montgomery county public schools in maryland

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Millions of tourists and business travelers visit Montgomery County (“Maryland’s Gateway to the Nation’s Capital”) each year. Many visitors considering relocating to Montgomery County may not know about the historical significance of many of its venues or all of the resources they have available for their residents, including most especially its public school system. To fill this gap, information about Montgomery County and the role of its excellent public school system is provided below, followed by a summary and important findings about Montgomery County in the conclusion.

Information about Montgomery County

With a population of just over one million residents and a total of 507 square miles, Montgomery County has the largest population of any Maryland county and with a median income of more than $92,000, it is also among the most affluent counties in the United States today. The county seat for Montgomery County is located in Rockville which is also the county’s largest municipality in geographic area but Germantown has a larger population. Besides being among the most affluent, the residents of Montgomery County also have the highest percentage of residents aged 25 years and older who have earned post-graduate degrees than any county in the United States. There are five major cities (Bethesda, Gaithersburg, Germantown, Rockville, and Silver Spring), 12 towns and four villages in Montgomery County, together with five unincorporated communities and 33 census-designated places.

There are also 345 public parks in Montgomery County with more than 100 miles of hiking trails set among 33,000 acres, as well as 50 American historical sites of significant interest, 22 theaters and 60 galleries. Some of the more popular entertainment venues include the BlackRock Center for the Arts which is a major venue for the performing and visual arts in Upper Montgomery County and the Strathmore, a nonprofit multidisciplinary arts center in North Bethesda that features world-class performances by major international artists on a 16-acre multipurpose site. In addition, the Bethesda Blues and Jazz Club is housed in a historic art deco theater that features fine American-Creole cuisine accompanied by live jazz and blues

Fun activities for younger residents and the seven million visitors of all ages who visit Montgomery County each year include the Agricultural History Farm Park and the Go Ape Treetop Adventure Park. Further, Montgomery County is a veritable golfing paradise with nine public golf courses and 22 private golf courses. In addition, there are also more than a dozen world-class country clubs in Montgomery County, including the Congressional Country Club which hosted the 2011 US Open.

Because of its close geographic proximity to the nation’s capital, Montgomery County also hosts a number of important U.S. federal offices and research centers that are important sources of county revenue. This level of affluence and the high priority placed on education contribute to the excellent public school system maintained by Montgomery County as discussed below.

Role of the Montgomery County Public Schools

Founded in 1860 and with headquarters in Rockville, Montgomery County Public Schools is the largest public school district in Maryland (and the 17th largest in the country) with 204 schools that provides educational services for grades pre-kindergarten through high school. There are more than 156,000 school-aged students served by these public schools at present in Montgomery County. The formal stated mission of the Montgomery County Public Schools is, “Every student will have the academic, creative problem solving, and social emotional skills to be successful in college and career” and its core purpose is to “prepare all students to thrive in their future” based on its vision statement that, “We inspire learning by providing the greatest public education to each and every student.” The current enrollment in the Montgomery County Public Schools numbers 159,242 students. The current Montgomery County Public School superintendent is Dr. Jack R. Smith supported by Dr. Maria V. Navarro serving as chief academic officer, Dr. Kimberly A. Statham as deputy superintendent of school support and improvement and Dr. Andrew M. Zuckerman as chief operating officer.

Students attending Montgomery County Public School enjoy some of the smallest teacher-student ratios in the country, with average class sizes ranging from just 15.4 pupils in kindergarten classes to 21.9 for grades 4 to 5 in some elementary schools. Moreover, besides their highly experienced leadership team, more than three-quarters (77.4%) of the teaching staff at the Montgomery County Public Schools have significant professional experience with a majority having between 5 and more than 15 years of professional experience.

This commitment to academic excellence in their public schools is fueled in large part by the Montgomery County Board of Education’s strategic planning for continuous improvement initiative that draws on the Malcolm Baldrige Education Criteria for Performance Excellence and the ongoing use of multi-year plans that identify ambitious educational goals and how they will be achieved. The leadership of the Montgomery County Public Schools also places a high priority on encouraging active participation by parents in the goal-setting process as well as in the academic lives of their children.

Contact Information

Full address:

Montgomery County Public Schools
850 Hungerford Drive
Rockville, Maryland 20850

Phone:

240-740-3000
Spanish Hotline: 240-740-2845

Email:

ASKMCPS@mcpsmd.org

Hours of operation:

7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Mondays through Fridays (closed on observed holidays)

Conclusion

The one million-plus fortunate residents of Montgomery County, “Maryland’s Gateway to the Nation’s Capital,” enjoy one of the highest average median incomes and educational attainment levels in the nation today. Combined with the significant revenues generated by federal agencies and research centers, this affluence has also contributed to creating one of the best public school systems in the United States with teacher-student ratios that are the envy of many other populous counties. Finally, led by its superintendent Dr. Jack R. Smith and a highly experience educational leadership team, the Montgomery County Public Schools draw on established best practices for continuous improvement and achieving the highest possible quality of educational services for its 156,000 students attending its 204 public schools.