Educational Foundation launches Dine with Dignity
The Montgomery County Public Schools Educational Foundation recently launched the Dine With Dignity campaign to preserve the privacy of students who can’t afford to buy lunch served by the school district.
Last school year, 34,000 “alternative meals” were given to students whose lunch account balances were negative $10, but who did not qualify for the school district’s free lunch program.
Receiving an alternative meal identified students who couldn’t afford lunch to their peers, so the educational foundation created a fund to settle unpaid lunch balances.
Through Dec. 2, messages about the Dine with Dignity campaign will be in 46 Montgomery County Starbucks locations.
People interested in donating to the program can do so online or by texting DINE to 301-329-2238.
MCPS SAT scores rise
The Montgomery County Public Schools class of 2018 earned an average SAT score of 1167, 118 points higher than the national average.
The SAT participation rate was 65.7 percent, which was an increase of 12.7 percentage points from 2017, according to MCPS. The increase was attributed to a new MCPS initiative that covers the cost of the college readiness test for students.
“Our students perform at high levels on the SAT and I am pleased to see that even more students are taking this assessment,” Superintendent Jack Smith said in a press release. “These results show that when you provide access, opportunity and support, you can improve outcomes for all students.”
Rain gardens dedicated at Olney Elementary
Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett, Board of Education members and other school district officials last week dedicated three new rain gardens at Olney Elementary School as part of the continuing partnership between the county Department of Environmental Protection and Montgomery County Public Schools.
The Department of Environmental Protection has been collaborating with MCPS since 2012 to identify locations on school properties where new Environmental Site Design storm water management facilities can be installed.
“The water from these rain gardens at Olney Elementary School will drain into Rock Creek, which flows into the Potomac River and ultimately ends up in the Chesapeake Bay,” Leggett said. “If that water leaves, polluted, from Olney, that polluted water could harm aquatic life and plants that are important to our ecosystem. So, it all starts here.”
The storm water facility provides a teaching aid for staff at the elementary school, who can use the system to educate students about water quality, streams, rivers and the Chesapeake Bay.