Head Start/Pre-K Registration is Now Open for 2025-2026 School Year

 
Registration for Head Start/Pre-K is now open for the 2025-2026 school year. To be eligible, children must be four years old by September 1 and their families must meet certain income requirements. Call 240-740-4530 for more information or visit the Head Start/Pre-K website at https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/dtecps/earlychildhood/prek/.

Montgomery College ‘Harvest Fest’ on Rockville Campus on Saturday, Oct. 28, Will Have Family Fun and Information About College Classes and Scholarships

Montgomery College will host “Harvest Fest,” from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on its Rockville campus on Saturday, Oct. 28. The free event for residents of all ages will include an art show, dancing, a coding demonstration, a DJ, ice cream and a raffle. There also be information about Montgomery College classes, offerings, scholarships and financial assistance programs.

The event will be in the Mannakee Building Parking Lot of the Rockville campus, which is located at 900 Hungerford Dr.

Additional kids events will include face painting, pumpkin decoration, games and an opportunity to pose for a photo with Monty, Montgomery College’s raptor mascot.

There will be information available about Workforce Development and Continuing Education offerings, such as information technology, cosmetology, real estate, youth programs, early childhood education, automotive technology and building trades.

For residents seeking information in Spanish, the College’s Hispanic Business Institute and the Early Childhood Education program will have Spanish-speaking representatives on site to answer questions.

The event will be held rain or shine.

Marc Elrich and Other County Executives Fight for Increased Funds for School Construction

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich voiced his support for increased state funding for school construction in a standing-room-only session in Annapolis. Elrich testified in front of the Maryland General Assembly’s Appropriations Committee in support of House Bill (HB) 1: Built to Learn Act of 2020. (HB1) on Thursday, Jan. 24. Other local county executives included Howard County

Photo credit: Danielle E. Gaines, Maryland Matters.org

Executive Calvin Ball and Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks.

Montgomery County is the 14th-largest school district in the nation, with more than 165,000 students. The public-school system has 206 schools, one career and technology school, five special schools and one alternative program. Many of the County schools are substantially overutilized with infrastructure that extends past its life cycle. The state funds will provide necessary capital improvements to provide for a proper learning environment.

Back-to-School Fair Set for Saturday, Aug. 24

Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) students and their families are invited to Westfield Wheaton for a free MCPS Back-to-School Fair on Saturday, Aug. 24, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Westfield Wheaton is located at 11160 Veirs Mill Road at the intersection of Veirs Mill and University Boulevard in Wheaton. The fair will take place on the lower level throughout the mall, starting near the Dick’s Sporting Goods entrance.

The Back-to-School Fair is a great way to kick off the school year and learn about the school system’s programs and services, along with resources from government agencies and community partners.

There will be free, fun entertainment for the whole family, including children’s activities, health screenings for adults and children, giveaways and more!

Free shuttle bus service to the fair will begin at 9:30 a.m. from Montgomery Blair and John F. Kennedy high schools in Silver Spring, Albert Einstein High School in Kensington, Northwest High School in Germantown, Paint Branch High School in Burtonsville, Watkins Mill High School in Montgomery Village and Carver Educational Services Center at 850 Hungerford Dr. in Rockville.

More information about the fair is available by visiting the website.

Give the Gift of Safety to School Bus-Riding Students

As 2017 comes to a close and 2018 begins, the danger to school bus-riding students remains a concern. Far too many drivers do not obey the Maryland School Bus Law.

Do you know the law? Throughout the state of Maryland, drivers must stop, and remain stopped, for a stopped school bus with red lights flashing and the stop arm activated. A driver may not proceed until the flashing red lights go off and the bus begins to move. The only time a driver doesn’t have to stop is if the vehicle is traveling in the opposite direction of the bus and there is a physical median/barrier separating the lanes of traffic.

In the beginning 40 days of this school year (with 500 cameras), 7,919 drivers were recorded illegally passing buses stopped to load or unload students. The total citations issued from cameras averaged 198 per day. Last school year in 153 days (between October 13 and June 16), 17,235 citations (112 a day) were issued as the camera program expanded from 108 to 217 camera-equipped buses. Since October 13, 2016, 633 drivers have been repeat offenders.

With camera citations confirming a lack of compliance to the law, it is likely only a matter of time before a child is seriously injured or killed. Make sure you know, understand and obey the school bus law. Let’s work together to make those violations decrease in 2018.

Learn more about school bus safety. Please share the Understanding the School Bus Law information flyer with friends and family. One of the best gifts we can give our children is doing our best to keep them safe! 

School Bus Camera Enforcement Expands

One of our top priorities is getting our kids to and from school safely. Beginning with this school year, the school bus camera enforcement program, which began on January 2, 2014, is expanding the school bus camera enforcement program.

Maryland law requires drivers to stop for a school bus with its stop-arm signal and flashing lights activated. That applies to motorists traveling in the same direction as the bus, as well drivers approaching the bus from the opposite direction UNLESS there is a physical barrier, such as a median. When traveling in the opposite direction, it may help to remember that Paint (the line markings painted on the roadway) Doesn’t Protect (children who may be about to cross the street).

• Watch press conference from YouTube.
• Press release.

Leggett Testifies in Annapolis for Addition School Construction Funding; Joins Advocates at Evening Rally

County Executive Ike Leggett joined Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker and Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz in testifying before the House Appropriations Committee on March 6 to urge the House of Delegates to pass HB1323/SB 927, the Supplemental Public School Construction Matching Fund Program.

The bill could provide critically needed additional funding for school construction to meet the County's unprecedented increase in enrollment, which is the highest in the State.

In his testimony, Leggett said, “Our Senators and Delegates in Annapolis have fought the good fight and won increased State capital funding. But our enrollment wave and resultant capacity needs mean that we -- and the State – must do more. That’s why Montgomery County, Baltimore County and Prince George’s County are here today to send a very simple message: Our kids and families can’t afford for any of us to play ‘catch up.’ We already have major capacity challenges. If we don’t invest now, we won’t be able to create the capacity we need to handle what’s ahead.”

The Executive also joined elected and school officials, parents and teachers at an evening rally on the Mall outside the State House sponsored by the Montgomery County Council of PTAs to support the County’s school construction initiative.



See the video on school construction funding produced by the County Council.

More details at www.montgomerycountymd.gov/schoolfunding.

County Executives Request Support from Gubernatorial Candidates for Increased Education Funding

County Executive Ike Leggett (center) and his counterparts from Baltimore and Prince George’s counties have sent a joint letter to each of the three Democratic candidates for governor requesting that the candidates – Anthony Brown, Doug Gansler and Heather Mizeur – join the executives in advocating for increased state funding for education for their respective counties.

The letter read, in part: “Additional capital investments in education in our jurisdictions will provide a higher quality learning environment for our students and enable our teachers to meet the education needs of the 21st century. In addition to the long term education benefits, this investment will create jobs, foster economic development and improve the quality of life across the counties.”

See the letters on the school construction funding website.

New School Funding Website

The County has a new website (montgomerycountymd.gov/schoolfunding) focused on its joint effort with Baltimore and Prince George’s counties to significantly boost State support for school construction funding.

The site will be used to help mobilize support and resources as the County seeks State assistance to help solve its school capacity shortage

Automated School Bus Cameras in Operation

Maryland Law requires that when approaching a stopped school bus with its flashing red lights activated, motorists traveling in the same direction as the bus must stop. The law also requires that motorists approaching the bus from the opposite direction must stop unless there is a physical barrier, such as a median.

When Montgomery County Public School students returned to classes after the New Year, the County Police began a new enforcement program -- “Respect the Bus: Don’t Get Bus-ted” -- targeting motorists who pass stopped school buses.

Several school buses are now equipped with automated cameras that record vehicles passing stopped school buses that have their flashing red lights activated. The violations will be reviewed by the Police Department’s Automated Traffic Enforcement Unit, and citations will be mailed to the registered vehicle owners. The fine is $125 and no points.

The program will expand over the next several months, targeting bus routes with the highest reports of violations. The cameras can be moved throughout the County as needed.

For more information about the program, contact the Police Traffic Division at 240-773-6600.

Read the flyer about the program, including illustrations of situations when motorists must stop for the school bus.

MAKING NEWS

He Goes When it Snows: Portrait of a County Plow Driver

Washington Post columnist John Kelly’s ride along with County snow plow/salt truck driver Mauricio “J.J.” Barbosa takes a look not only at plow Route 1523, but at the Department of Transportation veteran driver and Colombia native who “likes pushing snow.”


Local Team Honored for Accomplishments in South American Youth Soccer Tournament

County Executive Ike Leggett recently recognized members of the Alianza Lima de Maryland Soccer Team that competed in the South American Youth Soccer Tournament in Lima, Peru. As the only U.S. entry in the competition, the locals finished fourth against teams from around the world. Team members are middle and high school students in Montgomery County public schools