Bethesda Beacon
Latest reporting from the Education desk.
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Education
View MoreMaryland fell to 48th in school safety in ConsumerAffairs' 2026 education report, down from 24th in 2025, as MCPS grapples with two on-campus shootings and budget cuts that eliminated security staff.
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Education
View MoreMCPS reported 600 hate-bias incidents in the 2025-2026 school year, a 137% increase from 253 the prior year, with district officials attributing the spike partly to expanded staff training while board members pressed for better measures of whether bias is actually declining.

Education
View MoreAn administrative law judge denied MCPS's motion to dismiss the Community and Education Policy Alliance's appeal of the Board of Education's plan to move Wootton High School to Gaithersburg, setting evidentiary hearings for Dec. 8, 9 and 10.
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Education
View MoreDr. La Faye E. Howard, the 2025 Maryland Assistant Principal of the Year, takes over as principal at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School after a unanimous Board of Education appointment in April.

Education
View MoreMontgomery College hit a record 1,000 Raptor Ready Scholarships in a single year, offering $1,000 each to spring 2026 county high school graduates with no FAFSA required.
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Education
View MoreMCPS's new "No Cell, Bell to Bell" policy banned student phone use from first bell through dismissal starting Tuesday, Aug. 25, at all schools including BCC, Whitman and Walter Johnson, a year ahead of Maryland's state mandate.

Education
View MoreMCPS elementary and middle school students will encounter simplified, narrower math lessons this fall under new state standards, backed by a $29 million curriculum adoption, as Maryland tries to reverse a statewide 27% math proficiency rate.

Education
View MoreMontgomery County Public Schools has launched a two-year study that could lead to closures and consolidations of elementary and middle schools across the district, including in Bethesda, with a board decision expected in May 2027 and changes taking effect in the 2029-30 school year.

Education
View MoreMCPS Student Transition Day on Monday, Aug. 24 gives incoming kindergartners, sixth graders, ninth graders and new students at Bethesda-area schools a full day to learn their buildings before the rest of the district starts Tuesday, Aug. 25.

Education
View MoreAll 24 Maryland school districts are starting before Labor Day for the first time since 2016, and MCPS fall athletes at BCC, Whitman and Walter Johnson are already in preseason with tryouts that began Aug. 12 and the first day of school set for Aug. 25.

Education
View MoreMontgomery County is offering free vaccination clinics for all MCPS students through Sept. 25, with school starting Tuesday, Aug. 25, and students missing required shots at risk of exclusion.
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Education
View MoreMCPS will charge $3.10 for secondary school lunch starting Tuesday, Aug. 25, the first price increase in 11 years, while a separate policy now requires staff to disclose students' gender identity to parents upon request.
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