Woodward Auditorium Construction Advocacy Ahead of Monday County Council Meeting

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't see the problem here. So what if they delay an auditorium for a couple of years?

Are they delaying the courses that require an auditorium? No. They are trying to pretend like every school will play nice and share what limited space they have available. It’s such as a shame how little MCPS values or understands the performing arts. Have you not paid attention to decades of brain research?

Most kids who are in the arts do it outside of mcps.

No no no no - arts and music in school is essential

They are good but most programs are ok at best and kids who are good are in private lessons and outside organizations too. Be real, you think the top playing musicians only do mcps. Nope.

Sorry MCPS kids, no arts or music in school for you, you might enjoy it, you might benefit from it, but if you're not the best, some random on DCUM thinks there's no point in it for you.

The schools can still have it without an auditorium. That is the point. Private orchestras and theater companies do it all the time. And mcps schools can share the auditorium. It’s easy to get from wj to Woodward, for example.

I believe area churches still let out their spaces for public school madrigal recitals, wind ensembles, etc. They used to 20 years ago. So that’s another decent option for certain productions.

Many U.S. public high schools and junior highs don’t have purpose built auditoria. Often outdoor amphitheaters and cafetoria suffice for cash strapped districts. We are very lucky in this area.

It’s not that we’re lucky. It’s that we pay a lot for the services we have so we have nice things and expect to continue to have nice things.

+1. How much do people in these "cash-strapped" districts pay in taxes? We have an enormous tax burden in this county. It is not too much to expect a school to be built with an auditorium.

[Anonymous]

The auditorium has not been cancelled. It is in phase III and they need to figure out the funding.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The auditorium has not been cancelled. It is in phase III and they need to figure out the funding.

so would be more accurate to say it was postponed slightly

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't see the problem here. So what if they delay an auditorium for a couple of years?

Are they delaying the courses that require an auditorium? No. They are trying to pretend like every school will play nice and share what limited space they have available. It’s such as a shame how little MCPS values or understands the performing arts. Have you not paid attention to decades of brain research?

They'd just practice and hold concerts and plays at another location.

That magical land of endless auditoriums that children can teleport to and be back for their next class! Tell the Council the problem is solved!

Indeed. MCPS certainly can tell Strathmore to move out for several years so they can use the facility...

There are days available. Or, other places in Rockville, like the Fitzgerald theater. They can use other schools too.

You have no idea how HS performing arts programs work, do you?

PS -- Strathmore is losing its Pike & Rose location and having to utilize the main center more. Even if that remark about MCPS using it weren't tongue-in-cheek, those "days available" aren't vwry likely to be there.

Of course I do as I have a high level musician. Mcps is a joke and fun class. A lot of our kids preform outside mcps. Or, they just share another school auditorium.

The pike and rose Strathmore is not something that would work. You clearly don’t have a child performing outside mcps.

As stated, the Pike & Rose closure will have some of those perfomances taking up space at the main hall -- which was put out there in the first place as a hyperbolic example of something MCPS could commandeer at their whim in lieu of an on-campus facility, but then suggested by another as being available some days (as though it was a real option). Pike & Rose wasn't suggested as the place to use, itself.

You don't seem to have a grasp of HS performing arts programs -- the logistics required to make productions happen that underline the need for proximate space, the real limitations for many, many students/families without the resources for private programs (Why on earth are we talking about that as a substitute for MCPS programming?!?), the existing demand for space at other schools, etc., etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The auditorium has not been cancelled. It is in phase III and they need to figure out the funding.

so would be more accurate to say it was postponed slightly

And yet more accurate to say that it has been postponed such that the Northwood Academy of Music, Theater & Dance, along with the rest of the Northwood community, will not have reasonable access to supporting facilities, which not only creates an inequity, but were promised to the community when the Woodward-as-a-holding-school arrangement was sold.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Einstein's modernization and addition cost $24.5 million in 1997 and won at least two architectural awards.

"The Board recognized Stephen Parker of Grimm and Parker Architects, who received the
Honor Award for Architectural Excellence from the Potomac Valley Chapter of the
American Institute of Architects (AIA). The project was chosen for the AIA award from
among more than 133 projects locally and throughout the country. The award was
presented to the Montgomery County Public Schools and the firm of Grimm and Parker
Architects, located in Calverton, Maryland. The $25.4 million modernization and addition
project was completed in two years for the opening of Albert Einstein High School in
September 1997. The Albert Einstein High School project will also receive an award for
architectural design from the National Association of School Boards at the organization's
annual conference in March."

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/siteassets/district/boe/meetings/minutes/1998/minutes.011398.pdf

There is no way they spent that much. And, if they did it needs to be redone again.

Whatever they spent, a façade is a...façade. Window dressing. May be nice to view from the parking lot. Walk just inside and...very uninspiring.

It needs to be expanded (with whatever on-par updates would make it not need such consideration for many years, as should any major capital project) unless significant population is shifted west with the Woodward boundary study or a new HS is created very quickly to address continued DCC-area population growth.

+1. If you have never been in the school come on over and see a show in the auditorium. You'll be magically transported back to the 1960s. Just because something won an architectural award (I am guessing there wasn't much competition BTW) doesn't mean it won't need to be updated again (or that parts of the school were neglected when they renovated the facade and built a 2nd gym).

Of course. But still, schools which had $24 million in renovations in the late 90s are less overdue for attention than schools which have not been renovated since the 70s or 80s.

Generally true, and among the reasons that addressing bits and pieces creates such inequity. Once a major capital project is done, they shelve addressing any remaining deficit for decades more. Some school communities get this, and, if they weild more significant influence and/or are lucky with timing related to budgetary availability, get more complete solutions when MCPS thinks it is "their turn," while the partially addressed facilities continue to languish.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The auditorium has not been cancelled. It is in phase III and they need to figure out the funding.

so would be more accurate to say it was postponed slightly

And yet more accurate to say that it has been postponed such that the Northwood Academy of Music, Theater & Dance, along with the rest of the Northwood community, will not have reasonable access to supporting facilities, which not only creates an inequity, but were promised to the community when the Woodward-as-a-holding-school arrangement was sold.

Yeah, it sucks. But that was pre-pandemic, and now everything costs more and takes longer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not to mention the WJ auditorium is likely booked/planned for most of the year for the 3,000 WJ students, for those participating in the orchestra, band, multiple choirs, dramas, musicals, etc.

The 2,000+ kids from Northwood and the eventual 2,000+ kids from what is eventually the Woodward catchment area should have access to the same.

Kind of how when they re-did BCC it was going to be without a track until the community rallied and Seth Adams realized, "Gee, they do need a track, just like every other HS has." Well Seth, Woodward, for both Northwood and Woodward, needs an auditorium, just like every other HS has.

That's completely silly. Nobody needs a track. Track shouldn't be part of the public school curriculum. They need to focus on the basics and get that done before adding all these extras.

+1 Plenty of places have a track team without having a track of their own.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not to mention the WJ auditorium is likely booked/planned for most of the year for the 3,000 WJ students, for those participating in the orchestra, band, multiple choirs, dramas, musicals, etc.

The 2,000+ kids from Northwood and the eventual 2,000+ kids from what is eventually the Woodward catchment area should have access to the same.

Kind of how when they re-did BCC it was going to be without a track until the community rallied and Seth Adams realized, "Gee, they do need a track, just like every other HS has." Well Seth, Woodward, for both Northwood and Woodward, needs an auditorium, just like every other HS has.

That's completely silly. Nobody needs a track. Track shouldn't be part of the public school curriculum. They need to focus on the basics and get that done before adding all these extras.

+1 Plenty of places have a track team without having a track of their own.

Could you provide some examples of some of those places?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't see the problem here. So what if they delay an auditorium for a couple of years?

Are they delaying the courses that require an auditorium? No. They are trying to pretend like every school will play nice and share what limited space they have available. It’s such as a shame how little MCPS values or understands the performing arts. Have you not paid attention to decades of brain research?

They'd just practice and hold concerts and plays at another location.

That magical land of endless auditoriums that children can teleport to and be back for their next class! Tell the Council the problem is solved!

Indeed. MCPS certainly can tell Strathmore to move out for several years so they can use the facility...

There are days available. Or, other places in Rockville, like the Fitzgerald theater. They can use other schools too.

You have no idea how HS performing arts programs work, do you?

PS -- Strathmore is losing its Pike & Rose location and having to utilize the main center more. Even if that remark about MCPS using it weren't tongue-in-cheek, those "days available" aren't vwry likely to be there.

Of course I do as I have a high level musician. Mcps is a joke and fun class. A lot of our kids preform outside mcps. Or, they just share another school auditorium.

The pike and rose Strathmore is not something that would work. You clearly don’t have a child performing outside mcps.

As stated, the Pike & Rose closure will have some of those perfomances taking up space at the main hall -- which was put out there in the first place as a hyperbolic example of something MCPS could commandeer at their whim in lieu of an on-campus facility, but then suggested by another as being available some days (as though it was a real option). Pike & Rose wasn't suggested as the place to use, itself.

You don't seem to have a grasp of HS performing arts programs -- the logistics required to make productions happen that underline the need for proximate space, the real limitations for many, many students/families without the resources for private programs (Why on earth are we talking about that as a substitute for MCPS programming?!?), the existing demand for space at other schools, etc., etc.

It would be like saying mcps science is a joke and the real science students work in research labs at NIH, UMD, NASA, and Johns Hopkins so we don’t need science labs in mcps high schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not to mention the WJ auditorium is likely booked/planned for most of the year for the 3,000 WJ students, for those participating in the orchestra, band, multiple choirs, dramas, musicals, etc.

The 2,000+ kids from Northwood and the eventual 2,000+ kids from what is eventually the Woodward catchment area should have access to the same.

Kind of how when they re-did BCC it was going to be without a track until the community rallied and Seth Adams realized, "Gee, they do need a track, just like every other HS has." Well Seth, Woodward, for both Northwood and Woodward, needs an auditorium, just like every other HS has.

That's completely silly. Nobody needs a track. Track shouldn't be part of the public school curriculum. They need to focus on the basics and get that done before adding all these extras.

+1 Plenty of places have a track team without having a track of their own.

Could you provide some examples of some of those places?

I think PP is thinking of the brand new McArthur HS in DCPS. They don’t have many of the amenities of the other comprehensive DCPS high schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The auditorium has not been cancelled. It is in phase III and they need to figure out the funding.

so would be more accurate to say it was postponed slightly

And yet more accurate to say that it has been postponed such that the Northwood Academy of Music, Theater & Dance, along with the rest of the Northwood community, will not have reasonable access to supporting facilities, which not only creates an inequity, but were promised to the community when the Woodward-as-a-holding-school arrangement was sold.

There is no such thing as equity. Those kids can also try to lottery into other schools. Every school has different facilities and classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't see the problem here. So what if they delay an auditorium for a couple of years?

Are they delaying the courses that require an auditorium? No. They are trying to pretend like every school will play nice and share what limited space they have available. It’s such as a shame how little MCPS values or understands the performing arts. Have you not paid attention to decades of brain research?

They'd just practice and hold concerts and plays at another location.

That magical land of endless auditoriums that children can teleport to and be back for their next class! Tell the Council the problem is solved!

Indeed. MCPS certainly can tell Strathmore to move out for several years so they can use the facility...

There are days available. Or, other places in Rockville, like the Fitzgerald theater. They can use other schools too.

You have no idea how HS performing arts programs work, do you?

PS -- Strathmore is losing its Pike & Rose location and having to utilize the main center more. Even if that remark about MCPS using it weren't tongue-in-cheek, those "days available" aren't vwry likely to be there.

Of course I do as I have a high level musician. Mcps is a joke and fun class. A lot of our kids preform outside mcps. Or, they just share another school auditorium.

The pike and rose Strathmore is not something that would work. You clearly don’t have a child performing outside mcps.

As stated, the Pike & Rose closure will have some of those perfomances taking up space at the main hall -- which was put out there in the first place as a hyperbolic example of something MCPS could commandeer at their whim in lieu of an on-campus facility, but then suggested by another as being available some days (as though it was a real option). Pike & Rose wasn't suggested as the place to use, itself.

You don't seem to have a grasp of HS performing arts programs -- the logistics required to make productions happen that underline the need for proximate space, the real limitations for many, many students/families without the resources for private programs (Why on earth are we talking about that as a substitute for MCPS programming?!?), the existing demand for space at other schools, etc., etc.

It would be like saying mcps science is a joke and the real science students work in research labs at NIH, UMD, NASA, and Johns Hopkins so we don’t need science labs in mcps high schools.

Mcps science is a joke. And any of the better kids do music and arts privately. They can make it work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not to mention the WJ auditorium is likely booked/planned for most of the year for the 3,000 WJ students, for those participating in the orchestra, band, multiple choirs, dramas, musicals, etc.

The 2,000+ kids from Northwood and the eventual 2,000+ kids from what is eventually the Woodward catchment area should have access to the same.

Kind of how when they re-did BCC it was going to be without a track until the community rallied and Seth Adams realized, "Gee, they do need a track, just like every other HS has." Well Seth, Woodward, for both Northwood and Woodward, needs an auditorium, just like every other HS has.

That's completely silly. Nobody needs a track. Track shouldn't be part of the public school curriculum. They need to focus on the basics and get that done before adding all these extras.

+1 Plenty of places have a track team without having a track of their own.

The schools all have swim teams without pools at the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The auditorium has not been cancelled. It is in phase III and they need to figure out the funding.

so would be more accurate to say it was postponed slightly

And yet more accurate to say that it has been postponed such that the Northwood Academy of Music, Theater & Dance, along with the rest of the Northwood community, will not have reasonable access to supporting facilities, which not only creates an inequity, but were promised to the community when the Woodward-as-a-holding-school arrangement was sold.

Yeah, it sucks. But that was pre-pandemic, and now everything costs more and takes longer.

No, mcps wastes tons of money and refuses to get the spending under control.