Good News
MCPS Well-Being Social Workers have been recognized by the American School Board Journal (ASBJ) with a 2024 National Silver Magna Award and were recognized at the National School Board Association (NSBA) convention earlier this month in New Orleans. Along with other Magna Award winners, the social workers were honored on page 31 in the April issue of ASBJ, an education magazine published by the NSBA. The first Well-Being Social Worker was hired a little more than two years ago, and today, there are 43 full-time social workers and one supervisor on the team.
Read the article here.
South Lake ELD Teacher Named NEA Foundation Global Learning Fellow
Salimatou Cristal Ouedraogo, English Language Development teacher at South Lake Elementary School, has been named a 2024 Global Learning Fellow by the NEA Foundation. She is one of three public school teachers in the state of Maryland and 48 educators from 36 states to earn the honor this year. A year-long professional learning experience focused on educating and empowering students for global citizenship, the fellowship will enable educators to enhance their knowledge and skills to bring global competency into their school communities and help students thrive in an increasingly interconnected world. The fellows will participate in a two-day professional development conference in October and a ten-day international field study in Costa Rica next summer.
Kingsview Teacher Honored for Dedication to Financial Education
Nicholas Berluti, teacher at Kingsview Middle School, was named a winner in the 11th annual Maryland Financial Education and Capability Awards last month. These awards highlight the dedication and success of elementary, middle and high school teachers, community members and organizations who deliver financial education. The awards were developed by the CASH Campaign of Maryland and the Maryland Council on Economics Education, in conjunction with the Maryland Financial Education and Capability Commission, to call attention to the importance of financial education. Berluti was recognized for being a constant champion in Kingsview’s 7th grade financial literacy curriculum to ensure students receive the knowledge and life skills necessary for future success.
Two Seniors Win Cooke College Scholarships
Two MCPS seniors have been named Cooke College Scholars by the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation. Mariel Arevalo Ballon of Wheaton High School, and Melat Ghebreselassie of Springbrook High School, are two of 60 students being recognized across the country
This scholarship helps students who have demonstrated exceptional academic ability, leadership and persistence attend top universities and avoid student debt. The award, which is last dollar funding after all institutional aid, can provide as much as $55,000 per year to complete a bachelor’s degree at any accredited undergraduate institution in the U.S. These students also receive ongoing academic coaching and advising, graduate school and career advising, and connections to a network of peers in the Cooke Scholar community.
Students Attend Leadership Academy at U.S. Department of Education
Last month, seven MCPS students attended the High School Girls Policy Leadership Academy, hosted in partnership with Discovery Education, Voice4Equity, the U.S. Department of Education and the White House Initiative for Black Americans. The students were: Laila Bityeki from Clarksburg; Folashade Epibenu from Seneca Valley; Tracy Espinoza from Watkins Mill; Anusha Krishnan from Poolesville; Abby Mizan from Montgomery Blair; Zaria Naqvi from Winston Churchill, and Angelina Xu from Richard Montgomery. MCPS students wrote about permissions for students across the nation to carry Narcan as a life-saving tool. They met and worked with student leaders from throughout Maryland and along the East Coast.
Five Students Named Regeneron Scholars
Earlier this year, five MCPS students—two at Montgomery Blair High School, two at Poolesville High School and one at Winston Churchill High School—were named Regeneron Science Talent Search scholars. This is one of the nation’s most prestigious science and math competition for seniors. A total of 300 scholars were selected from the U.S., Puerto Rico and 10 other countries. Each student was awarded $2,000 and their schools received $2,000 for each enrolled scholar. The MCPS Regeneron scholars and their research topics were:
- Jonathan Matthew Fan, Montgomery Blair High School
A Genomic Meta-Data Analysis of Alzheimer’s and Related Diseases Reveals New Insights for Future Research - Daniel Mathew, Poolesville High School
MiniMesh: Real-Time 5,000-Node Anatomical Human Body Mesh Reconstruction for Portable Devices - Simran Mattikalli, Winston Churchill High School
Deep Learning Segmentation of Hip Radiographs for Guiding Opportunistic Management of Osteoporotic Bone Fractures - Milo Stammers, Poolesville High School
On Elementary Generation of SL2Over Integer Rings of Imaginary Function Fields - Angela Yue Wu, Montgomery Blair High School
Calcium-Induced Mitochondrial Sorcin Aggregation: A Model System for Investigating Chaperone Suppression of Protein Aggregation
MCPS In The News
After Long Wait, Poolesville High School Opens New Classrooms