by Sydney Wiser ‘23 Before the 2022-2023 school year, Sherwood lost two dozen staff members, leaving many classes overcrowded and many teachers overwhelmed. Some teachers left on their own while others were involuntarily transferred. Transfers are common within the teaching profession and are often a result of reduced enrollment or staffing needs at other schools. Typically, MCPS makes determinations about … Read More
by Cheikh Lo ‘24 The coronavirus pandemic accelerated a national teacher shortage across the United States with some regions of the country struggling more than others. As teacher vacancies are increasing, many school districts reported throughout the summer that they are unable to find and hire qualified teachers for this current school year. Leading into the school year, many districts, … Read More
by Genevieve Mayle ‘23 Increasing controversy over the books taught in English classes has caused tensions between teachers and school districts. Books that focus on race, sexual orientation, gender identity, and include LGBTQ+ characters are getting disproportionately targeted and banned in schools. This rising controversy has triggered some school districts to contend that flags and objects of any kind that … Read More
by Alex Braun ‘23 The problem of teacher shortages across the country was magnified by the large number of teachers quitting or retiring early because of the Covid-19 pandemic, but the lack of teachers will continue as a result of decreasing enrollment in teacher preparation programs. A report published by the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) in … Read More
by Solaiman K Hassanin ‘23 Today, public education increasingly is a center of controversy. A recent Gallup poll found that 70 percent of Americans have “some” to “very little” confidence in public schools, compared to 28 percent who said they have a “great deal” to “quite a lot” of confidence in schools. The Gallup poll also demonstrated a stark difference … Read More
by Ziv Golan ‘26 Students want to feel that their input is considered when their schools make decisions and changes that affect them, and Sherwood responded to that prevailing sentiment by implementing Study Circles last year in which a diverse group of students met with school administrators and other staff. The need for such a meeting space became more pressing … Read More
by Bryan Kim ’23 This school year, MCPS will not be utilizing Turnitin.com, a plagiarism detection software used in high school English classes for longer than a decade. Towards the end of last school year, MCPS and Turnitin.com had a dispute regarding the protection of student and staff privacy, ultimately leading to the end of the contract. Without Turnitin.com, plagiarism … Read More
by Anna Haas ‘23 In July of 2020, MCPS began an extensive study intent on discovering the depth of racism and racial inequities in its schools and what needs to be done about it. The study was named the Anti-Racist Audit, and its findings were revealed at a media briefing on October 10 before being officially announced at the Board … Read More
MCPS Reconsiders Problematic School Names by Joon Baek ‘23 Following petitions by community members and student activists, MCPS approved a resolution in early October to determine whether to rename six schools named after Revolutionary Era individuals who owned slaves. The school names under consideration are the high schools Richard Montgomery, Thomas S. Wootton, Zadok Magruder, and Montgomery Blair, and the … Read More
by Lizzy Hermosilla ‘23 Sherwood offers three upper level courses—honors, Advanced Level (AL), and AP—that MCPS awards a single point increase contributing toward a students Weighted Grade Point Average (WGPA). Students in AP, honors, or AL courses that earned an A for a semester grade would be numerically denoted a 5 instead of the normal 4 for an unweighted course. … Read More