Walt Whitman High School | |
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Address | |
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7100 Whittier Boulevard , 20817 United States | |
Coordinates | 38°58′53″N 77°07′33″W / 38.981447°N 77.12574°W |
Information | |
Type | Public high school |
Established | 1962 |
School district | Montgomery County Public Schools |
NCES District ID | 2400480[1] |
CEEB code | 210271 |
NCES School ID | 240048000941[2] |
Principal | Robert Dodd |
Teaching staff | 116.80 FTE (2021-22)[2] |
Grades | 9–12[2] |
Gender | Co-educational |
Enrollment | 2,018 (2022-23)[2] |
Student to teacher ratio | 17.28 (2022-23)[2] |
Campus type | Small city[2] |
Color(s) | Black, white, and Columbia blue |
Mascot | Vikings |
USNWR ranking | 104 (2021)[3] |
Newspaper | The Black & White |
Yearbook | Saga |
Website | www |
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Walt Whitman High School is a public high school located in Bethesda, Maryland, United States. It is named after the 19th-century American poet Walt Whitman. The school serves grades 9-12 for the Montgomery County Public Schools system.
The school opened in the fall of 1962 with 1,418 students. Designed by local architectural firm McLeod, Ferrara & Ensign, it was built on 17 levels, with a central courtyard and a geodesic dome for its gymnasium. A Ford Foundation grant underwrote the design and construction of the dome.[4][5]
In 1981, the school added a 1,176-seat auditorium. In 1992, the school demolished the geodesic dome and all other buildings except the auditorium, and constructed a new school building, which opened in the fall of 1993.[6][7]
In 2021, the school completed a 75,000 sq ft (7,000 m2) addition, including 18 new classrooms, which opened with the start of the 2021-22 school year.[8]
The school has an active FIRST Robotics Competition team.[9]
The Black & White is the school's student-run newspaper. The National Scholastic Press Association Hall of Fame inducted the paper in 1991.[10] Whitman is also notable for having the country's only student-run psychology journal. The journal circulates to over 1,000 psych teachers around the country.[11]
Whitman fields sports teams in the fall, winter, and spring. The school competes as the Vikings and is part of Montgomery County public school sports.[12] The football field is named after long-time principal Jerome Marco.[13]
The school has won 11 soccer state championships, including two back-to-back titles in 2018-2019.[14] In 2021, the girls' soccer team won the state championship.[15]
In 2006, the boys' basketball team defeated Eleanor Roosevelt 39-38 to win the school's only state title.[16] That season, Whitman leading scorer Michael Gruner was named co-gazette player of the year alongside NBA superstar Kevin Durant.[17]
The boys' tennis team has also won state titles in 2009, 2014, and 2019.[18]
The girls' basketball team won the state title in 2016, their second overall.[19]
The school also has a rowing crew team that has made honorable wins in Regattas.
Whitman maintains rivalries with many of its neighboring schools. Its fiercest rival is Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School,[20] but Whitman is also rivals with Churchill and Walter Johnson.[21][22]
Walt Whitman High School primarily serves students in Bethesda, but also small portions of students in Potomac and Glen Echo.
Whitman is fed by one middle school and five elementary schools:[23]