Citizendia
Your Ad Here

H-B Woodlawn Program


Established 1971
School type public program
Head Teacher Frank Haltiwanger
Location Arlington, VA
Enrollment 600
Nickname H-B
Homepage Official Site
Unofficial Homepage Unofficial Site

The H-B Woodlawn Program, commonly referred to as H-B, is an alternative all-county public school located in Arlington County, Virginia, United States based on the liberal educational movements of the 1960s and 1970s. Year 1971 ( MCMLXXI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1971 Gregorian calendar. The Commonwealth of Virginia ( is an American state The Commonwealth of Virginia ( is an American state The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The school, which serves grades 6 through 12, is a part of the Arlington Public Schools district. Arlington Public Schools is a public School division that serves Arlington County, Virginia.

The current program is a combination of two earlier programs, Hoffman-Boston, a 7th through 9th grade school founded in 1972 and Woodlawn, a 10th through 12th grade program founded in 1971 by Ray Anderson, Jeffrey Kallen, and others who felt a pressing need to provide a more individualized, caring environment to students.

H-B Woodlawn was dubbed "Hippie High" by the Washington Post because of its laid-back style and reputation for attracting liberal students in large numbers. The Washington Post is the largest and most circulated Newspaper in Washington D Liberalism in the United States is a broad political and philosophical mindset favoring individual Liberty, and opposing restrictions on liberty whether they come from The program is often ranked very high on lists of "best schools" because of the high percentage of students taking AP courses. The Advanced Placement Program is a program that offers college level courses at High schools across the United States and Canada. The program is actually not a school as it is not "certified", but rather, students enrolled are actually members of their "home schools" in the county. The program currently houses almost 600 students in grades 6 through 12, including a group of young adult immigrants who take classes in the school through the HILT (High Intensity Language Training) program in their quest for high school diplomas or GEDs. The hilt (sometimes called the haft) of a Sword is its handle consisting of a guard, grip and pommel. The building also houses a small program for severely mentally disabled students, although this program is administered separately, and called "Stratford". The H-B Woodlawn Program is often rated one of the most challenging high schools in the Washington, DC area. Washington DC ( formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D

Contents

History

Two Schools Become One

The H-B Woodlawn Program was created in 1978 by the merger of the Hoffman Boston Program (H-B) (founded in 1972) and the Woodlawn Program (founded in 1971), junior high and high school programs respectively, which both embraced the idea of alternative education. Year 1978 ( MCMLXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar) Alternative education, also known as non-traditional education or educational alternative, includes a number of approaches to teaching and learning other Originally, Hoffman-Boston had some 180 students. Woodlawn had 90 students, grades 11 and 12, in its first year of operation, adding 10th grade and expanding to some 200 students the second year. Donald Brandewie was the founding principal of Hoffman-Boston and served for three years, after which Margery Edson became principal; Woodlawn, which was then a haven for "anti-establishment" types, had no principal; Ray Anderson served as Head Teacher and served as administrator for the program. After the election of several conservative school board members in 1976, a movement started in an attempt to close the two programs; the first step in this "process" was to be the combining of the two schools together, which was ordered in 1977 to take place in the fall of 1978. After a year of careful planning, discussion, and hard work by administration, staff, students, and alumni of the two programs, a comprehensive merger plan and combined philosophy was adopted, and this document served as the "blueprint" for the initial years of the combined program. The two schools joined in the former Stratford Junior High School building on Vacation Lane in the Fall of 1978, coincident with the Arlington Public Schools decision to move 9th grade students from Junior High to High School.

Changes

Perhaps contrary to the hopes of those who hoped to see the programs closed, the combined program had many advantages, including better educational continuity and a broader range of teaching staff, and it became even more popular among parents and students than the original, separate programs had been. Eventually, it became a mainstay of the school system, and even the more conservative members of the school board grudging accepted the value of the program. Sixth graders were added in 1990 as the "Middle School Movement" picked up steam around the country. At this time, a "Middle School Program" was initiated to create more structure for the younger students.

Ray was continuously involved in the program from Woodlawn's initial planning and inception, first as head teacher at Woodlawn and then at H-B Woodlawn, and later as Principal upon Margery's retirement. Mary McBride became Head Teacher; Ray remained at H-B Woodlawn until his retirement in 2004 after 33 years of service to Arlington Schools. Ray was succeeded by Frank Haltiwanger, who has a long history of involvement with H-B Woodlawn, and Haltiwanger remains the current Principal of the school.

In the early years of the programs, anyone in Arlington Public Schools who wished to attend would simply apply and usually got in; short waiting lists were common, and Woodlawn used a lottery for several years, but the majority of students who applied were eventually offered admission. After the schools combined, the popularity of the program increased in the 1980s, as test scores and college admission rates were often higher than that of the county average. A "first-come, first-serve" admission policy was then put in place, but this became problematic as parents began arrive early in the morning of registration to sign up their children. Finally in 1992, parents of prospective students camped out on the back lawn of the school for three days to ensure their children's admission. The lottery was subsequently reinstated. This, too, became a challenge, as the numbers of minorities dropped dramatically and the socio-economic balance of the school became skewed. A new lottery was developed in which minorities were double-weighted to ensure ethnic diversity in the program.

In 1997, the "weighted" lottery came under fire when several parents filed suit against Arlington Public Schools, stating that these affirmative action lotteries for The H-B Woodlawn Program and Page Elementary School (now known as Arlington Traditional) were, in fact, reverse discrimination. Year 1997 ( MCMXCVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1997 Gregorian calendar The case went through several courts, ending in the 3rd Circuit Court, where the school system lost its battle. The lotteries for both schools were "unweighted" and extra students were added to each program retroactively. Again, the ethnicity and socio-economic balance of the school began to be affected, and other attempts to create balance were proposed, including taking economic factors and/or home address into account for admission. All of these proposals were struck down by the courts. When Montgomery County Public Schools (a neighboring jurisdiction) lost a similar battle at the Supreme Court regarding the admission to their magnet schools, it was decided that further legal battles were not likely to succeed. A committee studying the issue came up with a solution, however. They proposed that the lottery slots be given out in proportion to the home elementary school populations. Each elementary school in the county would receive a percentage of slots based on the number of students they had. This admissions policy was not challenged legally, and resulted in a doubling of minorities in the first and second years of its use.

Admission to the H-B Woodlawn program remains controversial. Some feel that students applying to the program should pass some sort of test indicating their affinity for the school and its social system, while others maintain that the only way to keep the unique philosophy in place is to admit a wide range of individuals. In recent years, only one out of four students who apply is likely to get admitted through the lottery. This has created a large number of families who are unhappy that their child was not admitted.

According to a Washington Post transcript of a 2001 Q&A with then-Principal Ray Anderson, the student population was 55% female and 45% male students. The Washington Post is the largest and most circulated Newspaper in Washington D This same year, the school's budget, based upon Arlington County's School Budget Planning Factors and tied to enrollment, was $3,735,466. 00 for 607 students. The H-B Woodlawn Program, while not officially a "school", does not receive any special funds for operation, but, rather, gets the same "per student funding" that is received by all Arlington Public Schools.

The point of H-B was to allow teenagers a chance to learn about themselves and society. Typically, school teaches children/teenagers how to behave and how to advance to the next stage of life. Though H-B allowed students to navigate at their own pace this did not lead to a life of apathy. As a new generation of parents took the helm at H-B the character of the school changed. These parents want their children to attend the best colleges which is, supposedly, only possible with a typical education. The question no one is asking, at least not this way, is: do we allow students to shape their education or do we shape it for them?

Philosophy

H-B Woodlawn's educational philosophy is deeply rooted in the ideal of a democratic and representative society. There is a heavy emphasis on empowering students to take charge of themselves and their educational lives, to have a voice in their communities, and to be equal partners in each. There are ongoing efforts to imbue students with a sense of trust and respect, with the hope that the students will take this experience with them into their college and professional lives. In keeping with this notion, the H-B Woodlawn Program has several innovative features not present in other schools built during the education movements of the 1960s and 1970s, including:

Examples of the program in action include a prolific student-run theatre program which produces 8 to 12 productions a year, and new classes, such as multivariable calculus. Multivariable calculus is the extension of Calculus in one Variable to calculus in several variables the functions which are differentiated and integrated involve

Outside of the immediate academic environment, students often develop their own activities and school organizations. The yearbook, for example, is entirely student-run. A yearbook, also known as an annual is a book to record highlight and commemorate the past year of a School or a book published annually The drama department also stages numerous plays each year, almost all of which are directed and produced by students. Other examples include prom, and some field trips. Students generally work on these activities during their Free Blocks or after school. Teachers usually intervene only if an intervention is needed. For example, because most of the students at H-B Woodlawn are not eighteen years old, for example, a teacher is still needed to purchase items for the prom, yearbook, etc.

The philosophy does not work for all students. Since "choice" and "freedom" are prized above all else, there are concerns that students will choose to take advantage of the free time rather than the educational opportunities. Since the environment is unstructured, it can be loud and distracting, and has been noted as a difficult place for some students to stay focused. Ultimately, a student's path is one of their own making, and they are free to follow whatever road they wish during their time at H-B Woodlawn.

Academics

H-B Woodlawn is consistently ranked among the best public high schools in the country, though this is due to the high number of AP tests students take each year.

H-B Woodlawn is not a school, but a program. Every class that a student takes does not go in their transcript at H-B, but at their home high school.

Because of the small size of the school and the approximately forty teachers at H-B, most classes tend to be small, usually around 20 to 25 students for each class, though there are usually fewer people per class in some electives, English, and social studies. The small number of students at H-B does have some negative effects, though. Because the school only has a budget allocated for forty full-time teaching positions, there are a limited number of electives. Electives include Art, Photography, Drama, Chorus, Band, Orchestra, Journalism, Creative Writing, and Computer Science. This is a relatively small selection considering the number of electives available at other High Schools in Arlington. To remedy this, students are allowed to take classes at their home high school if they wish, or can otherwise take them at Arlington County's Career Center, where students can take a variety of elective courses.

Academics at H-B tend to be focused on the student's desire to determine what they want to study, and as such students usually have a say in the direction of their courses. Going through the school, students will encounter numerous projects for each of their classes. Before students can graduate, they have a choice to do a senior project which can substitute for some of their classes or all of their classes depending on what the project is. Students usually conduct this project the last semester of their senior year and can spend time at school doing their senior project or do their senior project at home, not needing to go to the classes they are supplementing their senior project with.

In the second semester of their Sophomore, Junior, and Senior years, students participating in non-AP English and Social Studies participate in electives rather than their regular course. Students design these electives themselves and choose which ones to take. Any elective is possible as long as a teacher is willing to teach it and it fits into a general English or Social Studies theme.

At the end of the year, students in grades 7-11 select their own schedule for the next year. This is usually done in May and is known as "Arena Scheduling". At Arena Scheduling, a student is randomly assigned a number within their class, and this determines when they enter the gym to sign up for their classes. Because they are graduating sooner, and may have more pressing graduation requirements to fulfill, higher grades are admitted before the lower grades. Students are free to choose when or what their classes will be, subject to availability and the minimum diploma requirements, as opposed to school administrators determining when their class will be. This forces students to prioritize based on perceived popularity of classes and/or timeslots, personal necessity or wishes, and the constraints of fitting classes together in a workable schedule. Due to the small size of the school and restricted offerings, each student must make at least one (usually minor) sacrifice over the course of their education, and the experience of prioritization/compromise is believed to be helpful in future pursuits (such as choosing college courses).

Sports

H-B Woodlawn has no official sports teams. In order to participate in a sport, students must do so at their home high school. There are buses to each high school at the end of the day to take students to their home high school in order to practice. However, an ultimate frisbee team does represent the school at several national competions, but is not sponsored by the county as a sport.

Special Rankings

H-B Woodlawn enjoys high rankings both locally and nationally. H-B Woodlawn was rated number one in the 2005 Challenge Index for the area. The Challenge Index is a method for the statistical ranking of top public High schools in the United States by Washington Post columnist Jay Mathews It received an Equity and Excellence rating of 82. 7% that year. The average rating for all U. S. schools is 14. 1%. In the 2006 survey by Newsweek ranking high schools nation-wide, H-B Woodlawn ranked several slots down from where it had been in previous years - 13 (compared with number 5 in the 2005 survey). Newsweek is an American weekly Newsmagazine published in New York City.

There is some controversy in ranking H-B Woodlawn nationally at all as a "school. " Students do not actually receive diplomas from H-B Woodlawn, but rather their home schools from around Arlington county.

Various Traditions

Since 1986, each graduating class has acquired a section of the walls to decorate with artwork, quotations, et cetera. Up until the graduating class of 1996, the chosen site of the decorated walls had been in the Cafeteria. Because of a lack of space, the class of 1997 and every class since then has had to decorate their wall either in a hallway or stairwell of the school.

Because H-B Woodlawn is not actually a school, it has no formal graduation ceremony. Rather, there is an organized event at the end of the year when teachers, students, and parents gather together to meet for the last time. TAs and their advisees stand at the front of the ceremony telling stories about each student. Although each graduation class only contains around 70 students, the process can take upwards of four or five hours due to the length of each story. At the end of the ceremony, teachers gather at the front and sing the song "Good Riddance" by Green Day. Green Day is an American rock trio This is a newer tradition and in past times, "Feet of a Dancer" by Maura O'Connell was sung. Before this, the song was "Teach Your Children" by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, reflecting H-B's "hippie" roots.

The school's motto is Verbum Sap Sat, short for the Latin Verbum sapienti sat est, meaning "A Word to the Wise is Sufficient. "

The Turkey Bowl is held every Thanksgiving. It is a football game that takes place on the upper field between first the freshmen and sophomores and then the juniors and seniors of H-B. Fabi Bouthillette created the Turkey Bowl in 1998. The 7th and 8th graders play against each other in the chicken bowl, the day prior to the turkey bowl.

Every year, before the Winter Break, a volleyball game is held between some teachers and students. Common teachers at this event are Randy McKnight, Mark Dodge, Ray Anderson, Frank Haltiwanger, Bill Van Evera, and Dave Soles.

Joe King, a perennial student, has been attending the school since the Fall of '73 or '74. He has been claimed not to exist, yet he is known to receive mail, write articles in the paper, sign up for elective classes & committees, buy tickets to dances and add his name to some of the graduating Senior walls. The school's yearbook from '79-80 featured a center spread on Joe, his origins and antics, along with several shadowy photographs.

Similarly, according to the Senior walls, one member of the class of '06 has graduated upwards of seven times.

It is a tradition that every time the principal begins to speak, the students must interrupt him with applause. During his entire 33-year term as principal, Ray never managed to speak more than four consecutive words without being interrupted by applause. The current principal of the school, former assistant principal Frank Haltiwanger, holds a record of twelve consecutive words.

In the current drama hall, there are two lockers that are connected to each other by a secret passageway. They have both been boarded up however, due to safety concerns.

External links

hbwoodlawn. org. (n. d. ). The official H-B Woodlawn description. Retrieved April 4, 2007 from http://www.hbwoodlawn.org/profile.html.

Hoffman-Boston--Woodlawn Merger Committee. (1987). Report of the Hoffman-Boston--Woodlawn Merger Committee (reprint). Retrieved April 4, 2007 from http://www.hbwoodlawn.org/mergereport.html.

Overholt, W. (ed. ). (1994). The underground student handbook. Retrieved April 4, 2007 from http://www.hbwoodlawn.org/handbook/warning.html.

Overholt, W. (ed. ). (n. d. ). The official H-B Woodlawn alumni site. Retrieved April 4, 2007 from http://www.hbwoodlawn.org/index.html.

Horwitt, D. (2004, June 13). Farewell to hippie high. The Washington Post. Retrieved April 4, 2007 from http://www.hbwoodlawn.org/postarticle.pdf.

H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program. (2007). H-B Woodlawn Home. Retrieved April 4, 2007 from http://www.apsva.us/woodlawn/

© 2009 citizendia.org; parts available under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License, from http://en.wikipedia.org
 Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic