Crown boundary study Option H
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Anonymous
Churchill parent here. I don't know if it's gone downhill (my third kid is there and I've not noticed anything, and I love the current principal). That said, I'd be happy for my kids to go to Wootton. In fact, I think it might have been better for them. |
Anonymous
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The Crown/Decoverly side is definitely a more affluent area in terms of those that attend Rosemont so I am not surprised it doesn't move the needle much in terms of numbers/Farms. There are not a ton of Rosemont students on the Crown side. More come from the other side of 270/Frederick and those Farm rates are higher. The Rio side goes to Fallsmead and the lines to get on that bus are huge. I think more kids go there then to Rosemont. Also, looking around the Crown area in the Spring, I see many more "proud graduate of Wootton" signs as well as those for private high schools. I don't recall ever seeing one for Gaithersburg HS.
I sort of question the effects tables. For Option H, it's saying moving the Crown/Decloverly/Rio area that currently goes to Rosemont to the new Crown School won't really change Gaithersburg HS's numbers: 2031-32 projection: 2497->2456 FARMS: 49.6 pct->49.5 pct EML: 27.8 pct->28.5 pct Then for Wootton/Crown absorbing that area: 2031-32 projection: 1937->1999 FARMS: 14 pct->14.8 pct EML: 3.1 pct->3.3 pct Are there really that little amount of students in the Crown/Decloverly/Rio area? Then the current Rosemont boundaries looks like it's a couple of islands and the school has 62.4 percent FARMS. If the resulting FARMS numbers don't change that much for the high schools, are they pulling from the nonFARMS population of Rosemont to send them to the new Crown school? Or are the numbers so small that they just get absorbed by the larger high school numbers/population? According to mdreportcard at Rosemont 354 out of the 567 students are eligible for FARMS. |
Anonymous
Rio students go to Fallsmead then Frost then Wootton. So we are talking only about Crown students here. Yes, moving the school there means that there will be very few walkers, more bussing, carpool etc and extra congestion in the that area. |
Anonymous
Where is the new development on Research Blvd? Looking at the high school large map for option H, it looks like everything on Research blvd between Shady Grove Road and 28 is zoned for Richard Montgomery in yellow. It looks like the section of Research Blvd to the west of Shady Grove Road belongs to Crown. |
Anonymous
Okay, but how is that "stealing a reputation'? It's just, like, a relatively minor boundary change and a school building change. When those things happen at other schools people don't act like the school is no longer the same school, so why now? I mean, granted, those things don't usually happen at the same time, but I still don't really follow why it's that big a deal... |
Anonymous
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Wootton’s FCI of 0.62 is the worst in the cluster, meaning more than half of the building’s major systems are failing; MCPS categorizes schools at this level as needing comprehensive renovation, not temporary fixes.Plumbing, electrical, and HVAC systems are so old that key parts can no longer be replaced, resulting in chronic leaks, recurring ventilation failures, and unpredictable power outages—including one during AP exams.
The building has documented health and safety issues, including mold from long-term moisture problems and student reports of rats in classrooms such as the yoga room. Repeated electrical failures—including the recent full-building outage this fall—show that Wootton cannot reliably support modern instruction or technology, putting learning and testing at risk daily. The school is functionally a deteriorating facility with strong test scores—a “dump with good test scores”—and continuing to operate it without major renovation is unsafe, inequitable, and out of line with MCPS’s own standards for school conditions. |
Anonymous
This isn't a minor boundary change and it is a HUGE deal for parents whose kids are accustomed to walking/biking to school (because many afterschool activities do not have school transportation available). It will also inconvenience the Wootton staff who live nearby. The education at Wootton is top notch right now. Fix the existing Wootton building and/or put temporary classrooms until a full renovation can happen in 2035. This is far preferable to a wholesale lift-and-shift that undermines the neighborhoods that have fed into Wootton for 50+ years. |
Anonymous
Wouldn't the Option H new boundary include 100% of current Wootton students, plus a few hundred new students? That seems relatively minor to me. |
Anonymous
I think they're talking about in terms of proximity to the current Wootton location. People may say that the current Wootton location is in a bad location and not needed. But it is kind of a central point to several neighborhoods with a very strong community and have things like a well maintained walking/biking path that goes along Wootton Parkway and a public bus line that goes down to it. So is very convenient for those communities and probably helps with the community feel. However it is an aging building that other families have issues with and does need renovations/to be rebuilt. And I don't know if other families would be onboard with the previous poster's solution of additional classrooms (which likely means portables) or renovating while students are still onsite. So there will be a group of students that would have to be displaced either way for several years if they choose to just renovate Wootton and eventually have students in it's current area return to it. |
Anonymous
Only two out of the six Wootton elementary schools can walk to Wootton right now though (unless Cold Spring can also walk?). So that means four communities are getting on a bus regardless. How many staff live right by Wootton? |
Anonymous
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There's a Ride On bus stop in front of Wootton for buses 56 and 301 and bus 45 is a bit further up on Hurley Ave. All three of which go past current areas zoned for Wootton and takes them near Wootton HS.
This is compared to the Crown site, which has buses 54, 74, 66 and the Pink and Lime buses that have stops near by. Buses 54 and 74 don't really help with families in the current Wootton areas get to the Crown location. They do go along Muddy Branch and Great Seneca Highway and can help those communities get to the site. Buses 66, Pink and Lime buses do go to Traville Gateway. But then students would have to get to Traville Gateway first before being able to get on a public bus to take them to the Crown location. They could also transferring around hospital. A little bit of change/accommodation/displacement is going to be needed either way due to the current Wootton's building's age. But other then being a new building, the bus routes are an example why Crown location doesn't really seem like it's built for the current areas that Wootton serves and leverages the already existing infrastructure. Based on the bus routes, it looks like it would work for the Gaithersburg schools more, which were the ones that were overcrowded to begin with. |
Anonymous
Right but you're going from two schools that could walk to Wootton, to basically no schools, other then the area immediately around the Crown location. And based on the effects tables, it doesn't seem MCPS thinks that there are that many students that live in that immediate area that would go to the new Crown/Wootton building at that site. |
Anonymous
PP here, yes agree it feels a bit square peg into round hole, but what's the alternative? They are never going to fix Wootton. The community has been fighting for renovations for literally decades. They have gotten on the CIP at least twice and then removed. Even if MCPS promised this would be a short term (ten years or so) fix who can trust that? |
Anonymous
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The education at Wootton is top notch right now. Fix the existing Wootton building and/or put temporary classrooms until a full renovation can happen in 2035. This is far preferable to a wholesale lift-and-shift that undermines the neighborhoods that have fed into Wootton for 50+ years.
Is there a reason that you think the education would no longer be top notch in a new building? Is it maybe because that new building might include more Black and Brown people? Please just say what you really mean because the argument that students and staff should risk their health in unsafe buildings or spend a decade or more in portable classrooms rather than move to a spectacular new facility seems disingenuous. Moreover, did you know that there is no plan for Wootton to be renovated in 2035? That was the earliest that it was speculated to be able to happen IF A) the BOE voted to renovate it and IF B) there were money to do so in 10 years. In summary, your current options are: 1) unsafe building with no fixes but the same "diversity" which you seem to like or 2) a top notch, to use your term, facility where you are perhaps joined by "diversity" you don't like. Tell me again what your choice is and why? Be honest this time. |
Anonymous
| Makes zero sense to fix up Wootton to be used as a regular HS AND have Crown when we have declining enrollment and a tight budget. |