Northwood @ Woodward

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Q for DCC parents/guardians who are not already at Northwood: would you intentionally choose the Northwood@Woodward situation for your student? Or are we looking at an entire class, or two, or three, consisting of kids assigned there by default who don't want to be there at all?

There are always kids who don't want to be at their school (or at any school!), but ideally there are also at least some kids who have chosen their path there and are glad of it.

I just worry that Northwood@Woodward is going to be an entire school full of unhappy involuntary exiles, and that definitely has an impact on a school.community.

This is a really interesting question. Anyone?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I bet if BCC or the right W school were the one being moved to a holding site there would somehow be enough buses available to start the day at a normal hour. And there would be sports fields and an auditorium, too.

There is a W school in complete disrepair w/ no renovations on the books so I wouldn't be so sure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What are Northwood students asking for? What is the alternative option?

Did you read the post on Montgomery Perspective? Based on their three priority areas, it sounds like:

1. They want the auditorium to be reprioritized and put back into an earlier phase of construction

2. They don't want to have a start of 7:25 am, which is earlier than every other school in MCPS

3. They want MCPS to be more transparent and communicate more effectively

Of the three requests, I think three is the tallest order. MCPS has proved to be completely incapable of communicating in a way that builds consensus, demonstrates transparency and makes community stakeholders feel heard and considered.

For #2, what do they think should happen instead? Obviously a bus trip from many DCC neighborhoods to Woodward is going to take longer than a trip to Northwood. If they kept the times the same as they are now, they wouldn't arrive to Woodward in time for them to drop off and then travel back to the DCC to pick up the middle school kids on the next run, and then the middle school and then the elementary school routes would all be running late. Is that what Northwood families would prefer? If not, what are the other proposals?

Make another school have an earlier start time. Or several schools. Why give Northwood a triple whammy? Heaven forbid some Bethesda kids have a change to their school day

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What are Northwood students asking for? What is the alternative option?

Did you read the post on Montgomery Perspective? Based on their three priority areas, it sounds like:

1. They want the auditorium to be reprioritized and put back into an earlier phase of construction

2. They don't want to have a start of 7:25 am, which is earlier than every other school in MCPS

3. They want MCPS to be more transparent and communicate more effectively

Of the three requests, I think three is the tallest order. MCPS has proved to be completely incapable of communicating in a way that builds consensus, demonstrates transparency and makes community stakeholders feel heard and considered.

For #2, what do they think should happen instead? Obviously a bus trip from many DCC neighborhoods to Woodward is going to take longer than a trip to Northwood. If they kept the times the same as they are now, they wouldn't arrive to Woodward in time for them to drop off and then travel back to the DCC to pick up the middle school kids on the next run, and then the middle school and then the elementary school routes would all be running late. Is that what Northwood families would prefer? If not, what are the other proposals?

Make another school have an earlier start time. Or several schools. Why give Northwood a triple whammy? Heaven forbid some Bethesda kids have a change to their school day

Huh? The buses do multiple runs of schools generally in the same cluster or at least the same neighborhoods.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What are Northwood students asking for? What is the alternative option?

Did you read the post on Montgomery Perspective? Based on their three priority areas, it sounds like:

1. They want the auditorium to be reprioritized and put back into an earlier phase of construction

2. They don't want to have a start of 7:25 am, which is earlier than every other school in MCPS

3. They want MCPS to be more transparent and communicate more effectively

Of the three requests, I think three is the tallest order. MCPS has proved to be completely incapable of communicating in a way that builds consensus, demonstrates transparency and makes community stakeholders feel heard and considered.

For #2, what do they think should happen instead? Obviously a bus trip from many DCC neighborhoods to Woodward is going to take longer than a trip to Northwood. If they kept the times the same as they are now, they wouldn't arrive to Woodward in time for them to drop off and then travel back to the DCC to pick up the middle school kids on the next run, and then the middle school and then the elementary school routes would all be running late. Is that what Northwood families would prefer? If not, what are the other proposals?

How about adding more buses??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Q for DCC parents/guardians who are not already at Northwood: would you intentionally choose the Northwood@Woodward situation for your student? Or are we looking at an entire class, or two, or three, consisting of kids assigned there by default who don't want to be there at all?

There are always kids who don't want to be at their school (or at any school!), but ideally there are also at least some kids who have chosen their path there and are glad of it.

I just worry that Northwood@Woodward is going to be an entire school full of unhappy involuntary exiles, and that definitely has an impact on a school.community.

This is a really interesting question. Anyone?

Based on my older kid’s experience at NWHS, we would not rule it out for our younger kid based on the Woodward move. We’v been very happy with the administration and teachers, and our older one is having a good high school experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Q for DCC parents/guardians who are not already at Northwood: would you intentionally choose the Northwood@Woodward situation for your student? Or are we looking at an entire class, or two, or three, consisting of kids assigned there by default who don't want to be there at all?

There are always kids who don't want to be at their school (or at any school!), but ideally there are also at least some kids who have chosen their path there and are glad of it.

I just worry that Northwood@Woodward is going to be an entire school full of unhappy involuntary exiles, and that definitely has an impact on a school.community.

This is a really interesting question. Anyone?

This worries me too, because everyone we know tried to get their kid admitted elsewhere.

Yes, only because of the commute and the bell time of 7:25. This would mean that my kid would have to catch a 6am bus because the plan is for the buses to arrive at 7 am. Otherwise, I would happily send my child there.

[Anonymous]

For the record, most of the buses on the new list start picking up closer to 6:30. Which is similar to when many current DCC buses pick up.

[Anonymous]

NHS parent here. This would always be challenging however MCPS is miss-managing it.

Rather than delay the school project at NHS, they're moving it to Woodward - an unfinished project. The kids will move to Woodward without a finished building including auditorium and athletic fields and grounds. I'm not sure how that is more safe than the NHS construction.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NHS parent here. This would always be challenging however MCPS is miss-managing it.

Rather than delay the school project at NHS, they're moving it to Woodward - an unfinished project. The kids will move to Woodward without a finished building including auditorium and athletic fields and grounds. I'm not sure how that is more safe than the NHS construction.

If Northwood stayed on site during construction, they wouldn't have athletic fields then either. And in any event, that ship sailed in 2019.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What are Northwood students asking for? What is the alternative option?

Did you read the post on Montgomery Perspective? Based on their three priority areas, it sounds like:

1. They want the auditorium to be reprioritized and put back into an earlier phase of construction

2. They don't want to have a start of 7:25 am, which is earlier than every other school in MCPS

3. They want MCPS to be more transparent and communicate more effectively

Of the three requests, I think three is the tallest order. MCPS has proved to be completely incapable of communicating in a way that builds consensus, demonstrates transparency and makes community stakeholders feel heard and considered.

For #2, what do they think should happen instead? Obviously a bus trip from many DCC neighborhoods to Woodward is going to take longer than a trip to Northwood. If they kept the times the same as they are now, they wouldn't arrive to Woodward in time for them to drop off and then travel back to the DCC to pick up the middle school kids on the next run, and then the middle school and then the elementary school routes would all be running late. Is that what Northwood families would prefer? If not, what are the other proposals?

How about adding more buses??

The plan is to add 16 busses to accommodate the kids who are currently walkers. That's on top of the 19 bus routes that already service Northwood, many of which are overcrowded. My kid, and many others in the University/Colesville road area take Ride On or Metro Bus to Northwood because the school bus is too crowded and leaves earlier. Student carpools will not be an option for most due to parking limitations - temporary lot for teachers while parking deck is still under construction.

What the students want is the same access to sports, theater, etc. as their peers at other schools. Think about the families who rely on public transportation to support their students - attend back to school night, sports events or IEP/504 meetings in the middle of the day. Bus routes and start times is just one of many issues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What are Northwood students asking for? What is the alternative option?

Did you read the post on Montgomery Perspective? Based on their three priority areas, it sounds like:

1. They want the auditorium to be reprioritized and put back into an earlier phase of construction

2. They don't want to have a start of 7:25 am, which is earlier than every other school in MCPS

3. They want MCPS to be more transparent and communicate more effectively

Of the three requests, I think three is the tallest order. MCPS has proved to be completely incapable of communicating in a way that builds consensus, demonstrates transparency and makes community stakeholders feel heard and considered.

For #2, what do they think should happen instead? Obviously a bus trip from many DCC neighborhoods to Woodward is going to take longer than a trip to Northwood. If they kept the times the same as they are now, they wouldn't arrive to Woodward in time for them to drop off and then travel back to the DCC to pick up the middle school kids on the next run, and then the middle school and then the elementary school routes would all be running late. Is that what Northwood families would prefer? If not, what are the other proposals?

How about adding more buses??

The plan is to add 16 busses to accommodate the kids who are currently walkers. That's on top of the 19 bus routes that already service Northwood, many of which are overcrowded. My kid, and many others in the University/Colesville road area take Ride On or Metro Bus to Northwood because the school bus is too crowded and leaves earlier. Student carpools will not be an option for most due to parking limitations - temporary lot for teachers while parking deck is still under construction.

What the students want is the same access to sports, theater, etc. as their peers at other schools. Think about the families who rely on public transportation to support their students - attend back to school night, sports events or IEP/504 meetings in the middle of the day. Bus routes and start times is just one of many issues.

I think everyone agrees that is what would be best. But what are the potential means to achieve that goal?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What are Northwood students asking for? What is the alternative option?

Did you read the post on Montgomery Perspective? Based on their three priority areas, it sounds like:

1. They want the auditorium to be reprioritized and put back into an earlier phase of construction

2. They don't want to have a start of 7:25 am, which is earlier than every other school in MCPS

3. They want MCPS to be more transparent and communicate more effectively

Of the three requests, I think three is the tallest order. MCPS has proved to be completely incapable of communicating in a way that builds consensus, demonstrates transparency and makes community stakeholders feel heard and considered.

For #2, what do they think should happen instead? Obviously a bus trip from many DCC neighborhoods to Woodward is going to take longer than a trip to Northwood. If they kept the times the same as they are now, they wouldn't arrive to Woodward in time for them to drop off and then travel back to the DCC to pick up the middle school kids on the next run, and then the middle school and then the elementary school routes would all be running late. Is that what Northwood families would prefer? If not, what are the other proposals?

How about adding more buses??

The plan is to add 16 busses to accommodate the kids who are currently walkers. That's on top of the 19 bus routes that already service Northwood, many of which are overcrowded. My kid, and many others in the University/Colesville road area take Ride On or Metro Bus to Northwood because the school bus is too crowded and leaves earlier. Student carpools will not be an option for most due to parking limitations - temporary lot for teachers while parking deck is still under construction.

What the students want is the same access to sports, theater, etc. as their peers at other schools. Think about the families who rely on public transportation to support their students - attend back to school night, sports events or IEP/504 meetings in the middle of the day. Bus routes and start times is just one of many issues.

I think everyone agrees that is what would be best. But what are the potential means to achieve that goal?

Yeah, this is what I find flawed with those who have been petitioning the board and MCPS on this issue. Whose projects do you want to defund or deprioritize to fund Northwood? No one is willing to go there, but that's the reality of what would have to happen for Northwood to get the funding they're protesting for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What are Northwood students asking for? What is the alternative option?

Did you read the post on Montgomery Perspective? Based on their three priority areas, it sounds like:

1. They want the auditorium to be reprioritized and put back into an earlier phase of construction

2. They don't want to have a start of 7:25 am, which is earlier than every other school in MCPS

3. They want MCPS to be more transparent and communicate more effectively

Of the three requests, I think three is the tallest order. MCPS has proved to be completely incapable of communicating in a way that builds consensus, demonstrates transparency and makes community stakeholders feel heard and considered.

For #2, what do they think should happen instead? Obviously a bus trip from many DCC neighborhoods to Woodward is going to take longer than a trip to Northwood. If they kept the times the same as they are now, they wouldn't arrive to Woodward in time for them to drop off and then travel back to the DCC to pick up the middle school kids on the next run, and then the middle school and then the elementary school routes would all be running late. Is that what Northwood families would prefer? If not, what are the other proposals?

How about adding more buses??

The plan is to add 16 busses to accommodate the kids who are currently walkers. That's on top of the 19 bus routes that already service Northwood, many of which are overcrowded. My kid, and many others in the University/Colesville road area take Ride On or Metro Bus to Northwood because the school bus is too crowded and leaves earlier. Student carpools will not be an option for most due to parking limitations - temporary lot for teachers while parking deck is still under construction.

What the students want is the same access to sports, theater, etc. as their peers at other schools. Think about the families who rely on public transportation to support their students - attend back to school night, sports events or IEP/504 meetings in the middle of the day. Bus routes and start times is just one of many issues.

I think everyone agrees that is what would be best. But what are the potential means to achieve that goal?

Yeah, this is what I find flawed with those who have been petitioning the board and MCPS on this issue. Whose projects do you want to defund or deprioritize to fund Northwood? No one is willing to go there, but that's the reality of what would have to happen for Northwood to get the funding they're protesting for.

So they should delay the move a year and figure it out. As subpar as the current Northwood building is, at least it has faciities and is accessible to families.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What are Northwood students asking for? What is the alternative option?

Did you read the post on Montgomery Perspective? Based on their three priority areas, it sounds like:

1. They want the auditorium to be reprioritized and put back into an earlier phase of construction

2. They don't want to have a start of 7:25 am, which is earlier than every other school in MCPS

3. They want MCPS to be more transparent and communicate more effectively

Of the three requests, I think three is the tallest order. MCPS has proved to be completely incapable of communicating in a way that builds consensus, demonstrates transparency and makes community stakeholders feel heard and considered.

For #2, what do they think should happen instead? Obviously a bus trip from many DCC neighborhoods to Woodward is going to take longer than a trip to Northwood. If they kept the times the same as they are now, they wouldn't arrive to Woodward in time for them to drop off and then travel back to the DCC to pick up the middle school kids on the next run, and then the middle school and then the elementary school routes would all be running late. Is that what Northwood families would prefer? If not, what are the other proposals?

How about adding more buses??

The plan is to add 16 busses to accommodate the kids who are currently walkers. That's on top of the 19 bus routes that already service Northwood, many of which are overcrowded. My kid, and many others in the University/Colesville road area take Ride On or Metro Bus to Northwood because the school bus is too crowded and leaves earlier. Student carpools will not be an option for most due to parking limitations - temporary lot for teachers while parking deck is still under construction.

What the students want is the same access to sports, theater, etc. as their peers at other schools. Think about the families who rely on public transportation to support their students - attend back to school night, sports events or IEP/504 meetings in the middle of the day. Bus routes and start times is just one of many issues.

I think everyone agrees that is what would be best. But what are the potential means to achieve that goal?

Yeah, this is what I find flawed with those who have been petitioning the board and MCPS on this issue. Whose projects do you want to defund or deprioritize to fund Northwood? No one is willing to go there, but that's the reality of what would have to happen for Northwood to get the funding they're protesting for.

So they should delay the move a year and figure it out. As subpar as the current Northwood building is, at least it has faciities and is accessible to families.

No, they should not delay the move! That just keeps WJ, Wheaton, Einstein, and Blair more overcrowded while waiting for Woodward and new Northwood.