Name Chosen For New Bethesda Middle School

KENSINGTON, MD — The Montgomery County Board of Education selected the name for the second Bethesda-Chevy Chase Middle School: Silver Creek Middle School.

The second Bethesda-Chevy Chase Middle School is being built to relieve crowding at Westland Middle School. It is currently under construction on Saul Road in Kensington, and is set to open in August 2017.

Montgomery County Public Schools chose four potential names for the school: Silver Creek, Kensington, Harriet Tubman and Dr. Paul L. Vance, who was a former Montgomery County school superintendent who died at the age of 83 in 2015.

The School Naming Committee consisted of a "diverse group of 16 individuals," Montgomery County Public School Superintendent Dr. Jack Smith said in the memorandum. The committee was 56 percent White, 19 percent Black, 6 percent Asian, and 19 percent Hispanic/Latino, Smith said.

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Harriet Tubman Possible Name For New Bethesda Middle School

Residents Push For Harriet Tubman As New Name For Second Bethesda Middle School

In March, a Bethesda resident named Joe Zogby created a Change.org petition encouraging the Board of Education to name the school after Harriet Tubman. The petition garnered 778 supporters as of April 10.

"The name we choose for this school will send a powerful message to our children," the creator of the petition, Joe Zogby, told Patch. "It's more important now that ever that our children have role models of all races, religions, genders and backgrounds. It's important that all children — including girls, children of color, and white boys like my sons — see an African-American woman like Harriet Tubman as an American hero."

Photo: Montgomery Community Media