annotated Code of the Public General Laws of Maryland to create a student member of the board of education with a one-year term. Since 1978, the eight-member school board has included a seat for this student board member. Between 1978 and 1982 a small representative assembly of students selected the student member. David Naimon, the first student member of the board, served during the 1978–1979 school year. Traci Williams, who served during the 1980–1981 school year, was the first African American to serve as student member. Williams passed away in December 2008. Shortly after, the MCPS board released a declaration recognizing her impact on the county and her legacy, as well as sending condolences to her family. Since 1982, all middle- and high-school (secondary) students enrolled in the public school system directly elected student board members. Kurt Hirsch, the first student member directly elected by secondary students, served during the 1982–1983 school year. During the 1989 session of the Maryland General Assembly, Section 3-901 was again amended and established a limited vote for the student member. In 1995 Charles McCullough was the first African American to be directly elected as student member of the board, serving during the 1995–1996 school year. Since 2016, the student member has full voting rights, except for negative personnel. The student member of the board can vote on matters related to collective bargaining, capital and operating budgets, and school closings, re–openings and boundaries. The student member of the board cannot vote on negative personnel actions. The student member of the board is not paid but receives a $5,000 college scholarship, student service learning hours, and one honors-level social studies credit. Bethesda bus depot, Potomac (20100325-DSC01295)

Bethesda bus depot, Potomac (20100325-DSC01295)

The Board of Education student member for the 2022–2023 school year is Arvin Kim, a junior at Walt Whitman High School. Kim was elected with 58.7 percent of the vote, with nearly 56,000 students voting. MCPS funding comes mostly from Montgomery County (66%) and the State of Maryland (27%), with additional funds from federal government grants (3%), enterprise funds (3%), and other sources (1%). MCPS operates under the jurisdiction of an elected Board of Education. Its current members are:

Students

The MCPS student population has continued to grow over the years. The district saw a record enrollment of 161,554 students at the start of the 2022–2023 school year. MCPS serves a diverse student body, with 44.8% Hispanic, 14.4% White, 21.8% Black, 13.9% Asian, and 5.1% two or more races. Graduates from the class of 2018 earned $364 million in college scholarships, an increase of more than $14 million over the previous year. The class of 2017 outperformed their peers in the state of Maryland, and the nation as a whole, on Advanced Placement (AP) exams, based on AP Cohort Results released by the College Board. In 2017, more than 7,000 MCPS graduates (66%) took one or more AP exams. The percentage of students receiving a college-ready score of 3 or higher on at least one exam rose to 52%; this was higher than the 31% of the public school graduates in Maryland and 23% of the national graduates. The total number of AP test taken declined from 41,048 in 2019 to 31,750 in 2021. The number of passing scores saw an increase from 71.5% in 2019 to 75.1% in 2020, however they delined again in 2021 to 68.1%.

Academics

MCPS has established certain criteria for students to graduate high school. Students must achieve 22 credits to graduate, with each semester course worth 0.5 credits. The necessary credits include, among others, the following requirements for the class of 2025:https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedFiles/curriculum/0212.21_GraduationAtAGlance_Classof2025%20(1).pdf * 4 credits — English. * 4 credits — Math: At least 1 Algebra and 1 Geometry. * 3 credits — Science: At least 1 Life science (e.g., Biology), and 1 Physical science. * 3 credits — Social studies: 1 credit each of Government, U.S. history, and World history. * 1 credit — Technology: Students can choose among Computer Science, Engineering, or other technology-related courses. * Other credit requirements include: Physical Education, Health Education, Fine arts, and Electives. In addition to these credit requirements, other requirements for graduation include: four years of enrollment, student service learning, and assessments. During the 2017–2018 school year, the district launched

data In the pursuit of knowledge, data (; ) is a collection of discrete Value_(semiotics), values that convey information, describing quantity, qualitative property, quality, fact, statistics, other basic units of meaning, or simply sequences of sy ...

dashboards to focus on learning, accountability and results. Continuous monitoring of students' progress ensures that students have timely support, focused interventions, acceleration, and enrichment. Readiness data helps the district to monitor students' progress and plan accordingly. The district has placed an emphasis on preparing students for both college and career. In April 2018, the College Board and Project Lead the Way awarded more than 3,000 students in the U.S. for their accomplishments in the 2016–2017 school year. Compared to other school districts, MCPS had the most students who'd earned the AP + PLTW Student Achievements, followed by districts in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

and

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, and its neighboring

Howard County Public School System The Howard County Public School System (HCPSS) is the school district that manages and runs the public schools of Howard County, Maryland. It operates under the supervision of an elected, eight-member Board of Education. Antonia Watts is the chai ...

in Maryland. Wheaton High School, which focuses on project-based learning, had the second-most students with the achievement, behind Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Illinois. Every high school offers courses linked to a variety of careers. A program implemented at Magruder High School during the 2018–2019 school year allows students to get a head start on careers in

aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot a ...

. In May 2018, students from Northwest High School were the first in the district to graduate with a two-year degree in general engineering from

Montgomery College Montgomery College (MC) is a public community college in Montgomery County, Maryland. Founded officially in 1946 as Montgomery Junior College, its name comes from the county in which it is located. The earliest start date that can be contribute ...

as well as a high school diploma. In May 2018, five Northwood High School students were the first MCPS students to complete the Middle College Program at their school, which allowed them to earn an associate degree from Montgomery College as well as a high school diploma. MCPS is one of the few school districts in the nation that offers comprehensive services at the elementary, middle, and high school level for twice exceptional students. Twice exceptional students have a unique profile of significant strengths and weaknessesthey are gifted and talented and also meet the criteria for an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or a Section 504 plan. Twice exceptional students access accelerated and enriched instruction with appropriate supports and services at their local school, within a magnet/choice program, or within a special education discrete service.

Language immersion Language immersion, or simply immersion, is a technique used in bilingual language education in which two languages are used for instruction in a variety of topics, including math, science, or social studies. The languages used for instruction ...

programs are offered at several elementary and middle schools.

Schools

MCPS has 210 schools, comprising 136 elementary schools, 40 middle schools, 25 high schools, 5 special schools, 1 career and technology center, 1 early childhood learning center and 1 alternative education program. MCPS publishes school data annually. Its “Schools at a Glance” document provides information about enrollment, staffing, facilities, programs, outcome measures, and personnel costs for each school. The district has 39

National Blue Ribbon Schools The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program is a United States Department of Education award program that recognizes exemplary public and non-public schools on a yearly basis. Using standards of excellence evidenced by student achievement measures, ...

, a designation that recognizes public and private schools based on their overall academic excellence or their progress in closing achievement gaps among student subgroups. The school system piloted an extended school years at two elementary schoolsArcola and Roscoe Nix elementary schoolsduring the 2018–2019 school year. The plan aims to help economically disadvantaged students, who lose the most ground during long summer breaks. As of 2022, the program is still in effect at these schools. School began July 6th for the 2022-2023 school year, giving students and additional 30 days of school. The county says this exteneded scheule provides students with interactive learning and social/emotional growth.

High schools

Middle schools

Argyle Middle School

John T. Baker Middle School

Benjamin Banneker Middle School

Briggs Chaney Middle School

Cabin John Middle School

Roberto Clemente Middle School

Eastern Middle School

William H. Farquhar Middle School

Forest Oak Middle School

Robert Frost Middle School

Gaithersburg Middle School

Herbert Hoover Middle School

Francis Scott Key Middle School

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr Middle School

Kingsview Middle School
* Leland Junior High School (former) *

Lakelands Park Middle School Lakelands Park Middle School is a public middle school located in Gaithersburg, Maryland Gaithersburg ( ), officially the City of Gaithersburg, is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. At the time of the 2020 U.S. Census, Gait ...

website

A. Mario Loiderman Middle School

Montgomery Village Middle School

Neelsville Middle School

Newport Mill Middle School

North Bethesda Middle School

Parkland Middle School

Rosa M. Parks Middle School

John Poole Middle School

Thomas W. Pyle Middle School

Redland Middle School

Ridgeview Middle School

Rocky Hill Middle School

Shady Grove Middle School

Odessa Shannon Middle School

Silver Creek Middle School

Silver Spring International Middle School

Sligo Middle School

Takoma Park Middle School

Tilden Middle School

Hallie Wells Middle School

Julius West Middle School

Westland Middle School

White Oak Middle School

Earle B. Wood Middle School

Elementary schools

Notable alumni

The school system has several prominent graduates or former attendees, including: * Journalist Brian Stelter * Journalist

Carl Bernstein Carl Milton Bernstein ( ; born February 14, 1944) is an American investigative journalist and author. While a young reporter for ''The Washington Post'' in 1972, Bernstein was teamed up with Bob Woodward, and the two did much of the original n ...

* Journalist

Connie Chung Constance Yu-Hwa Chung (born August 20, 1946) is an American journalist. She has been an anchor and reporter for the U.S. television news networks NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, and MSNBC. Some of her more famous interview subjects include Claus von B� ...

* Baseball Player Curtis Pride * Actor Daniel Stern * TV Anchor Dan Heillie * Television and Film Writer Darren Star * Football Player Darrell Docket * Comedian Dave Chappelle * Musician

Dean Felber Hootie & the Blowfish are an American soft rock band that were formed in Columbia, South Carolina, in 1986. The band's lineup for most of its existence has been the quartet of Darius Rucker, Mark Bryan, Dean Felber, and Jim Sonefeld. The band w ...

* Biologist Frederick Yeh * Media Personality Giuliana Rancic * Actress

Goldie Hawn Goldie Jeanne Hawn (born November 21, 1945) is an American actress, dancer, producer, and singer. She rose to fame on the NBC sketch comedy program ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' (1968–1970), before going on to receive the Academy Award and Go ...

* Olympic gold medalist

Helen Maroulis Helen Louise Maroulis ( el, Ελένη Μαρούλη; born September 19, 1991) is an American freestyle wrestler who competes in the women's 55-kg 53-kg and 57-kg categories. She was a gold medalist at the 2015 World Wrestling Championships in ...

* Football Player Irvin Smith * Journalist John Harwood * Singer

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* Actor John Micheal Higgins * Actor Johnathan Banks * Rapper

Logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the science of deductively valid inferences or of logical truths. It is a formal science investigating how conclusions follow from premise ...

* Comedian

Lewis Black Lewis Niles Black (born August 30, 1948) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. His comedy routines often escalate into angry rants about history, politics, religion, or any other cultural trends. He hosted the Comedy Central series '' Lewi ...

* Musician Mark Bryan * Media Personality Mia Khalifa * Actor

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* 33rd and 35th President of Chile

Michelle Bachelet Verónica Michelle Bachelet Jeria (; born 29 September 1951) is a Chilean politician who served as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2018 to 2022. She previously served as President of Chile from 2006 to 2010 and 2014 to 201 ...

* Creator of TV show

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, Rebecca Sugar * TV anchor

Scott Van Pelt Scott Van Pelt (born ) is an American sportscaster and sports talk show host. He co-anchored the 11 p.m. edition of ''SportsCenter'' on ESPN, served as the co-host of '' SVP & Russillo'' alongside Ryen Russillo on ESPN Radio, and hosts various ...

* Entrepreneur

Shervin Pishevar Shervin Kordary Pishevar ( fa, شروین پیشه ور; born March 24, 1974) is an Iranian-American entrepreneur, venture capitalist, super angel investor, and philanthropist. He is the co-founder and former executive chairman of Hyperloop One ...

* Actor Sylvester Stallone * Director/screenwriter Spike Jonze * Actor Sean Whalen * Actor

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* Singer

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* Rapper Wale

References

External links

*
MCPS
at '' U.S. News & World Report''′s Best High Schools
MCPS
Maps and Geographic Information Systems *
Reviews of Montgomery County Public Schools Special Education Programs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Montgomery County Public Schools, Maryland Education in Montgomery County, Maryland Public schools in Montgomery County, Maryland School districts in Maryland 1860 establishments in Maryland School districts established in 1860