Northwood @ Woodward

[Anonymous]

How about the overcrowded schools waiting for Woodward to be turned over change their start times instead of Northwood?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How about the overcrowded schools waiting for Woodward to be turned over change their start times instead of Northwood?

So, change the start times for 11,000 students instead of Northwood's 1,800?

[Anonymous]

What about having Northwood go virtual for a year and speed up construction?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What about having Northwood go virtual for a year and speed up construction?

So you missed out on all the information that came out about the emotional and psychological harm and learning loss that happened when we spent nearly two years virtual during the pandemic?

[Anonymous]

Email just went out to DCC from Brian Hull moving bus pick up times to almost where they are now. Some words about off cycle CIP plan to get the auditorium built.

Looks like some of it is turning positive for Northwood.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Email just went out to DCC from Brian Hull moving bus pick up times to almost where they are now. Some words about off cycle CIP plan to get the auditorium built.

Looks like some of it is turning positive for Northwood.

Good!

[Anonymous]

Dear Northwood High School Community,

Thank You for your advocacy and interest in the construction plans for the new Northwood High School; together, we will work to keep this project on track and do it in a way that has the least impact on students, staff and families. Construction of new facilities for an already established school community always comes with challenges and this will be true for Northwood High during its time at Woodward. We are partners in this project, and it has been a long time coming, but capacity and aging facility needs require us to keep moving forward. For nearly four years, our facilities team has kept the work going by sharing information about the timeline, project designs, and transition plans and ensuring the project has remained a priority in the overall capital improvement plan for Montgomery County Public Schools.

We have heard your concerns about the school start time, distance, and the impact on programs. Here are some important updates based on the valuable feedback and input we have received from our students, staff, families, and community partners:

Transportation: Original proposals for bus pick-up times started as early as 6:05 a.m. Our new proposal includes adding 17 routes for a total of 33 buses and has an average pickup time of 6:42 a.m. The earliest pickup may be at 6:27 a.m., which is not dissimilar to our current earliest pickup at 6:30 a.m. To be clear, every student, whether a current bus rider or walker, will have access to a bus to go to and from school. The school day then ends at 2:10 p.m. and the same number of buses return students to their bus stops and home.
NOTE: MCPS transportation officials will also make “sweeper buses” available. Two buses will return to designated spots after their normal runs to pick up students who may have missed their regularly scheduled trip.

School start time: To support the new busing plan and provide flexibility first thing in the morning, all first-period classes will now begin at 7:40 a.m. The Woodward building will be open and accessible to students by 6:30 a.m. for any students who may arrive prior to the start of school, as it is now at Northwood.
These changes to the bus schedules and bell times have no impact on any programs offered at Northwood High School. The 2:10 p.m. dismissal time is maintained to support all extracurricular activities, including athletics.

Woodward Auditorium: Moving to a temporary facility that is not yet finished and does not have an auditorium until planned completion in 2027 has understandably caused significant concern. I want to assure you that MCPS remains committed to finding ways to adjust this plan. We will explore innovative ways to bring enough capital funding to the project, allowing us to include an auditorium as early as 2026. We know that we are able to request funding off-cycle from the scheduled Capital Improvement Project (CIP) schedule, and we are actively looking into this possibility. If successful, it may be possible to secure funding and accelerate the project as soon as this fall if funding is ultimately approved.
NOTE: Northwood High School leaders, including arts and music educators, are partnering directly with central services to ensure a comprehensive plan that includes multiple, near-home, alternate locations and transportation for all performing arts programs.

Student and staff parking: We have also heard your concerns about student and staff parking at the Woodward location, and the MCPS facilities team has confirmed that they will be able to provide the paved space necessary to meet parking needs. Northwood High currently has limited parking, but with careful planning, we are confident that we will meet the expected needs at the Woodward facility.
Again, thank you for engaging with your school team and advocating with district leaders, including the Board of Education, to ensure the community’s needs are reflected in the project. We also commit to communicating often, especially as changes occur to our plans. In fact there is an updated and refreshed webpage coming that will have all the latest, up-to-date information. More on this in the coming days.

A community takes great pride in its schools, especially its high schools, and the Northwood High community will have a new, modern, and excellent learning facility when the new school opens in 2027. We are excited about the possibilities of this new school and hope you are too.

Thank You,

Brian Hull
MCPS Chief Operating Officer

[Anonymous]

It's nice that Brian Hull finally decided to step down from the mountaintop to address the fire broiling around this. These are reasonable responses and updates that should have happened much more quickly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about having Northwood go virtual for a year and speed up construction?

So you missed out on all the information that came out about the emotional and psychological harm and learning loss that happened when we spent nearly two years virtual during the pandemic?

None of that was from the actual death and illness of the pandemic. Pandemic had no negative impact on anyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about having Northwood go virtual for a year and speed up construction?

So you missed out on all the information that came out about the emotional and psychological harm and learning loss that happened when we spent nearly two years virtual during the pandemic?

I clearly missed it as mine were fine in virtual. Get your kids help and fix what ever is going on in your house that caused those issues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about having Northwood go virtual for a year and speed up construction?

So you missed out on all the information that came out about the emotional and psychological harm and learning loss that happened when we spent nearly two years virtual during the pandemic?

I clearly missed it as mine were fine in virtual. Get your kids help and fix what ever is going on in your house that caused those issues.

That's nice. There's a landslide of data that says otherwise that virtual learning was really harmful for children's academic education and their mental wellbeing. We won't be going back to that, though you're free to since it was great for your kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How about the overcrowded schools waiting for Woodward to be turned over change their start times instead of Northwood?

So, change the start times for 11,000 students instead of Northwood's 1,800?

Having kids who live near their school report earlier rather than those who have extra travel already sounds more like equity to me!

[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.

+1000

[Anonymous]

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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.

This is a stupid argument because MCPS has a history of wasting a ton of money on random pet projects and chasing new educational fads.

[Anonymous]

Footage from the Northwood High School walkout.