Lakelands Park Middle School

Last updated
Lakelands Park Middle School
LPMS MD.jpg
Location
Lakelands Park Middle School
1200 Main Street
Gaithersburg, Maryland 20878
United States
Coordinates 39°6′53.8″N77°13′55.4″W / 39.114944°N 77.232056°W / 39.114944; -77.232056
Information
Type Middle school
MottoPurposeful, Measurable, Successful [1]
Established2005
School district Montgomery County Public Schools
NCES District ID2400480
PrincipalRose S. Alvarez
Faculty78
Grades6–8
Enrollment1,182 (2020–2021) [2]
Student to teacher ratio15.12 (2020-2021) [2]
Color(s)     Blue and silver
MascotThe Falcon
PublicationThe Falcon Times,
The Falcon Flier

Lakelands Park Middle School is a public middle school located in Gaithersburg, Maryland, United States. Managed by Montgomery County Public Schools, the school educates over 1,000 students in grades 6-8. The school was named after Lakelands Park, which is adjacent to the school. With its premises used regularly for community events, the school has a high local profile. It is also the most highly ranked middle school in MCPS.[ citation needed ]

Contents

Rose S. Alvarez is the school's principal. [3] She took over from Deborah R. Higdon, who left during the Summer of 2020. [4]

The school

The school's sign LPMS Sign.jpg
The school's sign

Lakelands Park Middle School was built in 2005 to resolve overcrowding in other schools in the county, [5] as a result of a unique collaborative effort between the Montgomery County Board of Education and superintendent Dr. Jerry Weast, [6] at a cost of $21 million. [7] Lakelands was designed to accommodate up to 1,200 students and is located amongst local housing to enable the students to be able to walk to school. [8] The building is 153,588 square feet (14,268.8 m2), and includes three floors, a full-size gym, auxiliary gyms, two computer labs, and rooms for art, music and technology. The media center has a collection of more than 18,000 print and non-print materials, including books, magazines, videos, DVDs and CD ROMs. The Research Learning Hub includes 32 networked computers.

The school set ambitious academic targets, including 100% of the students reading at or above grade level by the time they leave the school. [9] However, the school was soon placed on the state watch list due to poor results. [10]

Following the decision of the Montgomery County school board to allow cell phones in schools other than high schools, Lakelands was one of four selected to trial this arrangement in August 2007. [11]

In the 2018 annual assessment for Maryland schools, Lakelands Park received four stars out of a possible five as a measurement of overall effectiveness. [12]

Feeder patterns

After students graduate from 8th grade, the high school they go on to depends on the elementary school they attended. Students move to Quince Orchard High School if they went to Brown Station or Rachel Carson Elementary schools, and those who went to Darnestown Elementary School attend Northwest High School. If students went to Diamond Elementary School, they either attend Quince Orchard High School if their home is south of Great Seneca Highway, or Northwest High School if their home is north of Great Seneca Highway.

Autism pilot

Montgomery County Public Schools are pioneering a pilot, in Lakelands Park, for autistic students using the controversial Rapid Prompting Method. [13]

Sports and extracurricular activities

Sport

Lakelands Park has competitive teams in boys' and girls' softball, boys' and girls' basketball, boys' and girls' soccer, and coeducational cross country team which is full of very talented runners. Lakelands Park's rival (Ridgeview) has given Lakelands Park a lot of competition over the years in all sports available. [14]

The city constructed a synthetic turf sports field, at a cost of just under $950,000, in the adjacent Lakelands Park. [15] The field opened in October 2014. [16] Initially there was no public access but, in May 2015, it was announced that the field would be available to the community on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. [17] However, due to on-street parking because of the absence of car parking facilities and litter issues, the use of this facility has caused what residents call "quality of life issues". [18]

Student Sara Mercer was selected to represent the United States in China at the 2016 Acrobatic Gymnastics World Championships. [19]

They have an annual flag football tournament near Memorial Day, called Bittner Day, honoring Matthew W. Bittner, a teacher at the school who died in 2011.

Music and theatre

The Lakelands Park Theatre, the school's drama club, wrote and gave a public performance of an original drama, Pirate School!, in February 2008. [20]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gaithersburg, Maryland</span> City in Maryland, United States

Gaithersburg is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. At the time of the 2020 census, Gaithersburg had a population of 69,657, making it the ninth-most populous community in the state. Gaithersburg is located to the northwest of Washington, D.C., and is considered a suburb and a primary city within the Washington metropolitan area. Gaithersburg was incorporated as a town in 1878 and as a city in 1968.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olney, Maryland</span> Census-designated place in Maryland, United States

Olney is a census-designated place and an unincorporated area in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It is located in the north central part of the county, ten miles (16 km) north of Washington, D.C.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darnestown, Maryland</span> Census-designated place in the United States

Darnestown is a United States census-designated place (CDP) and an unincorporated area in Montgomery County, Maryland. The CDP is 17.70 square miles (45.8 km2) with the Potomac River as its southern border and the Muddy Branch as much of its eastern border. Seneca Creek borders portions of its north and west sides. The Travilah, North Potomac, and Germantown census-designated places are adjacent to it, as is the city of Gaithersburg. Land area for the CDP is 16.39 square miles (42.4 km2). As of the 2020 census, the Darnestown CDP had a population of 6,723, while the village of Darnestown is considerably smaller in size and population. Downtown Washington, D.C. is about 22 miles (35 km) to the southeast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Montgomery Village, Maryland</span> Census-designated place in Maryland

Montgomery Village is a census-designated place (CDP) in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, and a northern suburb of Washington, D.C. It is a large, planned suburban community, developed in the late 1960s and 1970s just outside Gaithersburg's city limits. Montgomery Village's population was 34,893 at the time of the 2020 U.S. Census, and it is a part of the Washington metropolitan area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Potomac, Maryland</span> Census-designated place named North Potomac in Maryland, United States

North Potomac is a census-designated place and unincorporated area in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It is located less than 5 miles (8.0 km) north of the Potomac River, and is about 20 miles (32 km) from Washington, D.C. It has a population of 23,790 as of 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Travilah, Maryland</span> Census-designated place in Maryland

Travilah is a United States census-designated place and an unincorporated area in Montgomery County, Maryland. It is 17.28 square miles (44.8 km2) located along the north side of the Potomac River, and surrounded by the communities of Potomac, North Potomac, and Darnestown—all census-designated places. It had a population of 11,985 as of the 2020 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Germantown, Maryland</span> Census-designated place in Maryland, United States

Germantown is an urbanized census-designated place in Montgomery County, Maryland. With a population of 91,249 as of the 2020 census, it is the third-most populous community in Maryland, after Columbia and Baltimore. Germantown is located approximately 28 miles (45 km) outside the U.S. capital of Washington, D.C., and is an important part of the Washington metropolitan area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Montgomery County Public Schools (Maryland)</span> Public school district in Maryland, US

Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) is a public school district that serves Montgomery County, Maryland. With 210 schools, it is the largest school district in the state of Maryland. For the 2022–23 school year, the district had about 160,554 students taught by about 13,994 teachers, 86.4 percent of whom had a master's degree or equivalent. MCPS receives nearly half of the county's budget—47% in 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northwest High School (Maryland)</span> Public secondary school in Germantown, Maryland, United States

Northwest High School (NWHS) is a public high school in Germantown, Maryland. It is part of the Montgomery County Public Schools public school system. As of 2022, it enrolled 2,484 students. It is one of two high schools in Germantown, the other being Seneca Valley High School, with which Northwest shares an athletic rivalry. The school also serves small sections of the cities of Gaithersburg and Darnestown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seneca Valley High School</span> Public secondary school in Germantown, Maryland, United States

Seneca Valley High School (SVHS) is a public high school serving grades 9-12 in Germantown, Maryland, United States. It is part of the Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) system. The current building was finished in 2021, and has a capacity of 2,537 students.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quince Orchard High School</span> Public secondary school in Gaithersburg, Maryland, United States

Quince Orchard High School (QOHS), also known as Q.O. High School, is a secondary school located on Quince Orchard Road in the Quince Orchard neighborhood of Gaithersburg in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Watkins Mill High School</span> Public high school in Gaithersburg, Maryland, United States

Watkins Mill High School is a public high school located in Gaithersburg, an incorporated city in Montgomery County, Maryland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poolesville High School</span> Public magnet high school in Poolesville, Maryland, United States

Poolesville High School is a public magnet high school located in Poolesville, Maryland, United States. It is part of the Montgomery County Public Schools system. It is the only all-magnet high school in Montgomery County, although Montgomery Blair High School also has a magnet program.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gaithersburg High School</span> Public secondary school in Gaithersburg, Maryland, United States

Gaithersburg High School (GHS) is a public high school located in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Part of Montgomery County Public Schools, the school is located at 101 Education Boulevard and consists of grades 9–12. Its feeder schools are Forest Oak Middle School and Gaithersburg Middle School.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clarksburg High School</span> Public secondary school in Clarksburg, Maryland, United States

Clarksburg High School is a public high school located at 22500 Wims Road in Clarksburg, Maryland, United States. It is part of the Montgomery County Public Schools system, Maryland's largest public school system. Its students mainly come from Rocky Hill Middle School and Hallie Wells Middle School.

Sidney Arnold Katz is an American politician and businessman. He currently is a member of the Montgomery County Council representing District 3.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maryland Route 124</span> State highway in Montgomery County, Maryland, US

Maryland Route 124 (MD 124) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The highway runs 17.03 miles (27.41 km) from MD 28 in Darnestown north to MD 108 in Damascus. MD 124 connects the central and northern Montgomery County communities of Gaithersburg, Montgomery Village, Redland, Laytonsville, and Damascus. The route is a major conduit on the western and northern sides of Gaithersburg, where the highway serves the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the former Lakeforest Mall and connects with Interstate 270 (I-270) and MD 355. MD 124 continues north past the Montgomery County Airpark, beyond which the route changes from a four- to six-lane divided highway to a two-lane undivided road as it passes west of Laytonsville on its way to Damascus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maryland Route 119</span> State highway in Montgomery County, Maryland, US, known as Great Seneca Hwy

Maryland Route 119 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. Also known as Great Seneca Highway, the highway runs 7.47 miles (12.02 km) from MD 28 in Rockville north to Middlebrook Road in Germantown. MD 119 is a four- to six-lane divided highway that connects several residential and commercial neighborhoods in Rockville, Gaithersburg, and Germantown. Great Seneca Highway was planned by Montgomery County in the late 1960s as a local relief route for traffic on parallel Interstate 270 (I-270) between the three communities. By the early 1980s, the highway had become controversial because it was proposed to pass through Seneca Creek State Park. A coalition of civic and environmental groups unsuccessfully pursued litigation to stop the highway. The National Park Service refused permission for the county to build the highway in 1985 but reversed itself two years later, by which time the first segment of the highway in Germantown was nearing completion. The Rockville–Gaithersburg section was completed in 1989 and the controversial segment through the state park was finished in 1990. Almost all of Great Seneca Highway became MD 119 in 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seneca, Maryland</span> Unincorporated community in Maryland, United States

Seneca is an unincorporated community in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It is located near the intersection of River Road and Seneca Creek, not far from the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal and Potomac River. Its history goes back before the American Revolutionary War and it thrived when the canal was operating—having several warehouses, mills, a store, a hotel, and a school. Fighting occurred in the area on more than one occasion during the American Civil War. The community declined as the C&O Canal declined.

Quince Orchard is a neighborhood of the U.S. city of Gaithersburg, Maryland, United States, located on the western outskirts of the city.

References

  1. "Lakelands Park Middle School". Archived from the original on September 1, 2006. Retrieved October 20, 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Lakelands Park Middle". National Center for Education Statistics . Retrieved June 28, 2019.
  3. "Staff Directory - Montgomery County Public Schools, Rockville, MD". Montgomery County Public Schools . Retrieved November 30, 2018.
  4. "We welcome our new principal | Lakelands Park MS". www2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org. Retrieved 2020-08-31.
  5. Area's schools cope with additional students, Washington Times, August 28, 2005
  6. "Milestones, Goals and a Request for Residents' Input", The Washington Post, February 2, 2006
  7. "Gaithersburg's New School", The Washington Post, August 25, 2005
  8. "Lakelands Park Middle School". Grimm and Parker. Retrieved November 24, 2018.
  9. "New Lakelands Park Middle School plans for excellent year", Parisa Karimi, The Prowler, September 30, 2005
  10. "Elementary schools progress, but not middle schools", Marcus Moore, The Gazette, July 22, 2009.
  11. "Schools Ease Off Cellphone Restraints", Daniel de Vise, Washington Post, August 27, 2007
  12. BYRNE, DEIRDRE (December 11, 2018). "MCPS MIDDLE SCHOOL RANKINGS BASED ON MARYLAND REPORT CARD SCORES". Montgomery Community Media. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
  13. Chandler, Michael Alison (February 28, 2017). "Parents want to give their autistic children a voice in schools, but scientists call their technique 'false hope'". The Washington Post . Retrieved November 24, 2018.
  14. "Athletics". Montgomery County Public Schools. 2014. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
  15. Davis, Jenn (20 June 2014). "Construction to begin soon on turf field at Gaithersburg park". Maryland Gazette. Archived from the original on 26 July 2014. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
  16. Brick, Krista (6 October 2014). "LAKELANDS PARK TURF FIELD MAY BE LOCKED TO ALL WITHOUT A PERMIT". Montgomery Community Media . Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  17. Burke, Sonya (2 May 2015). "GAITHERSBURG OPENS LAKELANDS SYNTHETIC FIELD FOR PUBLIC PLAY ON WEEKENDS". Montgomery Community Media . Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  18. Burke, Sonya (July 5, 2016). "LAKELANDS COMMUNITY RAISES QUALITY OF LIFE ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH GAITHERSBURG'S TURF FIELD". Montgomery Community Media. Retrieved November 24, 2018.
  19. Schipper, Pam (3 February 2016). "LPMS Student to Compete in China". The Town Courier. Archived from the original on September 26, 2017. Retrieved 7 February 2016.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  20. Murret, Patricia M. (6 February 2008). "Ahoy there, Lakelands Park Middle School mateys". Maryland Gazette . Retrieved 19 July 2014.