From vaping, the cost of school supplies to cellphone policies, the WTOP team is studying up on hot-button topics in education across the D.C. region. Follow on air and online in our series “WTOP Goes Back to School” this August and September.
The first bells of the 2024-2025 school year are set to ring for thousands of students across Maryland and D.C. on Monday morning.
In Maryland, public schools in Montgomery County, Prince George’s County, Howard County and Anne Arundel County will welcome students — some for the first time. Public schools in D.C. will do the same, after making progress in last year’s standardized tests.
Here’s what you need to know.
DC
More than 51,000 students across all eight wards headed to classes on Monday morning. Pre-K students will start on Thursday.
WTOP’s Luke Lukert was at Jackson-Reed High School in Northwest D.C. as students were welcomed with performances from the school’s band and dancers.
The first day of school comes as data shows D.C. students are meeting or exceeding expectations in reading and math, according to the city’s Office of the State Superintendent of Education.
D.C. Public Schools is also entering the second year of the 6th grade academy initiative. The academies work to ensure a smooth transition to middle school. Last week, teachers were welcomed back with go-go music, snacks and pep talks from schools chancellor Lewis Ferebee.
Mayor Muriel Bowser will celebrate the first day of school at Miner Elementary School in Northeast.
Montgomery County
Maryland’s largest school district is sending more than 160,000 students to school.
Monday marks the first year that new Superintendent Thomas Taylor will run Montgomery County Public Schools.
WTOP’s Neal Augenstein talked with Taylor on Monday outside of Albert Einstein High School in Kensington just before students started the new school year.
“I could not be more excited to welcome students,” he said.
His tenure begins as Marcus Jones, the newly appointed chief of security and compliance for the school system, shared data that showed the number of “serious” safety incidents in its schools dropped overall last year.
Taylor said one of the biggest obstacles for the first couple of weeks of school is transportation.
“In the DMV we have a lot of construction around and a lot of traffic. We have that Purple Line construction that happening right now,” Taylor said. “So we know that there are going to be anticipated delays.”
Taylor encourages parents to reach out to their transportation hotline for the school system for any issues so they can get them resolved.
He said that Montgomery County schools is 100% staffed in transportation positions and 99% staffed in instructional positions.
To prepare its students for the first day of classes, the public school system held its 5th annual Back to School Fair at Westfield Wheaton Mall on Saturday.
Heading into the first day of the new school year Taylor said it’s important to focus on the student as a whole.
“I’m hoping that we are offering a level of support and a level of planning at MCPS where our kids can thrive in an academic space, but also thrive in a social space,” he said.
Prince’s George’s
Just over 130,000 students return to classes in Prince George’s County, where multiple schools will be adjusting to new start and dismissal times.
Meanwhile, some parents are raising concerns that their children will not be allowed to attend class after Prince George’s County Public Schools switched to a new system for registering students, and some parents were not aware or have been experiencing issues to register before classes start.
One positive: its school bus drivers are ready for the new school year, as schedules have been streamlined, bus stop locations have been updated and families are being supplied with information on apps dedicated to helping them get ready to get to school.
Anne Arundel County
First graders through ninth graders return to class in Anne Arundel County on Monday, while the remaining grade levels return on Tuesday.
Over 57,000 students are expected to attend their first day of classes this week.
Howard County
This fall, the school system is assessing students use of cellphones. Under current policy, personal devices are supposed to be off and put away during the school day.
This is a developing story. Stay with WTOP for the latest.
WTOP’s Jose Umana, Luke Lukert, Valerie Bonk, Neal Augenstein and Mike Murillo contributed to this report.
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