Progress at New Gaithersburg Elementary School at Kelley Park

Construction has progressed at the site of the new Gaithersburg elementary school that will be located at Kelley Park.

In the photos below, courtesy of Matt Yates, you’ll see where things stand as of earlier today (below you can read more about the project objective a d history).

The school is scheduled to open its doors in August 2022.

Project Objective:

The objective of this project is to construct a new elementary school that will help to alleviate increased student enrolment in the Gaithersburg Cluster. Following the guideline provided in Regulation FAA-RA Long-range Educational Facilities Planning, the proposed new facility will be designed for a capacity of 740 students including core spaces. The building design will encourage a flexible approach to accommodate the educational program and maximum connectivity to the surrounding physical environment. Each instructional area will have exceptional learning spaces and work areas. The following are key elements of the design:

• Minimize the building footprint to reduce impact on the Kelley Park site
• Provide safe site access for both pedestrians and vehicles; separate bus and student drop-off loops and strategically located curb cuts and crosswalks
• Provide streamlined circulation within the building with appropriate programmatic adjacencies
• Provide accessible community use spaces without sacrificing school security
• Provide outdoor site amenities, such as new play equipment and basketball courts that enhance Kelley Park and better serve the community
• Provide a design that responds to and respects the natural environmental; achieve two Green Globes in sustainability

Project History

Elementary school enrollment growth continues in the Gaithersburg Cluster. The following elementary schools exceed their program capacities: Gaithersburg, Rosemont, Strawberry Knoll, Summit Hall and Washington Grove. In the 2014–2015 school year, a Gaithersburg Cluster Elementary School Capacity Study was conducted to determine whether additions to these schools could address the space deficits. The study concluded that a new elementary school along with additions to the existing schools would be required to address current capacity challenges.

On August 31, 2017, the Board of Education authorized a Site Selection Advisory Committee (SSAC) to evaluate potential school sites in the Gaithersburg Cluster. Based on SSAC’s work, the Superintendent recommended and the Board of Education approved the opening of a new elementary school in the Gaithersburg Cluster at Kelley Park. For additional information on the SSAC process, please follow the Site Selection Information hyperlink under the “Links” tab.

On June 2, 2020, MCPS and the City of Gaithersburg signed a land acquisition agreement. This agreement initiated the transfer of a 5.71 acre parcel of land from the existing 28 acre Kelley Park site, to build the new school on. Construction of the school is planned to begin in January 2021 and the school is scheduled to open its doors in August 2022.