MCPS began a new boundary study to determine school attendance zones for the 2027-2028 school year after adopting a $1.3 million proposal, Dec. 5. The study coincides with the district’s plans to reopen Charles W. Woodward High School in Rockville, open the new Crown High School and expand Damascus High School in Gaithersburg. MCPS officials aim to use the rezoning process to reduce school overcrowding.
Spatial planning firm FLO Analytics, which has experience working with large school districts like MCPS, will facilitate the study following MCPS facility planning policies. The goal is to unbiasedly ensure that school infrastructure can support the county’s high-quality educational programs.
MCPS board members have shared concerns about FLO Analytics’ lack of staff diversity and ability to be culturally responsive. While MCPS has not yet released details about a steering committee for the study, the school board must establish the new boundaries by March 2026 since new schools will open in August 2027. Officials plan to provide essential updates and key information on a MCPS website dedicated to the project. The process will gather input from students, staff, parents and community members through surveys and online forums.
There are currently four public information meetings scheduled to provide details on the boundary study scope, process and engagement opportunities. Regarding the reopening of Charles W. Woodward High School, MCPS will host a virtual session via zoom on April 2 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., and an in-person session on April 8 at Walter Johnson High School from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. To discuss the opening of Crown High School and expansion of Damascus High School, MCPS will host a virtual session via zoom on April 7 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., and an in-person session on April 9 at Gaithersburg High School from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Bloom Planning, an educational consulting firm and subcontractor, will lead community engagement efforts for the study and ensure stakeholder input aligns with MCPS community engagement policies. MCPS Superintendent of Schools Thomas W. Taylor released a video introducing the project.
“Because this involves some pretty big new attendance zones, this will likely have a domino impact across the county,” Taylor said. “This is a lot to process.”
MCPS identifies four priorities for changing school boundaries: promoting diverse student bodies, maintaining proximity to students’ homes, minimizing educational disruptions and ensuring fiscal responsibility.
In the past, boundary studies have divided the MCPS community, provoking debate over the balance of diversity and proximity to students’ homes. In 2019, hundreds of upset community members attended meetings about a countywide boundary analysis.
Montgomery County Board of Education President Julie Yang said the board must ensure transparency throughout the process.
“We are dealing with families’ routines, and families have a sense of belonging and take pride in their schools, so I understand all of that emotion,” Yang said.
Until the Northwood building in Silver Spring is finished, Northwood High School students are using the Woodward building, which is still under construction.
The boundary studies will not affect elementary school attendance zones. However, the review for reopening Charles W. Woodward High School will include re-evaluating the zones for Walt Whitman, Bethesda Chevy-Chase, Montgomery Blair, Albert Einstein, Walter Johnson, John F. Kennedy, Northwood and Wheaton high schools along with their feeder middle schools.
The study for opening Crown High School and expanding Damascus High School will impact Winston Churchill, Clarksburg, Damascus, Gaithersburg, Richard Montgomery, Northwest, Poolesville, Quince Orchard, Seneca Valley, Watkins Mill and Thomas S. Wootton high schools, along with their respective middle schools.
Taylor said the rezoning could impact schools that don’t border Damascus, Crown, or Charles W. Woodward High School, emphasizing the significance of the process.
“This can be pretty intense and an emotional experience,” Taylor said. “Many of your family decisions may have been tied to planning where your children were going to be assigned to go to school. We know that this is a big deal, and if we’re going to make a change to attendance boundaries, we must process with as much thought and care as possible.”
