Charles W. Woodward High School

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Charles W. Woodward High School
Tilden Middle School.JPG
Address
11211 Old Georgetown Road

39°2′18″N 77°7′19″W / 39.03833°N 77.12194°W / 39.03833; -77.12194Coordinates: 39°2′18″N 77°7′19″W / 39.03833°N 77.12194°W / 39.03833; -77.12194

Rockville
,
Maryland
20852

United States
Information
TypePublic
Established1966; 56 years ago (1966)
StatusClosed
Closed1987; 35 years ago (1987)
School districtMontgomery County Public Schools
Grades9–12
Campus typeSuburban

Charles W. Woodward High School is a former U.S. high school located in North Bethesda, Maryland, near Rockville.[1] The building housed a middle school until the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent relocation of the school.

Etymology[]

In 1965, the Montgomery County Board of Education named the school after Judge Charles W. Woodward, Sr. (1895–1969), who served as Associate Judge and later as Chief Judge of the Sixth Judicial Circuit of Maryland from 1932 to 1955.[2]

History and future[]

Charles W. Woodward High School's parking lot, in May 1973, from the U.S. National Archives.

Charles W. Woodward High School opened in 1966. Two decades later, in 1987, its students were merged into Walter Johnson High School.[2] Woodward and Walter Johnson High Schools had the same diminished enrollment levels, but MCPS decided to preserve Walter Johnson given the schools larger capacity and the resolution passed by the school's PTA in support of closing Woodward.

The demolition of Woodward High School / Tilden Middle School in April 2021

After a brief period as swing space while Springbrook High was being renovated, the building was used to house Tilden Middle School while that school's facility began a major renovation project.[2] Tilden relocated to its new building during the summer of 2020.[3] MCPS Superintendent Jack Smith's 2020 Capital Budget includes the funding for the reopening of Woodward High School in 2022. The budget has options for Woodward to function for two school years, starting in September 2023, as a holding school for Northwood High School, as the latter facility undergoes a planned expansion, or instead implement a phased construction for Northwood, with it remaining onsite at its current facility, thereby allowing Woodward to function as its own individual school.[4][5] Demolition of the old building commenced at the end of February, 2021.[3]

In 2018, then County Council President Hans Riemer (who did not attend MCPS as he grew up in California) and then Montgomery County first lady Catherine Leggett led an effort to rename Charles W. Woodward High School in honor of the Rev. Josiah Henson, who served as the inspiration for the anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom's Cabin, when the school reopens in 2022. [2] Across the street from the Woodward site is a county park already named for Henson.

Notable alumni[]

References[]

  1. ^ "2010 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: North Bethesda CDP, MD" (Archive). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on April 30, 2014. Compare to the postal address.
  2. ^ a b c d Rodgers, Bethany (2018-09-04). "Judge Woodward Makes Case for Keeping Woodward High's Current Name — County Council president, Catherine Leggett say the Rockville school should be renamed after the Rev. Josiah Henson, one of the county's "unsung heroes"". Bethesda Magazine. Bethesda, Maryland: Kohanza Media Ventures. Retrieved 2018-12-13.
  3. ^ a b "TILDEN MIDDLE SCHOOL BUILDING DEMOLISHED TO MAKE WAY FOR NEW WOODWARD HIGH SCHOOL". Montgomery Community Media. 2021-04-01. Retrieved 2021-01-09.
  4. ^ Peetz, Caitlynn (2018-11-08). "A Closer Look at MCPS Superintendent's Proposed Fiscal 2020 Capital Budget, CIP Amendments — Projects include boundary studies, security upgrades, major capital improvements and more". Bethesda Magazine. Bethesda, Maryland: Kohanza Media Ventures. Retrieved 2018-12-13.
  5. ^ "Charles W. Woodward HS Reopening — Montgomery County MD Capital Budget". Rockville, Maryland: Operating Budget and Public Services Program, Office of Management and Budget, Montgomery County MD Government. 2018-05-22. Retrieved 2018-12-13.
  6. ^ Cress, Doug (October 9, 1982). "At 5-Foot-8, Cook Grows In Esteem With U.S. Team". The Washington Post. p. F4.
  7. ^ Wiltz, Teresa (November 10, 1999). "The Yellow Brick Road That Led to Broadway". The Washington Post. p. C1.
  8. ^ Lenhart, Jennifer (July 4, 2006). "Astronaut From Rockville Keeps Her Eyes on Space, Heart on Earth". The Washington Post. p. B1.
  9. ^ Leahy, Michael (September 24, 1999). "For Snyder, Winning Is the Only Thing". The Washington Post. p. A1.
  10. ^ Brace, Eric (August 22, 1997). "Organically Electronic, Dude". The Washington Post. p. N10.

External links[]

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