Earlier this year, 20 MCPS students earned National Merit Scholarships from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC). Today, an additional eight Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) students have earned college- and university-sponsored National Merit Scholarships, bringing the MCPS total for college- and university-sponsored scholarships to 28.

Each sponsoring college or university selected scholarship winners from among the finalists in the 2023 National Merit Scholarship Program. These awards provide between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study at the institution financing the scholarship. The additional winners, their sponsoring university or college, and their intended career fields are:


School immunizations—The Maryland Department of Health released updated school vaccine requirements for the 2023-2024 school year. Families of incoming kindergarten students, new students, and 7th and 8th graders may need additional vaccines to start the school year. For students whose required vaccines are incomplete, updated vaccine records must be submitted by the first day of school; proof of exemption or a vaccination visit must be submitted within 20 days. School staff are reviewing records and contacting families of students with incomplete vaccination records. Not sure if your student is up to date? Contact your child’s health care provider or access their immunization records online. Students 18 years old and younger eligible for the Vaccines for Children program may obtain free vaccines through the county’s Immunization Program.

School Health Forms—Returning students may need certain forms if they have a health condition that requires medication, other health support or accommodations, or an emergency health plan at school (for example, asthma, food allergies or a seizure disorder). Common forms include:


The Maryland Department of Natural Resources announced the award of more than $200,000 in competitive grants to support learning experiences and educational opportunities focused on environmental issues. Funding for the educational programs is provided by the state’s Chesapeake Bay Implementation Grant and Aquatic Resources Education Program, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Grant funding is awarded for Fiscal Year 2024 to the following organizations, pending final approval by federal partners:


KID Museum is dedicated to expanding access for the MCPS community by providing free opportunities to participate in our programming. Thanks to the generous support of Montgomery County Public Schools, all MCPS students and families can register for free admission to KID Museum, now through August 27, 2023.

KID Museum opened last May in its new flagship site at Bethesda Metro Center, 3 Bethesda Metro Center, Suite 140— a brand new, 28,000 square foot facility “created to foster the “Mind of a Maker” and empower the next generation with the skills to invent the future.” The state-of-the-art makerspace is purpose-built for kids ages 4-14 to explore coding, robotics, engineering design, and hands-on maker learning, with the capacity to welcome more than 100,000 visitors every year. There will be grand opening events, becoming a member, or sponsoring us to help all kids discover a love of exploring, creating, and collaborating to become makers of the future.


With only 11 states currently offering universal pre-K education, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2023’s States with the Best & Worst Early Education Systems, with Maryland coming in 3rd overall. Maryland came in 1st in the income requirement for State Pre-K eligibility category, and was ranked as the 8th best school system overall in a study released by WalletHub last week.

In order to determine the best early education systems in America, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 12 key metrics. The data set ranges from share of school districts that offer a state pre-K program to number of pre-K quality benchmarks met and total reported spending per child enrolled in pre-K. Quality of Early Education in Maryland (1=Best; 25=Avg.):


Per MCPS: More than 900 students were celebrated at this Summer RISE closing ceremony for participating and completing the program. Summer RISE is an initiative led by the Montgomery County Public Schools’ (MCPS) Department of Partnerships in collaboration with businesses, government agencies, higher education institutions, and nonprofit organizations. The program is for rising MCPS juniors and seniors to participate in a career-based learning opportunity during the summer.

This year’s speakers included special guest Maryland Lt. Governor Aruna Miller, MCPS Board of Education president Karla Silvestre, superintendent Dr. Monifa B. McKnight, Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich, and Education and culture chair and councilmember Will Jawando.


MoCo native (Brookeville) and 2023 Sherwood graduate, Bryan Kim, has won the 75th U.S. Junior Amateur Championship, held at Daniel Island Club in Charleston, South Carolina. He will be attending Duke University in the fall.

Kim, 18, joins Jason Widener (1988) as Duke players to etch their name on the U.S. Junior Amateur Trophy that includes the likes of major champions Tiger Woods, Johnny Miller, David Duval, Jordan Spieth, Scottie Scheffler and Brian Harman, this year’s Open winner at Royal Birkdale who sent a congratulatory video message to the champion. Kim advanced to the championship match, where he defeated Joshua Bai. A breakdown of the championship can be found here. Kim is 11th in the latest iteration of the American Junior Golf Association rankings and 443rd in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. As champion, Kim receives the following:


The University of Maryland was included in Newsweek’s 2023 list of America’s Greatest Workplaces, one of only eight universities recognized among the 1,000 major employers.

The rankings, based on a large-scale study conducted in collaboration with data firm Plant-A Insights Group, evaluated and scored companies based on eight categories: company image, corporate culture, working environment, work-life balance, training and career progression, compensation and benefits, sustainability awareness, and proactive management of the diverse workforce. UMD earned four out of five stars in the list released this month.


With student scores in math and reading having dropped significantly across the country last year in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2023’s States with the Best & Worst School Systems, with Maryland coming in 8th as a state (this report does not reflect individual county rank, but rather the state as a whole). Neighboring Virginia was ranked 5th (where Maryland was ranked in 2022).

In order to determine the best school systems in America, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 32 key measures of quality and safety. The data set ranges from pupil-teacher ratio and dropout rate to median standardized-test scores. Quality & Safety of Schools in Maryland (1=Best; 25=Avg.):


We are at the approximate halfway point of the summer of 2023 so we’ll be taking a look at what’s to come in August and September the MCPS “traditional school calendar” (includes all schools except for Arcola Elementary School and Roscoe Nix Elementary School).

Teachers will report back to school for their first professional day of pre-service week on Monday, August 21st. They’ll continue to report for the remainder of the week, as pre-service week concludes on Friday, August 25th. Students report to school for their first day on Monday, August 28th.


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