Weast Recommends Wheaton and Edison Continue to Operate as Two Schools

While combining and would create the most budget savings, Superintendent Jerry Weast recommended that the two schools continue to have distinctive identities, but operate within the same building. 

Those two identities, one a comprehensive high school and the other, a half-day career and technology education program, operate in the same building, but with limited overlap of shared areas. Weast cited strong objections from community members as the reason he did not recommend combining them into one larger comprehensive high school.

The building is scheduled to be entirely rebuilt by 2016, as part of the school modernization project. However, the academic makeup of the new building must be decided before the school’s designs are finalized. 

A made up of MCPS staff, parents and local business owners discussed options for the two schools. Nine were discussed in that committee, but Weast’s recommendation, by his own writing, “does not fit solely within any of the approaches identified during the Roundtable process.”

The final roundtable meeting was rescheduled twice due to snow, and the recommendation notes that some Roundtable Committee members were not pleased at the timeframe given to deliberate and a general lack of data to evaluate each option. Weast's own recommendation was a few days late because of weather delays.

Ultimately, the recommendation makes Wheaton and Edison two separate programs, sharing one facility, with more shared, common areas in the new school. In addition, one principal would be in charge of Wheaton, while an “assistant principal level coordinator” would run the Edison programs. The rationale for this recommendation is cost savings. Currently, Edison has a separate principal.

Weast’s recommendation also made suggestions to reverse Wheaton’s flagging enrollment. Since the downcounty consortium choice process has been in place, students who would normally be assigned to Wheaton have been choosing other schools at a rate greater than students assigned to other downcounty high schools. Wheaton’s total enrollment has dropped from 1,480 in 2004-05 to 1,180 this school year.

The response? Take the existing academies at Wheaton that are Project Lead the Way programs: Engineering and Biosciences/Health Professions and make them application-based programs within the downcounty consortium. 

The Board of Education will discuss the recommendation on Feb. 28. A public hearing will be held on March 15. .