Reply to Option H is permanent and the old Wootton HS campus will be closed for good?

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Reply to "Option H is permanent and the old Wootton HS campus will be closed for good?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]School may not necessarily jump in rankings but new schools are usually competitive for teacher positions and the principal has the potential to pick strong candidates. Teachers are looking for something new and fresh. Also, they may want to get out of the "sick buildings" they are currently in (air quality, building issues) and they want to be part of something from the start. This helps morale and creates a nice space for students.  I'm sure they will retain many Wootton staff members.

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]So happy Wootton will get a new building! We didn’t testify publicly but have been sending emails to the board and Taylor about why we support option H. Just people a small group of people are louder doesn’t mean they speak for the majority.[/quote]

This is that I'm thinking.  The outcome is so great for Wootton.  They get a new building.  They get the math & science focal area.  Almost the full community stays the same (cold spring moves to churchill, but I haven't seen any concern from those folks and it's a tiny part of wootton.  The only downside is that current walkers will need to be bus riders.  That would annoy me as a parent.  But the rest of the stuff is great.  One might wonder why Wootton is getting all of the benefits form this re-org.[/quote]Almost the full community stays the same" except half of it will be new.  And there will be a new name and probably new admin and new staff.  And of course it will be in a new building in a new location.  So, quite literally, nothing will be the same.[/quote]

What are you talking about?  The name, admin, and staff will almost certainly stay the same.  Do you not know how building changes work?  It's basically like getting sent to a holding school but it's permanent rather than temporary.  But otherwise not much else changes (except a little bit with the boundaries on this one because it's weird timing.)[/quote]Thomas Wootton was a slave owner.  There's no way MCPS keeps that name when they have the chance to signal their progressive virtues by naming it after a member of a marginalized community.  Or perhaps they just name it after the community itself.  My bet is that they will go with Piscataway HS.  So as I said, a new building in a new location with a new name.  [b]The new location will mean many of the teachers and admin don't want to travel there.[/b]  And of course there are moving at least 2 ES out and adding at least 2 ES in.  So that's a big change on student cohort.  So almost nothing will be the same.

And yes, I know exactly how a school closure works and that's what this is.[/quote]

Your belief is that the majority of teachers and staff at Wootton live significantly closer to the current building than the new building, and this would affect their commute negatively?  Or you believe that the current secluded location tucked away in a neighborhood is a more desirable place to work than in Crown?[/quote]

DP. Traffic around Crown will be a nightmare for everyone. A school tucked away in a neighborhood is more desirable to great teachers. Proof is the top reputation of Wootton- while Crown is, at best, a question mark. Though not really one, since while GHS and QO might be closer to where some teachers live, most teachers want to work at top schools. No different than admin staff - principals and vice principals want the same. It enhances their career prospects, especially if they want to teach at a private school after hitting their base pension benefits. [/quote]

New school buildings are often populated by great teachers who are eager to work there.[/quote]

Please cite examples in MoCo where this is the case. Did any of the newly renovated high schools in MoCo jump dramatically in academic rankings?  For example, did Seneca Valley improve overall after its renovation?  IB doesn’t count because that’s a specialty program only open to a select group of teachers and students. [/quote][/quote]

There are so many assumptions in your post I don’t know where to begin. Suffice it to say, a new building does not guarantee better academic performance. Teachers will not flock to a new building if it’s located in a high traffic area, especially if they already have their commute down pat. Indeed, it can take just as long to drive 1 mile in a high traffic area as it does to go 10 miles away.

Also, the principal and administrators matter. Many teachers have left Wootton because of the installment of Dr. Bostic. If he continues in his role, more may leave and others may refuse to work for him. [/quote]

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