The Best of Bethesda 2011
Best Public High School If You Want Your Kid to Go to Harvard
Best Public High School for Sports Teams
Best Public High School for Music
Best Public High School for Drama
Walt Whitman High School
It’s no secret that Walt Whitman students are highly motivated. They have the top SAT scores among county schools, and take full advantage of Advanced Placement and other academic offerings taught by the school’s committed staff. That willingness to succeed led to six acceptances to Harvard for the Class of 2010.
But the learning—and student accomplishments—also occur outside the classroom. Parents and students regularly applaud Whitman’s drama and music productions, the result of “real strong teamwork between the music and the drama departments,” Principal Alan Goodwin says.
Extracurricular activities also enrich students by exposing them to other viewpoints. One example: The school’s participation in The News Literacy Project has brought in renowned journalists and other media figures for forums with students and parents. “To have something like that in our backyard is phenomenal,” PTSA Co-President Robin Rosenblum says.
And then there are the sports teams, supervised by coaches who “take sports in the greatest sense they should,” emphasizing the importance of academics as well as teamwork, Goodwin says.
“I realize how lucky we are and I think our kids realize how lucky we are,” Rosenblum says.