The 2021 high school commencement season is set to begin on Wednesday, June 2, and will end Thursday, June 17. Graduation ceremonies will take place on individual high school campuses. More than 11,000 students are expected to receive their diplomas.

The ceremonies will include a wide array of commencement speakers, including TV and radio reporters, politicians, educators and others. Among those who will speak: Sarah Cooper, author and comedian, who will speak at Col. Zadok Magruder High School; Maryland State Delegate Eric Luedtke, who will speak at Thomas S. Wootton High School; and ESPN sportscaster Scott Van Pelt, who will speak at Sherwood High School.

Other speakers include:

• Kate Stewart, the mayor of Takoma Park, who will speak at Montgomery Blair
• Singer-songwriter Bibi Bourelly, who will speak at her alma mater, James Hubert Blake High School
• Allison Seymour, morning anchor at WUSA9, who will speak at John F. Kennedy High School
• Scott MacFarlane, investigative reporter for NBC4 Washington, who will speak at Richard Montgomery High School
• Sarah Galvez, former director of social media and audience development for the Biden for President campaign, who will speak at her alma mater, Clarksburg High School
• Lydia Dawley, entrepreneur and founder of Click. Speak. Connect., who will speak at Longview School

MCPS is inviting students, parents and staff to submit their favorite graduation snapshots. Families should select the best graduation photo and email it to pio@mcpsmd.org. Many of the pictures will be posted on the MCPS website. Families and staff also can submit photos via Twitter (using the hashtag #mcpsgrad). MCPS will repost some of the photos on its social media pages.

To contribute a photo via email, follow these simple steps:

• Choose your best, horizontal snapshot.
• Send the photo as a jpeg file (no larger than 4 MB) and email it to pio@mcpsmd.org.
• Include the school name.

By submitting a photo, you are agreeing to its use for publication on the MCPS website. If you have questions, contact the Department of Public Information and Web Services at 240-740-2837 or send us an email.

Graduation Dates