10 MCPS 'Innovation Schools' Announced

Ten schools were picked to help pilot a new program from Montgomery County Public Schools that will provide an extra layer of central office support to under-performing schools. 

Officials culled various data to determine the schools that needed help, including key measures at certain grade levels, like whether students are reading as they should by 3rd grade and whether 5th and 8th graders have the reading and math skills that prepare them for the next level.

The full list of schools:

• Clopper Mill Elementary
• Strathmore Elementary
• Watkins Mill Elementary
• Argyle Middle
• A. Mario Loiederman Middle
• Montgomery Village Middle
• John F. Kennedy High
• Springbrook High
• Watkins Mill High
• The alternative programs

"The 10 Innovation Schools have already shown a commitment to school improvement and have the staff and leadership in place to accelerate that progress," Superintendent Joshua Starr said in a statement. "These schools will serve as a model for how collaborative work, with one another and with central office, can lead to great outcomes for our students."

A new position, called the Chief Improvement Officer, will work directly with principals and the schools' leadership teams, according to Deputy Superintendent Beth Schiavino-Narvaez.

"We're limiting the number of schools so that (the improvement officer) can be on the ground working shoulder-to-shoulder with the leadership team on their school improvement strategies," Schiavino-Narvaez previously told Patch.