Education Archives - Page 199 of 295

Wootton HS Basketball Team and Poms Squad Help Tutor First Graders at Fallsmead ES

Published February 15, 2023 at 4:37PM

When they are not playing basketball or performing at games, students from the Thomas S. Wootton High School Basketball team and the Poms Squad volunteer their time at Fallsmead Elementary School. Basketball coach Erick Graves started the Wootton Cares Reading and Mentoring program seven years ago to give his players a way to give back to their community. The poms squad also joined the effort this year.

“I think our guys get a lot out of it. They get to see, you know, the power of their presence, and how the power of a simple high five could change a kid’s day,” coach Graves said. The student-athletes visit the elementary school on Fridays after school about seven to eight times during the basketball season to tutor the students on reading and other subjects.

Message from the MCPS School System Medical Officer: Save-the-Date, Fentanyl Event

By MCS Staff

Published February 15, 2023 at 9:11AM

“Dear MCPS Community,

On Saturday, Jan. 28, more than 1,500 people participated in the Family Forum on Fentanyl at Clarksburg High School. Students, family members and staff were concerned and motivated to keep our youth and communities safe from the dangers of illicit fentanyl.

Board of Education Seeking Comment on Parent and Family Involvement, Ethics Policies

By MCS Staff

Published February 15, 2023 at 8:36AM

The Montgomery County Board of Education is seeking comments on two policies—Policy ABC, Parent and Family Involvement, and Policy BBB, Ethics. On Policy ABC, the Board is seeking comments on proposed amendments to update processes for parent/guardian engagement in decisions affecting their students and their students’ schools. The public comment period is through Thursday, April 20. The draft amendments propose—

Language translations will be posted as soon as they are available.

Taste of MCPS: Menu Concept Taste Test for Students

By MCS Staff

Published February 15, 2023 at 8:33AM

The Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) Division of Food and Nutrition Services is hosting its second annual The Taste of MCPS – Menu Concept Taste Test for Students. Over 100 students in grades 6-11 will evaluate innovative concepts and sample new flavors. Feedback from the students will be incorporated into the menu development process for the 2023-2024 school year. Twenty concepts from national manufacturers from all across the country will be sampled, including:

WHAT: Students taste testing innovative menu concepts to be incorporated into 2023-2024 school menu development

MCPS High School Wrestling Tournament Preview

By MCS Staff

Published February 15, 2023 at 8:26AM

This preview has been written by a fan that would like to remain anonymous and provided to us by Germantown Wrestling. PDF images available below (formatting may have slightly altered the text.

MCPS tournament seeds were released this week and there will be some great action at the upcoming 60th annual MCPS Wrestling Tournament. This will be the first complete season since 2020 with no restrictions related to COVID-19. This year’s field of MCPS wrestlers are talented and are looking to prove that they represent some of the best in the state. There are potential state placers and champs in almost every weight class, which makes this year’s county tournament one of the most competitive in recent history. Several weight classes have multiple state ranked wrestlers and a few state #1’s in their division.

Wheaton High School Principal’s Appeal to Overturn Cancellation of Wrestling Season is Denied; Second Appeal to Follow

By MCS Staff

Published February 14, 2023 at 9:22PM

Wheaton High School Principal Joshua Munsey announced in a letter to parents of students on the Wheaton wrestling team that an appeal of the MPSSAA decision to not allow Wheaton High School wrestlers to participate in any post-season series has been denied. In the letter to parents, Munsey stated the following: “Yesterday, I represented the Wheaton High School wrestlers in a hearing appealing the MPSSAA Sanction that Wheaton High School wrestlers are not allowed to participate in the post-season series. This afternoon, I received the attached letter denying our appeal. Also this afternoon, I followed the steps outlined in this letter to appeal this decision.” Principal Munsey has told us that he filed for the initial appeal as soon as he knew he was able to do so. He has also followed the steps for a second appeal that is likely to be heard this week. The full letter denying the appeal can be seen below.

Dear Mr. Munsey:

Wood Middle School Principal Sends Community Letter Regarding Presentation Titled “Homophobic Club Hub” Found on Student Chromebook

By MCS Staff

Published February 14, 2023 at 8:40AM

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.

Wheaton High School Principal Appeals Decision to Cancel Wrestling Team’s Season

By MCS Staff

Published February 13, 2023 at 7:58PM

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.

Rockville High School Sophomore Named Finalist for the Maryland State Student Member of the Board of Education (SMOB)

By Patrick Herron

Published February 13, 2023 at 11:43AM

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.

Montgomery County Public Schools Safety and Security Update

By Patrick Herron

Published February 13, 2023 at 9:24AM

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.

Maryland Is 2023’s “2nd Most Educated State in America” According to Study

By MCS Staff

Published February 13, 2023 at 8:47AM

The state of Maryland has been ranked second in a list of “Most Educated States.” With BLS data showing a correlation between higher education levels, higher income and lower unemployment rates, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2023’s Most & Least Educated States in America. Massachusetts was ranked first and Connecticut came in third.

In order to determine the most educated states, WalletHub compared all 50 states across 18 metrics that examined the key factors of a well-educated population: educational attainment, school quality and achievement gaps between genders and races.