A total of 70 MCPS educators achieved National Board Certification in 2022. Another 90 successfully maintained their certifications.National Board Certification is achieved through an assessment process designed to measure what accomplished educators should know and be able to do. The process requires educators to demonstrate how their activities, both inside and outside the classroom, strengthen student performance and contribute to student achievement.
In order to become a National Board Certified teacher, candidates voluntarily complete a rigorous program that consists of four components: assessment of content knowledge, reflection on student work samples, video and analysis of teaching practice, and documentation of the impact of assessment and collaboration on student learning. These components were designed by teachers for teachers, to identify the essential knowledge and skills required to advance student learning and achievement. This is a commitment of time and energy; teachers who achieve certification describe the process as transformative.
City government, including City Hall and most city facilities, will be closed on Presidents Day, Monday, Feb. 20.
Recycling and trash will be collected as usual on Monday, Feb. 20 and throughout the week. For more information on recycling and trash collection, visit www.rockvillemd.gov/recycling-trash or call 240-314-8568. Parking will be free at city-owned meters on Feb. 20. The Rockville Swim and Fitness Center and the Rockville Skate Park will be open for regular hours on Feb. 20. Visit www.rockvillemd.gov/swimcenter or www.rockvillemd.gov/skatepark for details.
Home sharing offers affordable, community-centered housing that can leave more room in your budget for travel, savings, creative projects, new experiences, and yes… your favorite coffee shop habit.
Less rent. More life.
Check out our website to learn more and see what rooms are available for rent!
The Wheaton Library is located within the Wheaton Library and Community Recreation Center complex at 11701 Georgia Ave. in Wheaton. The exhibit, launched in collaboration with Peerless Rockville and Montgomery History, memorializes and honors two men who were lynched in Rockville—John Diggs-Dorsey in 1880 and Sidney Randolph in 1896. It also honors George Peck, who was lynched in Poolesville in 1880. The exhibit is intended to reveal the history of these fatal miscarriages of justice that happened in Montgomery County, to remember the victims and to promote reconciliation and healing.
Working closely with the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Ala., and the Maryland Lynching Memorial Project, the exhibit is part of a larger effort to advance the cause of reconciliation in Maryland and advocates for public acknowledgement of these murders. As highlighted in a proclamation by the Montgomery County Council on Sept. 26, 2021, the exhibit “reminds us of our responsibility to understand our history and to work to repair and heal the damage of the past by acting in the present.”
Per Montgomery County: Montgomery County Public Libraries (MCPL), the Montgomery County Library Board and Friends of the Library, Montgomery County, Inc. (FOLMC) will kick off “Library Lovers Month” with a family friendly virtual event at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 4. To celebrate the beginning of Library Lovers Month, Jacqueline Means (the STEM Queen) will demonstrate the hands-on STEM activity “Let’s Make Snow” for elementary-aged students.
To fully participate in the hands-on part of the program, registrants are invited to pick up a free activity kit before the program at one of the following libraries: Aspen Hill, Connie Morella, Gaithersburg, Kensington and Wheaton. The availability of activity kits is limited. Participants should call ahead to confirm availability.
Join Us for StoryBox Comics Fair, a two-day festival celebrating local and independent comics authors!
Day 1 – Saturday, June 27th, 11-5pm @ DwightMess compound (805 Silver Spring Ave): Events are open to the public, admission is FREE. Featuring Special Guest Artists, gallery exhibitions, workshops, artist talks, a modeling session (suggested donation) and exhibitors, you can dig in to indie comics and also tour the compound, which features an extensive comics collection, a rare video collection, Risograph and screenprinting studios.
The free MCPS Stronger Student mobile app is now available via the Apple and Google Play stores. The project was led by students who performed all aspects of design, building and focus grouping for the app. For secondary students, the app provides access to crisis support resources or other mental and physical health/wellness needs, including reporting incidents of discrimination. It is anonymous and confidential.
Users can access:
Per Montgomery County: Montgomery County businesses conducting research in biotechnology, medicine or life sciences may be eligible to receive Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)/Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) matching grants to assist with their research funding and commercialization activities. Applications for grants will open at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 15.
Businesses that have received SBIR/STTR Phase 1 or Phase 2 awards recently for research taking place in Montgomery County may be eligible for additional non-dilutive funding through the program to help them with technical assistance, IP costs and other research-related activities. Businesses that never have received a SBIR/STTR award may apply for Phase 0 grants to cover the cost of SBIR/STTR application support. Montgomery County’s SBIR/STTR Matching Grant Program is the only County program of its kind in the nation.
Per Montgomery County: Rosa Parks became a key figure in the Civil Rights era when she refused to give up her seat on a segregated Montgomery, Ala., public transit bus and was arrested in 1955. Recognizing her life and legacy, Montgomery County will join in the celebration of “Transit Equity Day,” which is observed on her birthday, Feb. 4, by reserving a seat on every Ride On bus operated by the County Department of Transportation.
Parks is best remembered for her brave act of resistance by refusing to give up her seat to a White man in Montgomery, Ala., in 1955. Her actions inspired the local Black community to organize the Montgomery Bus Boycott, led by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
For the second year, James Hubert Blake High School has earned the College Board Advanced Placement (AP) Computer Science Female Diversity Award for achieving high female representation in AP Computer Science A. Schools honored with the AP Computer Science Female Diversity Award have expanded girls’ access in AP computer science courses. More than 1,100 institutions achieved either 50% or higher female representation in one of the two AP computer science courses or a percentage of the female computer science exam takers meeting or exceeding that of the school’s female population during the 2021-2022 school year. In 2022, Blake was one of 209 recognized in AP Computer Science A.
“We’re thrilled to congratulate our female AP computer science students and their teachers on this step toward gender parity in computer science education,” said Bob Sinclair, principal of Blake High School. “We’re honored that our school earned this distinction and look forward to seeing these young women and others pursue and achieve success in computer science education and careers.”
The Council stands in solidarity with the GHS community and the entire MCPS community in condemning all acts of hate and racism. We are committed to making our schools safe and inclusive spaces for all our students, no matter their race, religion or background. We stand ready to support MCPS in its ongoing efforts to create a community of care and respect.
We must uphold the values of diversity and inclusivity that make Montgomery County so special and continue to educate our youth about the importance of respecting these values and understanding the harm these hate acts cause. To ensure we are an inclusive community, we all must become actively conscious about racism and take actions to end racial inequities.
Per MCPD: Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police – Special Victims Investigations Division (SVID) are asking for the public’s assistance in locating, Evelin Sanchez Gomez, a missing 14-year-old from Aspen Hill.
Sanchez Gomez was last seen on Monday, January 30, 2023 at approximately 7 a.m., in the 3500 block of Pear Tree Court. Sanchez Gomez is approximately 5-feet, 8-inches tall and weighs 175 pounds. She has brown hair and brown eyes. It is unknown what clothing she was last seen wearing. Police and family are concerned for her welfare.
Per the Maryland Lottery: “A Montgomery County mother of four and her husband will never forget two startling experiences that occurred on the same day. First, she discovered she was pregnant with the couple’s fifth child, and later she won $50,000 on a Six Figuresscratch-off.
“Two gifts for me!” the Germantown woman said with a smile. “It was a big surprise.”
