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New! East County Education Center Opens

ECEC Ribbon Cutting

Saturday, April 20, 2024: Montgomery County, Montgomery College, and community VIPs helped celebrate the building’s opening. Classes began Monday, April 1. The building is the first step in the College’s expansion into the East County area.

Montgomery College’s East County Education Center (ECEC) opened for business, and the first groups of students began their classes Monday, April 1. The ECEC brings the College’s unique services and academic programs to East County residents, expanding access in the region and serving as an anchor institution in the community. On Saturday, April 20, College and community leaders, along with elected officials, hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony and tour at the center.

Located at 2221 Broad Birch Drive in Silver Spring, the 55,193-square-foot space features classrooms, training labs, and student advising space, while offering both credit and noncredit courses. The new center is the first step in MC’s expansion into East County and expects to serve more than 1,000 students in the first year.

ECEC Friedson
Montgomery County Council President Andrew Friedson

Remarks by Montgomery College President Jermaine Williams, Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich and others highlighted the center’s value to East County residents, including high school students who will have access to college courses, as a source of opportunity and equity. Montgomery County Council President Andrew Friedson said, “This facility is about education. It’s about equity. It’s about economic empowerment … for the entire community here in East County and for all of Montgomery County to realize our full potential.”

The credit and noncredit classes offered at the ECEC will target skill gaps in key industry sectors such as healthcare and IT. Programs offered include small business/entrepreneurship, cybersecurity, allied healthcare, early childhood education, hospitality management, criminal justice, English for speakers of other languages (ESOL/ESL), and Workforce Development and Continuing Education offerings.

ECEC Raptor Central
Guests toured the 55,000-square-foot facility, which provides classroom and lab space for credit and noncredit courses that address key workforce gaps, including health care, IT, early childhood education, criminal justice, English language classes, and more. 

Montgomery College has had a presence in the East County since 2015, when it established a community engagement center inside the East County Regional Service Center on Briggs Chaney Road. Since then, the College has served thousands of people seeking training and job skills. These individuals have been empowered to take advantage of classes and learning opportunities –many of them free, such as English classes and computer trainings—that have improved their earning potential. The ECEC seeks to expand those opportunities.

Montgomery College currently has three campuses in Montgomery County (Germantown, Rockville, Takoma Park/Silver Spring) and two training centers in Gaithersburg and Wheaton. The ECEC is the largest of the College’s other centers, nearly four times larger than the Gaithersburg site.

ECEC Highlights

ECEC Nursing Lab
One of six health care labs in the center provides educational resources for health care programs.

The East County Education Center is a 55,000 square foot, single-story building that consists of:

  • 11 classrooms for numerous programs
  • 10 labs (6 allied health labs, 3 computer labs, and 1 career training education lab)
  • Raptor Central (a one-stop shop for admissions, enrollment, and visitor services)
  • Community Engagement Center
  • Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation Center
  • Learning Center
  • Library
  • Event spaces
  • WorkSource Montgomery
  • Lounges
  • Student Health and Wellness (SHaW) Center
  • Study rooms

For more information about the center, visit the East County Education Center website.

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