Guest column by Rebecca Aicher.
I am a Silver Spring resident and parent of one child at Sligo Creek Elementary School and one at Silver Spring International Middle School. Since MCPS Superintendent Thomas Taylor announced his plan on October 13 to close SSIMS, build a new SCES, and convert both buildings into holding schools, my neighbors and I have been trying to understand the reasons behind this abrupt and shocking decision to close two walkable neighborhood schools in downtown Silver Spring.
As I reviewed MCPS data, the CIP, and the Nov. 4 BOE CIP presentation, I found several inconsistencies between the district’s research, policies, and data and the rationale they have offered for converting SSIMS and SCES into holding schools. Below, I outline five reasons why the Board of Education, County Council, and taxpayers should question this plan.
1. Converting SSIMS and SCES into holding schools is an unnecessary use of MCPS’s limited resources.
According to the proposed CIP, MCPS will spend $281 million to free up the SSIMS and SCES campuses to serve as holding schools:
- $70.5 million to build a new Sligo Creek Elementary School
- $134 million for an addition and renovation to Sligo Middle School
- $7 million to convert SCES and SSIMS into holding schools
- An additional $70 million (for a total of $162.5 million) for an expanded rebuild of Eastern Middle School
In September 2025, MCPS completed a feasibility study for Eastern Middle School that estimated the cost of a renovation at $92–$106 million for a core capacity of 1,200 students. One month later, the October CIP allocated $162 million to expand Eastern to 1,516 students — an increase of $56–$70 million to make room for rezoned SSIMS students.
Unlike Eastern Middle School, Sligo Middle School had not previously been identified for capital improvement. Now however, under the CIP, the county would spend $134 million to renovate and increase Sligo’s capacity from 926 to 1,208 to make space for displaced SSIMS students.
MCPS says that renovating SSIMS and SCES in place would cost roughly $240 million (slide 22). In other words, MCPS is proposing to spend $40 million more to close two well-regarded, walkable schools than it would cost to renovate them.
2. Creating larger middle schools will harm students.
The proposed reconfiguration would expand Eastern and Sligo Middle Schools to capacity sizes of 1,516 students and 1,208 students, respectively. In school year 2031-32, SSIMS is projected to have 869 students who will be split between Eastern and Sligo. If SSIMS students are dispersed evenly, Sligo will have 1104 students, and Eastern will have 1339 students. Of course, we don’t know how many students will be placed in each school until a boundary study is completed. However, it is indisputable that MCPS is proposing to build larger middle schools to accommodate more students than is recommended by its own policies.
A growing body of research, including this study, finds that larger middle schools correlate with lower academic achievement; research also shows higher disciplinary incidents and weaker student–teacher relationships — especially for students from low-income or racial and ethnic minoritized backgrounds.
The Superintendent has been dismissive of both MCPS’s preferred middle school enrollment range (750-1200 students, according to this regulation) and national data supporting smaller middle schools. This is particularly troubling given that all three of the affected middle schools serve majority-minority, high-needs populations, for whom stability, connection, and personalized attention are crucial drivers of success. (Demographic breakdowns of SSIMS, Eastern, and Sligo MS).
3. MCPS should consider declining enrollment before closing neighborhood schools.
According to MCPS’s CIP presentation (slide 13), the district expects declining elementary enrollment and plans to begin a countywide boundary review to address excess capacity in January 2026. MCPS staff have said that additional school closures are likely after that review.
MCPS data projects that by 2031-2032, the Downcounty Consortium will have 2,938 empty elementary school seats (calculations performed from pages 4-27 and 4-28 in the CIP). Building a new elementary school for the express purpose of creating a holding school is putting the cart before the horse. If MCPS performed the boundary review first, it could adjust school assignments and, through natural attrition, identify at least one existing elementary school to use as a holding school. MCPS plans to begin implementation of the boundary review the same school year that it plans to convert Sligo Creek to a holding school, 2029-2030.
4. This plan ignores the urban nature of downtown Silver Spring and will create traffic and safety risks.
The County Council has adopted Thrive 2050, a master plan for smart growth that emphasizes walkability, density, and access to public transit — especially in downtown Silver Spring. This proposal runs directly counter to the county’s vision and investment.
Under the proposal, current walkers to SCES and SSIMS would be bussed out of a densely populated, transit-rich area to schools further away. Meanwhile, dozens of buses (likely more than 40 per day) would bring students from other neighborhoods to the holding schools.
MCPS has repeatedly cited pedestrian safety concerns related to the Purple Line station in front of both schools as a reason to turn SSIMS and SCES into holding schools (see slides 34 and 35). However, documentation shows that MCPS participated extensively in designing the station to ensure pedestrian safety. Moreover, the Purple Line and related infrastructure represent billions in public investment intended to make downtown Silver Spring more accessible, walkable, and livable. Neighborhood residents have questioned Dr. Taylor’s characterization of the light rail stop as unsafe and raised concerns instead about the safety of the dramatically increased bus traffic (to my knowledge, MCPS has not conducted a study on the traffic and safety risks of increased bus traffic to the neighborhood around SSIMS and SCES).
When pressed on Purple Line safety during a visit to SCES on Tuesday, November 11, Superintendent Taylor did not provide any data to support the district’s claims about safety concerns around the Purple Line. Moreover, in a visit to SSIMS the same day, Dr. Taylor acknowledged that SSIMS is in a more walkable location than both Sligo and Eastern Middle Schools.
5. MCPS’s facilities data is flawed.
In August, MCPS introduced a method to assess building conditions and inform the projects recommended in the CIP. This new ranking was designed to lend objectivity to the CIP process.
The facility condition assessments conducted for SSIMS and SCES can be found here. According to slide 67 in the November 4th presentation, SSIMS is ranked 43rd and SCES 47th in facility condition in the county. However, the SSIMS PTSA has identified over 50 errors with their school’s assessment. This has been communicated to MCPS, but they have not corrected the report.
This many errors in just one assessment calls into question the validity of all the reports, and by extension, the entire foundation for the CIP. Until these assessments can be evaluated for accuracy, we should not make decisions based on them.
Conclusion
The lack of community engagement and fast-tracked timeline for this proposal (five weeks from announcement to board vote) has eroded community trust and attracted attention from the County Council. In a November 5 letter to the BOE, Councilmember Evan Glass expressed concern that the CIP process does not allow for sufficient public input or transparency.
In two recent PTA meetings at SCES, parents asked if other sites had been evaluated as possible holding schools. Deputy Chief of Facilities Management Andrea Swiatocha said that such a study was conducted and documentation for it existed. Despite several follow-ups, including the filing of a MD PIA, no report has been provided.
The three primary reasons MCPS gave for converting SSIMS and SCES into holding schools are facility condition, Purple Line proximity, and other schools needing holding schools. With the data and information presented here, including the apparent lack of research or creative thinking into alternative holding schools, all three of those arguments are called into question.
During Dr. Taylor’s November 11 visit to SCES, he said, “I recognize what I am putting before you is an enormous sacrifice.” Before asking any one community to make an “enormous sacrifice,” MCPS is obligated to look for a solution that doesn’t make any community suffer disproportionately.
Silver Spring resident Rebecca Aicher has joined together with fellow neighbors and parents to launch Save Our Silver Spring Schools (saveoursilverspringschools.com), a grass-roots advocacy effort to keep MCPS’ Silver Spring International Middle School and Sligo Creek Elementary School in downtown Silver Spring.