Maryland's Largest School District
MONTGOMERY COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
MONTGOMERY COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
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MCPS is conducting a districtwide analysis of academic programs available to students. The goal of the study is to ensure that all students have access to high-quality programs and that programs available meet the needs of our community, industry demands, and maximize the use of resources.
This work has begun at the secondary level. The analysis includes middle and high school application regional and countywide magnet and lottery-based programs, Career and Technical Education programs, as well as access to Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, and Dual Enrollment courses.
A design team, made up of families, community members, and school-based staff are meeting now and will recommend what programs should be offered within a reasonable geographic area and what programs should be offered at all schools. The design team will examine program data (where programs are located and who has access) as well as feedback from community surveys and meetings, industry demands, state requirements, and student focus groups to inform their recommendation. MCPS will begin planning to implement the design team recommendations in June, 2025.
The program analysis is occurring alongside two boundary studies. While the boundary studies determine a student’s home school in selected areas of the county, the programs analysis is districtwide and focused on equitable access to high-quality, high-demand programs. Conducting both at the same time will ensure MCPS families can make fully informed decisions.
July 24 Board of Education Business Meeting:
MCPS proposes a regional model to expand access to academic programs for high school students across Montgomery County. In this approach, MCPS high schools will be grouped into six regions to provide every student access to parallel, high quality programs in each region. A regional model will allow MCPS to offer a greater number of students more opportunities to enroll in higher-level programs as a result of having these programs in every region instead of just a few schools across the county. These changes are designed with one goal in mind: to ensure more students can pursue the learning experiences they want—and deserve—no matter where they live.
These recommendations are not about eliminating strong programs. Quite the opposite, actually. Instead, they are focused on three key goals:
This model consists of five Academic Program Themes which are based on community feedback:
Each of these program pathways presents great opportunities to feed student interest and generate great opportunities for post-secondary preparedness. We see a clear need to address both criteria-based needs and student interest needs in the pathway opportunities that we provide to our students. Pathways will include a combination of industry certifications, unique extracurricular opportunities, and learning experiences outside of the schoolhouse (internships and apprenticeships).
With the assets we already have in MCPS, these programs can be replicated in regions in whole or in parts to adjust for school capacity (meaning, that elements of the programs themes listed above can be kept whole or divided into parts based on interest and need; for example: Visual and Performing Arts can be at one school in a region as one program or a Visual Arts program at one school and Performing Arts program at another).
The implementation timeline is designed to avoid disrupting students already in existing specialty or consortia programs. We are planning a progressive realignment, with full implementation of the proposed programs by 2031. Students in a current program or who will join a centrally managed program next year will be able to complete their choice. This progressive timeline begins with the 2027-2028 school year with grade nine students and is fully in place for all high school students in the 2030-2031 school year.