The myth of the "former school site".

We are grateful to the Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County for posting the transfer agreement for Rock Creek Hills Park, and for posting our comments, which we quote here for your convenience:

Thanks for posting this!

But please note that it is not the case that "the Rock Creek Hills Local Park site ... was formerly the site of the Kensington Junior High School."

Rather, the Kensington Park retirement community stands on what "was formerly the site of the Kensington Junior High School".

Rock Creek Hills Park is on the site of the old school's playing field.

This might seem like a trivial distinction, but it is actually very important.

It is important because, well, "putting a new school where an old school once was" sounds pretty good, but what is actually being attempted is something very different from that.

So, why are we fussing over a few words? Because they're important. And, gosh, the truth is pretty simple:

• "former school site" = site of the Kensington Park retirement community.
• "former school field" = site of Rock Creek Hills Park.

Calling Rock Creek Hills Park the site of the former KJH is misleading. What is being attempted is not "putting a new school where an old school was"; what is being attempted is cramming a middle school complex onto the former school's playing field, which is now a cherished neighborhood park that provides the setting for an adult housing complex, which stands where the school once did.

Late edit [5/7/2011]: We have discovered that some of the information in this post is incorrect. A clarification is available. We apologize for the error, and we hope that it does not diminish your support for our park.

Later edit [5/14/2011]: Please see the annotated aerial photos posted on 5/13.