MCPS Students To Receive Free Microsoft Programs

Recent news from Maryland education officials has confirmed that all 870,000 of Maryland’s public school students will receive free Microsoft 365 programs after the new partnership the Maryland State Department of Education created with the company.

Some schools will even be given a “high level information technology program” to go along with the rest of the deal. For these 25 schools, the new programs will present the opportunity for industry-recognized certifications.

Although for some schools the new partnership has already begun like at High Point High School in Prince Georges County, where the alliance was announced last Thursday. For others schools it has not yet begun to work.

For sophomore Orion Mills, the program has not worked at all. “I put in my email, but a message came up saying “your school is not eligiblea��,” Mills said.

IT Specialist Jennifer Lomax contacted the Chief Technology Center for Maryland schools about the issue and the office responded and said, “We are working with Microsoft to launch our own site that will provide students streamlined access to Office Suite offer. I expect we will be up and logistics worked out by the end of the month at the latest.”

While the Washington Post published an article Jan. 12 suggesting that the program was already active, the central office suggested otherwise, claiming logistics will be up by the end of the month.

Although disappointing news about the program not being ready the new partnership is still a great deal for Maryland public school students. RHS Junior Xavier Daschner is looking forward to the new partnership. “I’ll now be able to have all the Microsoft programs at home as I do in school,” Daschner said.

The new partnership is downloadable via marylandaccess.education and should be up and running by the end of the month for all Maryland students.