Montgomery School Board Meeting With Parents’ Group, Union This Week
The Montgomery County Board of Education has special meetings scheduled this week to meet with the Montgomery County Council of Parent Teacher Associations and the Montgomery County Education Association.
The school board will meet with the PTA representatives on Monday and hold discussions about restorative justice and countywide boundary assessments.
On Wednesday, the board is scheduled to discuss special education, English language learners and other educational issues with the MCEA, the union representing educators.
Both meetings are scheduled at 7 p.m. at the Carver Educational Services Center in Rockville.
MCPS operating budget presentation set for Tuesday
Montgomery County Public Schools Superintendent Jack Smith will present his recommendations for the school district’s fiscal 2020 operating budget Tuesday.
Smith and school staff will host a virtual presentation beginning at 6:30 p.m. and community members are encouraged to submit questions online or via text message to 724-990-8433 during the event.
The presentation can be viewed on the school system website.
Smith unveiled a “high-level overview” of his $2.65 billion budget recommendations during a school board meeting earlier this month, emphasizing the expansion of career and technical education programs, post-high school alternative pathways and early childhood education. Smith’s proposal also includes hiring more psychologists and assistant principals.
Schools receive $800K grant to expand access to career readiness programs
MCPS is one of five school districts in the region chosen to receive grant funds from JPMorgan Chase & Co. to strengthen connections between education and employment opportunities.
JPMorgan Chase recently announced a $6 million investment among five school districts in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., intended to expand each district’s access to preparing students for technology careers, according to an MCPS press release.
The school system, in partnership with the Universities at Shady Grove and Montgomery College, will receive approximately $800,000 over four years.
The funds are intended to increase the number of graduates “with clear opportunities to secure well-paying, local technology jobs.”
JPMorgan’s investment will support three goals in the region:
• Strengthen employer input into education programs;
• Build career pathway programs across five jurisdictions that connect with colleges to provide students credentials they need to fill in-demand technology jobs; and
• Facilitate a regional collaboration network that enables schools to leverage collective strengths.
The funds will also help launch 16 information technology (IT) career pathways.
Other participating school districts are Baltimore City Public Schools, D.C. Public Schools, Fairfax County (Virginia)Public Schools and Prince George’s County Public Schools.
