Bethesda-Chevy Chase Public Information

Cluster Roundtable
Discussion Group Meeting
Westland MS
Bethesda ES
Chevy Chase ES
North Chevy Chase ES
Bethesda Elementary School
7600 Arlington Road, Bethesda MD
Rosemary Hills ES
Multipurpose Room
Thursday, May 27, 2010

Student enrollment at elementary schools in the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Cluster has increased dramatically
over the past two school years. Additional capacity will be needed in cluster schools in the future to accom-
modate the enrollment growth. In addition to the enrollment increases, the Bethesda Elementary School com-
munity has expressed concerns with its unique school pairing and articulation pattern. Although Bethesda Ele-
mentary School serves students in Grades K–5, students living in the neighborhoods east of Wisconsin Avenue
and in the Paddington Square apartments attend Rosemary Hills Elementary School for Grades K–2 and attend
Bethesda Elementary School for Grades 3–5. In addition to the Rosemary Hills/Bethesda elementary school
pairing, Rosemary Hills also is paired with Chevy Chase and North Chevy Chase elementary schools that
serve Grades 3–6 students. These are the only two elementary schools in the school system that serve Grade 6
students.
In November 2009, the Board of Education requested that the superintendent convene a roundtable discussion
group, comprised of school PTA members, to develop approaches to address the enrollment and articulation
issues in the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Cluster. Approaches generated and reviewed by the roundtable discussion
group will be forwarded to the superintendent and members of the Board of Education in June, 2010. Round-
table discussion groups are not decision-making bodies; instead they serve in an advisory role to the superin-
tendent as he develops recommendations.
The roundtable discussion group met from March through May 2010. This public information meeting is an
opportunity to learn about the approaches developed by the roundtable and to provide feedback on these ap-
proaches. The approaches developed by the roundtable can be viewed in advance of this meeting at the follow-
ing web site:
www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/planning/CommunityInfo_Roundtable.shtml

The report of the roundtable will be posted at the above web site when it is completed. The superintendent’s
recommendation on this matter will be released in mid-October 2010 and also will be posted on this web site.
The Board of Education work session will follow in early November, 2010, a public hearing in mid-November
2010, and action by the end of November 2010.

Individuals, who need accommodations, including sign language interpretation or other special assistance, may con-
tact the Family and Community Partnerships Unit at (301) 279-3100 and TDD (301) 279-3323.