Boundary study (2025 )

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For Woodward: Kensington should be split between Einstein and B-CC. Absolutely no reason to be going to WJ from Kensington especially with a new high school opening even closer. Woodward can take north of Tuckerman and off of Montrose like Luxmanor and Garrett Park.

For Crown: All of Crown, everything surrounding Crown (Rio, Diamondback), maybe a portion of King Farm, maybe small portion of Gaithersburg that goes to NorthWest can go to Crown. No reason to touch Wootton district TBH.

This would make Kensington the only incorporated Town in MoCo with split clusters.

Who cares re incorporated or not. Bethesda students go to 1 of 3 HS already. Woodward would make 4.

Bethesda is not incorporated. The point is the community within an incorporated town often want their collective students to attend the same schools, whether you agree with that or not.

but that is not happening today -- see GHS and RM.

Good point and something I learned from this conversation.

My reference point was the MSPS BoE notes from 2000 when they made the decision to align all of the incorporated town of Kensington to the KP-NB-WJ cluster. In the documented discussion the point was made that Kensington was the only town in MoCo not already assigned to a single HS cluster. Maybe at that time they were differentiating "town" vs "city".

Well then, the entire incorporated Town Of Kensington could go to the only high school actually located in Kensington, which is Einstein. But their point was never some vague sense of town unity. It was to be part of the schools in the next town over — Bethesda — because they’re richer.

Nah -- richer peers is a side effect. It's because there will be less overcrowding moving that direction.

If the Ws are looking to keep out the hoi polloI, they should be advocating for enough funding to find space for and open new school facilities inside the Beltway to the east of Rock Creek.

See the CIP - joint BCC/WJ elementary school postponed to the out years. It has already had two site selection committees over the last 7 years or so.

[Scratches head] Lesse, 'ere...

This is a discussion about the current boundary studies, which don't include changes to elementary boundaries. It's the high schools that are the main focus, where, for the Woodward study, density in the southeast of the county has both greater projected overcrowding of current schools and fewer/more expensive options for facilities, but where there is equal responsibility of MCPS to provide facilities & programs.

From the Woodward study and CIP, DCC middle and high schools are projected to be at higher capacity utilization than the non-DCC middle and high schools. The only non-DCC schools in that study with a concerning capacity projection are North Bethesda MS and WJ. Tilden"s excess capacity eclipses NBMS's overage, and, overcrowded as WJ currently is, it will get complete relief, and then some, from Woodward's reopening, which was pursued after eschewing poorly conceived/limited-vision options for a replacement HS inside the Beltway/east of Rock Creek. Meanwhile, the overcrowding in the DCC will eat up Northwood's projected extra capacity from expansion three times over. Moreover, nearly all the student population growth is projected to be in the DCC (the projection across current B-CC, Whitman and WJ catchments is a decrease/i] of 35 students), and that's not counting the likely lopsided effects in the DCC area of recent state and county housing legislation.

So, back to that equal responsibility bit. Some not-too-small portion of the current DCC boundary will need to shift, both internally and to the non-DCC schools, Woodward included, and shifts to equilibrate among those non-DCC schools will be needed, as well. If in some decade hence MCPS builds a new HS in the lower DCC area, [i]then they might consider shifting back to achieve that relative equilibrium

That Bethesda-area ES that's been postponed? At least they have a workable site. The new (read: reopen a decrepit facility) DCC ES studied at the same time? Not even on the radar, as the options provided for review were not even feasible, for the most part. (If you sense a theme between that and the options for the DCC HS, you'd be right -- ask any of the folks who were on the public review committees.)

Across the elementaries in the Woodward study area, each grouping of DCC, WJ and Whitman elementaries are projected to be, collectively, at about 90% capacity. BCC elementaries, collectively, are projected closer to 80% capacity.

If one looks only at elementaries inside the Beltway, those to the east of Rock Creek, collectively (now including Nix & Leleck) are projected to use about 2% more of their collective capacities than those to the west. That's counting the effect of current expansions (i.e., Leleck & Highland View) in the east but not the relief expected from the new Bethesda ES to any in the west, which would see a more notable divergence in utilization, with the west being relatively less crowded, still.

The lumpy distribution of overcrowding among all of these, east and west, inside the Beltway and not, DCC and BCC/WJ/Whitman, really calls for redistricting of elementaries, as well. With its having been an age since a whole-of-system boundary study, the spectre of such a challenge on top of the secondary school redistricting is probably too much for MCPS to contemplate. It ain't gettin' any better waitin', tho...

There are a ton of school projects needed across the whole system (whether expansion, revitalization or new construction) and the county (Council & Planning Board) isn't doing residents any favors, here, between continued underfunding (some resulting from tax giveaways) and continued development allowance in areas that are relatively saturated. MCPS tries to do what it can within that paradigm -- there remains a disconnect, likely because of the inconvenient truths bringing them to the table would mean for county politicians. I'm not saying that MCPS does a great job of it, but one has to give them some consideration related to the circumstance.

Good points here. Although, in the WJ clusters, part of the solution to the ES problem was to expand buildings to 750 capacity, which I am not sure was a great decision. Would that change be something folks would want replicated into the DCC?

DP. I don't think that would be necessary. Very few DCC elementaries are projected to be over capacity. And there are already several with 100+ seats available.

What is DP?

[Anonymous]

Never mind, different posted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For Woodward: Kensington should be split between Einstein and B-CC. Absolutely no reason to be going to WJ from Kensington especially with a new high school opening even closer. Woodward can take north of Tuckerman and off of Montrose like Luxmanor and Garrett Park.

For Crown: All of Crown, everything surrounding Crown (Rio, Diamondback), maybe a portion of King Farm, maybe small portion of Gaithersburg that goes to NorthWest can go to Crown. No reason to touch Wootton district TBH.

This would make Kensington the only incorporated Town in MoCo with split clusters.

Who cares re incorporated or not. Bethesda students go to 1 of 3 HS already. Woodward would make 4.

Bethesda is not incorporated. The point is the community within an incorporated town often want their collective students to attend the same schools, whether you agree with that or not.

but that is not happening today -- see GHS and RM.

Good point and something I learned from this conversation.

My reference point was the MSPS BoE notes from 2000 when they made the decision to align all of the incorporated town of Kensington to the KP-NB-WJ cluster. In the documented discussion the point was made that Kensington was the only town in MoCo not already assigned to a single HS cluster. Maybe at that time they were differentiating "town" vs "city".

Well then, the entire incorporated Town Of Kensington could go to the only high school actually located in Kensington, which is Einstein. But their point was never some vague sense of town unity. It was to be part of the schools in the next town over — Bethesda — because they’re richer.

Nah -- richer peers is a side effect. It's because there will be less overcrowding moving that direction.

If the Ws are looking to keep out the hoi polloI, they should be advocating for enough funding to find space for and open new school facilities inside the Beltway to the east of Rock Creek.

See the CIP - joint BCC/WJ elementary school postponed to the out years. It has already had two site selection committees over the last 7 years or so.

[Scratches head] Lesse, 'ere...

This is a discussion about the current boundary studies, which don't include changes to elementary boundaries. It's the high schools that are the main focus, where, for the Woodward study, density in the southeast of the county has both greater projected overcrowding of current schools and fewer/more expensive options for facilities, but where there is equal responsibility of MCPS to provide facilities & programs.

From the Woodward study and CIP, DCC middle and high schools are projected to be at higher capacity utilization than the non-DCC middle and high schools. The only non-DCC schools in that study with a concerning capacity projection are North Bethesda MS and WJ. Tilden"s excess capacity eclipses NBMS's overage, and, overcrowded as WJ currently is, it will get complete relief, and then some, from Woodward's reopening, which was pursued after eschewing poorly conceived/limited-vision options for a replacement HS inside the Beltway/east of Rock Creek. Meanwhile, the overcrowding in the DCC will eat up Northwood's projected extra capacity from expansion three times over. Moreover, nearly all the student population growth is projected to be in the DCC (the projection across current B-CC, Whitman and WJ catchments is a decrease/i] of 35 students), and that's not counting the likely lopsided effects in the DCC area of recent state and county housing legislation.

So, back to that equal responsibility bit. Some not-too-small portion of the current DCC boundary will need to shift, both internally and to the non-DCC schools, Woodward included, and shifts to equilibrate among those non-DCC schools will be needed, as well. If in some decade hence MCPS builds a new HS in the lower DCC area, [i]then they might consider shifting back to achieve that relative equilibrium

That Bethesda-area ES that's been postponed? At least they have a workable site. The new (read: reopen a decrepit facility) DCC ES studied at the same time? Not even on the radar, as the options provided for review were not even feasible, for the most part. (If you sense a theme between that and the options for the DCC HS, you'd be right -- ask any of the folks who were on the public review committees.)

Across the elementaries in the Woodward study area, each grouping of DCC, WJ and Whitman elementaries are projected to be, collectively, at about 90% capacity. BCC elementaries, collectively, are projected closer to 80% capacity.

If one looks only at elementaries inside the Beltway, those to the east of Rock Creek, collectively (now including Nix & Leleck) are projected to use about 2% more of their collective capacities than those to the west. That's counting the effect of current expansions (i.e., Leleck & Highland View) in the east but not the relief expected from the new Bethesda ES to any in the west, which would see a more notable divergence in utilization, with the west being relatively less crowded, still.

The lumpy distribution of overcrowding among all of these, east and west, inside the Beltway and not, DCC and BCC/WJ/Whitman, really calls for redistricting of elementaries, as well. With its having been an age since a whole-of-system boundary study, the spectre of such a challenge on top of the secondary school redistricting is probably too much for MCPS to contemplate. It ain't gettin' any better waitin', tho...

There are a ton of school projects needed across the whole system (whether expansion, revitalization or new construction) and the county (Council & Planning Board) isn't doing residents any favors, here, between continued underfunding (some resulting from tax giveaways) and continued development allowance in areas that are relatively saturated. MCPS tries to do what it can within that paradigm -- there remains a disconnect, likely because of the inconvenient truths bringing them to the table would mean for county politicians. I'm not saying that MCPS does a great job of it, but one has to give them some consideration related to the circumstance.

Good points here. Although, in the WJ clusters, part of the solution to the ES problem was to expand buildings to 750 capacity, which I am not sure was a great decision. Would that change be something folks would want replicated into the DCC?

Indeed, the average MCPS-stated capacity for WJ elementaries is 782, with Ashburton, Kensington-Parkwood amd Wyngate topping 800, the only elementaries in the system to do so, though several others also top this number when the less program-adjusted state capacity ratings are viewed. A caveat, always, is that there are circumstances not represented well in the numbers presented (e.g., the giant square footage reported for Maryvale when that clearly has to be Maryvale & Sandburg combined).

I think the question posed about large elementaries could be asked around the county. The responsibility, ultimately, rests with Planning and the County Council moreso than MCPS and the BOE -- by failing to reserve adequate parcels for the educational needs of planned residential capacity, by failing to budget for them/for the capital needs associated with more neighborhood-school-sized facilities, etc. And then, of course, to the taxpayers, who often oppose increases or push for reductions when this is the known result.

As for DCC elementaries, the portion that might best compare to WJ would be bounded by Viers Mill/University to the north and Colesville to the east, basically Einstien feeders minus Highland plus Viers Mill -- 6 schools with 1 inside the Beltway, just like WJ. Just as in the WJ pyramid, there are smaller, older schools that were closed and repurposed in the 80s/90s, whether for alternate public use, such as a community center, or leased out to a private enterprise. As with WJ, the schools remaining then needed expansion as the area student population rebounded afterwards, including adjustments/overflow from the generally more property-constrained areas closer to DC.

The projected collective elementary capacity utilization in this DCC proxy for WJ is just north of 95% (vs. just north of 90% for WJ feeders). Why they didn't make Woodlin larger with its rebuild, I don't know -- they easily could have taken some of the field behind the adjacent old Montgomery Hills Jr. HS, now leased out long term to private interests, to accomplish this. Maybe the experience with supermax (tongue-in-cheek) facilities made them start to disfavor that approach. Flora Singer, completed in 2012, was/is constrained by topography, and Viers Mill, with it's last revitalization older than any in the WJ pyramid, is at 717 (state capacity rating 760 -- the average MCPS adjustment across the schools is downward by 55 vs. essentially equal among the WJ feeders), so it's"s unclear if it would make sense to expand by such a small amount.

However, the others, all unimproved in the last 20 years, have topography that would support an expansion to more seats, again, if that 750+ approach has not now been disfavored. If they were tapped for such, I think the respective communities would prefer expansion to overcrowding. They might prefer pursuit of reopening of smaller facilities, but that may not be on the table.

Returning to the general issue, a question is whether MoCo wants to pay enough in taxes to fund the presumably greater operational costs of smaller, neighborhood-focused elementaries. (I don't know whether that assumption of markedly greater cost, all things considered, is correct.) That ship, unfortunately, seems to have sailed long ago. One still can hope, though, for better stewardship of county/MCPS property going forward, including associated Planning/development changes that would tend to affect expected student populations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For Woodward: Kensington should be split between Einstein and B-CC. Absolutely no reason to be going to WJ from Kensington especially with a new high school opening even closer. Woodward can take north of Tuckerman and off of Montrose like Luxmanor and Garrett Park.

For Crown: All of Crown, everything surrounding Crown (Rio, Diamondback), maybe a portion of King Farm, maybe small portion of Gaithersburg that goes to NorthWest can go to Crown. No reason to touch Wootton district TBH.

This would make Kensington the only incorporated Town in MoCo with split clusters.

Who cares re incorporated or not. Bethesda students go to 1 of 3 HS already. Woodward would make 4.

Bethesda is not incorporated. The point is the community within an incorporated town often want their collective students to attend the same schools, whether you agree with that or not.

but that is not happening today -- see GHS and RM.

Good point and something I learned from this conversation.

My reference point was the MSPS BoE notes from 2000 when they made the decision to align all of the incorporated town of Kensington to the KP-NB-WJ cluster. In the documented discussion the point was made that Kensington was the only town in MoCo not already assigned to a single HS cluster. Maybe at that time they were differentiating "town" vs "city".

Well then, the entire incorporated Town Of Kensington could go to the only high school actually located in Kensington, which is Einstein. But their point was never some vague sense of town unity. It was to be part of the schools in the next town over — Bethesda — because they’re richer.

Nah -- richer peers is a side effect. It's because there will be less overcrowding moving that direction.

If the Ws are looking to keep out the hoi polloI, they should be advocating for enough funding to find space for and open new school facilities inside the Beltway to the east of Rock Creek.

See the CIP - joint BCC/WJ elementary school postponed to the out years. It has already had two site selection committees over the last 7 years or so.

[Scratches head] Lesse, 'ere...

This is a discussion about the current boundary studies, which don't include changes to elementary boundaries. It's the high schools that are the main focus, where, for the Woodward study, density in the southeast of the county has both greater projected overcrowding of current schools and fewer/more expensive options for facilities, but where there is equal responsibility of MCPS to provide facilities & programs.

From the Woodward study and CIP, DCC middle and high schools are projected to be at higher capacity utilization than the non-DCC middle and high schools. The only non-DCC schools in that study with a concerning capacity projection are North Bethesda MS and WJ. Tilden"s excess capacity eclipses NBMS's overage, and, overcrowded as WJ currently is, it will get complete relief, and then some, from Woodward's reopening, which was pursued after eschewing poorly conceived/limited-vision options for a replacement HS inside the Beltway/east of Rock Creek. Meanwhile, the overcrowding in the DCC will eat up Northwood's projected extra capacity from expansion three times over. Moreover, nearly all the student population growth is projected to be in the DCC (the projection across current B-CC, Whitman and WJ catchments is a decrease/i] of 35 students), and that's not counting the likely lopsided effects in the DCC area of recent state and county housing legislation.

So, back to that equal responsibility bit. Some not-too-small portion of the current DCC boundary will need to shift, both internally and to the non-DCC schools, Woodward included, and shifts to equilibrate among those non-DCC schools will be needed, as well. If in some decade hence MCPS builds a new HS in the lower DCC area, [i]then they might consider shifting back to achieve that relative equilibrium

That Bethesda-area ES that's been postponed? At least they have a workable site. The new (read: reopen a decrepit facility) DCC ES studied at the same time? Not even on the radar, as the options provided for review were not even feasible, for the most part. (If you sense a theme between that and the options for the DCC HS, you'd be right -- ask any of the folks who were on the public review committees.)

Across the elementaries in the Woodward study area, each grouping of DCC, WJ and Whitman elementaries are projected to be, collectively, at about 90% capacity. BCC elementaries, collectively, are projected closer to 80% capacity.

If one looks only at elementaries inside the Beltway, those to the east of Rock Creek, collectively (now including Nix & Leleck) are projected to use about 2% more of their collective capacities than those to the west. That's counting the effect of current expansions (i.e., Leleck & Highland View) in the east but not the relief expected from the new Bethesda ES to any in the west, which would see a more notable divergence in utilization, with the west being relatively less crowded, still.

The lumpy distribution of overcrowding among all of these, east and west, inside the Beltway and not, DCC and BCC/WJ/Whitman, really calls for redistricting of elementaries, as well. With its having been an age since a whole-of-system boundary study, the spectre of such a challenge on top of the secondary school redistricting is probably too much for MCPS to contemplate. It ain't gettin' any better waitin', tho...

There are a ton of school projects needed across the whole system (whether expansion, revitalization or new construction) and the county (Council & Planning Board) isn't doing residents any favors, here, between continued underfunding (some resulting from tax giveaways) and continued development allowance in areas that are relatively saturated. MCPS tries to do what it can within that paradigm -- there remains a disconnect, likely because of the inconvenient truths bringing them to the table would mean for county politicians. I'm not saying that MCPS does a great job of it, but one has to give them some consideration related to the circumstance.

Good points here. Although, in the WJ clusters, part of the solution to the ES problem was to expand buildings to 750 capacity, which I am not sure was a great decision. Would that change be something folks would want replicated into the DCC?

DP. I don't think that would be necessary. Very few DCC elementaries are projected to be over capacity. And there are already several with 100+ seats available.

Right. Again, there needs to be a study to relieve the lumpy overcrowding problem across elementaries, both WJ and DCC (and pretty much everywhere else).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why would it make sense to send the portion of Kensington south of Knowles to Einstein? Walking north, against traffic, in the early morning darkness, crossing Connecticut and/or University? Seems like a perilous trek.

Hopefully it wont ever rain or snow.

How is it different than the kids walking north to Wheaton HS?

Maybe there is no difference. The Connecticut Ave/University convergence strikes me as particularly treacherous. Walkers need to navigate a narrow walkway to cross train tracks. Would you send your freshman in the dark when its icy out to navigate the sidewalk and two major thoroughfares during rush hour? Maybe this is why this portion of Kensington goes to Walter Johnson. I don't know and don't have a dog in the fight. Just pointing out that this might be why, in some cases, the closest school isn't the best option because of traffic patterns.

There is no difference and this is one of the problems with how certain neighborhoods/populations are treated by MCPS. The kids from OTES and Highland in particular that are in the walk zone to Einstein are absolutely making a walk that is unsafe because of the roads that need to be crossed. Yet a similar walk is cited as a reason why ToK kids can’t possibly go to Einstein. Similarly, a few miles south, Bethesda kids that could walk to BCC get a bus because it is unsafe for them to cross Connecticut. If crossing Connecticut there is unsafe, it is just as unsafe for the Einstein kids to be crossing Connecticut, University or Viers Mill, yet here we are.

The "similar walk" is not cited by MCPS, just parents on this board. MCPS said that all "incorporated towns" were kept together throughout MCPS and they were not going to break from precedent for Kensington. To large degree, school = community.

Perhaps long ago, but surely not now.

Ask the families in certain developments (Cabin Branch?) who are being bused away from their community to another MS and HS. How about those who live in Horizon Park, a stone's throw from Frost and Wootton on the west side of 270, being bused to east of 270 for RM. Or the split in King Farm between 2 clusters. Or those who live a block from Bradley Hills ES (zoned for Whitman) on Greentree and instead bused to Wyngate (which had up to a dozen trailers, learning cottages, for years until its addition was done) I am sure there are many more examples where school and community are not aligned. That is what happens when the county operates your school system and green lights developments.

[Anonymous]

And this is a huge opportunity for thr county to realign communities, keep neighborhoods together at local schools, and get rid of the weird islands throughout

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And this is a huge opportunity for thr county to realign communities, keep neighborhoods together at local schools, and get rid of the weird islands throughout

Just remember that the County Council & Planning are justifying development based on corridor-centric "communities." Neighborhoods, especially those more cohesive, are inconvenient to their aims.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At the first community engagement meeting for Woodward in March they put up dates for the next round of meetings (in person and virtual options the week of May 12). Since then, MCPS took over community engagement from the consultant and there are no meetings listed on the boundary study website. Has anyone heard anything through their PTSAs or whatever about whether/when these meetings are still happening??

We're supposed to get an update at the May 8 BOE meeting.

https://mocoshow.com/2025/05/01/mcps-board-of-education-to-provide-update-on-boundary-study-projects/

Thank you!

The website's been updated with the dates and times of the next round of virtual and in-person meetings, May 27-June 4.

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/facilities/boundary-study/

[Anonymous]

New, from the FAQ:

When will the new boundaries go into effect and which grades will Crown High School and Woodward High School open with?

The superintendent of schools supports that the new boundaries be implemented beginning with grades 9 and 10 in the 2027-2028 school year and that rising grade 11 and 12 students remain at their current high school of attendance. The implementation would continue with grades 9 through 11 in the 2028-2029 school year followed by full implementation of grades 9 through 12 in the 2029-2030 school year.

In addition, the superintendent supports that the new boundaries be implemented beginning with grades 6 and 7 for the 2027-2028 school year, while the rising 8th grade stays at their currently assigned school followed by a full implementation of grades 6 through 8 in the 2028-2029 school year.

Ultimately, the Board of Education has the final approval for these decisions.

[Anonymous]

It’s about to be on. Get your popcorn ready!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why would it make sense to send the portion of Kensington south of Knowles to Einstein? Walking north, against traffic, in the early morning darkness, crossing Connecticut and/or University? Seems like a perilous trek.

Hopefully it wont ever rain or snow.

How is it different than the kids walking north to Wheaton HS?

Maybe there is no difference. The Connecticut Ave/University convergence strikes me as particularly treacherous. Walkers need to navigate a narrow walkway to cross train tracks. Would you send your freshman in the dark when its icy out to navigate the sidewalk and two major thoroughfares during rush hour? Maybe this is why this portion of Kensington goes to Walter Johnson. I don't know and don't have a dog in the fight. Just pointing out that this might be why, in some cases, the closest school isn't the best option because of traffic patterns.

There is no difference and this is one of the problems with how certain neighborhoods/populations are treated by MCPS. The kids from OTES and Highland in particular that are in the walk zone to Einstein are absolutely making a walk that is unsafe because of the roads that need to be crossed. Yet a similar walk is cited as a reason why ToK kids can’t possibly go to Einstein. Similarly, a few miles south, Bethesda kids that could walk to BCC get a bus because it is unsafe for them to cross Connecticut. If crossing Connecticut there is unsafe, it is just as unsafe for the Einstein kids to be crossing Connecticut, University or Viers Mill, yet here we are.

If someone lives on the other side of Connecticut, they likely need a bus because it's just too far to walk. Some BCC kids have to cross East West Highway. That's similar to crossing University.

[Anonymous]

We live in the walk zone to ES, MS and HS (0.5-1 mile away, Wootton). Could we still end up rezoned? New HS (Crown) would be 3 miles away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We live in the walk zone to ES, MS and HS (0.5-1 mile away, Wootton). Could we still end up rezoned? New HS (Crown) would be 3 miles away.

Seems very unlikely that you would be rezoned. They want to maximize walkers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why would it make sense to send the portion of Kensington south of Knowles to Einstein? Walking north, against traffic, in the early morning darkness, crossing Connecticut and/or University? Seems like a perilous trek.

Hopefully it wont ever rain or snow.

How is it different than the kids walking north to Wheaton HS?

Maybe there is no difference. The Connecticut Ave/University convergence strikes me as particularly treacherous. Walkers need to navigate a narrow walkway to cross train tracks. Would you send your freshman in the dark when its icy out to navigate the sidewalk and two major thoroughfares during rush hour? Maybe this is why this portion of Kensington goes to Walter Johnson. I don't know and don't have a dog in the fight. Just pointing out that this might be why, in some cases, the closest school isn't the best option because of traffic patterns.

There is no difference and this is one of the problems with how certain neighborhoods/populations are treated by MCPS. The kids from OTES and Highland in particular that are in the walk zone to Einstein are absolutely making a walk that is unsafe because of the roads that need to be crossed. Yet a similar walk is cited as a reason why ToK kids can’t possibly go to Einstein. Similarly, a few miles south, Bethesda kids that could walk to BCC get a bus because it is unsafe for them to cross Connecticut. If crossing Connecticut there is unsafe, it is just as unsafe for the Einstein kids to be crossing Connecticut, University or Viers Mill, yet here we are.

If someone lives on the other side of Connecticut, they likely need a bus because it's just too far to walk. Some BCC kids have to cross East West Highway. That's similar to crossing University.

Same for silver creek. There are kids that live three blocks away in the neighborhood on the other side of Connecticut but they get a bus because the county said it isn’t even safe enough to assign a police officer at the intersection of Connecticut and Saul.

[Anonymous]

That’s interesting because elementary kids cross Conn Ave at Denfeld at the traffic light. They have crossing guards and the traffic light.