The Montgomery County (Maryland) district has begun construction of a new campus for Burtonsville Elementary School.
The district says the 100,000-square-foot school in Burtonsville will have capacity for 796 students. The media center, which will be on the ground floor, will have high ceilings with lots of natural light.
In 2023, the school board approved plans for the two-story building, which is expected to cost $57.8 million, Bethesda Today reports.
The new school, a couple of miles from the existing campus, will have solar panels, basketball courts, athletic fields, upgraded playgrounds and an interior courtyard.
Increasing capacity is one of the main goals behind the plans to replace the school. Enrollment at Burtonsville Elementary during 2023-24 was about 600 students in a 71,000-square-foot building with a capacity of about 500.
The location of the new building in a residential neighborhood means 85% of students will be able to walk to school, Principal Kimberly Lloyd said. No students walk to the existing school.
The media center, along with art classrooms, will be near the courtyard, which will foster outdoor learning.
The school is expected to open for the start of the 2026–27 school year.
