Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School (B-CC) is a public high school in Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located at 4301 East-West Highway, in Bethesda.
Part of the Montgomery County Public Schools system, Bethesda-Chevy Chase serves the Chevy Chase and Bethesda areas including the towns of Chevy Chase, Chevy Chase View, Chevy Chase Village, and Somerset; and the villages of Chevy Chase Section Three, Chevy Chase Section Five, Martin's Additions and North Chevy Chase. It also serves small populations in Silver Spring and Kensington.
Contents
Schools within the Bethesda-Chevy Chase cluster
Westland MS
Bethesda ES
Somerset ES
Rock Creek Forest ES (Spanish immersion)
Westbrook ES
Silver Creek MS
Chevy Chase ES (3–5)
North Chevy Chase ES (3–5)
Rock Creek Forest ES (non-immersion)
Rosemary Hills ES (Pre-K–2)
History
20th century
Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School was founded as a two-story, 14-room facility on Wilson Lane in 1926. In February 1928, it moved to a newly built 12-room facility at 44th Street and Willow Lane in Chevy Chase. On September 16, 1935, the school opened at its current location on East-West Highway in a 44,995 sq ft (4,180 m2) building designed by Howard Wright Cutler. Its former location became Leland Junior High School.
From 1946 to 1950, the B-CC building was used as the first home of Montgomery Junior College—today's Montgomery College, the county's public community college. During its first school year, the college had about 175 students.
Over the years, new buildings were erected and existing buildings enlarged, including:
1936: 36,515 square feet (3,392 m2)
1950: 49,616 square feet (4,609 m2)
1952: 22,396 square feet (2,081 m2)
1959: 32,408 square feet (3,011 m2)
1966: 29,023 square feet (2,696 m2)
1970: 20,295 square feet (1,885 m2)
1975: 8,378 square feet (778 m2)
1976: 9,616 square feet (893 m2)
These additions brought the total school area to 253,242 square feet (23,527 m2).
In the summer of 1994, parents, teachers, administrators, business people and other supporters of B-CC High School formed the Community Coalition for Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School. Its charge was to re-engineer the high school to better suit its increasingly urbanized and cosmopolitan area. CC-B-CC representatives were encouraged to think broadly and innovatively to create programs that would lead B-CC High School and MCPS into the twenty-first century.
21st century
In 2018, B-CC opened a 94,407 sq ft (8,770.7 m2) addition with 34 new classrooms, a new dance studio, and more offices, bringing the campus to a total of 402,622 sq ft (37,404.8 m2) of area.
Facilities
The school has 80 classrooms, a media center with 30 computer workstations and TV studio and media production facilities, a greenhouse, a music laboratory and choral room, two gymnasiums and a weight training room, a 900-seat auditorium, and a cafeteria that serves breakfast and lunch. B-CC also has two "firsts" among Montgomery County Public Schools: a Cyber Café, opened in March 2003, and a Language Lab, installed in the summer of 2004. In 2008, B-CC High School was equipped with 80 digital classroom Promethean boards.
Activities and academics
As of 2024, B-CC is the 10th-ranked high school in Maryland and the 590th-ranked nationally, according to U.S News and World Report.
B-CC students average a score of 1203 on the SAT, with 610 in verbal and 593 in math.
In the 2022-23 school year, B-CC High School offered over 110 clubs and student organizations.
In 2013, the school's physics team won the state championship.
Athletics
B-CC fields more than 25 athletic teams, known as the Battlin' Barons.
Fall sports
Cheerleading
Cross country (girls): Maryland 4A state champions, 2011, 2012, 2024
Cross country (boys): Maryland 3A state champions, 2007
Field hockey: State champions 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2004
Football
Golf
Poms: Mid-Atlantic Champions, 2013
Rowing (boys) (club sport)
Rowing (girls) (club sport)
Soccer (boys): State champions, 1980, 1982, 1984, 2001, 2007, 2017
Soccer (girls): State champions, 2001, 2004; State, 2008, 2009; Ranked 48th in the nation; State champions, 2010, 2011
Sailing (club sport)
Tennis (girls):
Volleyball (girls)
Handball
Winter sports
Basketball (boys): State champions: 1959, 1984
Basketball (girls)
Bocce: Maryland state champions, 2013, 2015, 2016
Cheerleading
Ice hockey (club sport): MSHL State champions: 2021
Indoor track (girls): State champions, 1980, 2008
Indoor track (boys)
Poms
Swimming and diving
Wrestling
Spring sports
Baseball
Gymnastics: State champions, 2007–2010
Lacrosse (boys)
Lacrosse (girls)
Outdoor track & field
Rowing (boys) (club sport)
State champions: 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2022
National finalists: 2000 (2nd), 2001 (1st), 2003, 2004 (3rd), 2005, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2016, 2017 (1st), 2018, 2019 (3rd), 2022 (1st)
Rowing (girls) (club sport)
State champions: 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
National finalists: 2002 (2nd), 2003, 2004 (1st), 2005, 2007 (3rd), 2008, 2012 (3rd), 2013, 2014, 2015 (1st), 2016, 2017, 2019 (3rd), 2018, 2022
Sailing (club sport): 2021 ISSA Fleet Race National Championship: 5th overall, 1st public school
Softball
Tennis (boys): State champions: 2015 (doubles);
Volleyball (boys)
Volleyball (coed)
Ultimate frisbee (club sport): State champions: 2014, 2015, 2016
Rivalries
B-CC's closest athletic rivalry is with Walt Whitman; games between the schools are sometimes dubbed "Battle of Bethesda." It also has a growing rivalry with the other public school in Bethesda, Walter Johnson.
Notable alumni
B-CC has had many notable alumni in politics, business, academia, sports, and media.
Government and politics
Andy Billig, Washington state senator from the 3rd District
David Boren, U.S. Senator and Governor of Oklahoma; President of University of Oklahoma
Chet Culver, Governor of Iowa, 2007-2011
Howard A. Denis, Maryland State Senator, 1977–1994
Daniel R. Domínguez, federal judge
William Frick, member of the Maryland House of Delegates, 2007–2019
Wallace E. Hutton (born 1929), member of the Maryland House of Delegates
L. Craig Johnstone, U.S. Ambassador to Algeria, and Deputy-High Commissioner for Refugees
Peter Jo Messitte, federal judge
Peter Navarro, Counselor to the President of the United States
Neal Potter, county executive of Montgomery County, 1990–1994
Milan Dale Smith Jr. (born May 19, 1942), United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Ruy Teixeira, political scientist
Roger W. Titus, federal judge
Business
Philip J. Kaplan, tech entrepreneur
Frank Radice, media businessman, former president of National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences
Jonathan I. Schwartz, CEO of Sun Microsystems
Academia
Alfredo Jocelyn-Holt Letelier, Chilean historian
John D. Hoffman, Manhattan Project chemist
David Stuart, Mayanist scholar, youngest recipient of MacArthur Fellowship "genius grant"
Sports
Mitchell Bobrow, karate fighter, 1969 All American Karate Grand Champion Madison Square Garden
Moise Fokou, football player, linebacker for NFL's Tennessee Titans
Frank Funk, MLB player (Cleveland Indians, Milwaukee Braves)
Bill Guckeyson, 1937 NFL Draft; killed as a fighter pilot in World War II; namesake of the school's athletic field
Collin Martin, former Major League Soccer midfielder for D.C. United
Elliana Pogrebinsky, figure skater
Joe Urso, arena football player (Baltimore Blackbirds, Chesapeake Tide, Maryland Maniacs)
Ethan White, former Major League Soccer defender for D.C. United
Arts and entertainment
Martin Blank, playwright, screenwriter, and producer
Gaelan Connell, star of the movie Bandslam
Tommy Davidson, comedian, cast member of TV series In Living Color
John Duffey, bluegrass musician
Neal Fredericks, cinematographer, The Blair Witch Project
Robert Gordon, rockabilly singer
Si Kahn, singer and songwriter
Daniel Kessler, guitarist and founder of the band Interpol
David Simon, creator and executive producer of HBO series The Wire
Richard K. Spottswood, musicologist and actor
Becky Stark, actress and lead singer of Lavender Diamond
Daniel Stern, actor, appeared in two Home Alone movies
Vicky Tiel, fashion designer
Stefanie Zadravec, playwright
Media and journalism
Rita Braver, TV broadcaster, CBS News correspondent
John Harwood, Chief White House correspondent for CNN
Ken Kashiwahara – Emmy-winning television journalist
Austin H. Kiplinger, journalist and philanthropist
Charles Lane, columnist for The Washington Post''; former editor of The New Republic magazine
Andy Pollin, radio personality, sports talk station WTEM
Peter Rosenberg, radio and TV personality, Hot 97
Andy Serwer, journalist and former managing editor of Fortune magazine
Carol Stuart Watson, illustrator and publisher, co-founder of The Georgetowner
Books
Tracy Chevalier — author of Girl with a Pearl Earring
Joe Haldeman — science-fiction writer, author of The Forever War
Laura Hillenbrand — author of Seabiscuit: An American Legend and Unbroken
A.M. Homes — author of The End of Alice
Michael Lowenthal — author of Avoidance
Laurie Strongin — author of Saving Henry: A Mother's Journey
Matthew Zapruder — poet, The Pajamaist
Notable staff
Colman McCarthy — peace studies teacher