The Cluster Projects

The Cluster Projects are a joint effort between MCPS and Montgomery County officials focused on maintaining and increasing family stability for students whose families are in crisis or in need of multiple supports outside of the school system, so that students may continue to stay fully engaged in school.

Cluster Projects currently support schools primarily in the Kennedy High School Cluster feeder pattern of the Downcounty Consortium, schools primarily in the Watkins Mill High School Cluster, and as a combined Cluster Project effort for secondary schools in the Paint Branch and Springbrook High School feeder patterns of the Northeast Consortium. See participating schools for each Cluster Project below:

Kennedy Cluster Project

  • John F. Kennedy HS
    • Argyle MS
    • Col. E. Brooke Lee MS
      • Bel Pre ES
      • Georgian Forest ES
      • Glenallan ES
      • Strathmore ES
    • Brookhaven ES
    • Glen Haven ES

Watkins Mill Cluster Project

  • Watkins Mill HS
    • Montgomery Village MS
    • Neelsville MS
      • South Lake ES
      • Stedwick ES
      • Watkins Mill ES
      • Whetstone ES
    • Capt. James Daly ES

Paint Branch-Springbrook Cluster Project

  • Paint Branch HS
  • Springbrook HS
    • Benjamin Banneker MS
    • Briggs Chaney MS
    • Francis Scott Key MS
    • White Oak MS

Each Cluster Project hosts Multi-Agency team meetings at the high schools twice a month during the school year. These meetings are facilitated by the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services and MCPS, and include representatives from other Montgomery County departments and agencies that support children and families, such as the Montgomery County Department of Recreation and the Montgomery County State’s Attorneys Office. Multi-Agency Team meetings facilitate rapid access to public and private sector benefits and resources for families referred, and follow-up care coordination and behavioral health resource support for six months. Cluster Project teams also work to bring other resources to these school communities as indicated, such as coordinating holiday giving distributions for project participants and families or MCPS staff trainings or workshops in specialty areas of need.

For more information about the Cluster Projects, please contact: