Superintendent Jerry D. Weast and Board of Education President Sharon W. Cox are among those who will participate in a ceremony welcoming nearly 700 new teachers to Montgomery County Public Schools. The program, which follows a week of orientation activities for teachers new to the school system, will take place on Friday, August 20, at Walt Whitman High School, with registration begining at 9:00 a.m.

Other participants include Dr. Frieda K. Lacey, Deputy Superintendent of Schools; Matthew A. Tronzano, Associate Superintendent for Human Resources; and Bonnie Cullison, President, Montgomery County Education Association.

As of the beginning of August, the demographic characteristics of the newly hired teachers are as follows: 54 percent are new to teaching, 51 percent hold a master's or master's equivalence degree, 67 percent are from Maryland, and 85 percent are female. Eighteen percent of the new hires are African American, five percent are Hispanic, and two percent are Asian American.