Northwood @ Woodward

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Come to the County Council meeting on Monday, April 8, 7pm and help protest the delayed auditorium!

+1. It would also help if you had another plan for where to make non recommend reductions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We're DCC with a MS student, and still trying to learn more about this situation (I have the recorded Zoom and the slide deck from earlier this week). Right now it looks like the current Northwood students are going to get evacuated from one construction site to another construction site. They will start off with no/next to no sports facilities and no auditorium, and the auditorium may take 1, 2, or 2+ years. Earlier start to the day along with a longer bus commute, and hauling students all over the downcounty for activities after school lets out, too.

If I had a student already at Northwood who felt strongly about staying part of the community it would be one thing. But right now, looking at this, I'm thinking Northwood is absolutely off the HS application list for DC. How do other folks feel? And what do people think this will do to the HS choice process in the DCC? Even harder to get into Blair? Boosting populations at Kennedy and Einstein? Will MCPS take any steps to try to rebalance the rest of the DCC?

Hopefully a boost in student population would turn things around at Kennedy. Right now, with our new principal and the current culture, things are real shaky.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Come to the County Council meeting on Monday, April 8, 7pm and help protest the delayed auditorium!

+1. It would also help if you had another plan for where to make non recommend reductions.

I hate comments like this. Passive aggressive move to shut down any push back. It is not the job of parents to figure out the minutiae of the budget. And no one would listen to them any way. The school district should be more open and transparent on where $$$ go. They should not have planned a move to Woodward when the school is only 70% completed. They should have delayed the move one more year. And why is the construction moving at a snail’s pace any way?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Come to the County Council meeting on Monday, April 8, 7pm and help protest the delayed auditorium!

+1. It would also help if you had another plan for where to make non recommend reductions.

I hate comments like this. Passive aggressive move to shut down any push back. It is not the job of parents to figure out the minutiae of the budget. And no one would listen to them any way. The school district should be more open and transparent on where $$$ go. They should not have planned a move to Woodward when the school is only 70% completed. They should have delayed the move one more year. And why is the construction moving at a snail’s pace any way?

It kind of is their job to figure out the minutiae of the budget if they're going to engage in advocacy to the board in favor of them making a budgeting decision they're advocating for. Sorry, but that's how it works.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Come to the County Council meeting on Monday, April 8, 7pm and help protest the delayed auditorium!

Sure...to help the WJ families that are now PO'd that there is now a Phase III and it won't get all done by the time they move in. I mean, it isn't right, either, but we didn't hear much support for the Northwood situation from them a few years back when the plan became phased in the first place, with the lack of facilities detailed above.

No amount of advocacy at this point will get an auditorium in place for the Northwood kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Woodward will be done except an auditorium. Not a huge deal. The commute is. They aren't going to increase the number of students at other schools as there is no space. Its a mix of lottery and other factors for getting a spot in other schools.

This is untrue. Firstly, not having an auditorium for all 3 years is terrible.
Auditoriums are used all the time at schools for theater, dance performances, assemblies, AP exams, testing, talent show, etc.

Sports fields will not be ready either.
This will affect not only all outdoor athletics but PE as well. Only one indoor gym space will be available to Northwood students and no completed outdoor space.

There will be no student parking available as only staff parking spaces will be completed when Northwood arrives.

Longer commuting time means some kids will be picked up as early as 6 am and will be dumped at school 45 minutes before the start of school.
MCPS also wants the school day to end earlier for Northwood as they need the buses to get to their next shift on time.

There are other issues as well.

MCPS was not honest with the community about Woodward being completed and now it is too late for students to try to switch to other schools. MCPS should have delayed the move by one more year if the school is not ready to accept students

The speaker on the Zoom meeting insisted that Woodward still being under some kind of construction when Northwood arrived had always been part of the plan.

Agreed that relocating students for after-school activities is going to feel like punishment.

Yes, that's always been the plan. Phase 1 of Woodward will be occupied by Northwood students. While Northwood students are there, Phase 2 of Woodward will be built.

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/facilities/construction/project/woodwardhs

That is revisionist history boosted by the website's missing notes from older community meetings (there are a lot of files that go missing from thr MCPS facilities project sites -- some are archived on the Wayback Machine by those browsing, but not all). The phases were introduced before approval by the BOE. The community support prior to that had begun to be garnered without the phased concept, and that was pretty much only seen as OK by those more closely engaged (read: WJ for the most part, not Northwood) when the phases would be done before the WJ/new Woodward students moved in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Come to the County Council meeting on Monday, April 8, 7pm and help protest the delayed auditorium!

+1. It would also help if you had another plan for where to make non recommend reductions.

I hate comments like this. Passive aggressive move to shut down any push back. It is not the job of parents to figure out the minutiae of the budget. And no one would listen to them any way. The school district should be more open and transparent on where $$$ go. They should not have planned a move to Woodward when the school is only 70% completed. They should have delayed the move one more year. And why is the construction moving at a snail’s pace any way?

Transparency with the government should be a given. They should give line-by-line transparency of all the money spent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Come to the County Council meeting on Monday, April 8, 7pm and help protest the delayed auditorium!

Sure...to help the WJ families that are now PO'd that there is now a Phase III and it won't get all done by the time they move in. I mean, it isn't right, either, but we didn't hear much support for the Northwood situation from them a few years back when the plan became phased in the first place, with the lack of facilities detailed above.

No amount of advocacy at this point will get an auditorium in place for the Northwood kids.

WJ families should be grateful they are getting a new school and they've had their school remodeled unlike other schools.

[Anonymous]

Why is Northwood getting screwed?
They would never treat Bethesda schools like this because MCPS is scared of Bethesda parents

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why is Northwood getting screwed?
They would never treat Bethesda schools like this because MCPS is scared of Bethesda parents

They aren't. They are getting a brand new school but to do that the students need to be moved elsewhere and the only place to put them is the new Woodward which will not have everything, like an auditorium right away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is Northwood getting screwed?
They would never treat Bethesda schools like this because MCPS is scared of Bethesda parents

They aren't. They are getting a brand new school but to do that the students need to be moved elsewhere and the only place to put them is the new Woodward which will not have everything, like an auditorium right away.

There is a lot more stuff missing than the auditorium. MCPS did a bait and switch

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Come to the County Council meeting on Monday, April 8, 7pm and help protest the delayed auditorium!

+1. It would also help if you had another plan for where to make non recommend reductions.

I hate comments like this. Passive aggressive move to shut down any push back. It is not the job of parents to figure out the minutiae of the budget. And no one would listen to them any way. The school district should be more open and transparent on where $$$ go. They should not have planned a move to Woodward when the school is only 70% completed. They should have delayed the move one more year. And why is the construction moving at a snail’s pace any way?

It kind of is their job to figure out the minutiae of the budget if they're going to engage in advocacy to the board in favor of them making a budgeting decision they're advocating for. Sorry, but that's how it works.

+1. You have questions or concerns that is all well and fine. The BOE and Facilities department have email address and phone numbers that you can reach out to. The BOE has a meeting you can come to. MCPS presented its options for Non recommended Reductions. If you don’t agree with those choices, it’s on you to present why and then present another solution.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is Northwood getting screwed?
They would never treat Bethesda schools like this because MCPS is scared of Bethesda parents

They aren't. They are getting a brand new school but to do that the students need to be moved elsewhere and the only place to put them is the new Woodward which will not have everything, like an auditorium right away.

So kids go to high school for 8 years?

No!

Kids are screwed. Their entire high school time will be at an inferior location.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Come to the County Council meeting on Monday, April 8, 7pm and help protest the delayed auditorium!

+1. It would also help if you had another plan for where to make non recommend reductions.

I hate comments like this. Passive aggressive move to shut down any push back. It is not the job of parents to figure out the minutiae of the budget. And no one would listen to them any way. The school district should be more open and transparent on where $$$ go. They should not have planned a move to Woodward when the school is only 70% completed. They should have delayed the move one more year. And why is the construction moving at a snail’s pace any way?

It kind of is their job to figure out the minutiae of the budget if they're going to engage in advocacy to the board in favor of them making a budgeting decision they're advocating for. Sorry, but that's how it works.

+1. You have questions or concerns that is all well and fine. The BOE and Facilities department have email address and phone numbers that you can reach out to. The BOE has a meeting you can come to. MCPS presented its options for Non recommended Reductions. If you don’t agree with those choices, it’s on you to present why and then present another solution.

Nope. Highly paid administrators can work out solutions. That is what we pay them for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Woodward will be done except an auditorium. Not a huge deal. The commute is. They aren't going to increase the number of students at other schools as there is no space. Its a mix of lottery and other factors for getting a spot in other schools.

One proposal on the Zoom was to use the cafeteria stairs as seating for a makeshift performance space.

The principal said they are going to do a performing arts plan where they go to other school facilities just like athletics. To be honest, he was about the only one who seemed to actually have ideas.

That’s not actually going to happen because schools use their auditoriums SO much. It’s hard enough as it is scheduling use of the auditorium at your own school. Also, performances are only one part of the process. Where will these kids rehearse a play or musical for 3 months at a time? Where will all the music ensembles have dress rehearsals during class the week of their concert? Athletics have practice space designed like their game space. Why are the arts treated so differently?