volume 51, Issue 7 may 3, 2013
Walt whitman High school
7100 whittier boulevard
Bethesda, maryland 20817
theblackandwhite.net
Whitman, MCPS dominate national rankings by anya goodman
that are going on here that aren’t reflected in those kinds of data.” MCPS spokesperson Dana Tofig said that the county is pleased with the ratings. “We always appreciate the recognition, because it speaks to the outstanding work our staff and students do every day,” he said. Whitman didn’t earn flying colors in the annual Washington Post rankings last month, with a ranking of 136. Like Goodwin, Tofig agreed rankings don’t say everything about a school’s effectiveness. “Rankings are limited by the data they use,” Tofig said. “Test scores and formulas do not give a complete picture of what a school is doing to serve and support students and prepare them for the future.” Despite the score-based statistics, Goodwin is pleased with the outcome of this year’s list. “It’s wonderful to be recognized for being a good school,” he said.
Whitman ranked 59th in the U.S. News & World Report’s Best High School List of 2013, placing 2nd in both Maryland and MCPS. Seven of the best ranked high schools in the nation are from MCPS: Churchill (52), Whitman (59), Poolesville (99), Wootton (105), Richard Montgomery (106), BCC (128) and Blair (247) all won gold medals. Wheaton ranked 1,032, earning a silver medal. The rankings are determined using data from standardized test scores and opportunities for AP courses. At Whitman, 89 percent of Whitman students take AP exams, 97 percent are proficient in Algebra and 96 percent are proficient in English. But there’s much more to Whitman than standardized scores, principal Alan Goodwin said. “A school is so much more than a test and so much more than just academics,” he said. “There are so many intrinsically rewarding things
Low enrollment leads to class cancellations photo by ABIGAIL CUTLER
S Freshman Preston Scherr admires artwork by Studio Art students at the 50th Festival of the Arts. The two-day showcase featured work from 700 students in ceramics, studio art, photography, and commercial art as well as musical performances and a fashion show.
Alum recounts adventures during gap year abroad by Nathaniel Sherman
The ten-year-old Muay Thai fighters circled each other. One grabbed his opponent by the neck and pulled his competitor’s face straight down into his knee. As Whitman alum Zac Kramer (‘12’) watched from afar, the young fighter raised his head, revealing a bloody mouth missing several teeth. Despite the strikingly brutal nature of this Southeast Asian form of kickboxing, Kramer stepped into the Muay Thai ring days later, for the sake of cultural immersion. He survived unscathed. Kramer was one of 11 recent Whitman graduates to take a gap year, according to the Black & White’s 2011-2012 College Destinations page. Kramer left his home in Bethesda to begin his gap year Aug. 28. Although his parents purchased him a plane ticket to Australia as a graduation present, Kramer was
financially independent during his year abroad, using money from his summer job bussing tables to cover his expenses. “Budgeting money is really easy if you’re cool with staying in big dorm rooms at hostels and eating a lot of tuna fish,” Kramer said. Kramer started his year abroad backpacking and diving in Australia and New Zealand. Before he landed in Australia, Kramer had already organized to stay in a hostel. From that point on, he made his plans on the run. “Hostels are really easy to find,” Kramer said. “And of course, there’s couchsurfing.” After a couple weeks in Australia, Kramer reconnected with a few former camp counselors of his. When he was younger, he’d joke with his counselors that he’d come visit them in Australia. After approaching them about the idea continued on page
3 NEWS
New bill to limit turf fields
6 OPINION
by Annie Ludewig
senior Catherine Dye said. “Even though it’s mostly about art it includes some aspects of science, math and world history.” The course includes museum trips and uses an uncommon teaching structure. Instead of a typical lecture format, students teach each other and discuss topics through various visual presentations and interactive activities. “Ultimately, the class is about all of humanity,” Diamond said. “It covers art from prehistoric times of cave paintings to twenty-first century commercial art.” Not desiring to take AP level Spanish, many students have elected to drop the language rather than taking Spanish 6. As a result, the class will not be offered for a third consecutive year. “I wish that students would take Spanish 6 rather than dropping the language altogether,” Spanish teacher Pamela Garcia said. “It would be an informal, conversational class that would let students be exposed to Spanish for another year without taking an AP class.” Courses offered depend on popularity. Some of the little-known classes may be at risk because of future enrollment results. “It would be a bummer if kids don’t get the opportunity to take cool classes like art history because they don’t know about them,” senior Catherine Dye said. “I hope that students sign up for the interesting classes… especially art history!”
everal courses won’t be offered to Whitman students next year due to low enrollment numbers from students’ spring registrations. AP art history, creative writing, Chinese 1, and French 7 will all be cancelled. MCPS mandates that classes be cancelled if less than 20 students sign up, assistant principal Brandi Heckert said. In many cases, news of the class cancellations came as a surprise to teachers. Next year, cancelled classes will be available on spring registration and may return depending on whether more students sign up. However, if the classes show little popularity for multiple consecutive years, they may not be available for sign-up in the future, Heckert said. No staff will be lost as a result of the terminated classes. Cancelling a class is a tough and complicated decision, Heckert said. However, as a result of the limited availability of staff, materials and space, they are sometimes unavoidable. Sometimes, course continuation comes down to the single digits—AP art history’s enrollment was just five students short of the requirement. Whitman is one of only four other high schools in the county that provides Advanced Placement Art History. Since it provides historical context for other art classes, art history is a valuable and widely applicable course, teacher Jean Diamond said. “The class is really relevant,”
12
10 FEATURE 14 CROSSWORD 17 SPORTS
Alums give perspectives on Marathon bombings
1
5
2
6
3
4
7
8
14
9
10
11
13
12
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
28
27
29
30
31
Piracy plagues whitman
32
33
34
35
38
39
40
43
36
41
42
37
Letters from college