Poolesville High School

[Anonymous]

A group of students put this together in an attempt to goad county officials into making repairs. None have been made so far yet the BOE promotes the school as a magnet school. If these conditions were happening at Churchill or Whitman there would be hell to pay.

The part about the locker rooms and bathrooms are especially troublesome. Visiting teams have to come dressed or change in classrooms because there is no other place to change. The showers haven't worked for ten years.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuVYJa7irZg&feature=related

[Anonymous]

Huh? My DC plays 2 MCPS sports at one of the schools you mention and never once have they changed in a locker room. Our kids arrive dressed, the other team arrives dressed, you play and you go home. There are spartan bathrooms in the stadium field. No worse or better than other schools I've been to in the county (except for the sports palaces at WJ and RM, which were paid for by soccer clubs).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Huh? My DC plays 2 MCPS sports at one of the schools you mention and never once have they changed in a locker room. Our kids arrive dressed, the other team arrives dressed, you play and you go home. There are spartan bathrooms in the stadium field. No worse or better than other schools I've been to in the county (except for the sports palaces at WJ and RM, which were paid for by soccer clubs).

Did you bother watching the tape? They do have PE classes there you know. This is the school. Not some stadium bathroom. The lockers are made for ten year olds, there is mold everywhere, and the showers haven't worked for years. The school is falling down on top of kids. If these conditions existed on the west side of the county at one of the W schools the parents would be in an uproar. RM and WJ have nothing to do with this. Those are turf fields not turf schools.

[Anonymous]

NP here.

I am in a different cluster but was at the Nov. 14 BOE meeting. Poolesville was well-represented in the audience and the 2 speakers for Poolesville were both excellent. I was at a BOE meeting in fall 2010 and Poolesville was also well-represented at that.

What the BOE has done to PHS has been terrible. It makes me feel bad that my own cluster has gotten improvements, when Poolesville is in such desperate need of repair.

[Anonymous]

Its because in the eyes of county officials Poolesville will always be a hick school full of farmers. There are some county council members who have admitted that they have never been to Poolesville. Supposedly a BOE member and a county council member have been invited to visit the school by the students. We will see if they show up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Huh? My DC plays 2 MCPS sports at one of the schools you mention and never once have they changed in a locker room. Our kids arrive dressed, the other team arrives dressed, you play and you go home. There are spartan bathrooms in the stadium field. No worse or better than other schools I've been to in the county (except for the sports palaces at WJ and RM, which were paid for by soccer clubs).

Did you bother watching the tape? They do have PE classes there you know. This is the school. Not some stadium bathroom. The lockers are made for ten year olds, there is mold everywhere, and the showers haven't worked for years. The school is falling down on top of kids. If these conditions existed on the west side of the county at one of the W schools the parents would be in an uproar. RM and WJ have nothing to do with this. Those are turf fields not turf schools.

Yes I watched it and agree that the building needs improvements. I just don't understand why you are blaming Whitman and Churchill for this (both of which are about 150 students over capacity this year, while Poolesville, at least, is not). And I reacted to the thing that you highlighted which is lack of visiting team changing rooms. I haven't seen this in any of the county schools.

[Anonymous]

She (I assume "she") didn't blame Whitman or Churchill.

If she was 12:12, she blamed BOE.

Her comments alluded that she didn't think the BOE would let Whitman and Churchill get so bad. (I agree with her.)

I don't think her beef is about capacity. I think it's more about the facility itself. The building was built in 1953 and last modernized in 1978. It is currently programmed for a feasibility study in 2015 with modernization completed by Aug. 2022 -- that's more than 10 years from now. I think it has had its feasibility study delayed at least once before, so the modernization date keeps getting pushed back.

Also, just because a feasibility study is completed (and recommended), it doesn't mean that construction will begin on time.

[Anonymous]

The students did a great job!

This is a BOE issue first. It has to be recommended by them before it hits the Executive. Then it has to be approved by him before it goes to Council.

Not sure if they've redistricted yet, but Roger Berliner will allegedly be Poolesville's new District Councilmember. You might have some luck there since he's used to serving Bethesda and all they seem to ask for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Huh? My DC plays 2 MCPS sports at one of the schools you mention and never once have they changed in a locker room. Our kids arrive dressed, the other team arrives dressed, you play and you go home. There are spartan bathrooms in the stadium field. No worse or better than other schools I've been to in the county (except for the sports palaces at WJ and RM, which were paid for by soccer clubs).

Did you bother watching the tape? They do have PE classes there you know. This is the school. Not some stadium bathroom. The lockers are made for ten year olds, there is mold everywhere, and the showers haven't worked for years. The school is falling down on top of kids. If these conditions existed on the west side of the county at one of the W schools the parents would be in an uproar. RM and WJ have nothing to do with this. Those are turf fields not turf schools.

Yes I watched it and agree that the building needs improvements. I just don't understand why you are blaming Whitman and Churchill for this (both of which are about 150 students over capacity this year, while Poolesville, at least, is not). And I reacted to the thing that you highlighted which is lack of visiting team changing rooms. I haven't seen this in any of the county schools.

No one is blaming Whitman or Churchill. I used them as an example of schools that when parents snap their fingers the BOE acts. Example; When Churchill was scheduled for renovation the parents flat out refused to have their children moved to the holding school (Northwood) for fear of having them rubbing shoulders with the common folk in Wheaton. So the renovation went on with the students in the building while the holding school sat empty. Northwood was good enough for Sherwood whose students had to travel about 20 miles to attend school for two years but not good enough for the elite Churchill people.

Poolesville and its surrounding towns have at best 5000 voters. The county council and BOE ignores them because they hold no sway at election time. But God forbid that they upset the voting block that makes up the Churchill and Whitman communities. Thus the Poolesville school decays with no hope of a renovation for the next ten years.

[Anonymous]

"No one is blaming Whitman or Churchill. I used them as an example of schools that when parents snap their fingers the BOE acts. Example; When Churchill was scheduled for renovation the parents flat out refused to have their children moved to the holding school (Northwood) for fear of having them rubbing shoulders with the common folk in Wheaton. So the renovation went on with the students in the building while the holding school sat empty. Northwood was good enough for Sherwood whose students had to travel about 20 miles to attend school for two years but not good enough for the elite Churchill people."

You're apparently in need of a GPS. Sure Churchill itself sits about 10 miles from Northwood, but it's at least 15, if not 20, miles from most of Potomac to Northwood HS, and much of that is on the Capital Beltway. That's what every parent wants, their child on a bus inching along the Beltway for an hour in the morning rush. It's only 11 miles form Olney to Northwood, and that's on GA Ave., no Beltway needed. So before you make snarky assumptions about the motivations of the Churchill parents, I suggest you do a little bit of research. Otherwise you look like a fool.

[Anonymous]

It is a shame, for sure. However, Poolesville isn't the only one that has this bad. Have you seen Potomac Elementary? What a horrid eyesore. My DC's went to this school for years. It is totally subpar with no plans in the near future for improvements. My DC started K in 2001 and it was a pit back then. Apparently, the parents were so badly behaved that the BOE kicked the school to back of the line for improvement considerations. My DC will graduate in 2015. Potomac Elementary will still be the same pit it was back then.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"No one is blaming Whitman or Churchill. I used them as an example of schools that when parents snap their fingers the BOE acts. Example; When Churchill was scheduled for renovation the parents flat out refused to have their children moved to the holding school (Northwood) for fear of having them rubbing shoulders with the common folk in Wheaton. So the renovation went on with the students in the building while the holding school sat empty. Northwood was good enough for Sherwood whose students had to travel about 20 miles to attend school for two years but not good enough for the elite Churchill people."

You're apparently in need of a GPS. Sure Churchill itself sits about 10 miles from Northwood, but it's at least 15, if not 20, miles from most of Potomac to Northwood HS, and much of that is on the Capital Beltway. That's what every parent wants, their child on a bus inching along the Beltway for an hour in the morning rush. It's only 11 miles form Olney to Northwood, and that's on GA Ave., no Beltway needed. So before you make snarky assumptions about the motivations of the Churchill parents, I suggest you do a little bit of research. Otherwise you look like a fool.

That GPS might also come in handy when you act like those of us in the "western" part of the county have it so good. I believe Poolesville is farther west than either Whitman or Churchill.

Go after the people in Clarksburg if you want to know where the money is. That school is new and beautiful. My DC at one of the Ws has to share a desk in one class because the school is overcrowded and there aren't enough desks in some of the classrooms.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"No one is blaming Whitman or Churchill. I used them as an example of schools that when parents snap their fingers the BOE acts. Example; When Churchill was scheduled for renovation the parents flat out refused to have their children moved to the holding school (Northwood) for fear of having them rubbing shoulders with the common folk in Wheaton. So the renovation went on with the students in the building while the holding school sat empty. Northwood was good enough for Sherwood whose students had to travel about 20 miles to attend school for two years but not good enough for the elite Churchill people."

You're apparently in need of a GPS. Sure Churchill itself sits about 10 miles from Northwood, but it's at least 15, if not 20, miles from most of Potomac to Northwood HS, and much of that is on the Capital Beltway. That's what every parent wants, their child on a bus inching along the Beltway for an hour in the morning rush. It's only 11 miles form Olney to Northwood, and that's on GA Ave., no Beltway needed. So before you make snarky assumptions about the motivations of the Churchill parents, I suggest you do a little bit of research. Otherwise you look like a fool.

Since you want to deflect the issue by nit picking over mileage and insulting me let me call your attention to the fact that Sherwood is located in Sandy Spring and not Olney. Perhaps you need a better GPS. Some students live in Brinklow, Brookeville, and Tridelphia.

You sidestepped the truth that Churchill parents refused to allow their children to be taken out of the their school while every single high school renovation before that used Northwood. Is there any doubt that they used their political clout to pressure the BOE?

The real issue here is the decrepit condition of Poolesville High School. It was built sixty years ago and had a minor renovation in 1978. The corridors are as wide was you might see in an elementary school. There is exposed wiring, mold, ceiling tiles missing, and the other defects that you can see on the video. This would never be tolerated in Potomac or Bethesda.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"No one is blaming Whitman or Churchill. I used them as an example of schools that when parents snap their fingers the BOE acts. Example; When Churchill was scheduled for renovation the parents flat out refused to have their children moved to the holding school (Northwood) for fear of having them rubbing shoulders with the common folk in Wheaton. So the renovation went on with the students in the building while the holding school sat empty. Northwood was good enough for Sherwood whose students had to travel about 20 miles to attend school for two years but not good enough for the elite Churchill people."

You're apparently in need of a GPS. Sure Churchill itself sits about 10 miles from Northwood, but it's at least 15, if not 20, miles from most of Potomac to Northwood HS, and much of that is on the Capital Beltway. That's what every parent wants, their child on a bus inching along the Beltway for an hour in the morning rush. It's only 11 miles form Olney to Northwood, and that's on GA Ave., no Beltway needed. So before you make snarky assumptions about the motivations of the Churchill parents, I suggest you do a little bit of research. Otherwise you look like a fool.

Since you want to deflect the issue by nit picking over mileage and insulting me let me call your attention to the fact that Sherwood is located in Sandy Spring and not Olney. Perhaps you need a better GPS. Some students live in Brinklow, Brookeville, and Tridelphia.

You sidestepped the truth that Churchill parents refused to allow their children to be taken out of the their school while every single high school renovation before that used Northwood. Is there any doubt that they used their political clout to pressure the BOE?

The real issue here is the decrepit condition of Poolesville High School. It was built sixty years ago and had a minor renovation in 1978. The corridors are as wide was you might see in an elementary school. There is exposed wiring, mold, ceiling tiles missing, and the other defects that you can see on the video. This would never be tolerated in Potomac or Bethesda.

+1. I also offer Eastern Middle School as an example of conditions that would not be tolerated in Bethesda or Potomac.

I also refer you to the thread about how we have ONE school district. Regardless of the SES of the students attending our schools, conditions should be uniform across the county - but clearly, they are not. Very sad indeed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"No one is blaming Whitman or Churchill. I used them as an example of schools that when parents snap their fingers the BOE acts. Example; When Churchill was scheduled for renovation the parents flat out refused to have their children moved to the holding school (Northwood) for fear of having them rubbing shoulders with the common folk in Wheaton. So the renovation went on with the students in the building while the holding school sat empty. Northwood was good enough for Sherwood whose students had to travel about 20 miles to attend school for two years but not good enough for the elite Churchill people."

You're apparently in need of a GPS. Sure Churchill itself sits about 10 miles from Northwood, but it's at least 15, if not 20, miles from most of Potomac to Northwood HS, and much of that is on the Capital Beltway. That's what every parent wants, their child on a bus inching along the Beltway for an hour in the morning rush. It's only 11 miles form Olney to Northwood, and that's on GA Ave., no Beltway needed. So before you make snarky assumptions about the motivations of the Churchill parents, I suggest you do a little bit of research. Otherwise you look like a fool.

Since you want to deflect the issue by nit picking over mileage and insulting me let me call your attention to the fact that Sherwood is located in Sandy Spring and not Olney. Perhaps you need a better GPS. Some students live in Brinklow, Brookeville, and Tridelphia.

You sidestepped the truth that Churchill parents refused to allow their children to be taken out of the their school while every single high school renovation before that used Northwood. Is there any doubt that they used their political clout to pressure the BOE?

The real issue here is the decrepit condition of Poolesville High School. It was built sixty years ago and had a minor renovation in 1978. The corridors are as wide was you might see in an elementary school. There is exposed wiring, mold, ceiling tiles missing, and the other defects that you can see on the video. This would never be tolerated in Potomac or Bethesda.

YOU were the one that brought up mileage, I just proved you wrong. BTW, some HS renovations both before and after Churchill have not used a holding school. Whitman back in the early 1990's and RM just recently come to mind.

One thing's for sure. Poolesville HS needs a reno.