Montgomery County Public Schools, in partnership with Montgomery College and the Montgomery County Business Roundtable for Education, will sponsor the Third Annual Partners for Rigor through Relevancy Conference, Secondary School and Beyond— Inspiring All Students, on June 21, 2007, at Northwest High School in Germantown, Maryland.

The event is scheduled from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and will bring together nearly 700 school and community leaders with a stake in charting the future for high schools and middle schools in Montgomery County.

Futurist Ed Barlow will present the keynote address, “Preparing Students for the 21st Century Economy.” Featured presenters include Freeman A. Hrabowski, III, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and Kati Haycock, president of The Education Trust.

Forum sessions will feature 28 promising practices breakout sessions within three conference strands. The strands are Redesigning Schools to Compete Globally; Promoting Rigor, Relevance, and Relationships; and Fostering Transitions through Secondary Education to College and Careers. Presenters include a range of experts from across the nation in addition to those representing Montgomery County Public Schools and local postsecondary institutions.

Northwest High School is located at 13501 Richter Farm Road, Germantown, Maryland 20874. For additional information, please contact Shelley Johnson, director, MCPS Division of Career and Technology Education at 240-375-6281/Shelley_A_Johnson@mcpsmd.org or Laura Grace at 240-632-6937 / Laura_R_Grace@mcpsmd.org.

The conference web site is at the link below.