The Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School PTSA Council on Excellence for African American Students is also known as the NAACP Parents' Council. It is a subgroup of the Montgomery County Maryland Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Parents' Council, which was formed as an outgrowth of ideas put forth during the 1995 and 1996 NAACP Youth Summits. The Parent's Council is one of the vehicles created to empower African American and other minority parents to take a more pro-active role in the education of their children. The Council is made up of parents, guardians and grandparents of minority children enrolled in the Montgomery County Public School System (MCPS). Residents who may not have children in school but who share the goal of equal education for all children, particularly minority children, are also members.