Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) will determine which existing programs should be available in all high schools as part of its ongoing analysis of the equity and accessibility of a wide range of programs across the district, according to a Thursday school board meeting.
The analysis included programs ranging from regional and countywide magnet and lottery-based programs to those dealing with career and technical education, AP courses and dual enrollment in high school and Montgomery College, the county’s community college.
MCPS offers a variety of application programs with some open to students countywide and others only open to students in specific high school clusters. The subject areas for the programs range from science, math and computer science to leadership for social justice and project-based learning in engineering and biomedical sciences.
The program analysis was previously set to be included as part of the district’s boundary study impacting 19 schools. But the district opted to conduct its own program analysis concurrently with the boundary study that a consultant is conducting, according to MCPS staff. The program analysis is set to be implemented in January 2026.
In December, the county school board approved a $1.3 million contract to hire FLO Analytics, an “employee-owned consulting” company with offices in Oregon, Washington and Massachusetts to conduct the school boundary study. The contract represented a revision from the company’s initial, less costly proposal and excluded a proposed analysis of district programs.
“We are all committed to ensuring that our children go to great, comprehensive high schools where they have great programs in their schools,” board member Karla Silvestre said following Thursday’s presentation. “But we do need to take a step back and look at what options they do or don’t have, and maybe some regions of the county that need some more bolstering.”
MCPS Chief Academic Officer Niki Hazel told the board the biggest issues under consideration in the analysis were equitable access to programming, community and industry needs and maximization of resources.
“Families want to have high-quality programs in their local schools and also within a reasonable distance,” Hazel said. “They don’t want to be traveling all across the district to get to programs.
Board President Julie Yang noted the program analysis was “long overdue” because there are many students who have hour-long school bus commutes to attend programs and many parents experience confusion over program details.
Board vice president Grace Rivera-Oven said she appreciated the district was looking at programming from a different lens because “for the longest time we have had an equity issue in this county when it comes to access of programs.”
The analysis
Hazel said the district was considering which programs were in high demand and the job demands of local industries. Transportation and budget costs also are being considered to ensure the district is using its resources efficiently.
Angela McLane, assistant to the Associate Superintendent in the Office of Curriculum and Instructional Programs, said the program analysis is underway and includes analyzing program enrollment and student outcomes. From April to June, McLane said, an “opportunity design team” made up of families, community members and school-based staff will be recommending a “framework” of student programs.
“Their job is to recommend … the set of programs that all students should have access to,” McLane said.
According to Thursday’s presentation, the opportunity design team will explore what programs should be offered at all schools and what programs should be offered within a reasonable geographic area.
The framework will incorporate program data, feedback from community surveys and meetings, industry demand and state requirements, according to the presentation. MCPS has developed surveys and is planning to hold community meetings, according to the presentation.
“We are putting together a survey to get feedback from our community about the types of programs that they feel are important,” Hazel said. “We want to know how far do families want to go to be able to travel to a school? What do they think is a reasonable distance? And we’ll also be talking with students as well.”
Once the framework is developed, McLane said, it will be given to MCPS to begin planning for the implementation and communication that will occur from June to December regarding the recommended shifts in programming. The opportunity design team will also provide feedback on those plans. The implementation of programming changes will begin in January 2026, according to the presentation.
“We have programs that may be underutilized, and maybe there is not as much interest, but we’re spending a lot of money, or we are transporting students to those programs,” Hazel said. “It may be time that we sunset those programs when we have other programs that are really in high demand, and we really need to be thinking about how we grow or expand those programs.”
