International private school to open on Grosvenor property

The two previously worked together when they founded Edison Schools, an education company that works with schools to raise student achievement through management, curriculum and programs.

They plan to open the school in fall 2010.

‘‘We want this to be the first global system of schools that graduates people who are world citizens; comfortable in Mumbai or Milan,” said Whittle, who is CEO of the Nations Academy.

The school will accommodate more than 1,600 students, and will include a dormitory for international students, Whittle said.

Nations Academy in Bethesda will be one of more than 60 campuses worldwide that students in the academy system will have the opportunity to attend, according to Whittle and Schmidt.

The deal for the property is still being finalized, Whittle said, but if it is completed in January, as is expected, construction could begin as early as next fall.

A second campus is slated to open at the same time as the Bethesda campus in midtown Manhattan, and four campuses are planned to open in 2011, in cities around the world.

Neighbors had been guessing who had purchased the 35-acre property – the site of the Grosvenor Mansion which belonged to National Geographic founder Gilbert Grosvenor — for months. Many neighbors opposed any changes to the property and have rallied to protect it from development.

Community groups submitted a Legacy Open Space application to the county as an attempt to save the property and convert it to a park, while others have attempted to start the process of dedicating the Grosvenor Mansion as a historic site.

Traffic on Grosvenor Lane, where the property is located, has also been a concern for neighborhood residents. Cheryl Leahy, president of the Wildwood Manor Citizens Association, met with Whittle and Schmidt on Friday to discuss her concerns.

‘‘I think it sounds like a fantastic idea for a school, but I don’t think Grosvenor Lane is the place for it,” she said. ‘‘There are going to be over 1,600 students at the school. The road can’t accommodate it.”