Responses have been edited for length and clarity
In 1959, the MCPS Board of Education hired local architect Anthony Ferrara to design a new high school on Whittier Boulevard. The original campus featured a central courtyard and a geodesic dome gym — the first of its kind. Despite initial skepticism regarding the dome, the 3,500-seat structure, along with the rest of the school, was completed in 1962. Walt Whitman High School opened that fall.
After three decades, the original campus was demolished and replaced with a new building that opened in 1993. In response to student overflow, the adjacent Whittier Woods Elementary School and surrounding Whittier Woods Annex was demolished to make room for a 74,500-square-foot expansion, completed in 2021.
Given the school’s larger campus, the building services team’s role in student achievement has increased. Their work ensures that classrooms and common areas remain clean, functional and available to students and staff, sustaining a learning environment that helps Whitman consistently rank as the No. 1 high school in MCPS. Whitman’s building services team is composed of 18 individuals who maintain over 300,000 square feet of campus space.
The Whitman administration recently introduced Pierre Julien as the new building services manager for the 2024-25 school year. Julien has spent 13 years at Whitman, including three as the preventative maintenance specialist. That role is now held by Thomas Grant, who joined the Whitman building services team in May.
The Black & White interviewed Julien and Grant to discuss their team’s role in maintaining the school.
B&W: What are some behind-the-scenes tasks the building maintenance team does throughout the day?
Thomas Grant: I check the boilers, compressors, air ducts, valves, the kitchen, generators, make sure everything is running correctly on the roof — I just go around and make sure all the systems are running thoroughly and correctly inside the school.
B&W: What is the biggest structural issue here at Whitman?
Pierre Julien: Last time we had a big flood in the girls bathroom, they broke one of the toilets, the pipe was broken and the water went all over the place. But the big issue was the flooding. The kids blocked the toilet, and it was a mess.
B&W: What is one thing that you wish students could know about building services?
Thomas Grant: It’s good that the students know that we all work together as a team. This team has many different moving parts, but all of us essentially come together as one to keep the building running correctly.
B&W: What do you think about your work?
Pierre Julien: It’s a lot of stuff we have to do here, but we like it. I like it. It feels good to work at Whitman. I love Whitman. I love the people, too. I’m here to help the kids, but at the same time, I want them to know we are a team. We want our school looking good, but if they keep creating extra work for the staff, it’s going to be bad for us to keep doing the same things.
B&W: What are some things that students can do to make your lives easier?
Pierre Julien: When they use the bathroom, they waste a lot of toilet paper and keep clogging the toilet with all the toilet paper. That’s too bad. People also sit down on the sinks. This happens all the time. There’s also graffiti all over the school. It would help if they didn’t do the graffiti.
Thomas Grant: Just for the students to be mindful, to be mindful that when they’re in school, that they look behind themselves and that there are people that come in here and work hard every day to keep the school clean.
Under new leadership, the team continues to manage central systems and respond to facility needs across Whitman. While much of their work occurs after hours, Julien and Grant remind us of their efforts to shape the environment that allows students and staff to succeed.
