Awarded for academic achievements and testing results, PFHS becomes one of the eight schools to attend an annual Center for Model School (CMS) conference for the nation.
Each year, the Center for Model Schools (CMS), formerly the International Center for Leadership Education, selects eight to 10 schools to honor with Model School status. This year, Potomac Falls High School was named one of just eight schools nationwide.
According to CMS, Model Schools demonstrate “an unwavering commitment to student success and innovation. By fostering a culture of collaboration, ambitious instruction, and continuous improvement, the school exemplifies excellence in education.”
PFHS was recognized for students’ testing scores on the World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment test (WIDA). Principal Dr. Brandon Wolfe explains that the school’s English Learner (EL) population is among the highest in the county. “The state expectation is that you show 50 percent progress in WIDA testing. We showed 66 percent progress, so we outperformed the state by 10 percent,” said Wolfe. “There were two high schools that performed better than us, and they performed by less than one percent better, and their combined population was half of ours.”
Another one of PFHS’ accomplishments, which helped achieve recognition, was academic proficiency. The school’s demographics are 28.9% Hispanic, 40% white, 13.9% Asian, 9.3% African American and around 6.3% two or more races.
“Our demographics are diverse. We face challenges that other more affluent schools do not, but our performance academically is within the top five amongst all high schools,” said Wolfe. “When you look at our demographics or Free Reduced Lunch [FRL] population, we are at the bottom of all the schools in the county with one of the biggest populations. Typically, the higher FRL population correlates with lower test scores. So we are reversing that trend where we are towards the top with kids who need a lot of support, but are also towards the top with academic performance,” added Wolfe.
In addition to earning Model School status, those accomplishments have led PFHS to become just the second school in the state to be recognized as a “Promising Practice School” by Solution Tree, a professional development company and publisher of educational material for K-12 educators.
From June 22-25, PFHS administrators will head to Washington, DC to present at the 2025 Model Schools Conference. According to Wolfe, the presentation will focus on how PFHS was able to achieve success despite a 36-percent Free and Reduced Lunch population, the highest number of Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) in the county, and a tripling of the school’s EL over the last five years.
“We overcame significant obstacles by simplifying structures. In our session, we will share how we transitioned from a school in danger of state sanctions to a leader within the division over a few years. We will discuss systems, capacity building, community outreach, and subsequent relief from high intensity supports to bolster more efficient initial instruction,” said Wolfe.
Since 2018, PFHS has maintained a focus on Personalized Learning through the staff’s professional development. Wolfe credits “intensive intervention and remediation programs” aimed at identifying all students who have a need for support and providing that support.
“[We will] keep doing the things we are doing right now. The school evolves every year, students change, demographics change, [and] we get changes from the state level in terms of testing and the accreditation system. Essentially we will keep doing what we’re doing and change things up according to the new modifications implemented,” stated Wolfe.
The only other LCPS schools to achieve Model School status in the last decade were in 2019 when Sugarland Elementary School, under retired Principal Gail Brady, and Park View High School under the leadership of former LCPS Principal of the Year Kirk Dolson, who now is the LCPS Director of Student Services, were recognized. “It’s a great honor for the school. To be chosen out of a couple hundred applicants and then become top 10 across the country is good for the school and good validation for the staff,” said Wolfe.