PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS >  BROWSE

Graduation Ceremonies Begin May 26, Speakers Include Olympic Gold Medalist, Authors and Political Leaders

May 26, 2017

More than 10,500 Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) students are expected to receive their diplomas during commencement ceremonies that began today, May 26, and continue through June 14. The ceremonies will include a wide array of commencement speakers, including political leaders, an Olympic gold medalist, authors, educators and others representing a variety of professions and interests.  

MCPS is also inviting parents and students to share photos of graduation via email and on Twitter.

The first graduation ceremonies are today, Friday, May 26, for Paint Branch High School and Stephen Knolls School; Tuesday, May 30 for Bethesda-Chevy Chase and Winston Churchill high schools; and Wednesday, May 31 for Quince Orchard and Thomas S. Wootton high schools.

Among those who will speak at ceremonies: Tim Shriver, Chairman of Special Olympics, will address graduates at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School on May 30, and best-selling author Jason Wright, will speak to graduates of Gaithersburg High School on June 2. Graduates from Montgomery Blair High School will hear from Congressman Jamie Raskin on June 6, and Olympic Gold Medalist Helen Maroulis will address graduates at Col. Zadok Magruder High School on June 7.

Other speakers include:

  • Leon Harris, News Anchor for NBC4, will speak to graduates from Winston Churchill High School on May 30;

  • Scott Hallenbeck, CEO of USA Football, will speak to graduates from Walter Johnson High School on June 6;

  • Steve Weissman, sportscaster for ESPN, will speak to graduates from Springbrook High School on June 6; and

  • Kasandra Kugler Alla, Founder of Heroes in Blue, will speak to graduates from Sherwood High School on June 7.

Several schools will feature teachers and students as speakers.

Graduations for 17 MCPS high schools will be held at DAR Constitution Hall (DAR), in Washington, D.C. These ceremonies will be streamed live on the DAR Constitution Hall website. Ceremonies will also be held at the Xfinity Center, Mount St. Mary’s University, the F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre and at individual school or program locations.

List of Graduation dates, times, locations and speakers

Submit Graduation Photos

MCPS is inviting parents and students to share their favorite 2017 graduation snapshots, which will be shared on the district’s website and social media.

For email, parents should select their best horizontal graduation snapshot and send the photo as a .jpeg file (no larger than 4 MB) to pio@mcpsmd.org. Please include your child’s first name and school (we will not publish last names). Many of the pictures will be posted on the MCPS website and Flickr account.

For social media, parents and students can post photos on Twitter and Facebook using the hashtag #MCPSGrad. Some of the posts will be shared on our Twitter and Facebook pages.

By submitting a photo, parents are agreeing to its use for publication on the MCPS website.

<<Back to browse