Community members have a chance to help shape the future of Montgomery County Public Schools as the county school board holds a “Community Conversation” from 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday at Richard Montgomery High School in Rockville. 

Attendees will engage in small group discussions about the values they think should guide the board as it updates the MCPS strategic plan and begins preparing its operating budget request for the 2013-2014 school year.

Click here to register or call 301-279-3617. 

Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

The strategic plan, known as Our Call to Action: Pursuit of Excellence, is the guiding document for the school system.

“The strategic plan provides an accountability structure for measuring academic performance and operational effectiveness, as well as a framework for identifying opportunities for improvements,” according to the school system’s website.

The board holds “Community Conversation” forums each fall. Parents, students, staff and community members are encouraged to participate. Input from the forum will help the board set priorities for the school system and its budget.

Superintendent Joshua P. Starr is scheduled to present his fiscal 2013 budget recommendations Dec. 11.

Starr delivered his first "State of the Schools" address on Monday.

Click here to read a summary of feedback from the 2011 Community Conversations.

Community members unable to attend on Wednesday can contribute to the conversation in other ways:

• Write to: Board of Education, 850 Hungerford Drive, Suite 123, Rockville, MD 20850.
• Email: boe@mcpsmd.org
• Call 301-279-3617
• The school system also is encouraging community members to organize small group discussions on their own through the “Neighbor to Neighbor” initiative. The school system offers tool kits on the MCPS website with the materials needed to host a discussion. Participants in the group discussions of any size are encouraged to take notes to be shared with Starr and the school board. The first Neighbor to Neighbor topic is the operating budget.