Silver Creek Middle School in Kensington may be one of Montgomery County’s newer schools, but the site it occupies has a long and layered history dating back nearly a century.
Located at 3701 Saul Rd., the property was originally home to Kensington Junior High School, which opened in 1939 on land that became Rock Creek Hills Local Park. The school served the community for four decades before closing in 1979 during a period of declining enrollment across Montgomery County Public Schools.
After the closure, the building remained under Board of Education ownership for several years before being demolished sometime between 1987 and 1990. The land was later transferred to the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission and used as a local park for decades.
However, the Board of Education had retained what is known as a “right of reclamation,” allowing the property to be reclaimed for school use if future needs arose. In 2011, amid growing overcrowding in the Bethesda-Chevy Chase cluster, MCPS exercised that right and began plans to build a new middle school on the site.
Silver Creek Middle School officially opened its doors on September 5, 2017. The name “Silver Creek” was selected by the Board of Education in April 2017 and refers to the nearby Silver Creek stream, a tributary of Rock Creek that winds through the surrounding area. The name was chosen over several other finalists, including Harriet Tubman and Dr. Paul L. Vance.
Today’s Silver Creek Middle School is a modern four-story facility designed to serve approximately 1,000 to 1,200 students. It plays a central role in the Bethesda-Chevy Chase (B-CC) cluster.
The school primarily draws students from the eastern and northern parts of the cluster. Its main feeder schools include Chevy Chase Elementary School and North Chevy Chase Elementary School for grades 3-5, as well as Rock Creek Forest Elementary School for students not enrolled in the Spanish Immersion program. Students who attend Rosemary Hills Elementary School for Pre-K through grade 2 typically move on to Chevy Chase or North Chevy Chase before eventually attending Silver Creek.
Most students who graduate from Silver Creek Middle School continue on to Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School. However, the future of some of those feeder patterns is currently part of an ongoing discussion. MCPS is in the middle of a major boundary study tied to the planned reopening of Charles W. Woodward High School, which is expected to open in August 2027. As of March 2026, however, the primary pathway for Silver Creek students remains continuing on to Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School.
