A ceremony and program will celebrate the Kids First Alliance, a collaboration among Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) and other local agencies that is designed to discern factors that may be hindering a child's success in school and finding ways to assist the child in the school setting.

The celebration will take place on Tuesday, February 24, from 4:00 until 6:00 p.m., at Gaithersburg Middle School.

The Alliance is funded by a $6 million federal grant over a three-year period and is a collaboration among MCPS, Linkages to Learning, the Gaithersburg Mental Health Project, Montgomery County Government and the City of Gaithersburg. Assistance to students can range from helping students develop social skills to providing formal counseling sessions at school for those who need more intensive support.

The grant is enabling expansion of the program to all schools in the Gaithersburg cluster, with the intent to expand to other schools as funding permits.

For more information, contact Matthew Kamins, project director, at 301-279-3805.