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We've created webpages in multiple languages to help you find what you need to know about Montgomery County Public Schools.
Information in Multiple Languages
 MCPS monthly calendar (PDF)
School calendars
The Superintendent's FY 2007 Recommended Operating Budget: Learn more
Our Schools Today, which airs on MCPS Instructional TV, Cable Channel 34, helps keep parents updated on important school system issues. The program is available in six languages.
Take 10:
Listen in on discussions about our students, our schools and our community. It's 10 minutes you won't want to miss!
MCPS Instructional TV
Parent Connection: A quarterly printed publication for parents of MCPS students. Available in six languages.
Getting Set: A Guide for Middle School Students. Middle schoolers can learn about organizational strategies, time management, student service learning and more. Also included is a mini-guide for parents. Available in English and Spanish.
Options: A guide explaining the application and choice programs offered by MCPS. Information available in six languages.
Middle School Brochure: Overview of the middle school program.
Navigating the System: A parent's guide to Montgomery County Public Schools. In multiple languages.
Aim High/Working Together: Publications about what parents should know to help their children excel. In multiple languages.
Other publications
Budget information
Capital Improvement Budget
Enroll your child
Breakfast and lunch menus
Colleges, careers, financial aid and more
Frequently called phone numbers
Guide to special programs
Parent Web page
Ride by the Rules
Contact us
Weather Decisions
Where to find it
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MCPS has seen dramatic academic improvements and student successes in the last six years. The Fiscal Year 2007 operating budget is designed to build on that progress. Included in his $1.8 billion recommended budget, Superintendent Jerry Weast is requesting $15 million in initiatives. He's identified a list of 14 priorities, including proposals to:
- Expand full-day kindergarten to 17 more schools
- Strengthen special education in middle and high schools, which includes reducing the size of general education classes with special education students
- Lower high school class sizes
- Strengthen literacy, improve performance on High School Assessments and increase the number of students eligible for extracurricular activities in high school
- Add 15 elementary assistant principals
- Support middle school reform
- Enhance violence prevention programs
- Expand the Ride by the Rules program to improve student safety on school buses
- Hire more teacher aides
- Expand the Study Circles program
- Expand the International Baccalaureate and gifted programs
- Improve technology supports for instruction
- Hire more foreign language translators
- Add more building services workers
The public has the opportunity to comment on the budget recommendations at hearings scheduled for 7 p.m. on Jan. 12 and Jan. 19, 2006, in the auditorium of the Carver Educational Services Center. Individuals who want to speak should call the Board of Education at 301-279-3617. The Board has work sessions scheduled for Jan. 25 and Jan. 26 at 7:30 p.m., with adoption scheduled for a 10 a.m. meeting on Feb. 14, 2006.
Budget process timeline
www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/community/forums/about/timeline.shtm
The Budget
www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/budget/
A reminder for parents of students who have applied for magnet programs: Testing for middle and high school magnet programs will be Jan. 7 from 7:45 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. See the individual applications for religious or special needs options. The snow date for all testing is Jan. 21. Test preparation materials are available at MCPS elementary and middle schools or on the MCPS web site.
Special Programs
www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/specialprograms
Contact the individual program with questions or call Melanie Bachrach at the Division of Consortia Choice and Application Program Services at 301-649-8557.
Pending budget approval, the Poolesville Magnet High School will be available for incoming freshmen in the upcounty area beginning with the 2006-07 school year.
Poolesville is expected to open in August 2006 as the first whole-school magnet model in a Montgomery County high school. Curriculum under development will allow students to choose instructional pathways that include elements of the Science, Mathematics, Computer Science Magnet Program and the Communication Arts Program at Montgomery Blair High School and the Global Ecology Studies Program at Poolesville High School.
Students applying to Poolesville Magnet High School must live in the areas served by one of these high school clusters: Clarksburg, Damascus, Gaithersburg, Col. Zadok Magruder, Northwest, Poolesville, Quince Orchard, Seneca Valley or Watkins Mill. Eligible families received a letter about this new magnet program.
Poolesville Magnet High School
www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/poolesvillehs/
departments/global/admissions.html
Transitioning from elementary to middle and high school can be a challenge and sometimes results in questions and concerns for parents and students. Parents are invited to learn how to ease this transition in a workshop Jan. 26 from 7 to 9 p.m. The same workshop, coordinated by the Division of Family and Community Partnerships, will be held simultaneously at A. Mario Loiederman and Silver Spring International middle schools, and at Gaithersburg and John F. Kennedy high schools. There also will be a Spanish-language workshop available at each school. The snow date is Feb. 2.
For more information or to see a list of workshops, call 301-279-3100 or visit Family and Community Partnerships.
www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/familycommunity/
Looking for something fun and educational for your child to do this summer? The "Summer Search 2006: Expanding Educational Horizons" catalog has all the answers. It lists information on more than 100 courses, camps, academic and arts programs and university and college opportunities and programs. Opportunities abound in a variety of areas: fine and performing arts, science and engineering, sports and recreation, leadership, writing and space exploration and more. Program costs vary.
An informational Summer Search Family Night for parents will be held Thursday, Jan. 12 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the cafeteria at Richard Montgomery High School, 250 Richard Montgomery Dr. in Rockville. Parents and students can talk with program directors, learn about the application process and pick up information on available scholarships. The snow date is Jan. 18.
The Summer Search catalog is available in English and Spanish at MCPS schools, in local public libraries or online.
Summer Search catalog
www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/info/summersearch/
Do you know a student who can make a difference using their leadership skills? Students interested in serving as the Student Member of the Board of Education (SMOB) during their junior or senior year can submit an application in January.
The Board's Student Member provides an informed student viewpoint on educational issues. The SMOB may author legislation, participate in discussions on all topics and has voting rights on certain issues. Although the SMOB is not paid a salary, the student will earn an honors social studies credit, 250 hours of Service Learning and a $5,000 college scholarship.
The Montgomery County Region of the Maryland Association of Student Councils is accepting applications online or by calling the Student Affairs Office at 301-279-4957. Applications will be accepted from Jan. 3 through the deadline of Jan. 20 at 4 p.m.
Student Member of the Board of Education Web site
www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/studentaffairs/smob
Students wanting to serve should apply in their sophomore or junior year. Students must also be Montgomery County residents and currently enrolled in a Montgomery County school.
Parents can begin making plans for the 2006-2007 school year following the approval of the new school calendar by the Board of Education. The first day of school for students will be Mon., Aug. 28, 2006, before Labor Day, which falls on Mon., Sept. 4, 2006. The last day for students is scheduled for Thurs., June 14, 2007.
The 2006-07 calendar includes 184 instructional days.
2006-2007 Calendar
www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/info/calendars/future/
- Jan. 2: New Year's holiday (schools and offices closed)
- Jan. 3: School resumes
- Jan. 9-17: High School Assessments
- Jan. 10: Board of Education meeting, Carver Educational Services Center, 10 a.m.
- Jan. 12: Operating budget hearing, Carver Educational Services Center, 7 p.m.
- Jan. 13-20: Final exams
- Jan. 16: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday (schools and offices closed)
- Jan. 18-31: High School Assessments (make-up)
- Jan. 19: Operating budget hearing, Carver Educational Services Center, 7 p.m.
- Jan. 20: Second marking period ends
- Jan. 23: Professional day for teachers (no school for students)
- Jan. 25, Jan. 26: Operating budget work session, Carver Educational Services Center, 7:30 p.m.
- Jan. 28: SAT administered
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