Whitman In Brief
Walt Whitman High School opened in the fall of 1962 with 1,418 students. The school was built on 17 levels, with a center courtyard and a geodesic dome for its gymnasium and auditorium. A Ford Foundation grant underwrote the design and construction of the dome.
Whitman grew during the 1960s to reach an all-time high of 2,283 students in 1970. Dr. Marco came to Whitman in l975 from Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School, where he had served as Principal for five years.
In 1981, a 1,200-seat auditorium was added to the school. In the fall of 1992, Whitman moved into a new building. Only the auditorium was retained from the old school and incorporated in the new design.
Six elementary schools and Thomas W. Pyle Middle School are part of the Walt Whitman High School Cluster of Schools. The elementary schools are Bannockburn, Bethesda, Bradley Hills, Burning Tree, Carderock Springs, and Wood Acres.
Whitman is an exceedingly cosmopolitan school, with students from more than 55 countries. Seventy-seven percent of the students are white; four percent are African-American; fsix percent are Hispanic; and thirteen percent are Asian.
Students at Whitman are overwhelmingly college-bound. Ninety-five percent go on to college. Generally, about eighty six percent attend four-year colleges and nine percent attend two-year colleges. More than seventy percent attend college out of state.
Whitman's school colors are black, white, and Columbia blue. The
mascot is the Viking. The Whitman High School Website is www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/whitmanhs/.
Last modified December 12, 2007