Whitman’s Leadership Academy for Social Justice (LASJ) program expanded for county-wide enrollment for the 2024-2025 school year. The program is part of MCPS’s Division of Consortia Choice and Application Program Services (DCCAPS), which allows Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) middle schoolers to apply to select high schools offering specialized programs in various focus areas such as STEM, arts and architecture.
Two MCPS schools, Albert Einstein High School and Springbrook High School, participate in the DCCAPS program with their International Baccalaureate (IB) program and Academy of Engineering program. Whitman’s DCCAPS program allows students from other parts of the county to attend Whitman through LASJ.
Introduced in 2020, LASJ aims to create social justice courses that engage in collaborative and discussion-based classwork. LASJ also oversees self-directed initiatives and internships that help students make an impact in their society. The program frames classroom learning around four core principles: identity, diversity, justice and action.
Whitman Principal Gregory Miller said he’s glad LASJ has come so far since its implementation. It started with a virtual class called Leadership, Equity, Inclusion and Social Justice. Miller taught the class himself, and now, LASJ is open county-wide.
“LASJ is near and dear to my heart,” Miller said. “It’s grown to this amazing thing, and it’s just — the sky’s the limit. We’re gonna keep moving.”
The program’s application was open from Oct. 6, 2023 to Nov. 3, 2023, and administrators selected students with a lottery draw. Thirty applicants were accepted into the program and now attend Whitman as full-time students, despite living outside district lines. As part of their enrollment, they are expected to complete the LASJ diploma pathway, which includes completing five LASJ courses, an internship and facilitation of OneWhitman — student-led bimonthly meetings that focus on social issues relevant to the community.
Despite the distance some students travel for the LASJ program, MCPS does not provide students with transportation to and from Whitman. In the past, MCPS provided transportation for programs such as the STEM magnet program at Montgomery Blair High School. However, due to the 2025 operating budget, MCPS could not fund transportation for the LASJ program. Accepted students must find alternative ways to get to school, such as public transportation and carpooling. Students are coming from Clarksburg, Damascus, Takoma Park and Rockville, said Miller.
Freshman Olivia Cushida, originally zoned for Damascus High School, said she looks forward to attending Whitman for her high school education. Cushida got into multiple programs but chose LASJ because she hopes to pursue a career in law.
The program offers several class categories like policy and reform, ethnic studies, gender studies, and art and media. Specific courses include Women’s Studies, Social Justice through Public Policy and AP African American Studies. Freshman Aryana Ali-Pradhan, originally zoned for Wootton High School, enjoys Whitman so far and is looking forward to the diverse array of LASJ courses Whitman offers, she said.
“I really wish I could take all of them, but I had to pick,” Ali-Pradhan said. “I’m really excited to take different courses and learn about different stuff. I’m so excited for internships.”
The LASJ team has worked to implement new activities and traditions to make new students feel welcome and supported. One of the activities is the big sibling-little sibling program. A survey matched older returning students with new students based on shared hobbies, interests and activities.
Freshman Emily Nabooze, originally zoned for Wootton High School, appreciates the little sibling-big sibling program.
“Mine is so nice, we talk a few times a month and she just checks up on me because it’s a new school for all of us and everyone needs kinda a rock to fall back on when they need help,” Nambooze said. “The program definitely makes sure that we have all the support we need.”
LASJ “siblings” check in at least once a month and see each other during the monthly seminars. LASJ leadership holds these seminars during lunch and they serve as an open space for learning and discussing current social issues affecting the community.
LASJ also held numerous gatherings for students before the first day of school so they could feel more comfortable at Whitman. Accepted students attended Welcome Night on Feb 7, 2024, to tour the school, learn about the program’s offerings and meet staff and faculty.
“I think definitely the orientation made me calmer,” Cushida said. “I met new people that wanted to meet new people.”
Nambooze, Cushida and Ali-Pradhan said they encourage Whitman students to take LASJ elective courses regardless of their participation in the program-specific diploma pathway. LASJ is valuable because it allows students to learn more about social justice and ways to become active within society and the program builds friendships and a sense of belonging, the students said.
LASJ Lead Teacher Sheryl Freedman appreciates how students enrolled in the classes are open-minded, eager to learn, and community-oriented.
“I like that I get to teach different interesting topics,” Freedman said. “The students we have in the program are ones that are really interested in making positive change, and it’s nice and refreshing to be around people who want to make the world better.”
For the future, LASJ leadership plans to continue expanding. They hope to add a Math and Social Justice class in the future. They have also been planning to add a Culture and Social Justice class in collaboration with the World Language Department, said Miller.
“We will continue to move forward, I mean, we’re at nine classes. I definitely envision there being more,” Miller said. “We want to do big field trips. We want to have more internships, more partners. So I look forward to what the students will do and the impact that will have on the communities in which they serve, it’s gonna be really exciting.”
