More than 10,000 Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) students are expected to receive their diplomas during commencement ceremonies that begin May 27 and continue through June 10. The ceremonies will include a wide array of commencement speakers, including local, state and national political leaders, educators, musicians and others representing a variety of professions and interests.

MCPS is also inviting parents and students to share photos of graduation via email and on Twitter.

The first graduation ceremonies are Friday, May 27, for Alternative Programs, and Montgomery Blair and Winston Churchill high schools; Tuesday, May 31, for Stephen Knolls School, and Albert Einstein and Thomas S. Wootton high schools; and Wednesday, June 1, for Bethesda-Chevy Chase and Quince Orchard high schools.

Among those who will speak at Montgomery County ceremonies: Cecilia Munoz, assistant to the President of the United States and Director of the Domestic Policy Council, will address graduates at Montgomery Blair High School on May 27, and Capt. Florent Groberg, a Medal of Honor Recipient, will speak to graduates of his alma mater, Walter Johnson High School, on June 3. Graduates from Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School will hear from Jose Andres, an award-winning Spanish-American chef who owns Zaytinya, Jaleo and Oyamel Cocina Mexicana restaurants, on June 1.

Other speakers include:

• Major General Charles Frank Bolden, Jr., Administrator of NASA, who will be speaking to graduates of Thomas S. Wootton High School on May 31;
• E.J. Dionne, a writer and political commentator, who will speak to graduates of Walt Whitman High School on June 8;
• Chris Matthews, a journalist and political commentator for MSNBC, who will speak to graduates at John F. Kennedy High School on June 6;
• DeRionne Pollard, president of Montgomery College, who will speak to graduates from Gaithersburg High School on June 8; and
• Wiemi Douoguih, director of sports medicine at MedStar Washington Hospital Center, who will address graduates of Sherwood High School on June 6.

Several schools will feature teachers and students as speakers.

Graduations for 22 MCPS high schools will be held at DAR Constitution Hall (DAR), in Washington, D.C. These ceremonies will be streamed live on the DAR Constitution Hall’s website. Ceremonies will also be held at Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, MD., the F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre in Rockville, and at individual school or program locations.

List of Graduation dates, times, locations and speakers

Submit Graduation Photos

MCPS is inviting parents and students to share their favorite 2016 graduation snapshots, which will be shared on the district’s website and social media.  

For email, parents should select their best horizontal graduation snapshot and send the photo as a .jpeg file (no larger than 4 MB) to pio@mcpsmd.org. Please include your child’s first name and school (we will not publish last names). Many of the pictures will be posted on the MCPS website and Flickr account beginning Friday, May 27. 

For social media, parents and students can post photos on Twitter using the hashtag #MCPSGrad. Some of the posts will be retweeted on the MCPS Twitter feed. 

By submitting a photo, parents are agreeing to its use for publication on the MCPS website.