Registration Open for MCPS Virtual Academy
Registration for the Montgomery County Public Schools Virtual Academy opened Wednesday and is available through July 2.
The virtual academy, called “Montgomery Virtual,” will begin in the fall and continue through the academic year, allowing students who have ongoing health issues due to the COVID-19 pandemic to continue to take distance learning courses.
For elementary and middle school students, enrollment is limited to those with documented health conditions (or whose family members have health conditions) that require distance learning. High school students can enroll for the same reasons and to accommodate working class or dual enrollment schedules.
According to the registration form, students under 12 must be supervised by an adult at all times during the school day. All students enrolled in the program must maintain a permanent residence in Montgomery County.
The “virtual academy” will be a one-year, all-virtual option available to students in pre-K through 12th grade.
Students who apply and are accepted into the program will remain enrolled as students at their “home schools”, but will take all of their courses online. Students will be allowed to participate in sports and extracurricular activities in person and receive meals at their home schools.
Students will need to remain enrolled in the virtual academy for the entire school year, but may request to transfer to their school at specific times. Elementary and middle school students can apply for it at the end of each grading period, while high school students can apply for the transfer at the end of each semester.
Richard Montgomery student wins Gaithersburg Book Festival poetry contest
Richard Montgomery High School senior Arushi Singh was recently named the first winner of the annual Gaithersburg Book Festival poetry competition.
Singh, whose poem was titled “Leaking Memories,” received a $250 prize from Johns Hopkins University in Montgomery County.
To be eligible for the competition, students had to be enrolled in a public or private school, or be homeschooled in Maryland, Virginia, or DC.
Caroline Dinh, senior at Richard Montgomery, placed second for her poem “Social Cues”.
Charlotte Lucas, a freshman at Walter Johnson High School, placed third for her poem “Gold.”
The “Fan Favorite” award went to Holly Keegan, a junior at Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in Potomac, for her poem “Rest.”
McKnight “deeply grateful to be part of the MCPS community”
In a welcome message to MCPS families this week, Acting Superintendent Monifa McKnight shared feelings of gratitude and pride for the district.
McKnight assumed his new role on Tuesday after Superintendent Jack Smith retired.
In her post, McKnight wrote that she started working for MCPS 20 years ago and was “deeply grateful to be part of the MCPS community.”
“I carry those same feelings – of great admiration for our students and deep connection to our school family – close to me today as I have the honor to write to you as Acting Superintendent of MCPS,” wrote McKnight. “Each day that I have worked at MCPS – as a classroom teacher, staff development teacher, vice principal, principal, and central office administrator – the key ingredient to the success of our school system has become clearer: MCPS is a great school system because we have great people.
She encouraged staff members to rest during the summer, and said she would write a follow-up message soon “with my plans for positioning MCPS to thrive in the coming year.”
The full message is available on the MCPS website.
