Some students in the Gaithersburg, Rockville and Germantown areas could end up attending different high schools than anticipated in the 2027-2028 school year under four proposed options for the enrollment boundaries of the new Crown High School in Gaithersburg and the expansion of Damascus High, according to Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS).
During an online session Monday afternoon, MCPS presented four initial options based on the Montgomery County school board’s four boundary priorities for the attendance areas for Crown and Damascus, which are scheduled to open in 2027.
The session marked the district’s second online presentation of options resulting from its ongoing boundary study. On Tuesday, MCPS detailed a set of initial options for the attendance area for the reopening of Charles W. Woodward High School in Rockville.
FLO Analytics, a consulting company with offices in Oregon, Washington state and Massachusetts, is conducting the school boundary study under a $1.3 million contract approved by the school board in December.
The boundary study is required because of the expected completion of three MCPS capital projects for the 2027-2028 school year, according to MCPS staff. The projects include the reopening of Woodward High, an expansion of Damascus High, located at 25921 Ridge Road, and the construction of Crown High located at 9410 Fields Road. The boundary study is expected to determine the attendance areas for the three schools and alleviate space needs across the district, according to board documents.
Community members can explore the initial options through maps and data that are available on the MCPS boundary option website. An interactive map allows users to input their addresses to see how they would be impacted by each option.
The school board must adopt new boundaries by March 2026 to be in time for the start of the 2027 academic year.
Monday’s presentation focused on proposed boundaries for Crown and Damascus, which will impact the following high schools, Quince Orchard, Gaithersburg and Watkins Mill in Gaithersburg; Seneca Valley and Northwest in Germantown; Thomas S. Wootton and Richard Montgomery in Rockville; Winston Churchill in Potomac; and Poolesville, Clarksburg and Damascus. The study will also impact 17 middle schools.
The initial options each focus on meeting the school board’s priorities for the boundary study: diversity of student populations, proximity of communities to schools, stability of school assignments over time and facility utilization, or student capacity, according to MCPS. The district is soliciting feedback from the community on the options and will return with more refined options based on the feedback, according to Monday’s presentation.
Whichever option is chosen, decisions concerning allowing students in certain grades to remain in their current schools are up to the school board. However, MCPS staff said Monday that Superintendent Thomas Taylor supports implementing the new boundaries for grades nine and 10 and grades six and seven during the 2027-2028 school year, and allowing rising 11th and 12th graders and rising eighth graders to remain at their current schools.
Thomas also supports implementing the new boundaries for the 2028-2029 school year for eighth and 11th graders and for the 2029-2030 school year for 12th graders as well.
The high school initial options
According to Monday’s presentation, boundary options one and four largely define Crown’s attendance area in Gaithersburg as along the western side of I-270, pulling students from Gaithersburg High at 101 Education Blvd., Wootton High at 2100 Wootton Parkway, Richard Montgomery at 250 Richard Montgomery Drive and Quince Orchard at 15800 Quince Orchard Road.
Boundary options two and three detail a similar attendance area but also include sections on the eastern side of I-270.
In options one, two and three, the boundaries for Wootton and Churchill at 11300 Gainsborough Road, would remain similar to their current boundaries, with Wootton’s attendance area shifting slightly south into Churchill’s attendance zone.
Options one and two would also decrease the attendance zones of Seneca Valley, at 19401 Crystal Rock Drive, Clarksburg, at 22500 Wims Road, and Northwest, at 13501 Richter Farm Road, high schools, while expanding the Quince Orchard attendance zone into areas that currently fall under Northwest’s in areas including Brookmead and Darnestown. The two options also expand Damascus High’s attendance area further south.
Under option one, all but two schools would be between 80% and 100% of their enrollment capacity. Poolesville would end up with almost 78% enrollment capacity while Seneca Valley would have about 110% enrollment capacity. This option would also create contiguous boundaries for middle schools in the area.
Under option two, all of the high schools involved would fall between 80% and 100% of enrollment capacity. All of the high schools impacted by this boundary study would have contiguous boundaries.
Option three creates several small islands of attendance areas for some high schools in the existing zones of other schools to slightly reduce an existing disparity among the schools’ enrollments regarding Emergent Multilingual Students and students who receive free and reduced-price meal services (FARMS), which is a measure of poverty.
All but four schools would end up at between 80% and 100% of their enrollment capacity, with Clarksburg and Gaithersburg at above 100% and Crown and Poolesville falling below 80%.
Option four similarly decreases the attendance zones of Seneca Valley, Clarksburg and Northwest, while expanding Quince Orchard’s attendance area. This option, however, also decreases the attendance zone for Gaithersburg High and expands Watkins Mill’s attendance area into areas including Laytonsville, according to the maps.
Under option four, all but three schools would be at between 80% and 100% of their enrollment capacity. Clarksburg and Seneca Valley would be slightly above 100% and Gaithersburg would be at about 104%. Option four would also keep current walk zones in place for the affected middle and high schools.
What’s next?
MCPS has released a survey so community members can provide feedback on the initial options. According to the boundary study timeline, the options will be refined throughout July and August, and another set of potential options will be presented in September and be subject to community feedback. In December, based on the feedback, MCPS will provide Taylor with a boundary recommendation to present to the school board, which is expected to then hold public hearings on the recommendation.
MCPS is also holding virtual office hours to discuss the options from 8 to 9 a.m. Tuesdays, 6 to 7 p.m. Thursday and 12 to 1 p.m. Fridays.
