Bethesda Actually

The Washington Post ran this article today about problems of overcrowding in Maryland schools – with Montgomery County bearing the brunt as the state’s largest school system.  As 200,000 Maryland students headed back to school, growth in classroom size has been pitched against funding difficulties meaning school’s have been unable to hire more teachers, leaving parents understandably anxious.

Concerning Bethesda:

At Ashburton Elementary School in Bethesda, enrollment has grown to 770 this year from 650 last year, mostly in kindergarten and first grade. Principal Charlene Eroh Garran said that she had hired two veteran teachers and two rookies in the past month and had to find new space in the school to accommodate all the students, but she was optimistic that things would work out. Any more and she’ll have to call in the trailers, she said.

Meanwhile, Superintendent Jerry D. Weast, who is retiring in June, undertook a “back-to-school-tour” yesterday marking the final of his 12 years as Superintendent.  He began the day at Bethesda’s Walter Johnson High School.

Read the full article here.

(Image by Kmf164, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic)

Uncle Tom’s Cabin on Old Georgetown Road will open to visitors for the first time over the weekend of June 24-25 (limited hours).

The cabin in Bethesda, which is the former home of slave Josiah Henson, whose autobiography was the model for Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”, was recently purchased by Montgomery County Planning Board.  It will be opened to provide the public with a rare view of the cabin during the county’s Heritage Days event.

Historian CR Gibbs told 9 News: “We have a chance to bring together the strands of farming, of slavery, to tell the interconnected and complex story that has long since been desired to be told.”

Should be a fascinating event!  More here from the Washington Post.