On behalf of concerned parents and community members of Diamond Elementary School (“Diamond ES”), we respectfully urge the Montgomery County Board of Education (BOE) to REJECT all four options presented in the second-round boundary study and instead adopt a boundary plan that keeps Diamond ES aligned with Lakelands Park Middle School.

Lakelands Park MS was the main option for Diamond ES in the first-round boundary study. However, in the second round, all four options now assign Diamond ES to Ridgeview Middle School, leaving our community with no viable option to remain with Lakelands Park MS. This abrupt shift raises serious concerns about the transparency, rationale, and fairness of the process. We urge the BOE to disclose the data and reasoning behind this drastic change.

The October 2025 boundary study introduces several major and deeply concerning changes affecting the Diamond ES community:

•   Middle School Reassignment: Redirecting students from Lakelands Park MS to Ridgeview MS.
•   High School Reassignment: Moving Diamond ES students to a different high school cluster.
•   Regional Reassignment: Transferring Diamond ES from Region 6 to Region 5.
•   Split Articulation: Dividing Diamond ES students between Crown and Quince Orchard High Schools.

In addition, an elementary school boundary study recommended for 2026 targets communities with island zones—such as Diamond ES—introducing a potential fifth major change that would further destabilize our community.

Collectively, these changes threaten our children’s well-being by separating long-established peer groups, undermining neighborhood cohesion, and contradicting key BOE policies on safety, stability, and community integrity.

 
1. Community Stability and Identity

Keeping our children at Lakelands Park MS is essential to maintaining community stability and identity. For decades, Diamond ES and the Lakelands Park communities have grown together—sharing resources, supporting one another, and building traditions through neighborhood events. These connections have created more than friendships; they have fostered a deep sense of belonging.

Schools are at the heart of neighborhood identity. The BOE’s own Policy FAA and Policy ABA emphasize the importance of sustaining stable, contiguous communities in school assignments. Reassigning Diamond ES to Ridgeview MS—an entirely different geographic and social area—would fracture long-standing relationships among families, students, and community institutions.

Moreover, community stability is not just emotional—it directly impacts student achievement. Studies consistently show that students perform better academically and socially when they remain in schools with peers and families they know and trust. Disrupting that continuity risks weakening family-school partnerships, lowering parental involvement, and eroding community engagement that has been a hallmark of the collaboration between Diamond ES and Lakelands Park MS.

The Lakelands and Diamond ES communities have historically partnered on after-school programs, PTA initiatives, and neighborhood safety efforts. These shared structures cannot be easily replicated if the student body is divided. Keeping our children together at Lakelands Park MS will allow lasting friendships to flourish, preserve the foundation of our shared community, and keep our neighborhoods stable, united, and strong.

2. Student Stability and Emotional Well-Being

Board Policy FAA emphasizes the importance of maintaining stability in school assignments. Forcibly separating students from their peers after progressing together through elementary school disrupts both academic continuity and emotional development (APA, 2020; Journal of Adolescent Health, 2019).

Stability is also something that Diamond ES families have already lost before. A previous boundary study in the early 2000s reassigned most of Diamond ES from Quince Orchard HS to Northwest HS, forcing families to rebuild community connections. We strongly object to any further destabilization of our children’s school experience by removing them from Lakelands Park MS.

The current October 2025 boundary study divides the Diamond ES community between two different high schools—Quince Orchard and Crown—creating a troubling disconnect that undermines continuity and belonging. For students with anxiety, learning differences, or pandemic-related challenges, losing established peer groups and trusted support networks can have lasting impacts on academic confidence, engagement, and mental health.

Furthermore, MCPS’s Policy ACF (Nondiscrimination, Equity, and Cultural Proficiency) underscores the importance of equitable access to supportive learning environments. The current plan disproportionately affects Diamond ES families by severing their community continuity while leaving others intact. This inequity contradicts the BOE’s stated commitment to student well-being and equitable treatment across clusters.

Continuity benefits not just students but also schools themselves. Teachers and counselors who serve stable cohorts can better identify and address students’ emotional and academic needs, maintain family relationships, and foster stronger transitions. We urge the BOE to correct this oversight and establish a unified, consistent articulation pathway for the Diamond ES community—one that protects student stability, strengthens emotional support systems, and aligns with MCPS’s core educational values.

 
3. Geographic Proximity, Commuting Challenges, and Overcrowding Concerns

The Diamond ES cluster is located within walking and biking distance of Lakelands Park MS—where the community is designed and accustomed to pedestrian access—allowing many students to commute safely without reliance on car or bus transportation. This not only reduces traffic congestion but also supports student health and aligns with the BOE’s goals for transportation efficiency and environmental sustainability. Diamond ES’s request to remain with Lakelands Park MS is in line with the BOE policy of Geographic proximity.

In the October 2025 boundary study, two elementary schools are reassigned from Lakelands Park MS to Ridgeview MS, while only one school is reassigned out of Ridgeview to Lakelands Park. This imbalance raises serious overcrowding concerns for Ridgeview MS. We respectfully request that the BOE provide data demonstrating Ridgeview’s capacity to absorb this significant enrollment increase without compromising class sizes, resource allocation, or the overall learning environment.

 
4. Regional Reassignment Concerns

Diamond ES is a close-knit, diverse community located near AstraZeneca and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Many residents are professionals in the scientific and medical fields who specifically chose this neighborhood for the strong academic reputations of Diamond Elementary, Lakelands Park Middle, and the STEM-focused Ulysses Program at Northwest High School.

The October 2025 boundary study reassigns Diamond ES from Region 6 to Region 5, a change that risks disrupting academic and programmatic continuity. Families who moved to this community specifically for Region 6’s STEM and advanced academic opportunities will lose access to those programs—without a clear replacement plan in Region 5.

If Diamond ES must be reassigned out of Northwest High School, we strongly urge the BOE to ensure continuity of opportunity by:

• Allowing Diamond ES students to apply or transfer to Region 6 programs during the transition period.
• Establishing comparable STEM and enrichment programs within Region 5 before any reassignment is finalized.
• Implementing a phased transition plan with clear communication and family choice options, especially during the period when Crown High School may serve as a holding school.

Without such assurances, this regional reassignment appears premature and counterproductive to MCPS’s goals of equitable access, academic excellence, and long-term community stability. Families deserve clarity, consistency, and continued access to the rigorous educational opportunities that have long defined the Diamond ES community.

 
5. Recommended Elementary School Boundary Study Concerns

In recent Capital Improvements Program (CIP) sessions and BOE boundary study meetings, the Board and staff discussed the possibility of conducting a future elementary school boundary study. Diamond ES was specifically identified as one of the schools with “islands” — small, disconnected attendance areas that may be subject to reassignment in future adjustments.

This means that, in addition to the four significant changes already proposed in the October 2025 boundary study, the Diamond ES community may soon face yet another boundary realignment. Such repeated and overlapping studies create a cycle of uncertainty and instability for our families, teachers, and students. Parents cannot plan for the future when their school assignments remain in constant flux, and schools themselves cannot effectively build programs or community cohesion when boundaries are perpetually unsettled.

We urge the BOE to pause any boundary changes involving Diamond ES until long-term stability is achieved and clearly communicated. Rather than implementing fragmented adjustments through multiple, back-to-back studies, we urge the Board to re-evaluate the current plan and conduct a comprehensive, countywide K–12 boundary study. This broader and more strategic approach would reduce repeated disruptions, provide greater predictability for families, and ensure that all boundary decisions are made with a full understanding of systemwide impacts.

If the Board intends to revisit Diamond ES boundaries at the elementary level, that process should occur after the comprehensive study and with full community participation, transparent criteria, and data-driven justifications.

The Diamond ES community has already endured multiple reassignments and disruptions over the past two decades. At what point will the BOE prioritize stability for our children and uphold its stated commitments to predictability, transparency, and community integrity? It is time to give Diamond ES families the stability and long-term clarity they deserve.

 
Conclusion

We respectfully call upon the Montgomery County Board of Education to re-evaluate the current boundary study and adopt sustainable, student-centered solutions that uphold safety, stability, and community integrity. We urge the Board to adopt a boundary plan that keeps Diamond Elementary School aligned with Lakelands Park Middle School and ensures families have the option to access academic programs in Region 6 during a phased transition period as comparable programs are developed in Region 5.

If an elementary boundary study is anticipated in the near future, we strongly urge the BOE to develop a comprehensive K–12 boundary plan rather than continue with piecemeal adjustments. A unified, countywide approach would prevent conflicting outcomes, minimize repeated disruptions, and promote long-term community and student stability across all grade levels.

Respectfully submitted,
The Parents and Community Members of Diamond Elementary School

– Contact all members of the BOE directly

Julie Yang: President / District 3     Julie_Yang@mcpsmd.org

Grace Rivera-Oven: Vice President / District 1   Graciela_Rivera-oven@mcpsmd.org  

Natalie Zimmerman: District 2      Natalie_Zimmerman@mcpsmd.org

Laura Stewart: District 4     Laura_M_Stewart@mcpsmd.org  

Brenda Wolff: District 5      Brenda_Wolff@mcpsmd.org

Karla Silvestre: At Large           Karla_Silvestre@mcpsmd.org

Rita Montoya: At Large         Rita_M_Montoya@mcpsmd.org

Praneel Suvarna: Student Member     Praneel_S_Suvarna@mcpsmd.org 

Dr. Thomas W. Taylor: Superintendent    superintendent@mcpsmd.org