Blair High School: Hundreds of documents related to disability accommodations were available to all pupils, staff

MCPS investigating possible federal student privacy violations at Montgomery Blair High 

Documents detailing accommodations for hundreds of students with disabilities at Montgomery Blair High School were recently released on the Silver Spring school’s counseling web page, potentially giving all students and staff members access to the documents, according to screenshots of the incident provided to Bethesda Today on June 5. 

Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) spokesperson Liliana López said in a Monday emailed statement to Bethesda Today that the district was aware of “a possible release of data” and was “proceeding in accordance with legal requirements.” 

“This includes conducting a comprehensive investigation, submitting required reports to the state’s Attorney General, and providing notification to those impacted and to the wider community,” López said...

 https://bethesdamagazine.com/2025/06/13/mcps-student-privacy-montgomery-blair/

Program Moving with out Board of Education Vote. WUSA9: "The lack of transparency from MCPS I think is the most frustrating for residents,” she said.

ROCKVILLE, Md. — Some residents in Montgomery County are concerned about a new education program that they were recently told will be coming to their neighborhoods.

In the upcoming school year, Montgomery County's Alternative Education Program, which is for students who need extra support outside of their regular schools, will be run in a holding school that's between two Rockville neighborhoods: Manor Lake and Flower Valley. Some neighbors said they are worried about safety, and what they call a lack of transparency from Montgomery County Public Schools.

https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/education/montgomery-county-residents-concerned-alternative-education-program-location-neighborhood/65-0df11dc4-9ea8-46ad-be19-daeba7d9a8ed

Montgomery Blair High School students organize walkout to support deported classmate

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now) – Students at Montgomery Blair High School say they’re looking for justice for a classmate whom U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) took into custody. They walked out of class to send the message.

“It’s a huge shock to the whole Blair community,” Montgomery Blair High School student Alex Gomez-Ordonez said. “This is an outrage because why are you deporting students. The students have the right to stay. They’re trying their best for their future to have an education, and it’s very wrong for them to be deported.”

Students marched on the bus loop in front of the school for nearly an hour, chanting and holding signs...

https://www.dcnewsnow.com/news/local-news/maryland/montgomery-county/montgomery-blair-high-school-students-organize-walkout-to-support-deported-classmate/

B-CC High student to serve 11 months after February shooting at Bethesda park

...Blanco was arrested Feb. 21 and was ordered to be held without bond by Montgomery County District Court Judge Victor Del Pino, according to digital court records. Blanco was indicted in mid-March and pleaded guilty April 4.

A second suspect, who is a juvenile and B-CC High student, was also arrested and charged with firearm-related charges after the incident. Park police did not release the juvenile’s identity or other details. According to charging documents, Blanco and the juvenile were identified after school officials reviewed video footage that was taken of the incident...

https://bethesdamagazine.com/2025/06/09/park-bethesda-shooting-blanco-sentencing/?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=nextdoor.com&utm_campaign=nextdoor_news

Brunswick High School student athletes face charges for locker room assaults

BRUNSWICK, Md. (DC News Now) — Five student athletes are accused of using a sex toy to assault classmates at Brunswick High School.

Frederick County Sheriff’s investigators say the two incidents happened in separate locker rooms at the school on April 3, 2025, and April 11, 2025.

“It’s disgusting,” Gary Ozmer said when he heard about what happened.

The second incident involved four of the athletes, as one of them, according to investigators, recorded the attack on his cell phone. That investigation led to the discovery of the earlier incident.

That one, investigators said, saw two athletes hold down the victim, while a third also recorded the incident. Two of the individuals also took part in the April 11 attack...

https://www.dcnewsnow.com/news/local-news/maryland/frederick-county-md/brunswick-high-school-student-athletes-face-charges-for-locker-room-assaults/

Parents say MCPS isn't preventing special ed students from disrupting, harming kids

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (7News) — Some Montgomery County parents tell 7News special education students have grabbed, struck, pushed, and shaken their children at school due to a lack of control over students with special needs.

We heard complaints from several parents. One of them agreed to go on camera and told 7News, special education students attacked both of her daughters.

Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) parent Alexis Anolik shared photos with us of her three children...

https://wjla.com/news/local/montgomery-county-special-education-students-attack-safety-needs-teachers-parents-concern-mcps-maryland-schools-classrooms-seses-incidents-anxiety-transparency-training-paraeducators-security

Who hired Marcus G. Jones to be MCPS Chief of Security and Compliance for MCPS?

Answer:  April L. Key.  

When former Montgomery County Police Chief Marcus G. Jones was announced as the MCPS Chief of Security and Compliance on June 25, 2024, it was a surprise as Chief Jones had just retired from the Montgomery County Police Department.  

Police Chief Marcus G. Jones was announced as the MCPS Chief of Security and Compliance at the June 25, 2024, Board of Education meeting right after the appointment of Thomas W. Taylor as the new MCPS Superintendent.  The announcement was made by Acting Interim Superintendent Dr. Henry Johnson.  Interim Superintendent Monique Felder was not present at the June 25, 2024, Board of Education meeting.  

After Acting Interim Superintendent Dr. Henry Johnson announced the recommended appointment of Marcus G. Jones as MCPS Chief of Security and Compliance, a Board member announced "move approval" and the student member seconded the motion.  The Board President then announced "all in favor raise your hand" and a vote was taken.  The Board President then said, "that's unanimous, congratulations."  The MCPS Press Release on the position repeated the Board vote.

But the exchange by the Board of Education was just a cover for whoever actually hired Mr. Jones. Mr. Jones had already been hired for this new position by April L. Key on June 20, 2024, almost a week before the Board meeting.  

It turns out the rumor posted on a local blog was true.  

The Parents' Coalition has obtained Mr. Jones' offer letter from MCPS via a Maryland Public Information Act request.  The letter offers Mr. Jones the position without any contingency on Board of Education approval.  The letter ends with "Welcome to the MCPS family!" 

The Board of Education did not have any approval authority over the hiring of Mr. Jones per Board of Education Policy GEA, "Leadership positions subject to Board approval shall be those positions classified “O” and higher on the MCPS salary schedule."  Mr. Jones position was classified NS. 

MCPS was in a period of transition in the spring and summer of 2024.  Which of the acting/interim/superintendents had authorized April Key to hire Marcus Jones, or is that a decision she made on her own? 

You might remember the name of April Key, MCPS Chief of Human Resources and Development, from the Beidleman matter or from the Damascus High School sex assault cases. 

MCPS made him reverse Beidleman sex harassment finding—and then retaliated, he alleges

Walker alleged that the administrators who have retaliated against him include two of the most senior leaders in MCPS: Chief of Human Resources and Development April Key and Chief Operations Officer Brian Hull, who was acting superintendent for a short period last fall and who ranks just below Superintendent Monifa McKnight, according to an MCPS organizational chart.

https://bethesdamagazine.com/2024/01/12/mcps-made-him-reverse-beidleman-sex-harassment-finding-and-then-retaliated-he-alleges/

 

 Criticism over MCPS allowing 2 former principals to serve in corrective action workgroup.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (7News) — At a February 8 Montgomery County Council meeting about the Inspector General report on MCPS' complaint processing, a councilmember referred to the 2018 Damascus High School sexual assault case.

Laurie-Anne Sayles asked MCPS Chief of Human Resources April Key a pointed question about the school's former principal and former head football coach.

"Is the coach and principal still employed by MCPS?" she queried.

"Yes, they are," answered Key regarding former Damascus High Principal Casey Crouse and former coach Eric Wallich

https://wjla.com/news/local/montgomery-county-public-schools-mcps-faces-criticism-for-employing-former-principals-involved-in-2018-assault-cases-damascus-gaithersburg-high-school-councilmember

NYC- Stalled: Why Schools Are Restricting Bathroom Access

Cutting class. Fights. Vaping. School bathrooms have long been notorious for all sorts of illicit behavior. And in response, many schools now significantly restrict access to bathrooms or are adding surveillance tools, including vape detectors. 

Producers Isabella Mason, of Midwood High School, and Bernie Carmona, from Beacon High School, wade into the debate over school bathroom policies.

At Midwood, for instance, the school locks bathroom doors for the five minutes while changing classes, and bars access during the first and last 10 minutes of class. The school’s assistant principal of safety and security, Richard Franzese, discusses the evolution of the policy and the lengths the school has gone to crack down on incidents. Beyond limiting the times the bathrooms are open, the school has bathroom sign-in sheets, allowing up to three students in at a time, and has school aides stationed outside.

“There's no perfect solution,” he said. 

And Chalkbeat reporter Michael Elsen-Rooney sheds light on how schools are specifically responding to student vaping, illuminating the tension between simply enforcing rules versus dealing with larger issues related to addiction and mental health. 

https://www.bellvoices.org/ps-weekly-1/2025/5/14/stalled-why-schools-are-restricting-bathroom-access?ss_source=sscampaigns&ss_campaign_id=6825e6629f895311c5ea4089&ss_email_id=6825fabeb3ccf0609bc85589&ss_campaign_name=Stalled%3A+Why+schools+are+restricting+bathroom+access&ss_campaign_sent_date=2025-05-15T14%3A32%3A40Z

Some Montgomery County parents worry about children being rerouted from Wootton HS track

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (7News) — Inside a Rockville, Maryland, home Wednesday, parents shared their frustration about the proposed school zone changes in Montgomery County Public Schools.

"My son is in elementary school, and there will be a very blatant switch for him and his friends," said Brent Miller.

The group is all homeowners in the Stone Bridge townhomes community, which has students designated for Wootton High School.

They said all four options presented by the district mean their children will not go to Wootton High School, and instead, Crown High School, which is currently under construction.

The distance was not their concern, but more so the school itself...

https://wjla.com/news/local/montgomery-county-school-boundaries-zoning-drafts-proposals-public-academic-year-maryland-wooton-crown-stonemill-communty-stonebridge-townhouses-changes-impacts

More novels, paper and pencil work: MCPS to implement new middle school English curriculum this fall

...The curriculum, Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) 6-8, is expected to integrate literature with history and science and is based in the Science of Reading, according to MCPS staff. 

The Science of Reading is research that has been conducted globally over the last five decades that informs how students develop reading and writing skills, according to the Reading League.  

The purchase marks the second time MCPS has chosen CKLA as part of its ELA curricula. In March 2024, the school board approved purchasing the Amplify Core Knowledge Language Arts (Amplify CKLA) literacy curriculum for pre-kindergarten to fifth grade students for the 2025-2026 school year. 

The new middle school curriculum includes texts on a variety of subjects including social studies and science, which is expected to help students engage with the work, according to MCPS Chief Academic Officer Niki Hazel...

 https://bethesdamagazine.com/2025/06/04/mcps-middle-school-curriculum/

Montgomery County Public Schools boosts discipline policy amid rise of violent incidents

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (7News) — Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) is enacting sweeping changes to its student discipline policy in response to a recent uptick in violent incidents, including bomb threats, weapons on campus, and assaults on staff. S

Starting this fall, students who commit the most serious offenses could face long-term suspension or even expulsion. The updated Code of Conduct reclassifies threats and violent actions as Level 4 or 5 violations — the highest disciplinary categories under the district’s new guidelines.

Offenses such as making bomb threats, physically assaulting school personnel, or bringing weapons onto school property will now carry the most severe consequences.

The move comes after several alarming events during the current school year.

At Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School, two lockdowns in one week in February forced administrators and first responders into emergency mode — one incident involved shots fired near campus, and another centered around a student bringing an airsoft gun to school. These kinds of threats used to be considered minor, but that’s no longer the case.

Data supports the shift. Last year, MCPS recorded 221 weapon-related incidents — an 11% increase over the previous year. Bomb threats also saw a similar rise...

https://wjla.com/news/local/montgomery-county-public-schools-mcps-bomb-threats-weapons-on-campus-and-assaults-on-staff-bethesda-chevy-chase-high-school-lockdown-counseling-services-behavior-intervention-programs-weapons-related-incidents-alternative-learning-options

There are some great bits in this webinar by @UNISONinSchools about air quality in schools.

There are some great bits in this webinar by @UNISONinSchools about air quality in schools.
Did you catch these bits on how clean air can help... https://t.co/Fi1T8P4Xbv pic.twitter.com/xl6Sm2cQMa

— tern (@1goodtern) May 28, 2025