New Middle School Site Selection Released

The board of education and Dr. Weast released yesterday the recommendation that a new middle school to serve the eastern half of the BCC cluster be built on the site of the current Coffield Center and park.

The site was identified by a group of parents who represented each of the PTAs in the cluster and MCPS staff as being the best available for a new school. Among the considerations used are the size of the lot, which is quite a hurdle in this very congested area. MCPS recommends that a middle school have 20 acres of land.

Neighbors have been very surprised to find out that the parkland they have grown accostomed to, and indeed purchased their homes for, may be in jeopardy. As is often the case, MCPS has done a terrible job explaining the process and has left these neighbors feeling like this recommendation is a done deal and the true process was hidden away.

These feelings have been compounded by the rush to bring this recommendation to a vote on Monday, March 28.

Having spent more time than I like on MCPS facilities issues, I am not surprised at the recommendation to try to locate the school at Coffield Center: Show me another parcel in the cluster that matches it for size, county ownership and accessibilty via Grubb Road/Lyttonsville.

However, I would like to see the Board of Education delay this vote and send the planning office out to meet with the community to explicitly explain the process of site selection and the process for feasibility studies going forward.

Neighbors are concerned that a new building will be dropped in their midst tomorrow and want to know what it will look like, where it will go, how many kids and buses, where the entrance will be and how much greenspace will remain.

MCPS has not figured any of these things out yet, but the process is so confusing that anyone who has not spent way too much time with the CIP would not know that all this recommendation is is the first step in a multi year process. Literally all the site selection committee does is point to the most likely piece of land and recommend it.

So, MCPS/BOE - delay this vote, take some time to explain the process to the neighborhood and then decide if this really is the best site.

New Middle School Moves Forward

Jane Ward, RCF/Westland Parent and member of the site selection committee for the proposed new BCC Cluster middle school reports that the committee has arrived at a recommendation and alternates. These recommendations will not be released to the public until they have been presented Superintendent. The Board of Education will consider the recommendation at their March 8 meeting. Remember, most meetings can be watched live on cable or online.

While assignments to the new school will occur later in the process, it is reasonable to assume that RCF would attend due to our geographic location within the cluster. On the one hand, a new building would be terrific. On the other, there are not many site that meet the size criteria for a middle school and at a minimum, it would be a few years before the new school could be certified as an International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (IB/MYP) school, if at all. Westland currently has a highly regarded IB/MYP. Further the new middle school will need to funded through the Capital Improvement Budget (CIP) around the same time as our modernization. In a period with tight budgets, this is very difficult.

To refresh your memories, the proposed new middle school has come about because Westland middle school is projected to become overcrowded in the near future. This situation will be exacerbated should the 6th grades currently at North Chevy Chase and Chevy Chase ES be moved to Westland. So why would the 6th grades move to Westland? Under the current budget constraints, it has been very hard for the county to provide an equivelant education to those students in a elementary school setting (in MCPS speak this is called "parity").

Issues with 6th grade at Elementary Schools:

1. The ES school day is 1/2 hour shorter.


2. The ES is not set up to provide daily PE (MS students have PE everyday).


3. Foreign language was cut last year in a budgetary move to save money. It was restored at the last budget meeting.

On going Middle School Debate

There has been a lot written in the press about the proposal by Superintendent Weast to build a new middle school to serve the eastern side of the cluster and relieve future overcrowding at Westland. I encourage all parents to take a look at Washingtonpost.com and Gazette.net for background information and read our blog posts at www.buildanewrcf.blogspot.com for the PTA and Cluster postions.

In a nutshell, we are concerned that we have not had adequate time or information to assess the impact of a new middle school on our community, nor has the Superintendent specifically said that RCF would articulate to the new school. Given that we are sandwiched between North Chevy Chase, Chevy Chase and Rosemary Hills, it is likely that we would go to a new school though.

CIP released; RCF on track for Modernization

The Board of Education released its Six Year Capital Improvement Plan today. Most importantly for us, RCF remains on track for modernization. Quoting from the report:

*Rock Creek Forest Elementary School*Capital Project: A modernization project is scheduled for this school with a completion date of January 2015. An FY 2011 appropriation for facility planning funds is recommended for a feasibility study to determine the feasibility, scope, and cost of the modernization. Division of Long-range Planning staff will review the educational specifications for the modernization with the school staff and community in the spring of 2010 in anticipation of the feasibility study. In order for this project to be completed on schedule, county and state funding must be provided at the levels recommended in this CIP. Projections indicate enrollment at Rock Creek Forest Elementary School will exceed capacity throughout the six-year period. Relocatable classrooms will be utilized until additional capacity can be added as part of the modernization.

This is very good news, HOWEVER, note the words that county and state funding must be provided at the levels recommended. Over the next few months, we need to maintian pressure across the spectrum -- from the Board of Education, to the County Council, and most importantly, to the State House and Governor's Office. Check back here to get more information about how to help.

For starters, plan to attend the CIP hearing with the Board of Education on November 11 and 12. Wear your RCF shirts, bring signs and bring your kids! 7 PM in the Carver Educational Services Center, 850 Hungerford Drive, Rockville, MD 20850. Craig Brown is testifying for the cluster on November 11 and I am testifying on the 12th. See you there.