In recent years, the number of people moving into the Montgomery County area has skyrocketed, leaving many high schools overcrowded. Different resolutions have been proposed to combat this growing issue, and some have sparked controversy.
Richard Montgomery (RM) High School’s student body has surpassed its capacity. Projections show RM will be 463 students over capacity by the 2023-2024 school year. A new proposal from the Rockville City Council has emerged to increase the number of students who can attend RM in order to accomodate building developments, such as the Twinbrook Quarter Project. This project is a proposal for 11 buildings along Rockville Pike at Halpine Road with residences, offices and shops.
However, this proposal has been controversial because many believe that overcrowding causes many issues in schools and harms students’ education. Walter Johnson (WJ) is another school whose student body has exceeded capacity, and WJ senior Yasmin Aflaki agrees that overcrowding has negative impacts on students.
“It’s really becoming a problem for all of the students, getting to class on time can be difficult because the stairways and hallways are so crowded, and the worst is when school ends because getting out through the main entrance is almost impossible,” Aflaki said.
However, there is a plan in place to alleviate WJ’s burden in the future. A new high school, Woodward High, will be built where the current Tilden Middle School is located. Many WJ students will begin attending that school after construction is completed. This shift will not take place for several years, but the fact that this plan is in place puts many people at ease.
In addition to the school board looking at overcrowding in its public schools, MCPS has also decided to conduct a study on the boundaries drawn for each school. Student Member of the Board, Ananya Tadikonda, wants to make overcrowding and the need for more diversity in schools a priority. Therefore, she set a 2020 deadline for the research an outside consultant is doing to create enrollment projections and examine boundary changes.
Although Montgomery County is one of the most diverse counties in the state, this study will be helpful in determining if there need to be boundary changes to ensure that de facto segregation does not succeed in dividing students of different socioeconomic groups.
BCC junior Susan Collard agrees that students can benefit from being exposed to different cultures and ideas in the classroom. “Diversity definitely adds to a learning environment. In certain subjects it’s really important to have a wide range of perspectives that come with diversity,” Collard said.
As our community and schools continue to grow, it is important to look at how the growth impacts overcrowding and the amount of diversity in schools. While the boundary study results will not come in until 2020, the decision on RM’s student population will come soon.
Article by MoCo Student staff writer Courtney Cohn of Walter Johnson High School