Montgomery County had five high schools in 1920, offering at least one year of education above the eighth grade. Montgomery County was the first county in Maryland to offer a full high school program when it enacted a mandatory 12-year school system in 1926.

When the original Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School building was constructed in 1935, it was the largest school building in Maryland. Its monumental size and architectural dignity distinguish the school from other academic buildings of the early 1900s, making Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School one of the most important civic monuments of the pre World War II period. The Public Works Administration built both the Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School and Montgomery Blair High School, in the New Deal era.

From: “MoCo History: Education in Montgomery County (Mid 1800s – Mid 1900s)” on the MOCO Show website (2022)