The Bethesda Downtown Plan area is geographically within the Bethesda-Chevy Chase school cluster service area, which is served by Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School and its feeder schools, primarily Westland Middle School and Bethesda, Somerset, and Westbrook Elementary Schools. A small commercial area in the southeastern portion of the Plan Area on the southeast quadrant is served by Silver Creek Middle School and the paired Rosemary Hills (K-2) and Chevy Chase (3-5) Elementary Schools.
As a process of monitoring the adequacy of school facilities in relation to the Bethesda Downtown Plan, this information reviews the latest enrollment and capacity data of the Bethesda-Chevy Chase cluster schools. The actual enrollment and capacity reported for the 2022-2023 school year and the projected enrollment and capacity six years into the future (2028-2029) are analyzed collectively across all schools within the cluster by elementary, middle, and high school.
Cluster Adequacy Review
Enrollment Trend and Utilization Rates
According to the 2022-2023 school year official enrollment data from MCPS, cluster-wide student enrollment has increased overall. Enrollment at the elementary school level increased the most by 2.8%, or 92 students, compared with the 2021-2022 school year. At the middle and high school levels, enrollment increased by 1.6% (26 students) and 2.0% (46 students) respectively.
Despite the increase in enrollment, with classroom additions at Westbrook Elementary School complete, the cluster-wide utilization rate of elementary schools decreased to 86.0%. The middle schools, which were previously at a low 78.3% utilization rate, operated with slightly reduced program capacities in 2022 and marked a more balanced utilization rate of 82.5%. The high school utilization rate increased slightly to 94.3%.
MCPS’ projections indicate that the cluster may continue to experience some enrollment growth at the elementary and high school levels in the next six years. The elementary schools are expected to see a 0.6% increase in enrollment collectively and be operating at an 86.4% utilization rate in the 2028-2029 school year. Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School is expected to see a 4.5% increase in enrollment, which will bring the utilization rate to 98.6%. At the middle school level however, the cluster is expected to see a 0.2% decrease in enrollment, and 82.3% utilization rate by 2028.
Capital Projects and Capacity Solutions
On March 28, 2023, the Board of Education decided on the scope of a boundary study to establish the service area for the reopening of Charles W. Woodward High School. The scope includes the high school and middle schools serving the Bethesda-Chevy Chase cluster, in addition to those serving the Downcounty Consortium, Walter Johnson, and Walt Whitman clusters. The scope does not include any of the elementary schools serving these clusters.
When Woodward High School reopens with its new facility on 11211 Old Georgetown Road, which is scheduled for the 2027-2028 school year, a student reassignment process will start taking effect. This will likely impact the enrollment and utilization projections of the Bethesda-Chevy Chase cluster high school and middle schools. The current projections however do not reflect any of this potential change as the extent of the impact on the cluster is yet unknown. MCPS’ projections will typically start reflecting any change to boundaries once the decisions are made by the Board of Education, which in this case is expected to be during February or March of 2026.
Anticipated Build-Out Adequacy
The following table shows a comparison of the enrollment and capacity at each school level in the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Cluster for the 2022-2023 school year, furthest school year projected in the six-year capital budget planning cycle, and the estimated enrollment at full build-out stage of all plans impacting the cluster.
During adoption of the Bethesda Downtown Plan, Council staff worked with MCPS to identify potential capacity options that could be explored if overutilization persists as a long-term issue in the area schools. At the elementary school level, these options included the reopening of closed schools at the previous Lynnbrook and/or Rollingwood Elementary School sites. At the middle school level, the two existing sites at Silver Creek and Westland Middle Schools were found to be able to accommodate up to an additional 383 seats in capacity if needed. The existing site for Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School, however, was deemed inappropriate for any further additions. The Sector Plan accordingly discussed the possibility of expanding the current high school site through acquisition of neighboring properties or looking for capacity solutions outside the cluster.
2023 Enrollment and Capacity Compared with Projected Enrollment at Build-Out
| Previous Enrollment 2021-2022 | Current Capacity 2022-2023 | Actual Enrollment 2022-2023 | Projected Capacity 2028-2029 | Projected Enrollment 2028-2029 | Estimated Enrollment at Build-Out | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elementary School | 3,269 | 3,910 | 3,361 | 3,910 | 3,380 | 4,357 |
| Middle School | 1,597 | 1,967 | 1,623 | 1,967 | 1,169 | 2,139 |
| High School | 2,289 | 2,457 | 2,335 | 2,457 | 2,440 | 2,889 |