Walt Whitman High School

Posted: March 11, 2024

Posted: March 11, 2024

Posted: March 11, 2024

Posted: March 11, 2024

Posted: March 11, 2024

Posted: March 11, 2024

Posted: March 11, 2024

Posted: March 11, 2024

Grade inflation is rampant here - meaning a student who coasts looks on paper the same as an engaged student who does their best, which is unfair when they’re competing for the same college spots. Seriously, at graduation they ask students with a 3.8 or higher to rise, and 3/4 of the kids stand!

Posted: March 11, 2024

Posted: September 24, 2023

Posted: September 24, 2023

Posted: September 24, 2023

Posted: September 24, 2023

Posted: September 24, 2023

Posted: September 24, 2023

Posted: September 24, 2023

Posted: September 24, 2023

This is a wonderful learning institution. The administration, teachers, and overall sense of community are one of the best in Maryland.

Posted: February 8, 2021

Posted: February 8, 2021

Posted: February 8, 2021

Montgomery County Public Schools needs an overhaul from top to bottom, including the Board of Education. For a county that is a large and well funded as MoCo/MCPS, they have done a TERRIBLE job managing our kids education throughout this entire pandemic. Last March when the world came to a screeching halt, it was understandable (although disappointing) that contingency learning plans were not in place. MCPS had an entire summer and has now had almost an entire year to figure out how to get our kids back in school safely, and yet, they continue with sub par distant learning. Private institutions are allowed to hold distant learning hubs inside school buildings while the vast number of pupils are left to sit through endless, boring hours of online instruction. The plan to bring kids back into school buildings includes having zoom school inside the school buildings. Kids will sit with proctors (not teachers) inside classrooms on their headsets while listening to lessons via remote teachers. Why are we paying for proctors to monitor our kids instead of investing that money into ensuring we have what we need (sans an entire community being vaccinated which isn't happening anytime soon) to safely open our schools? Bottom line, MCPS, BOE don't have our kids best interest in mind. Our kids are pawns in a game between MSPC, BOE and the teachers union. No one wants to stand up and do what's right for our kids who are suffering; the extent of which we will not fully understand for years to come. Bottom line, not worth buying in. Buy somewhere that's cheaper and actually cares about your kids education.

Posted: February 8, 2021

Posted: February 8, 2021

Posted: February 8, 2021

Posted: February 8, 2021

Posted: February 8, 2021

Posted: March 14, 2018

Walt Whitman High School has a vast amount of resources (i.e., availability of teachers during and after school, peer homework help, writing center, etc.) but requires the student to be initiative to take advantage of these programs.

Posted: March 14, 2018

Posted: March 14, 2018

Posted: March 14, 2018

Posted: March 14, 2018

Posted: March 14, 2018

Posted: March 14, 2018

An excellent school with rigorous curriculum to prepare the students for the next step. As a parent of a Senior student getting ready to enter college this Fall, I am not so worried with the academics aspect.

Posted: October 20, 2017

Whitman is vigilant about addressing bullying, committed to having students respect each other, and unequivocal in letting students and parents know that bullying is wrong.

Posted: October 20, 2017

Posted: October 20, 2017

Posted: October 20, 2017

Posted: October 20, 2017

Posted: October 20, 2017

Posted: October 20, 2017

Whitman is in many respects a very average school that coasts on the high SES of its parents. It's a big school with a huge variety of course offerings, including a lot of high-level and AP courses, and with clubs and sports teams to address a huge range of student interests. And there are plenty of smart, accomplished, and dedicated students. But the school is overcrowded and class size is large--often 35 kids, which means a lot of kids get lost in the shuffle. There are some excellent teachers, but also quite a few who are just okay and some who aren't good at all. The principal is dedicated and very hard-working but he could do a better job of recruiting top teachers and weeding out the less skilled. And he, the teachers, and of course the kids as well are burdened by having to deal with the hyper-competitive and hyper-involved parents who are desperate to get their kids into Harvard and who will complain and protest to the teachers, the principal and probably the governor if they can reach him, whenever their child gets less than an A on even a micro-quiz. So there's a lot of anxiety at the school and a lot of competitiveness. The pervasive anxiety about grades and college make it harder for students to savor what they're learning or to relax and enjoy their lives.

Posted: September 17, 2017

Posted: September 17, 2017

Amazing principal makes this terrific school as positive as it can be for each student.

Posted: August 25, 2017

Posted: August 25, 2017

Posted: August 25, 2017

Posted: August 25, 2017

Posted: August 25, 2017

Posted: August 25, 2017

Excellent. Three kid thru the school and all are exceptional

Posted: August 25, 2017

Posted: September 19, 2015

Most teacher are great teachers, the math department especially. The engineering department is also incredable

Posted: September 19, 2015

Teachers don't overload you with homework if they dont have to. And most of then give you time in class to finish it.

Posted: September 19, 2015

This is definetly one of the best schools in the state. The teachers are all very caring and professional, and most of themare great teachers. I love it here at whitman, it is like everyone is family!

Posted: September 19, 2015

The school contains no bullies. And teachers teach students how to be better people in the real world.

Posted: June 13, 2015

Posted: June 13, 2015

Posted: June 13, 2015

Posted: June 13, 2015

Reviewing a few years after graduating.

I received a superb education here. I took 10 AP courses, went into college with 31 credits, and was eminently prepared for my post-secondary education. As I entered the job market, I found that I was an attractive enough candidate to land a job in management consulting. I don't think I was quite the writer I am now in high school, but I know enough to recognize that a solid foundation was built, a foundation upon which my college professors were able to improve.

There are some superb teachers here. Not only that, but the level of discourse in the classroom as a result of the quality of students is excellent. I at once went to school with the Treasury secretary's son while seeing Chief Justice John Roberts speak at my AP Government class.

I can't speak for the majority of the school, however. But for the 100 or so best students of each class of about 500, this school provides a world-class education.

I would know- my coworkers hail from Cambridge, Oxford, Harvard, Yale, and the like. And my high school friends went to Yale, Harvard and UPenn.

Posted: June 4, 2015

Posted: June 4, 2015

Posted: June 4, 2015

Posted: June 4, 2015

I think Walt Whitman is a great school and it's definitely one of the best high schools in Mayland. It has good academic programs and other social activities such as music bands and sport teams. People there care about each other and would love to help mentally and physically. School encourages on the college preps and offers so many activities for students and parents to participate. I really enjoyed my experience at Walt Whitman High School.

Posted: May 5, 2015

Whitman is a great school! The teachers are very knowledgeable and really care about their students. The math and science departments are truly the best. Whitmans staff are striving for you to succeed while at Whitman, in college, and in adulthood. The language department is very diverse and offer many languages. This school truly is the best high school in Maryland.

Posted: March 17, 2015

The organization is good. The Math department (and all STEM) are wonderful. Languages are ok though Japanese is very good (though an acquired taste). The English department is full of amateurs and is quite laughable. This makes for a stark contrast in terms of faculty quality. Also if your child is 2e do not bother with this school. It's all lip service and when push comes to shove, they don't know (and don't want to know) about teaching 'these' kids. y contrast there's a good program for mentally challenged (Down synd, ment. ret etc) children. But if your child is both gifted and LD this school is not the place for them.

Posted: December 1, 2014

I'm currently a student here and this school is a pressure cooker. Its so competitive here, and the students are all overly hard on themselves. The academics are good, and you will learn a lot if you decide to push yourself and take initiative. academic wise WWHS will definitely prepare you for college (ive taken classes at georgetown university while in high school and did very well). However, this school is very cliquey and not at all diverse. People don't really associate with a lot of people outside of their friend group and its really easy to get lost. WWHS is basically a typical high school with very good academics.

Posted: August 28, 2014

Resting on its laurels. Wealthy highly-accomplished children of parents who push hard will of course get great grades and high scores. And that makes the school look good. But remove that population and you have a middling school with a LOT of bad teachers, notably in the math department. Very few go the extra mile for a kid who is struggling academically. There is little to NO support for LD kids--even with federal accommodations. The administration seems blind to the problems with its staff because as long as the kids are scoring well, they don't take into account all the outside help (tutors, etc) required to keep students going in this hyper-competitive environment. Many children slip through the cracks here because the focus is always on the uber-achievers and not the regular kids. Prepare to have your average child traumatized by the social/academic double-whammy inflicted by these kids on each other. Not AP--you're a nobody. Whitman needs to take a step back and realize that a large part of their population is suffering from lazy teaching, indifferent counseling and peer prejudice. The pressure is unbelievable and often kids lose their innate love of learning.

Posted: June 4, 2014

Whitman is a great school, if you're willing to push yourself . The culture that surrounds Whitman and the students which attend it is what makes it a school full of successful and engaged students. I find myself having daily conversations regarding politics, literature, sciences, etc, because we are all very interested based on what we learn in class. I think that marks it exceptional. Parents push students, and those students indirectly push everyone else. Students take classes they enjoy, sometimes for the AP credit with some interest, and some solely for the interest. I love Whitman because of the classes and the inspiration I've received as well as how much I've learned about myself in that environment. There seems to be a "group" for everyone, and hardly any bullying without someone stepping in, occurs. Go to Whitman if you can push yourself, are willing to LEARN, and socially step up to the plate.

Posted: December 22, 2013

Yeah, the academics are good, I guess, but there is a lot of self conceited-ness at this school. This high school is just like any other MD public high school, so there is no need to wast your money on a house in Bethesda when there are plenty of other schools that are even better than Whitman that don't require you to spend more than half of your income on a house. Many people who live in the Whitman district feel they are "very fortunate" to live in it. The students are amazing and I love them all, but a lot of them are super self conceited and think that everyone outside of the Whitman district is less fortunate than the. But they are not very fortunate at all to live in a district which will leave them in major debt. Whitman is not worth it. It's not even that great. I don't understand why people freak out over it so much. That's just my opinion. The people, at this school think that their money can get them anything they want and their school anything it wants. If you're looking for a good school, try Severna Park High in Anne Arundel County.

Posted: June 22, 2011

I just graduated from Whitman, and I can say that I know I'm going to really miss it. The administration is beyond phenomenal, and I can say that this school has some great teachers (and some bad ones, like every school) that I know I will visit on my college breaks. The extracurricular activities at this is school are abundant and worth it, so make sure your child gets involved since they're all amazing. However, Whitman is notorious for its elitist students, which is only true to an extent, but every school is going to have some kids that feels they're above everyone else. In all, I would like to applaud Whitman's great staff and administration for giving an extremely rewarding and memorable high school experience.