As Dr. Barbara Woodward began our quick tour of the new Hallie Wells Middle School in Clarksburg, the new principal of the new school stops outside the door of the non-quite finished cafeteria and points to the new tables waiting to be unpacked and arranged. “You can see those red circular tables,” says as she points through the window. “While not all the tables are circular, I think middle school kids and people, in general, prefer to be at round tables rather than long rect

In his first official week on the job, the new superintendent of Montgomery County Public Schools has been making the rounds, the mail rounds, as he visits each of the 204 public schools in the school district. Jack Smith, who officially began his time as Superintendent of MCPS on Friday, July 1, has been getting to know the schools under his purview by visiting them with the district’s “Pony Truck” drivers, he said in a letter to the community on the MCPS website. “Over the

Last week, the Nashville public school district named former Roberto Clemente Middle School Principal Dr. Shawn Joseph as the new Director of Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools. He will lead the 86,000-student school district effective July 1, 2016. Joseph served as principal of the Germantown middle school for four years from 2005 to 2009, earning honors as the Maryland Middle School Principal of the Year in 2009. The city’s school board unanimously voted Friday morning t

Current eighth graders from Kingsview Middle School will have the same principal when they move on to high school at Northwest next year, as the Montgomery County Board of Education has appointed current Kingsview Middle School Principal James D’Andrea to replace outgoing Northwest Principal Lance Dempsey. Dempsey is leaving Northwest to become Associate Superintendent of Human Resources for Montgomery County Public Schools, after seven years as the principal of the Germantow

Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot was in Germantown Monday to present Silver Hammer Awards to the principal and building services staff at Capt. James E. Daly Jr. Elementary School. The Comptroller established the special recognition - the "Silver Hammer Award" - for schools that have demonstrated a commitment to fiscal responsibility through superior school maintenance. On Monday, Franchot presented the Silver Hammer Awards to Daly Elementary School Principal Nora Deitz, M

With animal riddles, geometric shapes, and other activities, a Germantown elementary school is pioneering a unique way to involve the community in getting a taste of what a modern classroom is like. Lake Seneca Elementary School, on Wanegarden Drive, opened its doors last Wednesday evening for its second annual Critical Thinking Night. Although the critical thinking fair is specific to Lake Seneca, the thought behind it is not. It’s driven by Montgomery County Public Schools

After seven years as principal, the face of Northwest High School, Principal E. Lancelotti “Lance” Dempsey will be leaving the school to take a new post with Montgomery County Public Schools as Associate Superintendent of Human Resources. Dempsey, who could be seen prowling both the hallways during school hours, and sidelines at sporting events, including Jaguars football games, was appointed to her new post by the Board of Education at a meeting Tuesday morning. She will bec

Montgomery County Public Schools announced Tuesday that the district will extend the 2015–2016 school year by one day and end the year on Monday, June 20. The MCPS request for a one-day waiver of the 180-day school year requirement was approved Monday by the Maryland State Department of Education. The school year was previously scheduled to end Friday, June 17, and now will end with an early release day on June 20. MCPS was closed for six days this winter due to inclement wea

Poolesville High School ranks as number nine in the 2016 America’s Most Challenging High Schools in the Washington D.C. Area in the list published by The Washington Post. Poolesville High School ranks fourth among Maryland high schools. Winston Churchill High School in Potomac ranks as number 88 in the nation, number 1 in the state and number 2 in the Washington D.C. region. Eight MCPS schools ranked in the top 20 of the Washington area schools and the top 10 of Maryland scho

The Montgomery County Board of Education unanimously selected Hallie Wells Middle School as the name of the new Clarksburg/Damascus middle school which will open in August of this year. Making it just the second non-elementary school in the county to be named after a woman. The Board made the selection at the regular Board meeting held Monday, March 21. Before making the selection, the Board heard testimony from a number of residents supporting both the selection of Hallie We

The Montgomery County Board of Education officially appointed Dr. Jack Smith as superintendent of Montgomery County Public Schools and approved his employment contract on Tuesday, March 8. Under the terms of the four-year contract, Smith will earn a salary of $275,000 per year, and also will receive $40,000 in deferred compensation, as well as a contribution of $19,875 toward his retirement plan. Dr. Smith also will receive other benefits, including health, disability, and li

Visiting family in Germantown from out-of-state, Jay Fox recently spent a day volunteering at his granddaughters’ school, Lake Seneca Elementary on Wanegarten Drive. Fox read aloud in one classroom, helping with math problems in another. He even assisted with duty in the lunchroom and out on playground. The opportunity was thanks to a program new this school year to Lake Seneca, called Watch D.O.G.S., or Dads of Great Students. Although the program has the word “Dads” in the