After taking community input into consideration, Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) announced an additional revision to their plan to redesign secondary school magnets during their July 24 meeting. According to their current recommendation, the current countywide and consortium-based magnet model should be significantly redesigned with a new six-region structure starting with the class of 2031. Before then, students in graduating classes will be permitted to continue in their present studies.
Among the modifications are the realignment of the Northeast and Downcounty consortia and the termination of their distinct high school selection procedures.In order to reduce commute costs and program scarcity, students who are interested in specialized academic programs will apply to options available in their area, even if they will still attend their assigned high schools by default. Following an examination, MCPS decided that scenario number five would best divide the areas in a way that balances equity, proximity, and the program’s current infrastructure.
In scenario five, the six regions will be as follows.Bethesda-Chevy Chase, Montgomery Blair, Walt Whitman, Albert Einstein, and Northwood high schools are all located in Region One.Blake, Paint Branch, Springbrook, and Sherwood will make up Region Two.Kennedy, Walter Johnson, Wheaton, and the future Woodward high school, which will open in 2027, are all included in Region Three.Thomas S. Wootton, Winston Churchill, Rockville, and Richard Montgomery High Schools are located in Region Four.Magruder, Gaithersburg, Damascus, Watkins Mill, and Crown High School—which is also expected to open in 2027—will be included in Region Five.Seneca Valley, Clarksburg, Quince Orchard, Poolesville, and the Northwest are all served by Region Six.
The Richard Montgomery IB and Poolesville Global Ecology, two extremely competitive county-wide programs, will be demolished and modified to just benefit their area. They now take a disproportionate number of pupils from a small number of well-resourced schools and draw hundreds of applications from all across the county for a small number of seats. According to MCPS, they anticipate that the regional model will address previous admissions disparities, lower transportation expenses, and increase access to demanding academic programs.
Implementation is anticipated to start in the fall of 2026, with final recommendations anticipated by January of that year.
