Updated to reflect the lockdown has been lifted
Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring was in a lockdown earlier this afternoon after a report of a weapon seen outside on school property, according to a message sent to the Blair community by principal Renay Johnson at 2:06pm. The lockdown was lifted after a review of video footage and school administrators are now coordinating dismissal plan. The message sent home at 2:06pm can be seen below:
College Conversations: Connecting Students of Color to Top Colleges is being held from 6:30–8:30 p.m. on July 22. The event is sponsored by MCPS, the NAACP Parents’ Council and Johns Hopkins University. It is geared toward rising seniors of color and their families.
This event will feature college admissions officers discussing financial aid, scholarships and the college admissions process. Other breakout sessions will highlight the college experience, writing college essays and others. Representatives from more than 25 colleges and universities are planning to attend.
Current MCPS Chief of Staff, James D’Andrea, has been announced as principal of Cheltenham High School, effective Friday, July 1, 2022. D’Andrea, who is still listed on the MCPS website as Chief of Staff, was appointed to the position on June 10th, 2021, but did not begin to serve in the position until July 1, 2021. Cheltenham High School is located in Wyncote, PA, which is coincidentally in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. The full press release from the school district can be seen below:
“After an extensive search and interview process, Mr. James D’Andrea has been appointed as the principal of Cheltenham High School, effective Friday, July 1, 2022. The board voted to approve his appointment at the Tuesday, June 14 legislative board meeting.
The Montgomery County Board of Education and MCPS mourn the passing of Mr. Reginald “Reggie” Felton. Elected to the Board in 1994, Mr. Felton served until 2004. He served three terms as president and twice as vice president and sat on many Board committees. His personal and professional commitment to the students and staff of MCPS continues to have a lasting impact. Mr. Felton went on to serve as a member of the Montgomery College Board of Trustees from 2007 to 2015 and on the Board of Directors for the George B. Thomas Learning Academy.
“On behalf of the Board, we are all deeply saddened by the loss of Reggie Felton,” said Board President Brenda Wolff. “He was an exemplary Board member. Passionate, collegial and committed. Reggie worked hard to improve educational opportunities for all students, and advocated for high-quality professional development for staff, and safe and modern school facilities. He will be remembered as a leader not only for the public schools, but as a fierce advocate for education in Montgomery County”
Actor Michael Ealy has recently made a splash in his recurring role on ‘Bel Air’, the reimagined version of popular 90s sitcoms ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel Air’ which started Will Smith. We’ve mentioned several times that Michael Ealy, then known as Michael Brown, graduated from Springbrook High School and grew up in Silver Spring (later attending the University of Maryland).
Earlier this week, reader Mekhi Leftwich, sent in some photos of Ealy from his time at White Oak Intermediate School (now White Oak Middle School) on 12201 New Hampshire Avenue, back in 1986, where he attended school prior to moving on to Springbrook.
County Council-funded Initiative Will Build, Enhance Joint Efforts of MCPS, MC, USG
Montgomery County’s public education partners – Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS), Montgomery College (MC) and the Universities at Shady Grove (USG) – will deepen their collective efforts to build and/or enhance successful pathways that lead students into college degree or training programs and ultimately to impactful careers, through the creation of the new “READY Institute.” The initiative is being launched with start-up funding approved by the County Council in the fiscal year 2023 operating budget.
MCPS is hosting a job fair for bus drivers from 8 a.m.–2 p.m. June 27–30. The walk-in interviews will be held at the Shady Grove Transportation Depot, 16651 Crabbs Branch Way in Rockville.
To become a bus driver, the minimum qualifications are:
Walt Whitman High School principal, Robert Dodd, sent a letter to the Whitman community on Monday informing them of the tragic passing of an 11th grade student at the school. The full letter can be seen below:
Dear Walt Whitman High School Families,
Joe Lewis graduated from Wootton High School in 1997. Since graduating he had held positions such as Manager of Development at Comedy Central, Director of Production at 20th Century Fox, Head of Original Programming at Amazon Studios, and his current position as Head of Television at Amplify Studios. Last night he was a part of multiple Tony Award wins for co-producing A Strange Loop.
This year’s nominations were dominated by the musicals A Strange Loop and MJ The Musical, with 11 and 10 nominations respectively. Another Wootton High School alumnus, Myles Frost, who stars at Michael Jackson, won a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical.
Myles Frost graduated from Wootton High School in Rockville in 2017. Last night, just five years later, he won a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. In December of 2021, he took over the role of Michael Jackson on Broadway’s MJ.
https://twitter.com/timschraeder/status/1536177923929124871?s=21&t=-rNUEMkGONFbtRyL9RspFw
Poolesville High School held a ceremonial groundbreaking for its modernization and expansion currently underway. Poolesville is adding 160,000 square feet and renovating 60,000 square feet of the existing school. When completed in December 2024, the school, which currently has 1,274 students, will be able to house 1,500 students.
On June 2, Gaithersburg Middle School hosted the second annual joint Model UN Conference with Silver Spring International Middle School. Ninety students participated in the one-day event. The four committee sessions, run by seventh and eighth graders, debated climate change and press freedom. This was the first in-person middle school Model UN conference at an MCPS school. The program is in its seventh year and taught by Julie Sanders.