News – The Black and White

MCPS accidentally releases highly anticipated boundary study report

March 28, 2020

MCPS officials and urban planning firm WXY released an interim report March 18 on the boundary study, which seeks to collect data on MCPS school demographics and boundaries. The report’s release ended the first phase of the project, which included over a year of data analysis and community meeting...

Maryland state officials extend public school closures by four weeks in response to COVID-19 pandemic

By Anna Yuan

March 25, 2020

Maryland’s previously mandated two week public school closure until March 27 is now extended for an additional four weeks until April 24, State Superintendent of Schools Karen Salmon announced in a March 25 press conference. “We do not make this decision lightly,” she said. “With the challen...

The College Board cancels face-to-face AP exams, offers online alternative due to COVID-19 concerns

By Taylor Haber

March 20, 2020

Citing COVID-19 concerns, The College Board canceled all face-to-face AP exams; instead, students have the option of taking 45-minute free-response-only exams online May 2020, according to a March 20 briefing. The College Board hasn’t collected any fees from schools yet, so if registered students ...

Hogan institutes aggressive measures, College Board and ACT cancel SAT and ACT exams in response to the COVID-19 pandemic

By Anna Yuan and Taylor Haber

March 17, 2020

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Larry Hogan ordered all restaurants, bars, gyms, spas and theatres to close March 16. Additionally, Hogan has postponed the April 28 Maryland Primary date until June 2, the last possible date that still complies with DNC rules. Both the College Board and ACT Inc. also announced Mar...

COVID-19 outbreak leads county to freeze grades, cancel athletics

By Anna Yuan

March 13, 2020

After State Superintendent of Schools Karen Salmon announced yesterday that all Maryland public schools will close for the next two weeks due to COVID-19, Montgomery County officials stated today that student grades will freeze, effective March 16 through March 27, prohibiting teachers from inputting graded assignme...

Maryland state officials close all public schools in response to COVID-19 pandemic

By Anna Yuan

March 12, 2020

All Maryland public schools, including MCPS, will be closed for two weeks March 16 through March 27 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. State Superintendent of Schools Karen Salmon announced the closures March 12 at a press conference, which Governor Larry Hogan hosted. She later met with all Maryland pub...

Robotics places third in FRC district competition

By Eve Titlebaum and Hirari Sato

March 11, 2020

Whitman’s robotics team, Team 1389 — The Body Electric — competed in a district competition March 6-8, placing third in the first round of qualifications, but lost their first and second match in the quarterfinals, making them unable to go to semi-finals. The team started off strong with a record 10...

DECA places second in Maryland

By Ben Waldman

March 11, 2020

Whitman DECA had their most successful competition this season at State Finals Feb. 28 at the Marriott in Hunt Valley, Maryland. The team placed second in Maryland and qualified 22 students for International Career Development Conference, which will take place April 29 to May 2 in Nashville, Tennesse...

Quizbowl places second in tournament

By Ethan Wagner

March 11, 2020

The Quizbowl team placed second in an eight-team tournament at Richard Montgomery High School March 5., finishing behind first-place winner Montgomery Blair. The tournament had three rounds of different head-to-head matchups, followed by a final round where the matchups were based off of each team’s re...

Community rallies around senior Ben Lesser

By Jack McGuire

March 10, 2020

Senior Ben Lesser runs cross country and track at Whitman; this season, he placed 119th in the Great American Cross Country Festival and 79th in the Montgomery County Cross Country Championship in the 5,000 meter event. Earlier this year, he was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia, an aggressive form of...

Montgomery County to improve school bus safety after accidents involving MCPS students

By Heather Wang

March 9, 2020

After two crashes involving MCPS students in 2019, Montgomery County officials will conduct bus stop safety reviews, educate students about bus safety and implement an improved camera enforcement program to penalize drivers who pass stopped buses. These changes are in response to the school bus-related death of...

County Council holds press conference, addresses Coronavirus in Montgomery County

By Anna Kulbashny

March 9, 2020

To address coronavirus concerns, Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich held a county-wide news conference March 6. The conference followed Governor Larry Hogan’s declaration of a state emergency the previous day after three Montgomery County residents tested positive for Coronavirus. All three p...