Earle B. Wood Middle School principal Heidi Slatcoff sent out a community letter on Friday information families of an investigation following a teacher’s discovery of a presentation titled “Homophobic Club Hub” on a student Chromebook. The investigation found the the student shared the documents with at least two other students prior to deleting them. There was no evidence of any other students participating in generating the documents, and no evidence that a club was actually formed. According to the investigation, the documents were generated 2 – 4 months ago. The full letter can be seen below:

This is clearly a hate/bias incident and I must say that discrimination in any form cannot be tolerated. It impedes MCPS’ and our school’s ability to discharge its responsibilities to all students and staff, and achieve our community’s long-standing efforts to create, foster, and promote equity, inclusion, and acceptance for all. While students who commit this unacceptable act will receive consequences as per MCPS Student Code of Conduct, it is important that we continue our work with our students to help them understand the impact of hateful and hurtful words.


On February 2, 2023, Wheaton High School principal Joshua Munsey sent a letter to the WHS community informing them of a violation of Maryland Public Secondary School Athletic Association (MPSSAA) and Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) athletic rules and regulations by the Wheaton wrestling program.

In the letter, it was explained that there was an allegation of an ineligible student-athlete competing for Wheaton High School. The wrestling program was paused on January 27th and a comprehensive investigation confirmed the allegation. This led to the cancellation of the remaining part of the season for the entire Wheaton wrestling program, per regulations outlined in the MPSSAA handbook. According to NBC4, the head coach of the wrestling team knowingly broke the rules “but thought the consequences would come down on him and not the varsity, junior varsity and girls teams.” He is no longer employed by MCPS.


Per MCPS: On Saturday, February 11, Madison Watts, a sophomore from Rockville High School, was elected as a finalist for the Maryland State Student Member of the Board of Education (SMOB). Over 300 student leaders from across the state of Maryland attended the Maryland Association of Student Councils annual Legislative Session hosted by the Wheaton High School Student Government Association and the Montgomery Regional Student Government Association. The other finalist is Abisola Ayoola, a junior from Wilde Lake High School (Howard County). Maryland Governor, Wes Moore, will select one of these finalists as the next Maryland State SMOB in late spring.


Your cooperation is essential to help protect the safety and welfare of all our students and school staff. We teach students—and ask parents and caregivers to remind students—that:

Weapons are not allowed on school grounds, ever. Guns, knives, toy guns, ammunition, or any device meant to cause harm are prohibited and carry significant school and possible criminal consequences.


Abby Meyers is Whitman High School’s all-time leading scorer with over 1,700 points and was the Ivy League Player of the Year last year before transferring to the University of Maryland for her senior season. Yesterday she was honored at  Senior Day as #8 Maryland took on Illinois.

Meyers didn’t disappoint, scoring 14 of her 18 points in the third quarter for the Terps, helping lead the team to an 81-72 victory and improving to 13-0 all-time against Illinois. In an interview with the Diamondback last month, she credited her  junior and senior years at Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda as helping her evolve as a teammate and leader, playing a big role in being named a captain ahead of her first season at Maryland.


Malick Boly is among the first Peace Corps volunteers to return to overseas service since the agency suspended its global operations and evacuated nearly 7,000 volunteers from more than 60 countries in March 2020. Boly grew up in Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso in West Africa before moving to Gaithersburg in 2011, where he attended Lakeland Park Middle School and Northwest High School (Class of 2016) in Germantown.  Boly graduated from UMBC with a bachelor’s degree in cultural anthropology and will serve as an English literacy volunteer in Samoa.

“My mother was a volunteer in Gabon during the early 80’s,” said Boly. “Her decision to join Peace Corps sent her on a thirty plus year humanitarian journey that culminated in the creation and management of multiple schools and a happy family of five. I am proud to follow in her footsteps.”


Ricardo Hernandez, assistant principal at Paint Branch High School has been awarded the State of Maryland Secondary School Assistant Principal of the Year. He will go on to represent the state of Maryland in the national competition.

Earlier this week, Kingsview Middle School counselor Katie Mendelson was named Maryland State Middle School Counselor of the Year. She was surprised with the news on Feb, 6, the first day of National School Counselor Week, during an announcement at the school. Watch the surprise here.


In September of 1951, George Washington Carver High School opened and became the only modern secondary educational facility built for black students in Montgomery County. Today the building serves as the MCPS central office in Rockville. MCPS interviewed Carver graduate Howard Bell about his experience going to school during segregation and later integration and how far we have come as a county. The interview can be seen below:


The Minority Scholars Program (MSP), a student-led initiative to help narrow the opportunity gap in MCPS, increase the academic success of minority students and foster positive relationships, will hold its 12th annual retreat on Saturday, March 18. This year’s theme is “We are the Blueprint: Dream About it, Scream About it, Be About It.” This event will be held from 9 a.m.–3:30 p.m. at Northwest High School, 13501 Richter Farm Road in Germantown.

Since its inception 17 years ago, MSP has worked to change the conversation around race, equity and the opportunity gap. MSP has been growing steadily and now has chapters in every MCPS high school, 24 middle schools and six elementary schools. Student leaders have spoken at county, state and national events, spreading the MSP model across the state and nation.


Working with industry leaders, hospitality and restaurant management students at Seneca Valley and Sherwood high schools served a four-course meal at a pop-up restaurant in Potomac on Feb. 3. The school was above to raise over $5,200 from the event (photos available below).

The dinner was an opportunity for the students to experience the variety of activities necessary to stage a sophisticated experience—from social media and ticket sales to front-of-house management and heart-of-house hustle. With a team of chefs from CAVA, the students designed, prepared and served the dinner at the Falls Road Golf Course Café on Friday.


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