Two Montgomery County Public Schools high schools and one middle school have received grants totaling $24,000 through the AOL Aspires program. AOL developed the national philanthropic strategy in 2001 to foster the imagination and aspirations of disadvantaged youth and to help them realize their potential.

The New School, an alternative program for students with behavioral problems, and Montgomery Blair High School each received $10,000 Aspiration Fund grants - the highest amount given to an individual school - for incentive and after-school programs. John Poole Middle School was awarded $4,000.

AOL presented the grants to 12 Washington, D.C.-area middle schools and high schools at a December 12 ceremony held at the U.S. Capitol. Public schools from Montgomery County, Washington, D.C., and Loudoun, Fairfax, Arlington and Prince William Counties in Virginia, along with the cities of Falls Church, Manassas and Alexandria in Virginia, were eligible to apply for the grants. More than 400 schools applied.

This year's AOL Aspirations Fund grants will serve as a pilot program that will expand locally as well as at other locations over the next several years. For more information about this year's grant recipients, visit the website below.