Big Learning

Big Learning®, aka MCCPTA-Educational Programs, Inc, is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization founded in 1975 by the Montgomery County Council of PTAs.

Big Learning® is dedicated to providing creative and engaging after-school enrichment programs to students in Montgomery County. Our mission is to enrich the education of pre-K through middle school students in the fields of STEM and World Languages with a particular focus on serving students whose access to enrichment programs is impacted by poverty and other factors. We believe that out-of-school time enrichment is an essential learning experience and that all children should have access to high-quality out-of-school time experiences. 

We currently offer programs in foreign language instruction and science & engineering, as well as services that enable access to the cultural arts.

Big Learning® partners with local organizations including the Montgomery County Collaboration Council, Montgomery County Department of Recreation, the Children's Opportunity Fund, ICB/CUPF, and Montgomery County Public Schools. 

Big Learning offers these before and after-school enrichment programs:

• Big Learning® Science & Engineering
• Big Learning® Foreign Language: FLES

Big Learning also provides access to the cultural arts through:

• Big Learning® Cultural Arts Showcase

Volunteers assist in the office preparing student materials for classes:  counting, bundling, sorting, and packing items used in science and language classes.  Volunteers may also assist instructors in classes at local elementary schools. 

Big Learning® Science & Engineering sparks curiosity in children with playful, interactive, hands-on science and engineering activities. Unlike demonstration-based science programs, Big Learning® Science & Engineering gives children an opportunity to learn by doing. By actively participating in exciting experiments and projects, our students enjoy exploring the fundamentals of science, engineering, and the scientific method. Through Big Learning Science & Engineering, our students develop the critical thinking, problem-solving, collaboration, and creativity skills needed to become innovators for life. S&E programs are offered in three 8-week sessions, Fall, Winter, and Spring for children grades Pre-K-5. 

Big Learning® Foreign Language: FLES provides foreign language instruction in Spanish, French, and Chinese. Our classes offer children an opportunity to develop cultural awareness and build a foundation for future foreign language fluency and exploration. Programs start in Kindergarten and children follow the sequential FLES curriculum through 5^th grade advancing from Introductory to Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced levels. The focus at the beginning levels is on oral comprehension and speaking. As children progress to the intermediate and advanced levels, they begin to read and write in the target language. FLES teachers are native speakers of the languages they teach. They provide immersion-based classes in an encouraging environment where children learn and practice a new language through routines, interactive activities, workbooks, songs, dramatic play, games, and cultural notes, that bring the learning experience to life in fun, developmentally appropriate ways.

Each year Big Learning® Cultural Arts Showcase provides a catalog and showcase of performers interested in providing cultural arts experiences to children in Montgomery County Public Schools through the PTA. PTA representatives can refer to the comprehensive catalog and showcases for an unmatched opportunity to choose from performances and entertainment from around the globe to bring to their school community.

All Big Learning® instructors undergo extensive training in the use of our curriculum and methodology and complete the required background checks. Our instructors have had prior experience working with children, and are identified as positive adult role models and leaders.