Quince Orchard Named Among America's Best High Schools By Newsweek/The Daily Beast

The Gaithersburg school was one of 17 Montgomery County schools to make the list.

Quince Orchard High School was named one of the best high schools in the country, according to Newsweek/The Daily Beast, Montgomery County Public Schools announced Monday. The Gaithersburg high school—ranked 1,350th—was one of 17 Montgomery County high schools to make the list. The list only includes the top 2,000 high schools—less than 10 percent of all the high schools in the United States.  “The Newsweek rankings, and other such lists, demonstrate that our high schools are national leaders in preparing students for college and the workplace,” MCPS Superintendent Joshua Starr said. “While there is still work left to be done, our staff and community should be proud of how well we are serving our students.”  Other county schools ranked …

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MCPS: Leggett Falls Short In Funding Schools

Montgomery County Public Schools Superintendent Joshua Starr said he is disappointed in the County Executive's budget plan.

The amount of aid for county schools proposed by Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett in his fiscal 2014 county budget plan falls short of what's needed, Montgomery County Public Schools Superintendent Joshua Starr said Friday. Leggett's plan calls for a schools budget of $2.23 billion—an increase of $65.8 million, or 3 percent more than the budget approved for the current school year. "The County Executive's recommendation would fund 100 percent of the [school board]'s request," according to Leggett's budget proposal. Click here to read more on Leggett's fiscal 2014 budget plan and here to hear the County Executive discuss the proposal. The proposal is a slight increase in spending for MCPS, to the level required by the state's …

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MCPS Fares Well in Progress Index

Superintendent Starr is critical of the purpose of the index.

Montgomery County's public schools fared well in the state's most recently released School Progress Index—a new accountability measure whose purpose has been criticized by Montgomery County Public Schools Superintendent Joshua Starr. The School Progress Index—which uses a formula, based mostly on state test scores, to determine how schools are progressing toward academic goals—was released on Monday. Sixty-four percent of the county's public schools made it into the top two (of five) strands—the two strands requiring the least amount of monitoring and support, according to a county schools statement.  Overall, the county school system received an index score of 1.014. A score of 1.0 or higher means that the school or school system has met …

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Work Group Formed to Consider Later School Start Times

An online petition to start county public high schools at 8:15 a.m. already had collected more than 10,000 signatures by Wednesday morning, Dec. 12.

Montgomery County public school parents and students are speaking up about school start times, and the county's school superintendent is responding. An online petition, "Changing Montgomery County, MD's High School Start Times to 8:15 AM or Later," has asked the county school board to "officially recognize the large and compelling body of research regarding teen sleep and academic achievement," and "to start high schools in Montgomery County, MD, after 8:15 [a.m.]." On Tuesday, Superintendent of Schools Joshua P. Starr announced that a work group has been established to study the issue. That will come as good news to the petition's signers, who already numbered more than 10,000 by 10 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 12. "Sleep deprivation, with such …

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Starr to Deliver First 'State of the Schools' Address Nov. 12

The Montgomery County Schools superintendent will be at the Music Center at Strathmore.

Montgomery County Public Schools Superintendent Joshua Starr will deliver his first State of the Schools address—"Building the Future Together"—on Nov. 12, at the Music Center at Strathmore. The event is open to the public, and those who plan to attend can RSVP on the MCPS website. "The event, which begins at 7:30 a.m., is an opportunity for business, non-profit and educational leaders to hear Dr. Starr’s vision for the future of MCPS," according to a school system news release. "The event will also highlight the outstanding achievements and talents of Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) students." Starr will deliver his address at 8:30 a.m., with the event expected to conclude an hour later. Montgomery County Board of Education …

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Montgomery Mojo

Moco Mojo: School Starts! Is Your Town 'Best'? Silver Spring Snake Attack

Do you have YOUR new lunch box? Everything you may have missed in these 500 square miles.

  It's the first day of classes Monday for Montgomery County schools. Even if you don't have kids in school, beware! Traffic will be a bear as school buses, parents and carpools hit the streets. And, if you're late and you think driving around that school bus is justified, think again. Starting today, a number of school buses will have cameras attached that can catch you in the act. The fine: $250. Unless a police officer witnesses it. Then, you can get a $1,000 ticket and three points on your driver's license. Patch editors will be scouring the county and may show up at your local school to document the first-day jitters and joys. Leave it to parents to sum up the gravity of the situation. A Greenbelt mom told her kindergartener when …

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Q&A: Starr Reflects on 1st Year with MCPS

Montgomery County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Joshua Starr answered questions for Patch, evaluating his first year.

As Montgomery County Public Schools' 2011-12 school year drew to a close last week, Dr. Joshua Starr was closing the book on his first year as superintendent. Starr replaced Jerry Weast, who spent the previous 12 years in the role.  Patch: You just wrapped up your first school year, and July 1, 2012, marks your first full year as MCPS superintendent. What did you hope to accomplish in year one, and do you think you were able to do so? Dr. Joshua Starr: For year one it’s really been about transition. And I took a pretty deliberate approach to transition planning, to entry and to help the community get to know me and by community I mean teachers and administrators and parents and kids and elected officials. I wanted them to get to know me …

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School Employees Negotiate Tentative 3% Raise

Montgomery County Public Schools will spend $20 million of its budget on salary increases for employees, officials announced Monday.

Public school employees in Montgomery County will see their first pay raise in years, school officials announced Monday. Three different employee unions—the Montgomery County Education Association (MCEA), the Service Employees International Union Local 500 (SEIU) and the Montgomery County Association of Administrators and Principals (MCAAP)—negotiated a fiscal year 2013 salary increase of about 3.4 percent for their members. The raises, which will come after a three-year freeze in cost-of-living increases, will cost Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) $20 million, or about one percent of its $2.1 billion budget.  “This agreement is about sustainability. If we are going to sustain our history of excellence and sustain the reputation of …

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Starr Defends Highland Elementary School's Turnaround

The Montgomery County Public Schools superintendent repudiated an article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that investigated cheating at National Blue Ribbon Schools.

  Do statistically improbable gains in standardized testing scores indicate that a school is cheating in some way? The Atlanta Journal-Constitution turned the spotlight on Wheaton’s Highland Elementary School this weekend in a story about National Blue Ribbon Schools, “Cheating our children: Suspect scores put award’s integrity in question.” Highland Elementary School was named a National Blue Ribbon School in 2009, the government’s highest educational honor. But just four years earlier, the state of Maryland had threatened to take away county control of the school because of poor scores. Although the Atlanta Journal-Constitution article never directly accused Highland of tampering with results, it cast doubt on whether the school honestly…

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Starr Picks Up a Guitar for Fundraiser

The MCPS All-Starrs will perform to raise money for black educators group.

Putting aside school matters for a moment, Montgomery County Public Schools Superintendent Joshua Starr will take to the stage for a fundraiser this weekend. Along with the, ahem, MCPS All-Starrs, the superintendent will perform at Saturday's fundraiser for the Montgomery County Alliance of Black School Educators at Richard Montgomery High School, The Gazette reported. The rest of the All-Starrs are Dana Tofig on vocals, Wayne Whigham on guitar, Erick Lang on the keyboard, Eric Minus on bass, Kisheena Wanzer on the drums, Jeanie Dawson on saxophone, Bennie Green at trumpet, and Phillip Barnes on trumpet and saxophone. The minimimum donation is $15, and the show starts at 5 p.m.

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