Takoma Park Middle School

Emily Modde

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ACTION NEEDED: The County Council is Considering Making Large Cuts to MCPS’s Budget

A message from MCCPTA President Brigit Howe:
Hello all,
We are nearing the end of a contentious, exhausting, and challenging county operating budget process.
There is still time, but not a lot of time, to share your thoughts with councilmembers.
Tomorrow, 5/13,  the Council will be discussing and voting on some revenue options and signs point to a discussion of a smaller property tax increase than that proposed by the County Executive, as well as final consideration of progressive income tax scenarios.
This article shares some of what will be discussed:
There are real budget impacts on the horizon, including ones that will impact many of our key MCCPTA priorities. This morning, Dr. Taylor sent the following messages to MCPS staff:
here are some suggested revenue and expense changes that will be discussed.
Even under additional revenue scenarios that the council will discuss tomorrow, it is likely MCPS would still need to make tough decisions. But if you’d like the Council to prioritize looking for additional revenue to mitigate the most challenging cuts, now is the time to reach out to Councilmembers before their discussion of revenue tomorrow and straw vote on the entire budget on Thursday.
This form will email the entire council (https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/government/legislative-branch/county-council/contact-council/email-all-councilmembers) or you can write individual emails to councilmembers by using the naming convention Councilmember.LastName@montgomerycountymd.gov.
Thank you!
Brigid Howe

MCCPTA President

PTA: Where everyone belongs
PTA: Donde todos pertenecen
everychild. onevoice.®  
cadaniño. unavoz. ® 

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2025-2026 MCPS SSL Awards Information

2025-2026 MCPS SSL Awards Information

Middle school and high school students should continue earning SSL hours towards their SSL graduation requirement by engaging in SSL opportunities during the 2025-2026 school year, including traditional in-person opportunities and select virtual/remote opportunities that follow the SSL guidelines posted on the MCPS SSL webpage (www.mcps-ssl.org).

Please refer to important information about the MCPS SSL Awards that middle school and high school students are eligible to earn and the requirements for these awards provided below:

SSL Awards

  • Any high school senior who has submitted documentation to show the completion of 240 SSL hours or more by March 27, 2026, will earn the Certificate of Meritorious Service along with a purple tassel for graduation.
  • Any middle school student who has submitted documentation to show the completion of the 75-hour SSL graduation requirement (for the first time in middle school) by March 27, 2026, will receive the Superintendent’s SSL Award.
 The required deadline for all documentation that qualifies seniors for the Certificate of Meritorious Service and middle school students for the Superintendent’s SSL Award is March 27, 2026.

All SSL forms (MCPS Form 560-51: Student Service Learning Activity Verification form – https://bit.ly/SSLReflection) should be emailed or turned in to the school’s SSL coordinator by the required deadline of March 27, 2026, to be considered for these awards. 

Additional information about the MCPS SSL program is provided below:

MCPS SSL Hub for Students 

Find SSL forms, translated resources, SSL guidelines, and much more!

 Check out SSL forms, resources, and guidelines at https://bit.ly/SSLHubMCPS
Nonprofit-Hosted SSL Opportunities

MCPS SSL organizations and opportunities are tagged with the blue MCPS SSL banner and graduation cap icon on the Montgomery County Volunteer Center (MCVC) website

 All opportunities (including in-person): https://bit.ly/SSLOpportunities

Virtual/remote opportunities:

https://bit.ly/VirtualSSL2020

For additional tips on how to search for opportunities, please go to https://bit.ly/SSLSearchTip
MCPS Form 560-50: 
Individual SSL Request Form

Used to obtain pre-approval prior to service with a nonprofit organization not listed on the Montgomery County Volunteer Center (MCVC) website

 To request pre-approval for service, please complete https://bit.ly/SSLPreApproval — for in-person service, submit this form to your school’s SSL coordinator; for virtual/remote service, submit this form to SSL@mcpsmd.org
MCPS Form 560-51: 
SSL Activity Verification Form

Used to verify and document SSL hours after service is completed

Student and supervisor must complete the form

 SSL Activity Verification Forms (https://bit.ly/SSLReflection) for service completed should be turned into your school’s SSL coordinator.
Student SSL Records on Student/ParentVUE

Step-by-step directions for viewing a student’s full SSL record

 Step-by-step directions may be found at https://bit.ly/SSLonVUE
MCPS SSL Program Overview

Complete overview of SSL requirements, guidelines, process, awards, and forms

 MCPS SSL Program Overview may be found at https://bit.ly/SSLOverview2020

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Action Alert: Help Protect Special Education Resources at TPMS

Dear TPMS Families,

Our school is known for its incredible diversity and its commitment to inclusion, particularly through our ARS (Autism Resource Services) and LAD (Learning and Academic Disabilities) programs.  The ARS program in particular is hosted in only three MCPS middle schools. However, recent and upcoming budget cuts from the MCPS Central Office are putting these programs—and our students—at risk.

We have seen the removal of critical Autism Specialists and are facing a future of even deeper staffing cuts. This doesn’t just affect students with IEPs; it affects every classroom where these students learn, grow, and build friendships. When our special education staff is overextended, the entire school loses the support it needs to thrive.

Want to know more?  Read the talking points and information provided by xMinds (Non-profit improving education for autistic students in MoCo) here:

How You Can Help:

Please take two minutes to email the Board of Education and the Superintendent. You can use the template below – feel free to add a sentence about your own child’s experience at TPMS to make it even more impactful.

To: boe@mcpsmd.org, superintendent@mcpsmd.org

And/or send to individual BOE members and MCPS administration:

Subject: Protect Special Education Staffing at Takoma Park Middle School

Dear Members of the Board and Superintendent,

As a parent at Takoma Park Middle School, I am writing to urge you to restore and protect the specialized staffing resources for our ARS and LAD programs.

The recent removal of the centralized Autism Specialist has left our school leadership to manage 160+ IEPs without the necessary district-level support. We are seeing the impact of these cuts on our staff’s ability to provide the high-quality, inclusive education that TPMS is known for.

Further cuts projected for 2027 are unacceptable. I am asking the Board to:

  1. Restore the Autism Specialist positions to support our ARS programs.

  2. Increase RTSE staffing so that each specialized program has dedicated leadership.

  3. Ensure transparency regarding how MCPS plans to support neurodivergent students moving forward.

Our students deserve a school that is fully staffed and legally compliant. Please prioritize our most vulnerable learners in this budget cycle.

Sincerely, [Your Name] TPMS Parent

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Sat, Feb 28 – Used Book Fair & Community Event 2026

Where:  Takoma Park Middle School (TPMS) in the Cafeteria

When:  Saturday, February 28, 2026, 10am-1pm

Who:  All community members and school families who wish to support TPMS

Join us for our Used Book Fair Fundraiser & Community Event in support of Takoma Park Middle School

– Browse to find treasures at our epic used book sale
– Enjoy a concert by the school Jazz Band and Flute Choir
– Admire the Art Show by students
– Buy your plants for spring by the school Horticulture Club
– Make your bids on incredible items at the Silent Auction
– Indulge on treats at the Bake sale
– And plenty of other fun activities!

Interested in donating books for this event?

We take all types of books (picture books, first readers, chapter books, Young adults, fiction, non fiction, cookbooks, travel books, etc).

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Wondering about 6th Grade Outdoor Ed?

This page is collecting information about where / when you can find out more info on TPMS’s Outdoor Ed program for 6th Graders – Spring 2026.

Outdoor Ed is held at Camp Letts.  There will be three sessions of outdoor ed.   Your student will be placed in one of these sessions.

  • Session 1 – May 4 – 6
  • Session 2 – May 6 – 8
  • Session 3 – May 18 – 20

An informational meeting about Outdoor Ed is tentatively scheduled for March 11th.  More infomation will be shared about this to 6th grade families in February.

Get more information about this program through the  Outdoor Education Chaperone Flier .  This flyer includes links to slides that include information about the program.  It also includes a recording of the meeting describing chaperoning.

Please consider chaperoning/volunteering to make this trip possible.  Find out more here: Outdoor Education Chaperone Flier

MCPS describes their Outdoor Program here at the MCPS site. 

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Pick up / Drop off Observations – Oct 2025

On October 8, 2025 the Takoma Park Transit Planner and Police Department made observations of the TPMS Pick up and Drop off times in the TPMS parking lot and surrounding streets.

The findings were gathered into a report which can be found here.

The TPMS PTSA would like to gather your feedback on pick up and drop off, as well as Safe Routes to School topics affecting you and your student.  Please share them through this form (the form will close on February 6, 2026).

These findings were presented at our January 2026 PTSA meeting.  You can read the minutes here (includes links to meeting slides) or below.

Findings from the Observations of pickup and dropoff Review

Kayci-Ann from the City of Takoma Park presented the observations from the October 8, 2025 review. The review looked at two locations including at pickup and dropoff to see what a typical day at TPMS is like related to the movement of our students.  Find out more at our website:  https://www.tpmspta.org/pick-up-drop-off-observations-oct-2025/ 

There were many things that were working well: 

  • Students generally follow crossing rules
  • Crosswalks and signals functioning as designed
  • Bus stop locations appropriate with good visibility
  • School staff actively assisting where possible

Challenges: the primary safety concern is related to heavy congestion blocking intersections. THis was worse in the afternoon because the dismissal is all at once. There were also concerns about vehicles making unsafe actions including …

Piney Branch Rd

  • Vehicles stuck in intersection due to congestion
  • Crossing guard arriving late / leaving early
  • Guard not actively crossing students or using hand signals
  • Red light violation exiting school.

Grant Ave

  • Drop-off line backing onto Grant & Chestnut
  • Students exiting vehicles into traffic lanes
  • Mid-block crossings between parked cars
  • Three-point turns and idling reduce roadway width

Another issue was the crossing guard did not arrive early enough and was not using appropriate signals and engaging students in safe behavior.   This crossing guard has since been dismissed and is no longer working as a guard. 

The recommendations are focused on things that can quickly improve student safety, examples.

  • There isn’t a crossing guard at Grant, but the school does a great job picking up the need for assistance. 
  • Reinforce no-exit and no-turn
  • Assess if Grant Ave can be one way and improve visibility. The overall goal is to make sure students, caregivers, staff, and community members are making sure that everyone is safe. The students are mostly operating in a safe manor with the cars having the largest negative impact. The City looks forward to continuing to work with the PTSA, the School, and others to make sure that everyone is safe. 

Mr. Loznak thanked Kaysi-Ann, the TPMS Police Department, and the City for all their help and support to make sure our kids are safe. He also shared some adjustments that have already been made related to traffic flow. There were some students observed walking to parked cars across Piney Branch. This has been eliminated. There was also observed walking on Grant Ave, where our buses come up for pickup. Students have been asked to stay on the sidewalks. The school has already seen a difference in student and caregiver behavior. THere is a new crossing guard at the Piney Branch location to help students move safely to and from schools.

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The Boundary and Academic Programming Analysis Proposals

Please check this page regularly as we will continue to add relevant information here.

Learn more from the district

Note that you can find webinars and presentations, as well as upcoming meeting information on these pages:

Information about the district:

Learn more from the community

The MCCPTA Resolution

On October 30th, TPMS’s PTSA parent organization, MCCPTA, voted in favor of a resolution demanding that MCPS slow down the programming analysis to give more time for input, feedback, and assurance that the project can be successfuly executed.

Timeline

September
  • Community engagement
  • Continued collaboration with the Design Team
October
  • Presentation to the Board (Moved from September): Local HS Pathways, Additional Program Specifics, Middle School Assets
  • Community engagement
November
  • Identify professional learning and resource needs
  • Build the budget and resources for high quality programming
December
  • Program Analysis Plan Finalized : Communication and Implementation
January
  • Boundary and Program Access Plan recommendation from Superintendent
March
  • BOE finalizes boundary recommendations
Fall 2026
  • Outreach season begins for 1st class to go through new boundaries and academic programming