The Office of Global Access Technology (OGAT) has implemented a new web site address to help families, staff, community, and the media access the Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) web site more quickly and easily.

The new address, www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org, is easier to say and remember. It also is consistent with the web site addresses of other county entities. The county's web address is www.montgomerycountymd.gov, and Montgomery College's web address is www.montgomerycollege.edu.

“Families rely on the MCPS web site for information at times of crisis and to access the system's services,” said Chris Noonan Sturm, supervisor of the Web Services Team. The team worked closely with the Department of Communications in developing the new site name.

“The old web address was too difficult for people to remember,” Sturm said. “The new address, while still longer than we would like, is based on words rather than a string of abbreviations. And it accurately reflects who we are and where we are.”

For those with a fondness for the abbreviations, the current web address, www.mcps.k12.md.us, will continue to function. All school and office web sites also will continue to function under the current address.

The new domain will appear in the banner at the top of the MCPS home page and other web pages. Plans call for the new domain to be added to system wide documents, other critical printed matter, and any relevant communications.

The implementation of the new domain marks the first anniversary of the launch of the MCPS web site template and more up-to-date home page. Over the past year, the Web Services Team has worked with many offices to help them move their sites into the new template and improve their web communications. This work will continue through the next year.