Bethesda Magazine Spotlight
The Diener School was highlighted in the Bethesday Magazine September 13, 2024. Article written by Ashlyn Campbell.
Private school for special needs students opens new home in Bethesda
Diener School moves away from renting, buys and renovates office building
For 17 years, The Diener School has educated students with the goal of providing a learning environment for those with learning differences. And for those 17 years, the private school has never had a permanent home, instead renting spaces to hold classes.
“There was always hope that one day we would have a school to call our own,” Kathy Chumas, head of The Diener School, said. “The dream of creating an environment designed to be a sanctuary where each child can thrive, a place where differences are not acknowledged but embraced as the true strengths they are.”
On Thursday, Chumas’s dream came true.
The Diener School opened its own space for its roughly 80 students in kindergarten through eighth grade after raising nearly $5 million and gaining state grants to buy and renovate an office building at 9312 Old Georgetown Road in Bethesda.