Vision Statement

MCPS students will be engaged in rigorous, accessible, relevant, and inclusive social studies inquiry that utilizes primary sources--including multiple perspectives from historically marginalized voices--to develop their capacity to think critically, read closely, communicate clearly, and take action to improve their community, country, and world.

Mission Statement

The MCPS Social Studies team provides:

• Advocacy for aligned and engaging social studies education at every school and level.
• Professional development and school support to build the content and pedagogical expertise of teachers and teacher leaders to equitably and effectively engage our learners.
• Anti Bias and antiracist curriculum that engages students in inquiry focused on learning historical truths, developing critical literacy skills, and taking informed action.

Goal

The goal of social studies is to help create literate and well-informed citizens who actively participate in a democratic society. Students learn how to become effective citizens through:

• active engagement in the learning processes and skills of the social sciences and history;
• development of a useful knowledge base in culture, economics, geography, history, and politics;
• learning the fundamental structures of human systems of interaction and how these systems have developed over time;
• application of concepts and knowledge of the past to problem-solving real-world issues of the present;
• application and evaluation of the role of an effective citizen, including putting citizen participation theory into practice;
• effective use of multiple sources of investigation for research and learning, including technology, primary and secondary source materials, the arts, film, and oral history; and
• development and communication of social studies concepts and knowledge using a variety of formats, with a special emphasis on analytic and argumentative writing.

Resources

Teacher Resources

Secondary Social Studies Curriculum Website